Chart basics

Bhava chalit in Vedic astrology

The bhava chalit is a second house table found next to the birth chart in most printed kundlis. Its houses are measured from the exact degree of the ascendant, not from whole signs. So a planet near the edge of a sign can fall in the house before or after.

Updated Nov 3, 2026

More terms in Chart basics

Bhava chalit: how the API computes it

POST /v1/chart/chalit uses the Sripati method (CH-15). The degree of the ascendant is the middle of house 1. The degree overhead at birth, the midheaven, is the middle of house 10. Their opposite points are the middles of houses 7 and 4.

The space between each pair is cut into three equal parts for the other houses. A house begins halfway between two middles. Each planet comes back with two house numbers.

whole_sign_house is the one every other endpoint uses, and chalit_house is the new one. When they differ, moved is true, and moved_grahas lists those planets. For John Doe, only Jupiter moves: it is in house 11 by whole signs and in house 10 in the chalit.

The chalit is shown beside the whole-sign house and never replaces it (CH-16). No reading, yoga, aspect or strength score uses it. Schools differ on how to read a planet that moves, so the API leaves that choice to you.

Get it from the API

Bhava chalit: houses by the Sripati method. Here is the call to API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com) for our sample, John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York.

POST /v1/chart/chalit

# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/chart/chalit" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"year":1990,"month":8,"day":15,"hour":10,"minute":30,"second":0,"latitude":40.7128,"longitude":-74.006,"timezone":"America/New_York"}'

Answer (long lists shortened)200 OK

{
  "meta": {
    "ayanamsa": "lahiri",
    "ayanamsa_value": 23.7260727,
    "julian_day": 2448119.10483,
    "ephemeris": "JPL DE440s",
    "node": "true",
    "timezone": {
      "source": "zone",
      "offset_hours": -4,
      "zone": "America/New_York",
      "abbreviation": "EDT",
      "dst": true,
      "dst_hours": 1,
      "ambiguous_resolved_by_fold": null,
      "note": "read from the IANA tz database at this instant, so daylight saving and historical offset changes are included"
    }
  },
  "method": "sripati",
  "house_system": "Sripati bhava chalit, a quadrant division. It is used on this endpoint only. Every other house number in the API is whole sign.",
  "ascendant": {
    "longitude": 169.934155,
    "sign": "Virgo",
    "sign_number": 6,
    "degree_in_sign": 19.934155,
    "degree_dms": "19 : 56 : 03"
  },
  "midheaven": {
    "longitude": 82.155373,
    "sign": "Gemini",
    "sign_number": 3,
    "degree_in_sign": 22.155373,
    "degree_dms": "22 : 09 : 19"
  },
  "bhavas": [
    {
      "bhava": 1,
      "start": {
        "longitude": 155.304358,
        "sign": "Virgo",
        "sign_number": 6,
        "degree_in_sign": 5.304358,
        "degree_dms": "05 : 18 : 16"
      },
      "madhya": {
        "longitude": 169.934155,
        "sign": "Virgo",
        "sign_number": 6,
        "degree_in_sign": 19.934155,
        "degree_dms": "19 : 56 : 03"
      },
      "end": {
        "longitude": 185.304358,
        "sign": "Libra",
        "sign_number": 7,
        "degree_in_sign": 5.304358,
        "degree_dms": "05 : 18 : 16"
      }
    },
    {
      "bhava": 2,
      "start": {
        "longitude": 185.304358,
        "sign": "Libra",
        "sign_number": 7,
        "degree_in_sign": 5.304358,
        "degree_dms": "05 : 18 : 16"
      },
      "madhya": {
        "longitude": 200.674561,
        "sign": "Libra",
        "sign_number": 7,
        "degree_in_sign": 20.674561,
        "degree_dms": "20 : 40 : 28"
      },
      "end": {
        "longitude": 216.044764,
        "sign": "Scorpio",
        "sign_number": 8,
        "degree_in_sign": 6.044764,
        "degree_dms": "06 : 02 : 41"
      }
    },
    {
      "bhava": 3,
      "start": {
        "longitude": 216.044764,
        "sign": "Scorpio",
        "sign_number": 8,
        "degree_in_sign": 6.044764,
        "degree_dms": "06 : 02 : 41"
      },
      "madhya": {
        "longitude": 231.414967,
        "sign": "Scorpio",
        "sign_number": 8,
        "degree_in_sign": 21.414967,
        "degree_dms": "21 : 24 : 54"
      },
      "end": {
        "longitude": 246.78517,
        "sign": "Sagittarius",
        "sign_number": 9,
        "degree_in_sign": 6.78517,
        "degree_dms": "06 : 47 : 07"
      }
    }
  ],
  "positions": [
    {
      "name": "Sun",
      "longitude": 118.7753409,
      "sign": "Cancer",
      "sign_number": 4,
      "degree_dms": "28 : 46 : 31",
      "whole_sign_house": 11,
      "chalit_house": 11,
      "moved": false
    },
    {
      "name": "Moon",
      "longitude": 54.5750352,
      "sign": "Taurus",
      "sign_number": 2,
      "degree_dms": "24 : 34 : 30",
      "whole_sign_house": 9,
      "chalit_house": 9,
      "moved": false
    },
    {
      "name": "Mars",
      "longitude": 27.7149328,
      "sign": "Aries",
      "sign_number": 1,
      "degree_dms": "27 : 42 : 54",
      "whole_sign_house": 8,
      "chalit_house": 8,
      "moved": false
    }
  ],
  "moved_grahas": [
    "Jupiter"
  ],
  "not_computed": [
    "Other quadrant house systems (Placidus, Koch, KP cusps). They place cusps differently and can move different planets.",
    "Readings by chalit house. Every reading, yoga, aspect and strength in this API is judged from whole-sign houses. This table is shown beside them and changes none of them.",
    "Bhava bala (house strength)."
  ]
}

