Trikaal त्रिकाल Glossary

Trikaal › Glossary

The words a Vedic reading uses

Every Sanskrit term that appears in our reports and calculators, explained in ordinary language. The term is never removed from a report, only explained, so this is the page to keep open beside one.

Jump to a term

Antardasha

The sub-period inside a mahadasha. This is where you feel year-to-year change.

Atmakaraka

The soul planet, which is whichever planet sits at the highest degree in your chart. It shows the main lesson your life is built around.

Ayanamsa

The correction between the Western (tropical) zodiac and the Indian (sidereal) zodiac, which is currently about 24 degrees. This report uses the Lahiri ayanamsa, the Government of India standard.

Badhaka

The obstructing planet for your particular lagna. It shows where blocks repeatedly come from.

Bhava

A house. The chart is divided into 12 houses and each one governs a specific department of life, such as the 7th for marriage or the 10th for career.

Combust

A planet sitting too close to the Sun, so its light is burnt out. Its results get delayed or become hard to see from the outside.

Darakaraka

The spouse planet, which is whichever planet sits at the lowest degree. It describes the nature of the person you marry.

Dasamsa

The D10 chart, which shows career and public standing in detail.

Dasha

A planetary period. Your life is divided into chapters and each chapter is ruled by one planet. The system used here is Vimshottari, a 120-year cycle. Which planet is running decides what kind of events show up.

Debilitated

A planet sitting in the sign where it is weakest, like a person forced into a role that does not suit them at all. It does not mean disaster, it means that area needs conscious effort.

Dhana Yoga

A wealth combination. It shows how and from where money comes to you.

Dig Bala

Directional strength. Each planet has one house where it is strongest simply because of direction, such as Jupiter in the 1st or Saturn in the 7th.

Dusthana

A difficult house, meaning house 6, 8 or 12. Planets here struggle, but they also produce depth, research ability and resilience.

Exalted

A planet sitting in the sign where it performs at its absolute best, like a person working in their ideal job.

Gajakesari

Jupiter in an angle from the Moon. It gives good judgement, respect from others, and protection in bad times.

Gochara

The Sanskrit word for transit, meaning the current movement of planets over your birth chart.

Graha

A planet. In Jyotish the Sun and Moon are counted as planets, and Rahu and Ketu are added, making nine in total.

Kaal Sarp

A pattern where all planets fall on one side of the Rahu-Ketu axis. It indicates a life of delayed but concentrated results. Modern practice treats it as far less severe than popular belief suggests.

Karaka

The natural significator of a matter. For example Jupiter is the karaka for children and Venus is the karaka for marriage.

Kemadruma

A yoga where the Moon has no planet beside it on either side. It gives an inner sense of being alone even in a crowd. Several common conditions cancel it.

Kendra

An angle house, meaning house 1, 4, 7 or 10. These are the pillars of the chart and planets placed here become powerful and visible.

Lagna

Your rising sign, also called the Ascendant. It is the zodiac sign that was coming up on the eastern horizon at the exact minute you were born. It sets the entire frame of the chart, which is why the birth time matters so much.

Mahadasha

The main period. The big chapter of your life, lasting anywhere from 6 to 20 years depending on the planet.

Mangal Dosha

Also called Manglik. Mars placed in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th house. It indicates friction in marriage and traditionally calls for matching with a partner who has the same placement. It is heavily over-feared and there are many standard cancellations.

Nakshatra

A lunar mansion, or star. The zodiac is divided into 27 nakshatras of 13 degrees 20 minutes each. The nakshatra your Moon sits in decides your dasha sequence and says a great deal about your temperament. It is finer detail than the zodiac sign.

Own sign

A planet sitting in the sign it rules, which is like a person living in their own house. Comfortable and reliable.

Pada

A quarter of a nakshatra. Each nakshatra has 4 padas, so it tells us which part of the star a planet is sitting in.

Pratyantardasha

The sub-sub period. This is what gives month-level timing.

Raja Yoga

A combination that gives rise in status, authority and success. Formed when the lord of a trine house connects with the lord of an angle house.

Rashi

A zodiac sign. There are 12, each of 30 degrees.

Retrograde

A planet that appears to move backwards from Earth. In Jyotish this usually means the planet gives results late and only on the second attempt, but then gives them permanently.

Sade Sati

The roughly seven and a half year period when Saturn transits the sign before your Moon, your Moon sign itself, and the sign after. It is famous for being heavy, but it is a period of restructuring rather than pure loss.

Transit

Where the planets are in the sky right now, as opposed to where they were at your birth. Predictions come from the dasha first and the transit second.

Trikona

A trine house, meaning house 1, 5 or 9. These are the luck and blessing houses.

Varga

A divisional chart. The birth chart is subdivided to zoom into one department of life, the way D9 zooms into marriage and D10 into career.

Vargottama

A planet occupying the same sign in both the birth chart and the navamsa chart. This makes it unusually strong and dependable.

Viparita Raja Yoga

A reversal yoga. It means difficulty itself becomes your ladder, and losses and crises end up producing your gains. It usually works late rather than early.

Yoga

A specific combination of planets that the classical texts have named and described. Some yogas raise you, some pull you down. They are the named patterns of the chart.

Where these terms are computed

The words are the same for everyone. The chart they describe is not.

Every term on this page means something specific once it is attached to a birth minute: which lagna, which dasha, which yoga you actually have. The full reading uses these words about your chart and explains each one where it appears. Written in English or Hinglish.

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How this is calculated

Positions come from Skyfield and the JPL DE440s ephemeris, with our own Lahiri ayanamsa referred to the mean equinox of date. Every planet agrees with Swiss Ephemeris to under one arcsecond, and the lunar node to under a tenth of one. We publish that because nobody else in this market publishes theirs.

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