Vedic Astrology Glossary
Eight-Source Strength System
Ashtakavarga is a Vedic astrology technique that assigns numerical strength scores to each of the 12 houses, based on contributions from all eight planetary sources (the seven planets plus the ascendant). These scores quantify how strongly each house is activated - enabling precise predictions about the timing and quality of results in any life area.
Ashta means eight; varga means division or group. Ashtakavarga creates a comprehensive map of each house's strength by counting how many of the eight reference points (Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and lagna) contribute positive energy to each house.
How Ashtakavarga works: For each of the eight reference points, classical rules specify which houses it casts "beneficial" influence toward. Each beneficial contribution adds one point (bindhu) to that house. The total score for any house ranges from 0 to 8 (when counted from a single planet) or up to 56 total points when all contributions are combined (Sarvashtakavarga).
Sarvashtakavarga: The combined score across all eight sources gives each house a total between 0 and 56. Houses scoring above 28 are considered strong; below 28, weak. A house scoring 30+ typically delivers excellent results in its life domain; below 25 signals chronic difficulty in that area.
Ashtakavarga and transit predictions: One of the most practical applications of ashtakavarga is transit timing. When a transiting planet passes through a house that has a high ashtakavarga score for that planet, the transit's results are amplified and generally beneficial. A transit through a low-scoring house produces diminished or delayed results. This allows for remarkably specific predictions about which transit periods will yield results.
Planet-specific Bhinnashtakavarga: Each planet has its own 8-point grid (Bhinnashtakavarga). Saturn's ashtakavarga, for instance, maps which houses have strong Saturn bindhu counts - showing where Sade Sati and Saturn transits will be most productive or challenging. Jupiter's own grid shows where Jupiter transits bring maximum benefit.
Ashtakavarga and Sade Sati: One of the best-known applications is assessing the quality of each year within Sade Sati. If the house Saturn transits during Sade Sati has a high Saturn ashtakavarga score (5+), that year of the 7.5-year cycle tends to produce better results. A low score (0-2) makes that year more challenging.
Limitations: Ashtakavarga is a supplementary technique, best used alongside dasha analysis and natal chart interpretation rather than in isolation. The scores provide quantitative input, but qualitative judgment - the nature of the planet, its sign, aspects, and the lagna - always provides context that numbers alone cannot.
Concept map
6 terms
Planetary Transits
Gochara refers to the current positions of planets as they move through the zodiac, and how those transits interact with your natal birth chart. In Vedic astrology, transits are measured from the natal Moon sign rather than the rising sign, which produces more psychologically precise predictions.
Saturn's 7.5-Year Transit
Sade sati is a 7.5-year period in Vedic astrology during which Saturn transits through the sign before, the sign of, and the sign after the natal moon. It is traditionally viewed as a time of increased pressure, responsibility, and karmic reckoning. It occurs roughly every 30 years for most people.
Saturn - The Lord of Karma
Shani (Saturn) is the planet of karma, discipline, delay, and long-term consequence in Vedic astrology. Where Shani sits in your chart, life demands patience, perseverance, and structural integrity. It delivers rewards slowly - only after the work is done.
Planetary Period System
A dasha is a planetary period in Vedic astrology that governs a specific phase of your life. Each planet rules a slice of the 120-year Vimshottari cycle. During its dasha, that planet's themes, strengths, and karmic patterns become the dominant story.
Ascendant / Rising Sign
Lagna is the degree of the zodiac rising on the eastern horizon at the exact moment of birth. It sets the first house of the chart, determines house rulerships, and acts as the chart's structural foundation - the body, self-expression, and life path.
Astrological House
A bhava is one of the 12 houses in a Vedic birth chart, each governing a specific domain of life. The bhavas are counted from the lagna (ascendant) and act as the stage on which the planets perform - each planet's effects manifest through the areas of life ruled by its occupied and aspected bhavas.
Ashtakavarga is used to numerically assess the strength of each house in the birth chart and to predict which planetary transits (gochara) will produce the best results. A house with a high ashtakavarga score (above 28 in Sarvashtakavarga) reliably delivers good results in its life domain; a low score (below 25) indicates chronic difficulty. When combined with dasha analysis, ashtakavarga scores can pinpoint the most productive and challenging years within any planetary period.
In Sarvashtakavarga (the combined score across all eight sources), a house scoring 30 or above is considered strong and auspicious. A score between 25-29 is average. Below 25 indicates weakness or difficulty in that house's domain. For individual planet grids (Bhinnashtakavarga), a score of 4 or more bindhu in a house is favorable; 5-6 is strong; 0-1 is very weak. The maximum possible score in any house is 8 for a single planet's grid.
Saturn's own Bhinnashtakavarga shows how many bindhu (positive points) each house receives from Saturn's perspective. When Saturn transits a house with 5+ bindhu in its own ashtakavarga, that transit tends to produce relatively good results - discipline leads to reward. When Saturn transits a house with 0-2 bindhu, the transit is more obstructed, delayed, or difficult. This is especially useful for analyzing each year of Sade Sati and identifying which of the 7.5 years will be most challenging.
Birth Chart Report
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