Question charts (prashna)
Prashna (question chart) in Vedic astrology
Prashna, or horary astrology, answers one question from a chart made for the moment and place the question is asked. This question chart needs no birth details. It is read for one topic, such as marriage, work or a lost item. The rising sign stands for the person asking, and the topic's house stands for the matter. The chart shows the tendency of the moment, not a promise.
Updated
Prashna: how the API computes it
POST /v1/prashna takes a topic, a latitude, a longitude and a time zone. Leave the date and time out, and the chart is made for right now at that place. The moment used comes back in asked_at.
The topic is picked from a list, and a typed question is never read (PQ-01). GET /v1/prashna/topics lists the 33 topics, each with its houses. The ruler of the rising sign stands for the person asking.
The ruler of the topic's first house stands for the matter (PQ-02). The answer block comes first. It gives a plain answer, up to three reasons, what helps, what to watch and when.
Most topics get one of four answers: looks good, possible with effort, delayed or highly unlikely (PQ-07). Health and court questions compare two sides instead (PQ-08, PQ-09). Timing is a count of days, weeks, months or years. It is marked as an estimate and is never a date (PQ-11).
Some questions get a 422 error and no reading. They include lifespan, the sex of an unborn child, lotteries, gambling, share tips, a medical diagnosis and crime accusations (PQ-15). A moment the old texts call unfit to judge is refused too.
The person can ask again later (PQ-16, PQ-17). A missing-person answer never says whether someone is alive. A theft answer never names who took the thing (PQ-25, PQ-26).
The same person should ask about the same topic only once in 72 hours. The API stores nothing, so your app keeps track (PQ-50). Take a question about marriage, asked in New York at noon on Oct 1, 2026.
Scorpio is rising, so Mars stands for the person asking. Venus rules house 7, the house of marriage. The two planets are moving toward each other, but Mars is in its weakest sign. So the answer is "Possible with effort", in about 6 days.
No answer is a promise, and every response says so in not_claimed.
Get it from the API
Question chart (prashna): one question, read for the moment it is asked. Here is the call to API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com) for our sample.
POST /v1/prashna
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/prashna" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"topic":"marriage","latitude":40.7128,"longitude":-74.006,"timezone":"America/New_York","year":2026,"month":10,"day":1,"hour":12,"minute":0}'Answer (long lists shortened)200 OK
{
"topic": "marriage",
"title": "Your question: Marriage",
"answer": {
"verdict": "possible_with_effort",
"label": {
"id": "prashna:answer:label:possible_with_effort",
"text": "Possible with effort"
},
"headline": {
"id": "prashna:answer:headline:possible_with_effort",
"text": "For your question about marriage, it is possible, but it will take effort."
},
"why": [
{
"id": "prashna:answer:why:connection:applying",
"text": "Your planet and the planet of the marriage are moving toward each other (Mars and Venus).",
"reason": "lords_applying",
"slot": "connection",
"polarity": "helps"
},
{
"id": "prashna:answer:why:asker_lord:weak",
"text": "Your own planet (Mars) is weak right now: it is in its weakest sign.",
"reason": "asker_lord_weak",
"slot": "asker_lord",
"polarity": "strains"
},
{
"id": "prashna:answer:why:aspects:malefic",
"text": "A harsh planet (Moon and Sun) gets in the way of the two planets.",
"reason": "malefic_interference",
"slot": "aspects",
"polarity": "strains"
}
],
"what_helps": {
"id": "prashna:marriage:what_helps",
"text": "Talk openly about what each of you expects. Bring the families in early and kindly. Small, steady steps work better than pressure. If you are choosing a date, choose it with care rather than in a hurry."
},
"watch": {
"id": "prashna:marriage:watch",
"text": "Watch for rushing a decision just to calm your worry. Watch for old family disputes that nobody talks about. Do not treat this chart as the last word on a person. Look at the person, the facts and your own feelings too."
},
"timing": {
"id": "prashna:answer:timing:estimate",
"text": "It may take about 6 days. This is an estimate from the planets, not a date.",
"count": 6,
"unit": "days",
"method": "tajika_perfection",
"estimate": true,
"convention": true
},
"note": {
"id": "prashna:answer:note",
"text": "A question chart shows the tendency of the moment you asked, not a promise. Your effort still matters."
