Reference
Astrology Glossary
Plain-language definitions for every term you'll see across Patri Sutra's results.
Abhijit Muhurta
The most auspicious ~48-minute window of the day, centered on local solar noon — considered favorable for starting important activities.
Antardasha
A "sub-period" within a Mahadasha — each Mahadasha is itself divided into 9 antardashas ruled by all 9 planets in sequence, giving finer-grained timing.
Ashtakoot
See Guna Milan — the "eight koots" (factors) scored when matching two charts.
Ayanamsa
The angular offset between the tropical zodiac (fixed to the equinox) and the sidereal zodiac (fixed to the actual stars) — Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, so this correction is applied to every planetary position.
Bhakoot
One of the 8 Guna Milan factors (7 points) — checks the distance between the two Moon signs for affliction (Bhakoot Dosha).
Bhava
A "house" — one of 12 divisions of the chart, each governing a different area of life (self, wealth, siblings, home, and so on), counted from the Lagna.
Choghadiya
The day and night each split into 8 periods, each ruled by a planet and labelled auspicious, inauspicious, or neutral — used to pick favorable windows for daily activities.
Dashamsha
The D10 divisional chart (each sign split into 10 parts) — examined for career and profession.
Dhaiyya
Also called Panoti — a shorter, milder Saturn transit through the 4th or 8th house from the natal Moon sign, distinct from (and less intense than) Sade Sati.
Dusthana
The 6th, 8th, and 12th houses from the Ascendant — classically considered the most challenging houses, associated with obstacles, transformation, and loss respectively. Planets placed here are often the first candidates for remedial measures.
Dwadashamsha
The D12 divisional chart (each sign split into 12 parts) — examined for parents and ancestry.
Gana
One of the 8 Guna Milan factors (6 points) — sorts each nakshatra into Deva, Manushya, or Rakshasa temperament groups and compares them.
Graha
A "planet" in Vedic astrology — the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, plus the lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu.
Graha Maitri
One of the 8 Guna Milan factors (5 points) — compares friendship between the planetary lords of each person's Moon sign.
Gulika Kalam
A daily inauspicious period associated with Gulika (a shadow point related to Saturn) — traditionally avoided for starting new ventures.
Guna Milan
Also called Ashtakoot — a traditional 8-factor, 36-point compatibility check between two people's Moon positions, used ahead of marriage.
Hora
One of the day's 24 planetary hours (12 by day, 12 by night), each ruled in turn by a planet in a fixed cycle — a finer-grained cousin of Choghadiya.
Karana
Half of a tithi — there are 60 karanas in a lunar month, cycling through 11 named karanas.
Lagna
The Ascendant — the zodiac sign rising on the eastern horizon at the exact moment of birth. It anchors the whole chart: every house is counted from here.
Lal Kitab
A distinct astrological tradition (Punjab, 19th century) blending astrology and palmistry, with its own chart conventions and a remedial style built around everyday household actions and donations rather than mantras or gemstones.
Mahadasha
A "major period" in the Vimshottari Dasha sequence — each of the 9 grahas rules for a fixed number of years (Sun: 6, Moon: 10, Mars: 7, Rahu: 18, Jupiter: 16, Saturn: 19, Mercury: 17, Ketu: 7, Venus: 20).
Manglik Dosha
Also called Kuja Dosha — a condition where Mars is placed in houses 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, or 12 from a reference point (commonly the Ascendant, Moon, or Venus), traditionally considered when evaluating marriage compatibility.
Nadi
One of the 8 Guna Milan factors (8 points, the most heavily weighted) — checks a health/genetic compatibility category derived from nakshatra; a match (Nadi Dosha) traditionally scores zero here.
Nakshatra
One of 27 lunar mansions (13°20' each) the Moon's position falls into — used for muhurta timing, compatibility, and Dasha calculations.
Navamsa
The D9 divisional chart (each sign split into 9 parts) — traditionally the most important divisional chart, examined for marriage and overall life strength (dharma).
Pada
A quarter (3°20°) of a nakshatra — each nakshatra has 4 padas, used for finer detail in matching and analysis.
Paksha
One of the two lunar fortnights: Shukla (waxing, new moon to full moon) or Krishna (waning, full moon to new moon).
Panchang
The traditional Hindu calendar/almanac for a given day and place, made up of five elements ("pancha anga"): Tithi, Vara, Nakshatra, Yoga, and Karana.
Rahu Kalam
A daily inauspicious period (roughly 90 minutes) ruled by Rahu, timed differently each weekday — traditionally avoided for starting new ventures.
Rashi
One of the 12 zodiac signs (Aries through Pisces) in the sidereal zodiac used by Vedic astrology.
Sade Sati
Saturn's roughly 7.5-year transit through the signs before, of, and after your natal Moon sign — split into a Rising, Peak, and Setting phase.
Tara
One of the 8 Guna Milan factors (3 points) — checks the counting distance between the two people's birth nakshatras for auspiciousness.
Tithi
A lunar day — the time it takes the Moon to move 12° further from the Sun. A lunar month has 30 tithis, split into the waxing (Shukla) and waning (Krishna) fortnights.
Vara
The weekday, each ruled by a planet (Sunday: Sun, Monday: Moon, and so on) — one of the five elements of a daily Panchang.
Varna
One of the 8 Guna Milan factors (1 point) — compares spiritual/temperamental class, derived from each person's Moon sign.
Vashya
One of the 8 Guna Milan factors (2 points) — compares mutual control/attraction, based on animal groupings of the Moon signs.
Vimshottari Dasha
A 120-year cycle of planetary periods (Mahadashas) that Vedic astrology uses to time when a planet's effects are most active in your life. Which planet's period you're born into is determined by the Moon's nakshatra at birth.
Yamagandam
A daily inauspicious period ruled by Yama, the god of death — like Rahu Kalam, traditionally avoided for auspicious activities.
Yoga (Panchang)
One of 27 combinations formed from the Sun and Moon's combined position — one of the five elements of a daily Panchang.
Yoni
One of the 8 Guna Milan factors (4 points) — compares sexual/physical compatibility via an animal symbol assigned to each nakshatra.