Basics

 

Grahas (Planets) 

 Basically, a graha or a planet is a body that has considerable influence on the living beings on Earth. Distant stars have negligible influence on us, but the Sun, Moon, and planets in the solar system have a great influence on our activities. So the word graha (or planet) is used to describe them.

Seven planets are considered in Indian astrology. They are the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. In addition, we have two shadow planets Rahu and Ketu.

 Apart from these 9 planets, there are 11 moving mathematical points known as Upagrahas (sub-planets or satellites). We also have lagna (ascendant), which is the point that rises on the eastern horizon as the earth rotates around itself. In addition, we have some mathematical points known as “special ascendants".

 

Rasis (signs ):

 The positions of all these planets, upagrahas, lagna, and special lagnas in the zodiac are measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds from the start of the zodiac. That is When watched from Earth, the longitude of any planet in the skies can be from 0°0'0'' (0 degrees 0 minutes 0 seconds) to 359°59'59''. The start of the Zodiac is 0°0'0'' to end of the zodiac 359°59'59''. Many Western astrologers consider Sayana or tropical (moving) zodiac, whereas Nirayana or sidereal (fixed) zodiac is considered in Vedic astrology.

 The entire Zodiac (sky) of 360 degrees can be split into twelve parts and they are called "Rasis". There are 12 Rasis or signs in the Zodiac. The 12 Rais and their values of start longitude and end longitude are given in the below table.

Rasi Name	Sanskrit name	Symbol	start	End
Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricon Aquarius Pisces	Mesha Vrishba/Vrisha Mithuna Karkataka/Karka Simha Kanya Thula Vrischika Dhanus Makara Kumbha Meena	Ar Ta Ge Cn Le Li Vi Sc Sg Cp Aq Pi	0°0'0'' 30°0'0'' 60°0'0'' 90°0'0'' 120°0'0'' 150°0'0'' 180°0'0'' 210°0'0'' 240°0'0'' 270°0'0'' 300°0'0'' 330°0'0''	29°59'59'' 59°59'59'' 89°59'59'' 119°59'59'' 149°59'59'' 179°59'59'' 209°59'59'' 239°59'59'' 269°59'59'' 299°59'59'' 329°59'59'' 359°59'59''

Nakshatras (constellations):

The zodiac in Vedic astrology is divided into 27 nakshatras. Each nakshatra has a length of 360º/27 = 13º 20'. The first nakshatra, for instance, extends from the beginning of Aries to 13º 20' in Aries. The second nakshatra extends from that point to 26º 40' in Aries. The third nakshatra extends from there to 10º in Taurus. The list of Nakshatras with the respective starting and ending points is given in the table below.

Name of Nakshatra	Starts at	Ends at	Vimsottari Lord	Ruling Deity
Aswini	00 Ar 00	13 Ar 20	Ketu	Aswini Kumara
Bharani	13 Ar 20	26 Ar 40	Venus	Yama
Krittika	26 Ar 40	10 Ta 00	Sun	Agni
Rohini	10 Ta 00	23 Ta 20	Moon	Bramha
Mrigasira	23 Ta 20	6 Ge 40	Mars	Moon
Aardra	6 Ge 40	20 Ge 00	Rahu	Shiva
Punarvasu	20 Ge 00	03 Cn 20	Jupiter	Aditi
Pushyami	03 Cn 20	16 Cn 40	Saturn	Jupiter
Aslesha	16 Cn 40	30 Cn 00	Mercury	Rahu
Makha	00 Le 00	13 Le 20	Ketu	Sun
Poorva Phalguni	13 Le 20	26 Le 40	Venus	Aryaman
Uttara Phalguni	26 Le 40	10 Vi 00	Sun	Sun
Hasta	10 Vi 00	23 Vi 20	Moon	Viswakarma
Chitra	23 Vi 20	6 Li 40	Mars	Vaayu
Swaati	6 Li 40	20 Li 00	Rahu	Indra
Visaakha	20 Li 00	03 Sc 20	Jupiter	Mitra
Anuraadha	03 Sc 20	16 Sc 40	Saturn	Indra
Jyeshtha	16 Sc 40	30 Sc 00	Mercury	Nirriti
Moola	00 Sg 00	13 Sg 20	Ketu	Varuna
Purvaashaadha	13 Sg 20	26 Sg 40	Venus	Viswadeva
Uttaraashaadha	26 Sg 40	10 Cp 00	Sun	Brahma
Sravanam	10 Cp 00	23 Cp 20	Moon	Vishnu
Dhanishtha	23 Cp 20	6 Aq 40	Mars	Vasu
Satabhishak	6 Aq 40	20 Aq 00	Rahu	Varuna
Purvaabhaadra	20 Aq 00	03 Pi 20	Jupiter	Ajacharana
Uttaraabhaadra	03 Pi 20	16 Pi 40	Saturn	Ahirbudhanya
Revati	16 Pi 40	30 Pi 00	Mercury	Pooshan

Solar Calendar:

In the solar calendar, a year is the time when the Sun moves by 360° and a month is the time when it moves by 30°. These are called “solar year” and “solar month” respectively. Each solar month is made up of 30 days, with each day representing precisely 1° of the Sun's movement.