},
"titles": {
"why": "Why: the main reasons",
"what_helps": "What helps",
"watch": "What to watch",
"timing": "When",
"pace": "Pace",
"details": "How we read it (all the details)"
},
"reading_order": [
"contest",
"connection",
"delay"
],
"rule": "The reasons shown are the verdict's own supports and strains, taken in a fixed reading order: contest, connection, delay, matter_lord, asker_lord, aspects, moon, houses, karakas. For a question the findings that decided the answer come…"
},
"kind": "question",
"read_from": {
"asker_house": 1,
"matter_houses": [
7
],
"karya_bhava": 7,
"karakas": [
"Venus",
"Jupiter"
],
"framed_from": null,
"note": "Venus is the karaka of a spouse when a man asks and Jupiter when a woman asks. The request carries no sex, so both are judged and listed, and neither enters the verdict."
},
"ascendant": {
"sign": "Scorpio",
"degree_in_sign": 13.9285,
"lagnesh": "Mars"
},
"asker": {
"graha": "Mars",
"house": 9,
"sign": "Cancer",
"dignity": "debilitated",
"combust": false,
"retrograde": false,
"tendency": "mixed",
"leans": "supports",
"outcome": "helped",
"supports": [
"tendency_rules_trine",
"tendency_in_trine",
"tendency_benefic_conjunct"
],
"strains": [
"tendency_dignity_weak"
],
"role": "asker",
"reading_id": "prashna:lord:asker:helped"
},
"quesited": [
{
"graha": "Venus",
"house": 12,
"sign": "Libra",
"dignity": "mulatrikona",
"combust": false,
"retrograde": false,
"tendency": "mixed",
"leans": "strains",
"outcome": "strained",
"supports": [
"tendency_dignity_strong",
"tendency_benefic_conjunct"
],
"strains": [
"tendency_rules_dusthana",
"tendency_in_dusthana",
"tendency_malefic_aspect"
],
"rules_house": 7,
"link": {
"kind": "one_way",
"kinds": [
"one_way"
],
"asker_lord": "Mars",
"matter_lord": "Venus",
"matter_house": 7,
"one_way": {
"graha": "Mars",
"aspects_grahas": [
"Venus"
]
},
"reading_id": "prashna:connection:one_way"
},
"reading_id": "prashna:lord:matter:strained"
}
],
"karakas": [
{
"graha": "Venus",
"house": 12,
"sign": "Libra",
"dignity": "mulatrikona",
"combust": false,
"retrograde": false,
"tendency": "mixed",
"leans": "strains",
"outcome": "strained",
"supports": [
"tendency_dignity_strong",
"tendency_benefic_conjunct"
],
"strains": [
"tendency_rules_dusthana",
"tendency_in_dusthana",
"tendency_malefic_aspect"
],
"role": "karaka",
"reading_id": "prashna:karaka:strained"
},
{
"graha": "Jupiter",
"house": 9,
"sign": "Cancer",
"dignity": "exalted",
"combust": false,
"retrograde": false,
"tendency": "mixed",
"leans": "supports",
"outcome": "helped",
"supports": [
"tendency_dignity_strong",
"tendency_rules_trine",
"tendency_in_trine"
],
"strains": [
"tendency_malefic_conjunct"
],
"role": "karaka",
"reading_id": "prashna:karaka:helped"
}
],
"connection": {
"kind": "one_way",
"kinds": [
"one_way"
],
"asker_lord": "Mars",
"matter_lord": "Venus",
"matter_house": 7,
"one_way": {
"graha": "Mars",
"aspects_grahas": [
"Venus"
]
},
"reading_id": "prashna:connection:one_way"
},
"moon": {
"sign": "Taurus",
"house": 7,
"paksha": "krishna",
"waxing": false,
"elongation": 244.9345,
"in_dusthana": false,
"state": "middling",
"links_matter_lord": false,
"rule": "The Moon's next aspect is its applying Tajika aspect within orb with the fewest degrees to exact; its last aspect is the separating one with the fewest degrees past exact (PQ-20, provisional). Kamboola: the next aspect goes to a natural…",
"next_aspect": {
"faster": "Moon",
"slower": "Jupiter",
"aspect": "sextile",
"aspect_angle": 60,
"orb": 10.5,
"within_orb": true,
"motion": "applying",
"degrees_from_exact": 6.282,
"degrees_to_perfection": 6.282,
"degrees_past_exact": null,
"retrograde": [],
"applying_planet_retrograde": false,
"with_graha": "Jupiter",
"with_benefic": true,
"with_matter_lord": false,
"reading_id": "prashna:moon:next_aspect"
},
"last_aspect": {
"faster": "Moon",
"slower": "Saturn",
"aspect": "sextile",
"aspect_angle": 60,
"orb": 10.5,
"within_orb": true,
"motion": "separating",
"degrees_from_exact": 1.9023,
"degrees_to_perfection": null,
"degrees_past_exact": 1.9023,
"retrograde": [
"Saturn"
],
"applying_planet_retrograde": false,
"with_graha": "Saturn",
"with_benefic": false,
"with_matter_lord": false,