Where the API returns it

POST

/v1/chart/chalit

Bhava chalit: houses by the Sripati method

What the API reference says

Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.

POST /v1/chart/chalit · Bhava chalit: houses by the Sripati methodReturns the bhava chalit chart, the house table found beside the birth chart in most printed kundlis (birth chart books).
POST /v1/chart/chalit · Bhava chalit: houses by the Sripati methodFor each planet you get its whole_sign_house (the house every other endpoint reports), its chalit_house, and moved, which is true when they differ.

Feature page: Kundli and birth charts. Who uses it: Astrology apps. The classical rules the API follows are in the rulebook.

How we check the numbers

Every value here starts from planet positions worked out from NASA JPL planet data (DE440). We test them against NASA JPL Horizons, NASA's planet position service. On 25,571 positions from 1850 to 2149, the Sun and planets agree within 0.001 arc seconds. The Moon agrees within 0.011. On 2,000 random birth charts, the rising sign agrees with Swiss Ephemeris within 0.004 arc seconds. An arc second is 1/3,600 of a degree. A practicing astrologer reviews the rules behind these answers. See how we test.

Related terms

Free tools

See it with your own details

Runs on the same API call. Enter your details and see the answer in your browser.

All free tools

Free kundli
Your Vedic birth chart: the rising sign and all nine planets, with sign, house and nakshatra.
Make my kundli

Astrology API

Get these values from the API

Create a free test key and call any endpoint on this page. Or try a request in the API reference first.

Get a free API key Open the API reference

Your first answer

John Doe, New York

POST /v1/planets200 OK

RisingVirgoHast
SunCancerAshlesha
MoonTaurusMrigashira
MarsAriesKrittika

Real API output. A free test key gets the same answer.

01
Test key: 1,000 test calls a month to build with
02
Free plan: 2,000 live calls a month, no card needed
03
Open rules: every rule is published, so you can check any answer