Tithis and Lunar calender:

In the lunar calendar, one day is equivalent to one tithi. The lunar day or Tithi is a time when the difference between the longitudes of the Moon and Sun changes by exactly 12°.

Sukla Paksha (brighter fortnight)	Krishna Paksha (darker fortnight)	Name of the Tithi	Planet (Lord)
1st	16th	Pratipat/Pratipada/Padyami	Sun
2nd	17th	Dwitiya/Vidiya	Moon
3rd	18th	Tritiya/Tadiya	Mars
4th	19th	Chaturthi/Chaviti/Chauth	Mercury
5th	20th	Panchami	Jupiter
6th	21st	Shashti	Venus
7th	22nd	Saptami	Saturn
8th	23rd	Ashtami	Rahu
9th	24th	Navami	Sun
10th	25th	Dasami	Moon
11th	26th	Ekadasi	Mars
12th	27th	Dwadasi	Mercury
13th	28th	Trayodasi	Jupiter
14th	29th	Chaturdasi	Venus
15th	-----	Paurnami/Paurnimasya/ Poornima (Full Moon)	Saturn
--	30th	Amavasya (New Moon)	Rahu

When the Sun and Moon have the same longitude, a new lunar month begins for 30 days. As time progresses, the Moon will go ahead of the Sun. When the Moon’s longitude is exactly 12° greater than the Sun’s longitude, the first tithi or lunar day finishes and the second tithi starts. The second tithi concludes when the Moon's longitude is 24° greater than the Sun's longitude. When the Moon’s longitude is exactly 36° greater than the Sun’s longitude, the third tithi finishes and the fourth tithi starts. And soon. You can see that the Sun-Moon longitude differential will be (12 x n)° after exactly n tithis.

A lunar month consists of 30 tithis. Each month is broken down into two fortnights (pakshas). The Moon experiences waxing during Sukla/Suddha paksha or the brighter fortnight. During this paksha, the Moon is ahead of the Sun by an amount that is between 0º and 180º. The Moon is waning during Krishna/Bahula paksha or the darker fortnight. During this paksha, the Moon is ahead of the Sun by an amount that is between 180º and 360º.

At the end of a month, Sun-Moon longitude differential will be (12 x 30)°, i.e., 360°. That means that Moon will finish one cycle around the zodiac and catch up with Sun again. So Sun and Moon will be at the same longitude again. Then a new month starts.

At the end of a month, the Sun-Moon longitude difference will be (12 x 30)°, or 360°. The Moon will complete one cycle around the zodiac and catch up with the Sun again. So the Sun and Moon will be at the same longitude again. Then a new month starts.

Using the following procedure, we can determine the tithi that runs on a day based on the longitudes of the Sun and Moon.

(1) Find the difference: (Moon’s longitude – Sun’s longitude). Add 360° if the result is negative. The result will be between 0° and 360° and will show how advanced the Moon is with respect to the Sun.

(2) Divide this result by 12°. Ignore the remainder and take the quotient.

(3) Add 1 to the quotient. You get a number from 1 to 30. That will give the index of the tithi running.

(4) Refer to the above table and find the name of the tithi. There are 15 tithis and the same tithis repeat in the brigher and darker fortnights. For example, it can be seen from the table that the 22th tithi out of the 30 tithis is in Krishna paksha and it is Saptami. So the 22nd tithi is “Krishna Saptami”. We write the classification of fortnight (Sukla or Krishna) first and then write tithi name. “Sukla Saptami” stands for “Saptami” in the brighter fortnight (sukla paksha), i.e. the 7th tithi. “Krishna Saptami” stands for “Saptami” in the darker fortnight (krishna paksha),i.e. the 22nd tithi.

Lunar Months:

We said that a new lunar month starts whenever the Sun and Moon have the exact longitude. After about 29-30 days, the Moon will catch up with the Sun and go ahead of it. A new lunar month will start again.

The lunar months have distinct names. The rasi in which Sun-Moon conjunction 2 takes place determines the name of a lunar month. If Sun-Moon conjoins in Pisces, for example, it starts Chaitra masa. These names come from the constellation that the Moon is most likely to occupy on the full Moon day. In the month that starts when the Sun and Moon conjoin in Pisces, the Moon is likely to be in the Chitra constellation (23°20'in Virgo to 6°40' in Libra) on the full Moon day (15th tithi – Pournimasya). So the month is called Chaitra.

