Reference
Clear definitions of the core Jyotish terms - from dasha periods and nakshatra to yoga combinations and muhurta timing.
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.
Lunar Mansion
A nakshatra is one of 27 lunar mansions that divide the zodiac into equal 13°20′ segments. The moon's placement in a nakshatra at birth reveals personality nuances, emotional rhythms, and karmic themes that the broader rashi (zodiac sign) cannot capture.
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.
Vedic Zodiac Sign
Rashi is the Vedic term for zodiac sign. The 12 rashis are calculated using the sidereal zodiac (fixed stars), placing them approximately 23° behind their Western tropical counterparts. In Jyotish, the moon's rashi at birth is often considered more personally significant than the sun's rashi.
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.
Major Planetary Period
A mahadasha is the major planetary period in the Vimshottari dasha system, lasting anywhere from 6 to 20 years depending on the ruling planet. It represents the dominant karmic theme of that life phase, with the ruling planet's nature colouring all major events and opportunities.
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.
Fixed Star Zodiac
The sidereal zodiac is the basis of Vedic astrology — a zodiac anchored to the actual positions of fixed stars rather than to the vernal equinox. It currently sits approximately 23°–24° behind the Western tropical zodiac, a gap called the ayanamsha.
Compatibility Chart Analysis
Synastry is the Vedic (and Western) practice of comparing two birth charts to assess relationship compatibility. In Jyotish, compatibility analysis (kundali matching) uses nakshatra-based kuta scoring and inter-chart planetary aspects to determine harmony, longevity, and growth potential in partnerships.
Planetary Combination
In Jyotish astrology, a yoga is a specific planetary combination in the birth chart that produces a defined effect — ranging from great wealth and fame to spiritual liberation. Hundreds of yogas are catalogued in classical texts, each with precise conditions for formation and predictable results.
120-Year Dasha Cycle
Vimshottari is the most widely used dasha system in Vedic astrology. It allocates 120 years across nine planets in a fixed sequence. The starting point is determined by the nakshatra the moon occupies at birth, making it unique to each individual's exact birth moment.
Electional Astrology
Muhurta is the Vedic practice of selecting an auspicious moment to begin an important activity. By choosing a moment when planetary positions are favorable, Jyotish practitioners aim to give an action — a wedding, business launch, surgery, travel — the most propitious cosmic support possible.
The North Node of the Moon
Rahu is the north node of the Moon in Vedic astrology — a shadow planet without physical form that represents unfulfilled desires, karmic hunger, and the soul's evolutionary direction in this lifetime. Where Rahu sits in your chart, obsession and ambition intensify.
The South Node of the Moon
Ketu is the south node of the Moon in Vedic astrology — a shadow planet signifying past-life mastery, spiritual liberation, detachment, and unconscious gifts carried forward from previous incarnations. Where Ketu sits, the soul already knows; it has been there before.
The Soul Chart (D9)
The Navamsha is the ninth divisional chart (D9) in Vedic astrology — the most important varga after the Rashi chart. It reveals the soul's deeper nature, the quality of partnerships and marriage, and whether a planet's promise in the birth chart will actually manifest.
The Sidereal-Tropical Offset
Ayanamsa is the angular difference between the tropical (Western) and sidereal (Vedic) zodiacs — approximately 23-24 degrees in 2026. It arises from the slow wobble of Earth's axis (precession of the equinoxes) and explains why your Vedic Sun sign is typically one sign behind your Western Sun sign.
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.
Jupiter — The Great Benefic
Guru (Jupiter) is the planet of wisdom, expansion, abundance, and divine grace in Vedic astrology. Called the Deva Guru (teacher of the gods), Guru shows where blessings multiply and life expands most naturally in your birth chart.
The Moon — Mind and Emotion
Chandra (the Moon) governs the mind, emotions, memory, and the instinctive self in Vedic astrology. Your Moon sign (Chandra Rashi) is considered more revealing of your inner nature than your Sun sign. It is where you live emotionally, not just where you shine.
Venus — Love, Beauty, and Desire
Shukra (Venus) is the planet of love, beauty, desire, and material pleasure in Vedic astrology. As a natural benefic, Shukra governs romantic attraction, aesthetic sensibility, creative expression, and the enjoyment of life's pleasures. Its placement in your chart shows how you love and what you are drawn toward.
Mars — Drive, Courage, and Action
Mangal (Mars) is the planet of energy, drive, courage, ambition, and conflict in Vedic astrology. Where Guru expands and Shukra attracts, Mangal initiates and asserts. Its placement in your chart shows how you act, what ignites your passion, and where force — whether creative or destructive — tends to manifest.
The Sun — Soul and Authority
Surya (the Sun) is the soul indicator in Vedic astrology — the atmakaraka of the Navagraha system in the Parashari tradition. It governs ego, authority, vitality, government, the father, and the right to shine. Unlike Western astrology where the Sun is the primary self-indicator, in Vedic astrology it is one of nine equally important planets, though its placement remains central to life purpose and identity.
