Frequently Used Terms in Vedic Astrology The following are some of the more frequently used technical terms in Hindu Jyotish and an understanding of these can facilitate the learning of the spiritual art for those who may be so inclined. Though this does not purport to be a complete list of any sort, rather it is just an assemblage of terms as they come to the mind of the author, these can be pointers to greater research and reading. 1. Lagna: Ascendant; first house of any chart in the horoscope. 2. Chakra: Chart 3. Rashi: Sign, also used to denote the main chart 4. Rashi Chakra: Radix; Main natal chart 5. Varga Chakra: Divisional Chart; contrary to belief in certain quarters, these divisional charts are indispensable for any horoscopic analysis. They pertain to specific areas of life such as marriage and dharma, career and Karma, parents, education, property, vehicles and happiness from the same, spiritual aspects, past life, matrilineal Karma, patrilineal Karma etc. 6. Graha: Planet, roughly translated, for want of a better word. These indicate the metaphysical aspects of the astronomical bodies called planets and are rooted in the term ‘Grahan’, to eclipse. Thus, Graha can eclipse our minds, for better or for worse. 7. Jyotish: Vedic/ Hindu Astrology, the Light of God, a spiritual art, Vedanga, propounded by the Seers of ancient India. 8. Vedanga: Part of the Veda 9. Surya: Sun, the King 10. Chandra: Moon, the Queen 11. Mangal/ Kuja/ Angaraka: Mars, the Commander-in-Chief 12. Budh: Mercury, the Prince 13. Guru/ Brihaspati: Jupiter, the Great Preceptor of the Gods, the most naturally benefic planet. 14. Shukra: Venus, the Preceptor of the Demons 15. Shani: Saturn, the dispenser of our Karma, the dispassionate and most tremendous planet, never to be denied. 16. Rahu: North Node of the Moon 17. Ketu: South Node of the Moon 18. Drishti: Aspect, a manner of looking at someone, or something 19. Graha Drishti: Planetary Aspect 20. Rashi Drishti: Sign aspect 21. Yoga: Combination formed by two or more planets 22. Rajayoga: A Combination for success, elevation and kingship 23. Dhanyoga: A Combination for material success and wealth 24. Vipreeta Raja Yoga: A combination for success after initial trials and hardship, formed by the combination of two or more evil planets 25. Adhipati/Lords: planets owning certain houses

26. Bhava/Houses: A Chart has 12 houses, indicating the whole gamut of circumstantial reality as we know it. 27. Mesha: Aries 28. Vrishabh: Taurus 29. Mithun: Gemini 30. Karka: Cancer 31. Simha: Leo 32. Kanya: Virgo 33. Tula: Libra 34. Vrishchik: Scorpio 35. Dhanu: Sagittarius 36. Makar: Capricorn 37. Kumbha: Aquarius 38. Meena: Pisces 39. Dhan Bhava: 2nd House of the Chart, relating to wealth, family, movable assets, speech, face, death 40. Vikrama Bhava: 3rd House of the chart, relating to siblings, effort, valor, communication, short writing, magazines, periodicals, telephones, internet, copulation, desire, Guru Upadesha, occult 41. Sukha Bhava: 4th House of the chart, relating to mother, immovable property, happiness, vehicles, learning, heart-particularly the part related to circulation 42. Putra Bhava: 5th House, relating to Mantra, progeny, power, creative intelligence, consultancy, Poorva Punya/ blessings accruing from the past Karma, future prospects in this incarnation 43. Shatru Bhava: 6th House, relating to illness, debts and enemies, wounds, six types of weaknesses, litigation, emaciation, irregular meals, insanity, feuds, cousins, nuisance, addiction, servitude, job, bad work 44. Kalatra Bhava: 7th House, wife (attitude to first wife), sexuality, intercourse, desire, door, partnership, foreign travel, work, happiness 45. Randhra Bhava: 8th House, Nija Dosha/ own faults, transformation, incurable and chronic illness, occult, spirituality, sudden events, speculation, gambling, Jyotish, mental and physical distress, death of spouse, Mangalya Bhava for women (length of marriage), crossing oceans. 46. Dharma Bhava: 9th House, fortune, Guru, teacher, higher education, religion, philosophy, law, lawyers, Dharma, ritual, father, foreign travel for education, past 47. Karma Bhava: 10th House, Karma, work, profession, actions, status in society, place where the debt relating to the forefathers is transferred. 48. Labh Bhava: 11th House, gains, friends, income, social groups, learning from a secret tradition, optimism, fulfillment of desires, punishment. 49. Vyaya Bhava: 12th House, loss, immigration, foreign travel, Ashram, monastery, incarceration, solitude, meditation, sleep, freedom, expenditure 50. Arudha: the risen or manifest part 51. Bhava Arudha: the manifest part of the houses 52. Graha Arudha: the manifest part of the planets 53. Arudha Lagna: the manifest part of the self or the visible personality