Rasi of Sun-Moon Conjuction that starts the month	Name of the Month	Most likely constellation of Moon	Approx When?
Pisces	Chaitra	Chitra	Mar/Apr
Aries	Vaisaakha	Visaakha	Apr/May
Taurus	Jyeshtha	Jyeshtha	May/June
Gemini	Aashaadha	Poorva/Uttara Aashaadha	June/July
Cancer	Sraavana	Sravana	July/Aug
Leo	Bhaadrapada	Poorva/Uttara Bhadrapada	Aug/Sept
Virgo	Aaswayuja	Aswini	Sept/Oct
Libra	Kaarteeka	Krittika	Oct/Nov
Scorpio	Maargasira	Mrigasira	Nov/Dec
Sagittarius	Pushya	Pushyami	Dec/Jan
Capricorn	Maagha	Makha	Jan/Feb
Aquarius	Phaalguna	Poorva/Uttara Phalguni	Feb/Mar

Yogas:

Add the longitudes of the Sun and Moon. Remove 360º from the sum if it is greater than 360º. Divide the sum by the length of one nakshatra (13°20' or 800'). Ignore fractions and take the integer part. Add 1 to it and the result is the index of the yoga running.

Refer to the below Table and find the yoga corresponding to the index.

                                                       Sun -Moon Yogas

Index	Yoga	Meaning
1	Vishkambha	Door bolt/supporting pillar
2	Preeti	Love/affection
3	Aayushmaan	Long-lived
4	Saubhaagya	Long life of spouse (good fortune)
5	Sobhana	Splendid, bright
6	Atiganda	Great danger
7	Sukarman	One with good deeds
8	Dhriti	Firmness
9	Shoola	Shiva’s weapon of destruction (pain)
10	Ganda	Danger
11	Vriddhi	Growth
12	Dhruva	Fixed, constant
13	Vyaaghaata	Great blow
14	Harshana	Cheerful
15	Vajra	Diamond (strong)
16	Siddhi	Accomplishment
17	Vyatipaata	Great fall
18	Variyan	Chief/best
19	Parigha	Obstacle/hindrance
20	Shiva	Lord Shiva (purity)
21	Siddha	Accomplished/ready
22	Saadhya	Possible
23	Subha	Auspicious
24	Sukla	White, bright
25	Brahma	Creator (good knowledge and purity)
26	Indra	Ruler of gods
27	Vaidhriti	A class of gods

 Karanas:

Each tithi is divided into 2 karanas. There are 11 karanas: (1) Bava, (2) Balava, (3) Kaulava, (4) Taitula, (5) Garija, (6) Vanija, (7) Vishti, (8) Sakuna, (9) Chatushpada, (10) Naga, and, (11) Kimstughna. The first 7 karanas repeat 8 times starting from the 2nd half of the first lunar day of a month. The last 4 karanas come just once in a month, starting from the 2nd half of the 29th lunar day and ending at the 1st half of the first lunar day.

Hora:

Each day starts at sunrise and ends at the next day’s sunrise. This period is divided into 24 equal parts and they are called horas. A hora is almost equal to an hour. These horas are ruled by different planets. The lords of Hora come in the order of decreasing speed with respect to Earth: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury , and Moon. After the Moon, we go back to Saturn and repeat the 7 planets.

The first hora of any day (i.e. a period of one hour following sunrise) is ruled by the lord of the weekday (Sun for Sunday, Moon for Monday, Mars for Tuesday, Mercury for Wednesday, Jupiter for Thursday, Venus for Friday and Saturn for Saturday). After that, we list planets in the order mentioned above.

 Panchaanga:

 Panchaanga means “one with 5 limbs”. Almanacs published in India with planetary positions are traditionally called panchaangas. Along with the planetary positions, they give the start and end times of tithi, vaara (week day – Sunday, Monday etc.), nakshatra, yoga, and karana running on each day. These five are the limbs of panchaanga.

 When we choose a muhurta (an auspicious time for starting a venture), we should choose an auspicious tithi, vaara, nakshatra, yoga and karana.

Ayanamsa:

Because of the movement in Earth’s precession, the starting point of the tropical zodiac changes slowly (with respect to fixed stars). The tropical (sayana) zodiac is analogous to measuring the positions of trees and buildings sitting in a slowly moving bus. The sidereal (nirayana) zodiac, on the other hand, is considered a fixed zodiac. It considers the motion of the tropical zodiac (bus in our analogy) and makes an adjustment accordingly. We use the sidereal zodiac in Vedic astrology.

Dasa Systems:

Dasa systems are a hallmark of Vedic astrology. Vedic astrology has hundreds of dasa system. Each dasa system divides one’s life into periods, sub-periods, sub-subperiods and so on. All the periods are ruled by different planets or rasis. Some dasa systems are planet-based and some are rasi-based. Each dasa system is good at showing events of a specific nature. For each dasa system, we have some standard rules, based on which we analyze the natal chart and attribute different results to different periods and sub-periods. Each dasa system comes with rules for dividing one’s life into periods and sub-periods and rules for attributing different results to different periods, based on the planetary positions in the natal chart. These periods are called “dasas” or “mahadasas” (MD). Sub-periods are called “antardasas” (AD). Sub-sub-periods are called “pratyantardasas” (PD).

Some dasas are good at showing matters related to longevity and death. They are called “ayur dasas” (dasas of longevity). Some dasas are good at showing general results. They are called “phalita dasas” (dasas of general results).

Mind is a very important part of our existence and the Moon governs it. Some dasas are computed based on the nakshatra occupied by Moon and they are called “nakshatra dasas”. Some dasas are based on the rasis occupied by planets and they are called “rasi dasas”.