Planets (grahas)
Gulika and Mandi in Vedic astrology
Updated
Gulika and Mandi: how the API computes it
The day or the night of birth is cut into eight equal parts, and one part belongs to Saturn (UG-01). Gulika is the degree rising in the east when Saturn's part begins. Mandi is the degree rising when it ends (UG-02). That follows Parashara for Gulika and the Kalidasa method for Mandi.
Sources disagree on this, so POST /v1/upagrahas returns both moments for every part, in at_start and at_end. Do not mix these up with gulika kaal in the panchang. That is a time window to avoid, worked out from the same eight parts of daylight.
Gulika and Mandi are points in a birth chart instead. The parts come from the real sunrise and sunset at the birth place, not from a fixed 6 AM sunrise. Some software uses seven parts and ends them before sunset, so its degrees can differ (UG-03).
For John Doe, born by day on a Wednesday, Gulika falls at 29 degrees of Virgo. Mandi falls at 19 degrees of Libra. POST /v1/prashna returns both points for the moment a question is asked.
There, Gulika is added to the rising degree and the Moon to make Trisphuta, a check for hidden obstacles. It never changes the answer (PQ-44, PQ-48).
Get it from the API
POST /v1/upagrahas
# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/upagrahas" \
-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"}'{
"kaala_velas": {
"divided": "day",
"from": "1990-08-15T06:10:44-04:00",
"to": "1990-08-15T19:49:34-04:00",
"weekday_lord": "Mercury",
"first_part_lord": "Mercury",
"parts": [
{
"part": 1,
"lord": "Mercury",
"upagraha": "Ardhaprahara",
"starts": "1990-08-15T06:10:44-04:00",
"ends": "1990-08-15T07:53:05-04:00",
"at_start": {
"longitude": 118.6048896,
"sign": "Cancer",
"sign_number": 4,
"degree_in_sign": 28.6048896,
"degree_dms": "28 : 36 : 18",
"nakshatra": "Ashlesha",
"nakshatra_lord": "Mercury",
"pada": 4
},
"at_end": {
"longitude": 138.7572853,
"sign": "Leo",
"sign_number": 5,
"degree_in_sign": 18.7572853,
"degree_dms": "18 : 45 : 26",
"nakshatra": "Purva Phalguni",
"nakshatra_lord": "Venus",
"pada": 2
}
},
{
"part": 2,
"lord": "Jupiter",
"upagraha": "Yamakantaka",
"starts": "1990-08-15T07:53:05-04:00",
"ends": "1990-08-15T09:35:26-04:00",
"at_start": {
"longitude": 138.7572853,
"sign": "Leo",
"sign_number": 5,
"degree_in_sign": 18.7572853,
"degree_dms": "18 : 45 : 26",
"nakshatra": "Purva Phalguni",
"nakshatra_lord": "Venus",
"pada": 2
},
"at_end": {
"longitude": 159.093412,
"sign": "Virgo",
"sign_number": 6,
"degree_in_sign": 9.093412,
"degree_dms": "09 : 05 : 36",
"nakshatra": "Uttara Phalguni",
"nakshatra_lord": "Sun",
"pada": 4
}
},
{
"part": 3,
"lord": "Venus",
"upagraha": "Kodanda",
"starts": "1990-08-15T09:35:26-04:00",
"ends": "1990-08-15T11:17:47-04:00",
"at_start": {
"longitude": 159.093412,
"sign": "Virgo",
"sign_number": 6,
"degree_in_sign": 9.093412,
"degree_dms": "09 : 05 : 36",
"nakshatra": "Uttara Phalguni",
"nakshatra_lord": "Sun",
"pada": 4
},
"at_end": {
"longitude": 179.3924809,
"sign": "Virgo",
"sign_number": 6,
"degree_in_sign": 29.3924809,
"degree_dms": "29 : 23 : 33",
"nakshatra": "Chitra",
"nakshatra_lord": "Mars",
"pada": 2
}
}
],
"rule": "the day, sunrise to sunset, cut into eight equal parts. Lords run in weekday order from the weekday lord. The eighth part has no lord (BPHS). `at_start` is the ascendant as the part begins (Parashara), `at_end` as it ends (Kalidasa)"
},
"gulika": {
"name": "Gulika",
"method": "parashara",
"taken_at": "start",
"longitude": 179.3924809,
"sign": "Virgo",
"sign_number": 6,
"degree_in_sign": 29.3924809,
"degree_dms": "29 : 23 : 33",
"nakshatra": "Chitra",
"nakshatra_lord": "Mars",
"pada": 2
},
"mandi": {
"name": "Mandi",
"method": "kalidasa",
"taken_at": "end",
"longitude": 199.4944877,
"sign": "Libra",
"sign_number": 7,
"degree_in_sign": 19.4944877,
"degree_dms": "19 : 29 : 40",
"nakshatra": "Swati",
"nakshatra_lord": "Rahu",
"pada": 4
},
"dhoomadi": [
{
"name": "Dhooma",
"lord": "Mars",
"rule": "the Sun plus 133 deg 20 min",
"longitude": 252.1086743,
"sign": "Sagittarius",
"sign_number": 9,
"degree_in_sign": 12.1086743,
"degree_dms": "12 : 06 : 31",
"nakshatra": "Mool",
"nakshatra_lord": "Ketu",
"pada": 4
},
{
"name": "Vyatipata",
"lord": "Rahu",
"rule": "360 minus Dhooma",
"longitude": 107.8913257,
"sign": "Cancer",
"sign_number": 4,
"degree_in_sign": 17.8913257,
"degree_dms": "17 : 53 : 29",
"nakshatra": "Ashlesha",
"nakshatra_lord": "Mercury",
"pada": 1
},
{
"name": "Parivesha",
"lord": "Moon",
"rule": "Vyatipata plus 180",
"longitude": 287.8913257,
"sign": "Capricorn",
"sign_number": 10,
"degree_in_sign": 17.8913257,
"degree_dms": "17 : 53 : 29",
"nakshatra": "Shravan",
"nakshatra_lord": "Moon",
"pada": 3
}
],
"dhoomadi_rule": "arithmetic on the Sun's sidereal longitude at birth. Upaketu always lands 30 degrees behind the Sun",
"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"
}
}
}Where the API returns it
| POST | /v1/upagrahas | Upagrahas: Gulika, Mandi, the kaala velas and the Dhoomadi points |
| POST | /v1/prashna | Question chart (prashna): one question, read for the moment it is asked |
What the API reference says
Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.
- POST /v1/upagrahas · Upagrahas: Gulika, Mandi, the kaala velas and the Dhoomadi points
gulikais the start of Saturn's part andmandiits end. - POST /v1/prashna · Question chart (prashna): one question, read for the moment it is asked
trisphutashowsgulikaandmandi, two points used to look for hidden obstacles, andsum: the longitude of the rising degree, the Moon and Gulika (inputs), reduced to 0 to 360, with its sign andnavamsa.
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.
Free kundli
Your Vedic birth chart: the rising sign and all nine planets, with sign, house and nakshatra.
Make my kundli
From the blog
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.
Your first answer
John Doe, New York
- 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