What a divisional chart is
The birth chart, or Rashi chart (D1), tells the broad story. The vargas, which means divisions, are finer layers made from the same planets and the same ascendant. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra describes sixteen of them as a set. Each one cuts every sign of 30 degrees into equal parts, for example nine for the Navamsa or ten for the Dashamsa, and gives each part a sign of its own. Every planet and the Lagna are then placed again, which produces a new chart with a new Lagna and new houses.
Each chart is linked by tradition with one theme: the Hora with wealth, the Drekkana with siblings, the Saptamsa with children, the Dashamsa with work, the Dwadashamsa with parents, and so on. This tool covers thirteen of them: D2, D3, D7, D10, D12, D16, D20, D24, D27, D30, D40, D45 and D60. The Navamsa (D9) has its own page, the Navamsa calculator, and the Dashamsa calculator explains the career chart at more length.
How to use the tool
Choose the chart from the menu, enter the date, time and place of birth, and press the button. You see the Rashi chart on one side and the divisional chart on the other, in the North Indian diamond or the South Indian square. Below them a table lists the Lagna and each planet with its Rashi position, the part of the sign it falls in, its sign in the divisional chart and its house counted from the divisional Lagna. A short line tells you which planets sit in the divisional Lagna sign and which are vargottama, meaning in the same sign in both charts.
The birth time matters more here than anywhere else. The Lagna of a divisional chart changes faster the finer the division, because each part is smaller. The D10 Lagna changes about every twelve minutes, and the D60 Lagna about every two. A birth time rounded to the nearest quarter hour can therefore put the Lagna of the higher vargas in the wrong sign. Treat the planets’ signs as steadier than the houses, and treat D40, D45 and D60 as sensitive to the exact minute.
The rules used for each chart
The divisions follow the Parashari scheme, the most widely used in India. Counting always runs forward through the zodiac from a starting sign, and the starting sign depends on whether the sign being divided is odd or even, or movable, fixed or dual. The Hora has only two signs, Leo for the Sun’s half and Cancer for the Moon’s. In the Drekkana the parts are the sign itself and its 5th and 9th signs. In the Saptamsa and Dashamsa the count starts from the sign itself in an odd sign and from the 7th or 9th sign in an even sign. The Trimshamsa is the odd one out: it has five unequal parts, each ruled by a planet, and the order reverses for even signs. The exact rule for the chart you choose is printed under each result, so you can check it by hand.
Where schools differ
The Parashari rules are not the only ones. Some teachers count the Drekkana, the Hora and the Trimshamsa differently, and a few use cyclic or reversed schemes for several charts. Other Jyotishis follow the Parashari rule for most charts and another rule for one or two. If a book or program gives a different sign for a planet in one of these charts, the likely cause is a different scheme, not an error. This page uses one scheme throughout and states it.
The weight given to the vargas also differs. Some practitioners read the sixteen charts together and score planets by how often they fall in good signs. Others look mainly at the Navamsa and the Dashamsa. Either way the divisional charts are meant to refine the reading of the birth chart and not to replace it.
Reading the result with care
A divisional chart shows tendencies for a theme, never a verdict. A planet in a strong sign in the Saptamsa does not guarantee children, and a difficult-looking Trimshamsa does not predict hardship. The tradition itself treats them as supporting evidence for the main chart and for the running dasha, which you can follow with the Mahadasha calculator. If something in your life is worrying you, speak with a doctor, a counsellor or someone you trust, and take astrology as one more point of view. To keep a paper copy of the main chart, use the printable kundali.
Frequently asked questions
↳ What does D10 or D60 mean?
The number is how many parts each sign is divided into. In D10 every sign is cut into ten parts of 3 degrees, and in D60 into sixty parts of half a degree. Each part is then given a sign, which creates a new chart.
↳ Why is the D30 table different from the others?
The Trimshamsa does not use equal parts. Each sign is divided into five parts of 5, 5, 8, 7 and 5 degrees in an odd sign, and 5, 7, 8, 5 and 5 degrees in an even sign, and each part belongs to a planet. The table shows which planet's part each position falls in.
↳ Why do I need an exact birth time?
The Lagna of a divisional chart moves faster than the Lagna of the birth chart. For the higher vargas a difference of a few minutes can change it. The planets themselves hardly move in that time, so their signs are steadier.
↳ Another program gives me a different sign. Which is right?
Probably neither is wrong. Schools count some vargas differently, especially the Hora, Drekkana and Trimshamsa. This tool uses the Parashari scheme and prints the rule under every result, so you can compare it with the scheme your other source uses.
↳ Is my birth data sent anywhere?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser. Only the place search asks OpenStreetMap for the coordinates of the town you type.