What the Ishta devata is
The Ishta devata is the form of the divine that a person feels closest to, the deity one turns to by choice and not only by custom. Many Indian families keep a kuladevata, a family deity, and an Ishta devata can be the same or different. Jyotish offers more than one way to read a pointer to it from the birth chart. The one used here belongs to the Jaimini system, and it is the one commonly taught.
How the calculator works it out
The steps are these, and the calculator shows each one for your chart.
- Find the Atmakaraka, the planet with the most degrees inside its sign. The calculator uses the eight planet scheme, with Rahu counted from the end of its sign, which is the same as the Atmakaraka calculator. If the seven planet scheme gives a different planet, that reading is shown as well.
- Find the Atmakaraka’s sign in the navamsa (D9) chart. This sign is called the Karakamsha.
- Count to the 12th sign from the Karakamsha in the navamsa chart.
- Read the planet standing in that sign. If no planet is there, read the lord of the sign instead.
- Look up the deity commonly given to that planet.
The positions are sidereal, with the Lahiri ayanamsa and the mean node. The navamsa sign is found by dividing each sign into nine parts of 3 degrees 20 minutes, counted from Aries, the same method as the Navamsa calculator.
The deity table
The common teaching gives Shiva for the Sun, Gauri for the Moon, Kartikeya for Mars, Vishnu for Mercury, Shiva or Vishnu for Jupiter, Lakshmi, Durga or Gauri for Venus, Hanuman or Bhairava for Saturn, Durga for Rahu and Ganesha for Ketu. These are the common choices, and almost every one has alternatives that other teachers name. Each result lists them, so you can follow your own teacher.
Where teachers differ
This is an area with real variety, and the calculator lists the main differences on the result. Teachers disagree on the scheme that gives the Atmakaraka, on whether to read the navamsa chart or the rashi chart, on which planet to take when several stand in the 12th sign, on whether the nodes count, and on the deity for each planet. Some traditions, especially in the south, read the Ishta devata from the 5th house and its lord, or give first place to family lineage. This tool does not compute those readings.
How to hold the result
The result is a theme for reflection and devotion, nothing more. It does not exclude any other deity, and it does not tell you to change what your family has always worshipped. Many people find that the deity named echoes something they already feel, and some find it does not. Both are ordinary outcomes. If you would like the longer picture, read the Navagraha mantras for the nine planets, and the free kundali for the whole chart. A teacher who knows your tradition can read more than any tool.
For a few popular deities the site has pages of their texts: the Hanuman Chalisa, the Durga Chalisa, the Ganesh mantra and Om Namah Shivaya.
Frequently asked questions
↳ What is the Karakamsha?
It is the sign the Atmakaraka occupies in the navamsa chart. Jaimini astrology reads it as a picture of the soul's inclinations, and the 12th sign from it is used for the Ishta devata.
↳ Why do I get two different readings?
The seven planet and eight planet schemes can give different Atmakarakas. When they do, the calculator shows both, since teachers follow one or the other.
↳ Must I worship the deity the calculator names?
No. It is a pointer for reflection, not an instruction, and it never excludes any other deity. Many people keep the deity their family has worshipped for generations.
↳ What if no planet stands in the 12th from the Karakamsha?
The usual teaching then reads the lord of that sign. The calculator does this and tells you which planet it used.
↳ Is the Ishta devata the same as the kuladevata?
Not necessarily. The kuladevata is the family deity by lineage, and the Ishta devata is the personal one. They may be the same, and many people honour both.