Question 1

What is a nakshatra?

Accepted Answer

A nakshatra is one of 27 segments of the sidereal zodiac, each 13 degrees 20 minutes wide, the lunar mansions of Vedic astrology. Each nakshatra has a ruling planet, a presiding deity, and classical attributes (gana, yoni, deity, symbol, tree, bird). The Moon's nakshatra at birth determines the starting point of the Vimshottari dasha cycle.

Question 2

What is a dasha?

Accepted Answer

A dasha is a planetary period, a span of time during which a particular graha (planet) is the timekeeper for events in life. The most widely used dasha system, Vimshottari, runs through nine grahas over a 120-year cycle, starting from the Moon's nakshatra at birth. Astrovene computes the full Vimshottari tree to five nested levels (Maha, Antar, Pratyantar, Sukshma, Prana).

Question 3

How do I read a Vedic birth chart?

Accepted Answer

Start with the lagna (ascendant), which is the sign rising in the east at the moment of birth and becomes the first house. In the Parashari school the houses are whole signs, so the lagna's entire sign is house 1, the next sign is house 2, and so on. Then read where the nine grahas sit by house and by sign, whether each is exalted, debilitated or in its own sign, and which houses each one rules. The navamsa (D9) is read almost co-equally with the rasi chart, and the Vimshottari dasha tells you when a placement expresses itself.

Question 4

What is the difference between a rasi chart and a navamsa chart?

Accepted Answer

The rasi chart (D1) is the sky itself: the actual sign each graha occupied at birth. The navamsa (D9) divides every sign into nine parts and maps each to a new sign, producing a second chart that is a pure deterministic transform of the first, with no extra astronomical calculation. Classical practice reads the navamsa alongside the rasi rather than after it, as a check on a graha's real strength and, traditionally, for marriage and the second half of life.

Question 5

What birth details do I need for an accurate chart?

Accepted Answer

Date, time and place. Time matters most: the ascendant moves about one degree every four minutes, so an error of ten minutes can shift the lagna and change every house in the chart. Place matters because the ascendant depends on latitude and on the true local time. If your recorded birth time is approximate, treat the house placements as provisional; the planetary signs and the Moon's nakshatra are far more forgiving.

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Free Vedic Birth Chart · Rasi, Navamsa and Dasha · Astrovene