Vedic Astrology Glossary

An antardasha is a sub-period within a mahadasha in Vedic astrology, lasting from a few months to a few years, that fine-tunes the timing of life events.

Ashtakoot is the eight-attribute scoring system used in gun milan to assess marriage compatibility between two birth charts.

Ayanamsha is the angular difference between the sidereal zodiac (used in Vedic astrology) and the tropical zodiac (used in Western astrology), caused by the precession of the equinoxes.

A bhava is one of the 12 houses of a Vedic birth chart, each governing a specific area of life — self, money, siblings, home, children, and so on through to liberation.

Gochar is the Vedic term for planetary transits — the current real-time movement of planets through the zodiac, read against your natal birth chart positions.

Gun milan is the traditional Vedic compatibility check for marriage, scoring two birth charts on 8 attributes (the ashtakoot) out of a maximum 36 points.

Kaal Sarp Dosh is a chart configuration in which all seven traditional planets sit on one side of the Rahu–Ketu axis, traditionally read as a karmic obstacle pattern.

Ketu is the south lunar node — a mathematical point in the sky, not a physical body — that represents detachment, past-life mastery, and spiritual liberation in Vedic astrology.

The lagna is the zodiac sign rising on the eastern horizon at the exact minute of birth — the starting point of your Vedic birth chart and the basis for the 1st bhava.

The Lahiri ayanamsha is the official ayanamsha used by the Indian government for almanac publication and the most widely used standard in modern Vedic astrology.

A mahadasha is the major planetary period currently running in your Vedic chart, lasting 6 to 20 years depending on the planet, that shapes the broad theme of that life chapter.

Mangal Dosh is a chart configuration in which Mars sits in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th bhava, traditionally considered a friction pattern in marriage compatibility.

A nakshatra is one of 27 lunar mansions — 13°20′ segments of the zodiac — used in Vedic astrology to give finer detail than the 12 zodiac signs alone.

Panchang is the Vedic almanac listing the five daily attributes of any given day — tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana and var — used to choose auspicious times for important activities.

Rahu is the north lunar node — a mathematical point in the sky, not a physical body — representing worldly desire, ambition, and the karmic direction you are pulled toward in this life.

A rashi is one of the 12 Vedic zodiac signs (Mesha through Meena), each spanning 30° of the sidereal zodiac. The 'rashi' commonly refers specifically to the moon sign in Vedic astrology.

Sade Sati is the 7.5-year period when transit Saturn passes through three signs around your natal moon — the sign before, your moon sign itself, and the sign after.

A tithi is a Vedic lunar day, defined as the time it takes the moon to gain 12° of longitude on the sun. There are 30 tithis in a lunar month.

Vimshottari Dasha is the most widely used Vedic timing system — a 120-year cycle that assigns a specific planet to rule each chapter of life, in a fixed sequence.

In Vedic astrology, a yoga is a specific planetary combination in a birth chart that produces a named, predictable result — separate from the unrelated 'yoga' of physical practice.