Chart basics
Lagnesh (ascendant lord) in Vedic astrology
Updated
Lagnesh: how the API computes it
The API finds the lagnesh from the sign of the ascendant. It picks the planet that owns that sign. Mars owns Aries and Scorpio, Venus owns Taurus and Libra, and Mercury owns Gemini and Virgo.
Jupiter owns Sagittarius and Pisces, and Saturn owns Capricorn and Aquarius. The Sun owns Leo and the Moon owns Cancer. Rahu and Ketu own no sign, so they are never the lagnesh.
Once it is known, the API checks where that planet stands: its sign, house, dignity (strength by sign) and overall strength. Kendras are houses 1, 4, 7 and 10. Trikonas are houses 1, 5 and 9, and dusthanas are houses 6, 8 and 12.
Tradition says a lagnesh in a kendra or trikona, in its own sign or exalted (at its strongest), supports health and a steady life. One in a dusthana or in a weak sign is said to point to harder going. John Doe has Virgo rising, so Mercury is his lagnesh.
POST /v1/summary and POST /v1/yogas use the lagnesh when they check rules. POST /v1/reading/rules lists the readings where it matters. The lagnesh is read as a general guide, never as a promise.
Get it from the API
POST /v1/yogas
# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/yogas" \
-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"}'{
"formed": [
{
"name": "Sarala",
"category": "vipareeta raja",
"rule": "lord of house 8 placed in a dusthana (6,8,12); free of conjunction or aspect from a natural benefic or a kendra/trikona lord (1,4,5,7,9,10), and the lagna lord stronger in shadbala",
"detail": "Mars in house 8, unafflicted; lagna lord Mercury stronger in shadbala (532.98 vs 526.26 virupas)"
},
{
"name": "Anapha",
"category": "lunar",
"rule": "a graha other than the Sun and the nodes in the 12th from the Moon",
"detail": "Mars"
},
{
"name": "Vesi",
"category": "solar",
"rule": "a graha other than the Moon and the nodes in the 2nd from the Sun",
"detail": "Mercury"
}
],
"not_formed": [
{
"name": "Ruchaka",
"rule": "Mars in its own or exaltation sign AND in a kendra (1,4,7,10)",
"reason": "Mars is dignified but house 8 is not a kendra"
},
{
"name": "Hamsa",
"rule": "Jupiter in its own or exaltation sign AND in a kendra (1,4,7,10)",
"reason": "Jupiter is dignified but house 11 is not a kendra"
},
{
"name": "Harsha",
"rule": "lord of house 6 placed in a dusthana (6,8,12); free of conjunction or aspect from a natural benefic or a kendra/trikona lord (1,4,5,7,9,10), and the lagna lord stronger in shadbala",
"reason": "Saturn is in house 4"
}
],
"neecha_bhanga": [],
"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"
}
},
"lagnesh": "Mercury",
"yogakaraka": null,
"kartari": {
"by_house": {
"1": {
"sign": "Virgo",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [
"Mercury"
],
"in_second": []
},
"2": {
"sign": "Libra",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": []
},
"3": {
"sign": "Scorpio",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": [
"Saturn"
]
},
"4": {
"sign": "Sagittarius",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": [
"Rahu"
]
},
"5": {
"sign": "Capricorn",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [
"Saturn"
],
"in_second": []
},
"6": {
"sign": "Aquarius",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [
"Rahu"
],
"in_second": []
},
"7": {
"sign": "Pisces",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": [
"Mars"
]
},
"8": {
"sign": "Aries",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": [
"Moon"
]
},
"9": {
"sign": "Taurus",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [
"Mars"
],
"in_second": []
},
"10": {
"sign": "Gemini",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [
"Moon"
],
"in_second": [
"Sun",
"Jupiter",
"Venus"
]
},
"11": {
"sign": "Cancer",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": [
"Mercury"
]
},
"12": {
"sign": "Leo",
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [
"Sun",
"Jupiter",
"Venus"
],
"in_second": []
}
},
"by_graha": {
"Sun": {
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": [
"Mercury"
]
},
"Moon": {
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [
"Mars"
],
"in_second": []
},
"Mars": {
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": [
"Moon"
]
},
"Mercury": {
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [
"Sun",
"Jupiter",
"Venus"
],
"in_second": []
},
"Jupiter": {
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": [
"Mercury"
]
},
"Venus": {
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": [
"Mercury"
]
},
"Saturn": {
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": [
"Rahu"
]
},
"Rahu": {
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [
"Saturn"
],
"in_second": []
},
"Ketu": {
"state": "none",
"in_twelfth": [],
"in_second": [
"Mercury"
]
}
},
"rule": "Hemmed by occupation only: grahas in both the 12th and the 2nd sign from the house or graha. papa = malefics on both sides and no benefic; shubha = the reverse; none otherwise. The Moon by paksha, Mercury by its company. Aspects never form…"
}
}Where the API returns it
| POST | /v1/yogas | Yogas: planetary combinations found and not found |
| POST | /v1/dasha/ashtottari | Ashtottari dasha periods (a 108-year cycle) |
| POST | /v1/prashna | Question chart (prashna): one question, read for the moment it is asked |
| POST | /v1/summary | Plain-language summary of a chart |
| POST | /v1/reading/rules | Rules this chart triggers, ranked |
What the API reference says
Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.
- POST /v1/yogas · Yogas: planetary combinations found and not foundThe response also names
lagnesh, the ruler of the ascendant.
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
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From the blog
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Get these values from the API
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Your first answer
John Doe, New York
- RisingVirgoHast
- SunCancerAshlesha
- MoonTaurusMrigashira
- MarsAriesKrittika
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