What is a kundli, and how do you read it?

What you need to make a kundli

Three things: your date of birth, your time of birth and your place of birth. The place gives the latitude, longitude and the time zone that was in force on that date, which matters for older Indian births because clocks changed during the war years and before 1955.

The birth time matters most for the lagna (rising sign), which changes roughly every two hours. Planet signs and your Moon sign are much less sensitive, so even an approximate time gives useful results.

The five building blocks

• Lagna (ascendant): the sign rising on the eastern horizon at birth. It sets the first house and describes your body, temperament and approach to life.
• Rashi (Moon sign): the sign the Moon was in. It describes your mind and emotions, and it is the sign used for daily rashifal and for Kundli Milan.
• Nakshatra: the Moon’s lunar mansion, one of 27. It refines your Moon sign and decides where your Vimshottari dasha starts.
• Grahas (planets): the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu, each placed in a sign and a house.
• Bhavas (houses): 12 areas of life, from self (1st) to career (10th) and expenses (12th). A planet’s house shows where its energy is used.

North Indian vs South Indian chart

Both show exactly the same information. The North Indian chart is a diamond with fixed house positions (the lagna is always at the top). The South Indian chart is a square with fixed sign positions, and the lagna is marked inside. Use whichever your family reads.

How to read a planet in a house

Ask three questions: what does the planet signify, what does the house cover, and how strong is the planet? For example, Jupiter (wisdom, growth) in the 10th house (career) in its own sign suggests a respected career through advising or teaching. The same Jupiter debilitated asks for more effort before it delivers.

Then look at which houses the planet rules. A planet carries the matters of the houses it rules into the house it sits in, and that link is often more telling than the placement alone.

Dashas: the timing layer

A kundli is not static. The Vimshottari dasha system divides life into planetary periods (mahadashas) lasting 6 to 20 years, each split into sub-periods. During a planet’s period, the houses it rules and occupies come into focus. Transits (gochar) of slow planets such as Saturn and Jupiter add a second timing layer.

Divisional charts

Each sign can be divided further to zoom in on one area of life. The Navamsa (D9) is the most important: it shows the inner strength of planets and is used for marriage. The Dashamsa (D10) is used for career.