Vedic astrology: sidereal lagna, nakshatras, and Vimshottari
Vedic astrology here uses the sidereal zodiac. The same birth can sit nearly a sign away from a tropical chart, because the ayanamsa is about 24°. Lagna, nine grahas, 27 nakshatras, and Vimshottari periods are calculated objects. Their meanings are not.
- English name
- Jyotish
- Zodiac
- Sidereal, shifted by ayanamsa
Editorial review: 2026-09-22 · Reviewed by fateshow · Editorial method
Chart system
Whole-sign houses of 30°. The ayanamsa in force (Lahiri, KP, Raman, or true Chitra) moves the whole chart and must stay on the result.
Concept snapshot
Input
Birth instant plus coordinates
What is calculated
Lagna, nine grahas, nakshatra and pada, Vimshottari
What it is not
A tropical birth chart with Indian labels
Reading order
Ayanamsa → lagna → Moon’s nakshatra → periods
Explore concepts
Overview
An overview of the Vedic chart
The Vedic chart uses the sidereal zodiac. The ayanamsa is about 24 degrees, so it can sit nearly a sign away from a tropical chart. The Moon’s nakshatra then opens Vimshottari.
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Sidereal zodiac and nakshatras
The sidereal zodiac and the 27 nakshatras
The sidereal zodiac is measured against the stars. The 27 nakshatras slice the Moon’s path more finely. Both are positions, not lucky numbers.
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Grahas and dignity
The nine grahas and six dignities
Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu, and Ketu each receive a sidereal sign, degree, house, nakshatra, and a direct or retrograde mark. Dignity is six conditions of place, not a ranked score.
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Divisional charts
A divisional chart redivides the same longitude
A divisional chart such as Navamsa is not another birth. It redivides the natal longitude into a finer cell. Without the natal degrees there is no divisional chart.
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Vimshottari
Vimshottari periods
Vimshottari starts from the Moon’s nakshatra and divides time into major and sub periods. It names which planet’s period is current. It does not place an event on a chosen day.
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Kundli Milan
Vedic match: six kutas out of 30
This page is a marriage comparison. It is not a general relationship chart. The score is six kutas, full marks 30, taken from the two Moons’ signs and nakshatras. It does not silently add the two classical kutas that would make 36.
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Use and limits
What questions this chart can hold
The Vedic chart fits questions about sidereal place, nakshatra, dignity, and the current major period. It does not turn a day into a scheduled event, and the match is not scored out of 36.
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What this chart fixes
The inputs are a UT instant restored from local clock time, the birthplace coordinates, and a published precession model. Changing Lahiri for KP, Raman, or true Chitra slides every longitude together. Sign names from a tropical chart do not survive that slide.
Lagna is the ascendant in that sidereal frame and is the start of the twelve whole-sign houses. It moves quickly: a few minutes of birth time can shift the house grid.
What fateshow calculates
Nine grahas — Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu, and Ketu — each receive a sidereal sign, degree, house, nakshatra, pada, a six-step dignity, and retrograde status. The zodiac is split into 27 nakshatras of 13°20′, and each nakshatra into four padas of 3°20′.
The Moon’s nakshatra and pada set the start of the Vimshottari sequence. Divisional charts included by the tool, such as Navamsa, are further cuts of the same longitudes. They are not a second birth.
What it is not
It is not Western tropical astrology, BaZi, or Zi Wei. A planet “in Aries” on this chart is not the tropical Aries of the astrology tool.
Marriage matching is a separate calculation on the Vedic synastry page, and that page scores six kutas out of 30. Do not import a textbook total of 36 into a chart that did not compute the missing kutas.
Safety boundary
Sidereal positions and dasha periods are a conditional frame. They are not medical, legal, or financial advice, and a dasha period is not a dated event.
Common mistakes
- Comparing a tropical Sun sign with this chart’s sidereal Sun sign.
- Ignoring which ayanamsa produced the nakshatra.
- Guessing lagna when the birth time is only known to the hour.
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Frequently asked questions
Why is my Vedic sign different from my Western sign?
The sidereal zodiac is shifted by the ayanamsa, currently on the order of 24°. The two sign names are not the same placement.
What does the Moon’s nakshatra control?
On this chart it sets where the Vimshottari sequence starts. The rest of the periods follow that start under the published lengths.
Do I need coordinates?
Yes. Lagna and the whole-sign houses are local. A date without a place cannot place them.
Sources and editorial basis
- 1. fateshow sidereal chart rules
Supports the live chart only: the declared ayanamsa, whole-sign houses, nine grahas, 27 nakshatras and padas, and the Vimshottari start taken from the Moon. Switching ayanamsa is a different chart.