Mercury — Intellect and Communication
Budha (Mercury) is the planet of intellect, communication, commerce, and discrimination in Vedic astrology. It governs the analytical mind, language, writing, trade, and the nervous system. Budha is the only planet that is considered both a natural benefic AND capable of taking on malefic qualities depending on the planets it associates with.
Soul Significator
Atmakaraka is the planet with the highest degree in the birth chart, making it the significator of the soul's deepest desire and ultimate life lesson. In Jaimini astrology, the atmakaraka reveals what the soul most wants to learn and experience in this incarnation — the karmic theme that will recur until mastered.
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.
Five-Limb Vedic Calendar
Panchanga is the traditional Vedic almanac that tracks five daily elements: Tithi (lunar day), Vara (weekday), Nakshatra (lunar mansion), Yoga (sun-moon combination), and Karana (half-day unit). These five factors together determine the auspicious or inauspicious quality of any given moment, forming the foundation of muhurta (auspicious timing) in Jyotish.
Chart Affliction or Defect
In Vedic astrology, a dosha is a specific planetary configuration in the birth chart that creates an area of difficulty, imbalance, or karmic challenge. The most commonly discussed doshas are Manglik Dosha (Mars affliction affecting marriage), Kaal Sarp Dosha (all planets between the Rahu-Ketu axis), and Pitra Dosha (ancestral karma). Most charts carry at least one dosha, which is seen as a signal for focused growth rather than a curse.
Planets of Vedic Astrology
Graha is the Sanskrit term for the planets used in Vedic astrology. The nine grahas — Sun (Surya), Moon (Chandra), Mars (Mangal), Mercury (Budha), Jupiter (Guru), Venus (Shukra), Saturn (Shani), and the lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu — form the complete set of influences analyzed in a Jyotish birth chart. Unlike planets in astronomy, Rahu and Ketu are mathematical points, not physical bodies.
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.
Birth Chart / Natal Horoscope
Kundali (also spelled kundli or horoscope) is the Vedic birth chart — a diagram showing the exact positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets at the moment and place of your birth. It is the foundational tool of Jyotish, mapping personality, relationships, career, health, and timing across your entire life.
The Science of Light
Jyotish is the Sanskrit name for Vedic astrology — literally 'the science of light' (jyoti = light; isha = lord). It is one of the six Vedangas (limbs of the Vedas) and one of the oldest predictive sciences in continuous use. Jyotish combines astronomical observation with karmic philosophy to interpret birth charts, time life events, and understand the soul's trajectory.
Retrograde Planets in Vedic Astrology
Vakri is the Sanskrit term for retrograde planetary motion — the apparent backward movement of a planet as seen from Earth. In Vedic astrology, a vakri graha is not considered weakened; rather, it intensifies and internalizes the planet's energy, often producing more deliberate, unconventional, or karmic results in the areas it governs.
Planetary Aspects in Vedic Astrology
Drishti is the Sanskrit term for planetary aspects — the sight or glance that one planet casts upon another planet, a house, or a zodiac sign. Unlike Western astrology's degree-based aspects, Vedic aspects are house-based. Every planet aspects the 7th house from itself, and Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn have additional special aspects unique to Jyotish.
Horary Astrology — Answering a Specific Question
Prashna is the Vedic practice of casting and interpreting a horoscope for the exact moment a question is asked — rather than for a person's birth. The prashna chart reveals the answer to a specific question using Jyotish principles, making astrological guidance possible even without a precise birth time.
Soul Point in Jaimini Astrology
Karakamsha is the navamsha sign occupied by the Atmakaraka (soul significator planet) in a birth chart. It is one of the most important reference points in Jaimini astrology, used to determine the soul's ultimate purpose, the nature of liberation (moksha), and key themes of spiritual and worldly dharma.
16 Divisional Charts of Vedic Astrology
Shodashavargas are the 16 divisional charts (vargas) of Vedic astrology. Each chart is created by dividing the zodiac signs into smaller equal segments to magnify a specific life domain — wealth, children, career, vehicles, or past-life karma. While the main birth chart (D1 Rasi) shows the overall life picture, the divisional charts reveal what the main chart hides.
The Elephant-Lion Yoga of Jupiter and Moon
Gaja Kesari Yoga is formed when Jupiter (Guru) occupies the 1st, 4th, 7th, or 10th house from the natal Moon. "Gaja" means elephant and "Kesari" means lion — symbols of dignity, wisdom, and power. It is one of the most celebrated and beneficial planetary combinations in Vedic astrology, associated with intelligence, fame, respect, and prosperity.
A Planet in the Same Sign in D1 and D9
Vargottama means "best of the divisions." A planet is Vargottama when it occupies the same zodiac sign in both the main birth chart (D1 Rasi) and the Navamsha chart (D9). This repetition across two major charts is considered a powerful strength indicator — the planet's qualities and themes are reinforced and deliver results more consistently throughout life.
