Vedic Astrology Glossary

Lagna is the Vedic ascendant, the sign rising on the eastern horizon at birth.

Also: Ascendant, Vedic rising sign

Rashi means zodiac sign in Vedic astrology.

Also: Sign, Zodiac sign

Bhava means house, one of the twelve life areas in a Vedic chart.

Also: House

Nakshatra is one of the 27 lunar mansions used in Vedic astrology.

Also: Lunar mansion

Pada is one of the four quarters inside a Nakshatra.

Also: Nakshatra quarter

Ayanamsa is the offset used to convert tropical positions into sidereal positions.

Also: Sidereal offset

Lahiri is a widely used ayanamsa for sidereal Vedic astrology.

Also: Chitrapaksha Ayanamsa

Whole sign houses make the entire Lagna sign the 1st house, then count signs as houses.

Also: Whole sign house system

Dasha is a Vedic timing period ruled by a planet.

Also: Planetary period

Vimshottari Dasha is the 120-year planetary period system widely used in Vedic astrology.

Also: Vimshottari timing system

Mahadasha is the major planetary period in Vimshottari Dasha.

Also: Major planetary period, Life chapter

Antardasha is the sub-period inside a Mahadasha.

Also: Sub-period, Minor planetary period

Gochar means planetary transit, the current movement of planets through signs and houses.

Also: Transit

Sade Sati is the Saturn transit period around the natal Moon sign.

Also: Saturn seven and a half years

Graha is the Vedic word for a planet or node used as an active chart factor.

Also: Vedic planet

Rahu is the north lunar node, treated as a shadow graha in Vedic astrology.

Also: North Node

Ketu is the south lunar node, treated as a shadow graha in Vedic astrology.

Also: South Node

Atmakaraka is the planet with the highest degree among the Chara Karakas.

Also: AK, Soul significator

Karaka means significator, a planet that carries a natural or chart-specific meaning.

Also: Significator

Darakaraka is the Chara Karaka often used as a partner or spouse significator.

Also: DK, Spouse significator

Navamsa is the D9 divisional chart, often used for marriage, maturity, and deeper strength.

Also: D9 chart

Upapada is an Arudha-based point often used in marriage and relationship analysis.

Also: UL, Upapada Lagna

Yogakaraka is a planet that rules both a Kendra and a Trikona for a given Lagna.

Also: Yoga-producing planet

Badhakesh is the lord of the obstructing house, determined by the ascendant type.

Also: Obstacle lord

Maraka refers to planets or houses associated with endings, depletion, or closure.

Also: Killer planet, Termination factor

Dusthana usually refers to the 6th, 8th, and 12th houses.

Also: Difficult houses

Kendra houses are the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th houses.

Also: Angular houses

Trikona houses are the 1st, 5th, and 9th houses.

Also: Trinal houses

Drishti means planetary aspect or glance.

Also: Vedic aspect

Shadbala is a classical measure of planetary strength.

Also: Sixfold strength