What Is a Janam Kundli? How to Read Your Birth Chart

A Janam Kundli (जन्म कुंडली) is the birth chart of Vedic astrology, or Jyotish. It is a map of where the Sun, the Moon and the other planets stood against the zodiac at the exact moment and place you were born. Families in India have long made one at a child's birth, and it is still the starting point for almost everything a Jyotishi (Vedic astrologer) looks at: your Moon sign, your nakshatra, your planetary periods and, often, marriage matching.

This guide explains what a Kundli contains and gives you a simple order in which to read one. If you want to follow along with your own chart, you can make a free Janam Kundli in about a minute.

What you need to make a Kundli

A Kundli needs three things:

1. Date of birth.
2. Time of birth, as exact as you can get it. A birth certificate or hospital record is better than memory.
3. Place of birth, which gives the latitude, longitude and time zone.

The time matters more than most people expect. The Lagna (ascendant), the sign rising on the eastern horizon, changes about every two hours, and every house in the chart is counted from it. A birth time that is off by even 15 to 20 minutes can move the Lagna into the next sign if you were born near the boundary. The Moon moves quickly too: it spends roughly a day in each nakshatra, so a wrong date or time can also change your nakshatra.

The building blocks

Lagna: the rising sign

The Lagna is the zodiac sign that was rising in the east when you were born. It becomes the first house of the chart, and in Jyotish it represents you yourself: your body, temperament and general direction in life. The planet that rules the Lagna sign, the Lagna lord, is treated as one of the most important planets in the chart.

The twelve houses (bhavas)

The chart is divided into twelve houses, counted from the Lagna. Each house is traditionally linked to areas of life:

The twelve signs (rashis)

Each house holds one of the twelve signs, and each sign has a ruling planet:

Jyotish uses the sidereal zodiac, which is fixed against the stars. Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, which is about 24 degrees ahead today, so many people find their Vedic signs are one sign earlier than their Western ones. Our guide to Vedic vs Western astrology explains why.

The nine planets (grahas)

A Kundli places nine grahas:

• Surya (Sun), Chandra (Moon), Mangal (Mars), Budh (Mercury), Guru or Brihaspati (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus) and Shani (Saturn).
• Rahu and Ketu, the two points where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's apparent path. They are not physical bodies, so they are called shadow planets, and they are always exactly opposite each other.

Classical Jyotish does not use Uranus, Neptune or Pluto.

Moon sign and nakshatra

The sign the Moon occupies is your rashi or Moon sign. In Vedic astrology it is at least as important as the Lagna, and it is the sign daily Rashifal is written for. The zodiac is also divided into 27 nakshatras (lunar mansions) of 13°20′ each, and each nakshatra into four padas. The Moon's nakshatra at birth is your janma nakshatra, which is traditionally used for naming, for marriage matching and for timing the dashas.

North Indian and South Indian charts

The same Kundli can be drawn in different styles, so do not be surprised if two charts for the same birth look nothing alike.

• North Indian (diamond) chart. The houses stay in fixed positions. The top-centre diamond is always the first house, and the number written in each house tells you which sign it holds (1 for Mesha, 2 for Vrishabha and so on).
• South Indian (square) chart. The signs stay in fixed positions, with Meena in the top-left box and the signs running clockwise. The Lagna is marked in whichever box it falls, and you count houses from there.

An East Indian style, common in Bengal and Odisha, also exists. All three carry the same information.

How to read your Kundli, step by step

Reading a chart well takes years of study, but this order will help you make sense of your own:

1. Find the Lagna and its lord. Note the rising sign, then find where its ruling planet sits. The house it occupies is traditionally an area of life that stays important for you.
2. Find the Moon. Note its sign (your rashi), its house and its nakshatra. The Moon describes the mind and emotions in Jyotish.
3. See which planets sit in which houses. A planet colours the themes of the house it occupies. Several planets together in one house concentrate attention on that part of life.
4. Check each house's lord. Every house is ruled by the planet that rules its sign. Where that lord sits links the two houses' themes.
5. Note aspects (drishti). Every planet aspects the house seventh from it. Mars also aspects the 4th and 8th houses from itself, Jupiter the 5th and 9th, and Saturn the 3rd and 10th.
6. Judge strength. A planet is considered strong in its own sign or its sign of exaltation, and weak in its sign of debilitation. For example, the Sun is exalted in Mesha and debilitated in Tula; Saturn is the reverse.
7. Look at the Navamsa (D9). This divisional chart splits every sign into nine parts. It is traditionally read for marriage and to confirm how strong each planet really is.
8. Check the running dasha. The Vimshottari dasha system divides a 120-year life into periods ruled by each planet in turn: Ketu 7 years, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19 and Mercury 17. The sequence begins with the lord of your birth nakshatra. Astrologers read the running period alongside the birth chart to describe which themes are said to be active now.

Common questions

What if I don't know my birth time?

Without a time, the Lagna and the houses are uncertain. The Moon sign is usually still reliable, unless the Moon changed sign on your birth day, so many astrologers read a Chandra kundli: the same chart with the Moon's sign treated as the first house. Some astrologers also attempt birth time rectification, working backwards from major life events.

Is a Kundli the same as a horoscope?

In everyday Indian English, yes: "horoscope" and "Kundli" are often used for the same birth chart. Daily "horoscopes" in newspapers are something else: short general readings for everyone who shares a Moon or Sun sign.

What is Kundli Milan?

Kundli Milan is the traditional comparison of two charts before marriage. The common Ashtakoota method scores eight factors based on the two Moon signs and nakshatras, out of a total of 36 gunas.

What a Kundli can and cannot do

A Kundli is a tool of a long-standing tradition, and many people find it a meaningful way to reflect on their temperament and the seasons of their life. It is not a scientific measurement, and it cannot guarantee events. Please do not use a chart, or anyone's reading of it, in place of a doctor, a lawyer or a financial adviser.

Ready to look at your own? Make your free Janam Kundli to see your Lagna and Navamsa charts, planet positions, Vimshottari dasha, dosha checks and birth Panchang.