Jyotish (“science of light”) is the traditional Hindu system of astrology, originating from the Vedas. Unlike Western astrology, Jyotish uses the sidereal zodiac, which accounts for the precession of the equinoxes and aligns signs with the actual star constellations.
The key difference from Western (tropical) astrology is the Ayanamsha — the angular offset between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs, currently about 24°. This app uses the Lahiri Ayanamsha, the most widely adopted standard in India.
Where Western astrology anchors 0° Aries to the vernal equinox, Jyotish anchors it to the fixed star Spica (Chitra) at 0° Libra. This means your Vedic Sun sign is typically one sign earlier than your Western sign.
Jyotish places great emphasis on the Moon (mind, emotions) rather than the Sun, and uses a system of Nakshatras (27 lunar mansions) that has no Western equivalent. The Dasha timing system, unique to Jyotish, provides precise predictive timelines.
The Panchanga is the Vedic calendar, built from five (pancha) limbs (anga) calculated from the Sun and Moon. It determines auspicious timing for all activities. This app displays each limb plus the current Hora.
Vara (Weekday) — Each day is ruled by a graha: Sunday/Sun, Monday/Moon, Tuesday/Mars, Wednesday/Mercury, Thursday/Jupiter, Friday/Venus, Saturday/Saturn.
Tithi (Lunar Day) — One of 30 phases defined by the Moon gaining each 12° over the Sun. Each tithi has a ruling planet and deity. Tithis are grouped into Shukla (waxing) and Krishna (waning) Paksha.
Nakshatra (Lunar Mansion) — The Moon’s current nakshatra among the 27 divisions of the zodiac (13°20′ each). Determines the quality of the day and is fundamental to Muhurta (electional astrology).
Yoga (Sun-Moon Combination) — One of 27 yogas derived from the sum of the Sun and Moon’s sidereal longitudes divided into 13°20′ segments. Ranges from highly auspicious (Siddha) to inauspicious (Vyaghata).
Karana (Half-Tithi) — Half of a tithi; there are 11 karanas (4 fixed, 7 rotating). They refine the timing for specific activities.
Hora (Planetary Hour) — Each hour of the day is ruled by a planet in a specific sequence starting from the day lord. The first hora after sunrise is ruled by the lord of that weekday.
Jyotish uses 9 grahas (the Navagraha): Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, plus two shadow planets — Rahu (North Node) and Ketu (South Node). The Graha Sthiti panel shows each planet’s sidereal position, sign, nakshatra, and status markers.
Status Markers in this app:
Rahu & Ketu are the points where the Moon’s orbit intersects the ecliptic. They always move retrograde and are 180° apart. Rahu represents worldly desire and amplification; Ketu represents spiritual detachment and past karma.
The 12 sidereal signs span 30° each. Because Jyotish uses the sidereal zodiac, sign boundaries differ from Western astrology by about 24°. Each sign has a planetary ruler that shapes its character.
Elements: Fire (Mesha, Simha, Dhanu), Earth (Vrishabha, Kanya, Makara), Air (Mithuna, Tula, Kumbha), Water (Karka, Vrischika, Meena).
Qualities: Chara/Movable (Mesha, Karka, Tula, Makara), Sthira/Fixed (Vrishabha, Simha, Vrischika, Kumbha), Dwiswabhava/Dual (Mithuna, Kanya, Dhanu, Meena).
The zodiac is divided into 27 Nakshatras, each spanning 13°20′. Every nakshatra has a ruling deity, a planetary lord (used for Dasha calculation), and is subdivided into 4 padas (quarters) of 3°20′ each.
The 27 nakshatras and their planetary lords (used in Vimshottari Dasha):
Each nakshatra carries a unique energy. For example, Rohini (in Taurus, ruled by Moon) is considered very creative and fertile, while Ashlesha (in Cancer, ruled by Mercury) is associated with mystical and serpentine energy. The birth nakshatra (Moon’s nakshatra at birth) is central to Jyotish, determining the starting Dasha period and compatibility (Nakshatra matching for marriage).
The 4 padas of each nakshatra map to the Navamsha signs, creating a bridge between the Rashi and D9 charts.
The Rashi chart maps the 12 signs to 12 houses (bhavas), showing where each planet was placed at a given moment. This app shows charts in both South Indian (sign-based grid) and North Indian (house-based diamond) styles.
South Indian Style: Signs are fixed in position (Mesha always top-middle-left). Planets are placed into the cell of the sign they occupy. The ascendant (Lagna) is marked. Easy to track sign-based patterns.
North Indian Style: Houses are fixed in position (1st house/Lagna always at top). Signs rotate based on the ascendant. Better for seeing house-based relationships at a glance.
The 12 Houses:
The Navamsha is the most important divisional chart — the 9th harmonic division of each sign (3°20′ per division). It reveals the deeper fruits of planets and is especially significant for marriage, dharma, and the maturation of planetary results.
Calculation: Each 30° sign is divided into 9 parts of 3°20′. Each part maps to a sign starting from a specific point: Fire signs start from Aries, Earth signs from Capricorn, Air signs from Libra, Water signs from Cancer.
Vargottama: When a planet occupies the same sign in both Rashi and Navamsha, it is called Vargottama and gains considerable strength — similar to being exalted.
