What Ashtakavarga is
Ashtakavarga means the group of eight. The eight are the seven planets from the Sun to Saturn and the Lagna. In this system each of the seven planets has its own table, and every one of the eight gives a point, called a bindu, to some of the twelve signs. Which signs get a point depends only on where the giver sits in the birth chart: the rules say to count a fixed list of houses from the giver’s own sign. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra sets out these lists, and they are the same for everyone.
The result is a grid of small numbers. The grid for one planet is its Bhinnashtakavarga, written BAV, and the sum of the seven grids is the Sarvashtakavarga, written SAV. Rahu and Ketu are left out.
Fixed totals you can check
One reason people trust the system is that its totals never change. Whatever the birth chart, the Sun’s BAV always adds up to 48, the Moon’s to 49, Mars to 39, Mercury to 54, Jupiter to 56, Venus to 52 and Saturn to 39. Together they give 337 for the Sarvashtakavarga, which is an average of a little over 28 per sign. The tool shows each total beside the expected figure, so a counting error would show at once. These totals follow from the rule lists themselves, so they test that the tables were entered correctly, but they do not test where the planets were placed. For that, the planet positions on this page come from the same Swiss Ephemeris tables as our other chart tools.
How to use the tool
Enter the date, time and place of birth. The tool finds the sign of each planet and of the Lagna, applies the rule lists, and prints three things. The first is a table with a row for each planet and a column for each sign, with the row total. The second is the Sarvashtakavarga in the last row, with the signs at 28 or above in bold, and the same numbers drawn in a North or South Indian chart. The third is a table that turns the signs into houses counted from your Lagna, so that you can see the bindu count of each house.
Reading the numbers
The tradition reads a sign or house with more bindus as better supported, and one with fewer as needing more effort. In the Sarvashtakavarga the usual dividing line is 28. A planet passing through a sign that has many bindus in its own table is said to give easier results than when it crosses a sign with few. This is the basis of the transit reading that Ashtakavarga is most used for.
Take care with it. The numbers compare the parts of one chart with each other; they do not rank one person’s chart against another’s. A low house does not mean a poor life in that area, and a high one does not promise success. Treat the page as a way to look at your chart with a different lens, and read it alongside the planets, the houses and the running dasha, which you can find with the Mahadasha calculator.
Where sources differ
The rule lists printed in books are not all identical. Most follow the classical table used here, but a few modern books and programs print a different house in a small number of cells, such as for the Moon’s table. The totals of 337 and 48, 49, 39, 54, 56, 52 and 39 are preserved in the classical table, and this page follows it. If your own book gives a slightly different cell, that is the likely reason.
The reduced forms, which apply the Trikona and Ekadhipatya reductions, and the Kakshya method for transits are not on this page. They are explained in our Ashtakavarga guide, and the free kundali works them out. For timing through the planets’ own movements, you can also look at the Saturn transit calculator.
Why the birth time matters
The Lagna contributes a bindu in every table, and the Lagna changes sign about every two hours. A wrong birth time can therefore change the whole grid, not only the house numbers. If you do not know your time of birth to within about half an hour, treat the result as approximate.
Frequently asked questions
↳ What is the difference between Bhinnashtakavarga and Sarvashtakavarga?
The Bhinnashtakavarga is the table of one planet, built from the bindus given by the seven planets and the Lagna. The Sarvashtakavarga is the sum of the seven planets' tables, which gives one number for each sign.
↳ Why does the Sarvashtakavarga always total 337?
Because each planet's table has a fixed number of bindus, whatever the chart: 48, 49, 39, 54, 56, 52 and 39. They add up to 337. Only their spread across the twelve signs changes from one birth to the next.
↳ Why is 28 the dividing line?
Dividing 337 by twelve signs gives about 28. A sign at or above that is above the average for your own chart. It is a convention for comparing signs and not a pass mark.
↳ Are Rahu and Ketu included?
No. Classical Ashtakavarga uses the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, with the Lagna as the eighth contributor.
↳ Does a low Sarvashtakavarga house mean something bad?
No. It only means that house gets fewer points than others in the same chart, which the tradition reads as asking for more effort in that area. It is not a verdict on your life.