What is a Birth Chart?

A birth chart, called a kundali, janma kundali or rashi chakra in Indian astrology, is a map of the sky drawn for the exact moment and place of a person's birth. It records where the Sun, Moon and planets stood along the zodiac at that instant, and which portion of the zodiac was rising over the eastern horizon. Every other calculation in Vedic astrology — dashas, divisional charts, transits and compatibility — is derived from this single diagram.

Three ingredients are needed to cast it: the date of birth, the time of birth and the place of birth. Date fixes the positions of the slower planets, time fixes the Moon and the rising sign, and place supplies the latitude and longitude used to compute the horizon. Change any one of them and the chart changes.

Sidereal Zodiac and Ayanamsha

Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, measured against the fixed stars, rather than the tropical zodiac measured from the equinox that Western astrology uses. Because the equinox slowly drifts against the stars — a motion called precession — the two zodiacs have separated by roughly 24 degrees at present. The correction applied to bridge them is the ayanamsha.

Several ayanamsha values are in use, Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) being the most widely adopted in India. Because the choice shifts every planet by the same amount, it can move a planet near a sign boundary into the neighbouring sign. In KB the ayanamsha in force is stated with the chart so the basis of the calculation is never ambiguous. You can compare the different values on the ayanamsha calculator.

North Indian and South Indian Chart Styles

The same chart can be drawn in more than one visual convention. The two most common in India are the North Indian and South Indian styles, and it is worth knowing that they display identical information — nothing about the astrology changes, only the drawing.

• North Indian (diamond) style — the houses are fixed in position. The topmost central diamond is always the first house, and the remaining houses run anticlockwise from it. The sign occupying each house is written as a number from 1 (Aries) to 12 (Pisces) inside the box, so the signs move from chart to chart while the frame stays still.
• South Indian (square) style — the signs are fixed in position. Aries always sits in the second box of the top row and the signs run clockwise from it. The ascendant is marked, usually with a diagonal line, and the houses are counted onward from that box.
• East Indian (Bengali) style — a third regional convention, also sign-fixed, drawn with triangular divisions rather than squares.

Because North Indian charts are house-fixed and South Indian charts are sign-fixed, readers accustomed to one often misread the other. If a chart looks unfamiliar, the first thing to identify is the ascendant marker; once that is located the remaining houses follow in order.

Signs, Houses and Planets

A birth chart weaves together three layers. The twelve signs (rashis) divide the ecliptic into equal 30-degree arcs and describe the manner in which something operates. The twelve houses (bhavas) are the divisions measured from the ascendant and describe the area of life concerned — body, wealth, siblings, home, children, and so on. The nine grahas are the moving significators placed within that framework.

Classical texts describe a reading as the combination of all three: a planet contributes its own nature, the sign it occupies conditions how that nature expresses, and the house it falls in shows where in life the result appears. The lord of each sign carries the affairs of the house it rules to wherever it sits, which is how the houses become linked to one another. You can study these layers separately on the planetary positions page and the house significations page.

Reading the Chart in Order

1. Identify the ascendant and its lord, and note the condition of that lord.
2. Note the Moon, its sign and nakshatra, traditionally taken as the mind and as an alternative reference point for reading the chart.
3. Survey the planetary placements — which planets are strong by sign, which are combust or retrograde, and which are grouped together.
4. Examine the houses relevant to the question, both by the planets in them and by the placement of their lords.
5. Bring in timing through the dasha sequence and current transits.

In KB the chart is generated from precise ephemeris calculation rather than rounded tables, so degrees, nakshatra padas and house cusps are accurate enough for the finer techniques that depend on them. To generate or revisit a chart, use the Kundali section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the North Indian chart better than the South Indian chart?

Neither is more accurate. They are two drawing conventions for exactly the same data, and astrologers generally use whichever they trained on. The North Indian style keeps the houses in fixed positions, the South Indian style keeps the signs in fixed positions.

Why does my Vedic chart show different signs from my Western chart?

Because Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac and Western astrology the tropical zodiac. The two differ by approximately 24 degrees today, which shifts most placements back by roughly one sign. Neither is a mistake; they are different reference frames.

What if I do not know my exact birth time?

Planetary sign placements will still be broadly correct for most planets, but the ascendant, the house positions and the Moon's exact degree may be wrong. The ascendant changes sign roughly every two hours, so even a moderate error can move every house. Where the time is uncertain, astrologers traditionally use rectification techniques against known life events.

Do I need a birth chart to use compatibility matching?

Yes. Traditional matching is calculated from the Moon's nakshatra and sign in each chart, so both birth details are required. The Gun Milan calculator works from those positions.