Usage: The Navamsha shows the quality of relationships, the strength of planets in their matured state, and the spiritual path. A planet weak in Rashi but strong in Navamsha will improve over time; a planet strong in Rashi but weak in Navamsha will underdeliver.
Gochar tracks the current positions of planets relative to your natal Moon sign. Each planet transiting a particular house from the Moon produces favorable or unfavorable results. The panel uses green for supportive transits and red for challenging ones.
Each planet has specific houses where its transit is considered beneficial:
Transits of slow-moving planets (Saturn ~2.5 yrs/sign, Jupiter ~1 yr/sign, Rahu/Ketu ~1.5 yrs/sign) are most impactful. Saturn’s transit through the 12th, 1st, and 2nd houses from Moon is the famous Sade Sati (7.5-year period).
Ashtakavarga is a point-based system that evaluates planetary strength across signs. Each of 7 planets + the Lagna contributes benefic points (bindus) to each sign. The SAV (Sarvashtakavarga) row shows the total points per sign.
Reading the grid: Each row represents a planet’s contribution of benefic points (0–8) across the 12 signs. Higher numbers (shown in green) indicate strength; lower numbers (red) indicate weakness.
SAV (Sarvashtakavarga): The bottom row sums all planets’ contributions for each sign. Signs scoring 28+ are strong; below 25 are weak. The average is ~28.
Practical use: When a planet transits a sign where it has high bindus in its own Ashtakavarga, it tends to give positive results. When transiting a sign with low bindus, results may be challenging. This refines Gochar predictions.
The Vimshottari Dasha is a 120-year planetary period system that determines which planet’s energy dominates at any given time. The starting point is determined by the Moon’s nakshatra at birth. The colored strip on the visualization shows the current Dasha lord.
Maha Dasha periods:
The sequence always follows this order (Ketu → Venus → Sun → Moon → Mars → Rahu → Jupiter → Saturn → Mercury), but the starting position within the cycle depends on the Moon’s exact nakshatra longitude at birth.
Antar Dasha (sub-period): Each Maha Dasha is subdivided in the same planetary sequence, starting from its own lord. So within Sun Maha Dasha, you get sub-periods of Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Ketu, Venus — proportionally scaled.
The Dasha lord colors the entire life experience. For example, during Jupiter Maha Dasha, themes of wisdom, expansion, teaching, and spirituality become prominent. During Saturn Maha Dasha, discipline, hard work, limitations, and karmic reckoning take center stage.
In Vedic astrology, all planets aspect the 7th house from themselves (the opposition). Additionally, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn have special additional aspects that are unique to Jyotish. The “Show Drishti” checkbox toggles aspect lines on the visualization.
Universal aspect: Every planet aspects the 7th sign from itself (180°).
Special aspects:
Unlike Western astrology, Vedic aspects are sign-based (Rashi Drishti) rather than degree-based. A planet in any degree of a sign aspects the entire target sign. Rahu and Ketu also have special aspects (5th, 7th, 9th) in some traditions.
Aspects from benefics (Jupiter, Venus, well-placed Mercury and Moon) improve a house. Aspects from malefics (Saturn, Mars, Rahu, Ketu, afflicted Sun) challenge the significations of the aspected house.
The Alerts panel flags significant astronomical events: Graha Yuddha (planetary war), eclipses, and sign ingress (planets changing signs).
Graha Yuddha (Planetary War): When two true planets (Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn) are within 1° of each other, they are in “war.” The planet with higher brightness (lower magnitude) wins. The loser is weakened. Sun and Moon are excluded, as are Rahu/Ketu.
Eclipses: Solar eclipses (Sun-Moon conjunction near Rahu/Ketu) and lunar eclipses (Sun-Moon opposition near Rahu/Ketu) are considered intense periods. In Jyotish, the houses and signs involved indicate which areas of life are activated. Eclipse effects are said to last several months.
Sign Ingress: When a planet changes signs, it shifts its expression and house rulership context. Slow-planet ingresses (Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu/Ketu) are major mundane astrology events. The app flags upcoming ingresses within a 30-day window.
The main canvas shows planetary positions in three modes. The colored strip at the top/bottom of the visualization reflects the current Vimshottari Dasha lord’s color.
Wave Mode: Plots planetary longitude as sine waves over time. Each planet traces a path showing its speed and retrograde loops. Useful for seeing relative motion and when planets conjoin (waves cross).
Orbit Mode: A simplified heliocentric (Sun-centered) view showing planets on their orbital paths. Good for visualizing the solar system geometry and understanding inner vs. outer planet speeds. You can center on any planet.
Geo Mode: A geocentric (Earth-centered) view showing planets as seen from Earth. Signs are arranged in a circle. This matches the traditional astrological perspective and makes it easy to see aspects, conjunctions, and sign placements.
Dasha Color Strip: The colored trail/strip corresponds to the current Vimshottari Maha Dasha lord’s planet color. As you scrub through time, the color changes at Dasha transitions.
Interaction: Use the mouse wheel to zoom, hover over planets to see their names, and click on a planet in the left panel to center the view on it. The speed slider controls how fast the simulation moves forward in time.