54. Upapada Lagna: The Arudha of the 12th House, showing the external facets of the spouse, calculated for the 12th House because marriage is about giving, seen as a metaphysic from the 12th House 55. Darapada: The risen part of the 7th House, showing sexuality, and financial prospects 56. Srimantah Yoga: Arudha Lagna and Darapada being in Kendra or Trikona from each other, leading to conjugal felicity and material prosperity 57. Dhimantah Yoga: Lagna Lord being placed in the 3rd, 5th or the 6th Houses, or related to these houses, an intellectual is born who is interested in research and learning 58. Dharmakarmadhipati Yoga: Union/ exchange of the 9th and 10th Lords leading to the highest Yoga of the land; someone who works to establish Dharma in the world 59. Shakta Yoga: Rahu or the Moon placed in the 9th House from the Lagna or the Atmakaraka, giving the power/ Shakti to destroy. Benefic involvement shows the destruction of good/ genocide and such things while the malefic associations show the destruction of evil. 60. Dosha: Flaw 61. Shrapa: Curse, formed by the involvement of two or more natural malefics with a benefic planet 62. Tithi: lunar date 63. Dasha: Periodicity 64. Moola Dasha: Periodicity showing the root of the Karma being experiences by the mind 65. Vimshottari Dasha: Karma being experienced by the mind 66. Conditional Dasha: Periodicities detailed by Sage Parashara, selectively applicable based on peculiar features in charts 67. Rashi Dashas: Periodicities of signs rather than planets, showing circumstantial aspects rather then intelligence inputs 68. Narayan Dasha: King of the Dashas, also Padakrama Dasha, showing the factual and deterministic inputs given by Sri Vishnu himself 69. Sade-Sati: The transit of Saturn ,before, atop and next to the Chandra Rashi 70. Kantak Shani: Transit Saturn in or aspecting the 10th House from Lagna, Arudha Lagna or the Moon 71. Trikona: Trines, Lagna, 5th and 9th Houses 72. Kendra: Quadrants, Lagna, 4th, 7th and 10th Houses 73. Dusthana: 3rd, 6th, 8th and 12th Houses; evil places 74. Upachaya: 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th Houses, places of growth due to effort and natural consequence 75. Shoola Dasha: Periodicity showing illness, troubles and death 76. Paryaya dasha: Used for illness in the Varga Chakra relating to illness 77. Mandooka Dasha: Used for timing wars and conflict and defeat and victory 78. Argala: Intervention or influence of planets, signs and Arudha Padas on each other 79. Drekkana: D-3 chart used to judge siblings, Karma and vitality depending on the type of Drekkana 80. Turyamsha/ Chaturthamsha: D-4 chart used to judge properties 81. Shashthamsha: D-6 chart used for illness 82. Saptamsha: D-7 chart used to judge progeny 83. Dashamsha: D-10 chart used for career and Mahat Karma

84. Rudramsha: D-11 chart used to see wars and destruction 85. Dwadashamsha: D-12 chart used to see parents 86. Vimshamsha: D-20 chart used to see meditation and spiritual practices 87. Siddhamsha/ Chaturvimshamsha: D-24 chart used to study the education and learning of the native, both formal and informal 88. Trimshamsha: D-30 chart used to see subconscious levels of suffering 89. Shashtyamsha: D-60 chart used to see sum total of past Karma and also to see the past life itself 90. Karaka: Doer 91. Naisargika Karaka: natural significator 92. Sthira Karaka: Permanent significator 93. Chara Karaka: Temporal significator 94. Chara Karaka Replacements: If two planets are at the same degrees with difference in minutes of arc traversed, or if the minutes are also the same then seconds, then the one with the lower longitude takes over the Char Karaka signification of the former at some point in time and the place of the latter is taken by the Sthira Karaka. This is a time of upheaval. 95. Agrakaraka: The first Karaka in the replacement, the one with the highest longitude 96. Antyakaraka: The Karaka replacing the Agrakaraka 97. Madhyakhetah: If there are three Chara Karakas at the same degrees, then the middle Karaka 98.Sandhi: Junctional regions between signs, usually taken to span 1 degree on either side of the sign. A planet placed in Sandhi is weakened. Physical significations of the houses they represent are endangered. 99.Gandanta: Specific Sandhi positions at the junctions of Karka-Simha, Vrishchik-Dhanu and Meena-Mesha Rashi. These have spiritual significance but are otherwise highly adverse. 100.Kendradhipati Dosha: The blemish acquired by a natural benefic when it lords two quadrant houses. The Lagna Lord does not acquire this. 101.Kemadruma Yoga: The Moon unassociated and without planets in the 12th and 2nd Houses from it, save Sun. This causes poverty but is cancelled by planets in Kendra from Lagna. 102.Kemadruma Yoga-II: Natural malefics in the 2nd and 8th Houses from the Lagna, Arudha Lagna and the Karakamsha. If Moon aspects by Rashi Drishti this surely manifests. 103.Karakamsha: The Navamsha placement of the Atmakaraka. 104.Atmakaraka: The planet most advanced longitudinally in the chart, irrespective of signs. 105.Parashara School / Jaimini School: Nothing of the sort exists; there is so such division. Jyotish or Vedic astrology is but one art. 106.Amatyakaraka: The planet following the Atmakaraka in longitude. The Bhratrikaraka, Matrikaraka, Pitrikaraka, Putrakaraka, Gnatikaraka and Darakaraka are the others, in that order. This applies to living beings. For non-living beings, Putrakaraka is excluded as non-living beings cannot procreate.