"reading_id": "prashna:moon:last_aspect"
},
"kamboola": {
"formed": true,
"with_graha": "Jupiter",
"because": [
"benefic"
],
"provisional": true,
"open_question": "Is classical Kamboola narrower: the Moon joining the applying aspect of the two lords, rather than any next aspect to a benefic or the karya lord?",
"reading_id": "prashna:moon:kamboola"
},
"reading_id": "prashna:moon:waning"
},
"influences": [
{
"house": 1,
"occupants": [],
"aspected_by": [
"Moon",
"Jupiter"
],
"benefics": [
"Jupiter"
],
"malefics": [
"Moon"
],
"kind": "both",
"reading_id": "prashna:influence:both"
},
{
"house": 7,
"occupants": [
"Moon"
],
"aspected_by": [
"Saturn"
],
"benefics": [],
"malefics": [
"Moon",
"Saturn"
],
"kind": "malefics_only",
"reading_id": "prashna:influence:malefics_only"
}
],
"tajika": {
"asker_lord": "Mars",
"matter_lord": "Venus",
"state": "applying",
"linked": true,
"aspect": {
"faster": "Venus",
"slower": "Mars",
"aspect": "square",
"aspect_angle": 90,
"orb": 7.5,
"within_orb": true,
"motion": "applying",
"degrees_from_exact": 6.3633,
"degrees_to_perfection": 6.3633,
"degrees_past_exact": null,
"retrograde": [],
"applying_planet_retrograde": false
},
"deeptamsha": {
"Sun": 15,
"Moon": 12,
"Mars": 8,
"Mercury": 7,
"Jupiter": 9,
"Venus": 7,
"Saturn": 9
},
"excluded": [
"Rahu",
"Ketu"
],
"rule": "Tajika aspects by sign: conjunction 0, sextile 60 (3rd and 11th), square 90 (4th and 10th), trine 120 (5th and 9th), opposition 180 (7th). Orb of a pair: the mean of the two deeptamshas (Sun 15, Moon 12, Jupiter and Saturn 9, Mars 8,…",
"reading_id": "prashna:tajika:applying"
},
"verdict": {
"verdict": "possible_with_effort",
"case": "malefic_interference",
"provisional": false,
"decided_by": [
"lords_applying",
"malefic_interference"
],
"supports": [
"lords_applying",
"benefic_aspect_on_weak_lord",
"moon_kamboola"
],
"strains": [
"asker_lord_weak",
"malefic_interference",
"malefics_on_7"
],
"precedence": [
"highly_unlikely",
"delayed",
"possible_with_effort"
],
"rule": "Precedence, first match wins. highly_unlikely: the two lords are not linked (separating, or no applying aspect) AND at least one is weak. delayed: linked, BUT the applying planet is retrograde, OR Saturn aspects either lord, OR both lords…",
"reading_id": "prashna:question:verdict:possible_with_effort"
},
"timing": {
"method": "tajika_perfection",
"convention": true,
"rule": "The number is the degrees the faster lord still has to travel to perfect its applying aspect with the other, one degree to one unit, rounded, at least one. The unit is the modality of the faster graha's sign: movable days, dual weeks,…",
"estimate": true,
"no_estimate_reason": null,
"degrees": 6.3633,
"count": 6,
"unit": "days",
"faster": "Venus",
"sign": "Libra",
"modality": "movable",
"saturn_is_a_lord": false,
"reading_id": "prashna:timing:estimate"
},
"provisional": [
{
"rule": "PQ-51",
"point": "one_question_across_routes",
"reading": "The repeat rule is applied per topic id, whichever route answered. A KP answer and a main-route answer on the same topic id count as one question."
},
{
"rule": "PQ-19",
"point": "motion",
"reading": "Applying or separating is read from the two grahas' actual daily motions, so a retrograde graha moving back toward exact applies."
},
{
"rule": "PQ-19",
"point": "faster_planet",
"reading": "The faster graha, and so the applying one, is the one earlier in the natural Tajik order: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn."
}
],
"not_claimed": "a prashna reads the TENDENCIES OF THE MOMENT a question is asked. It is not a yes-or-no answer and not a guarantee of any outcome. It is not medical, legal or financial advice, and must not be read or written as any of these",
"refused": [
{
"method": "kp_horary_number",
"why": "KP horary asks the person for a number from 1 to 249 that fixes the ascendant by sub-lord. That is a different method on a different chart, so it has its own route, POST /v1/prashna/kp. KP nakshatra lords are not used in this route."
},
{
"method": "ashtamangala_and_number_methods",
"why": "Kerala ashtamangala prashna and other number or object methods need a ritual or a person choosing a number or an object. They are not a reading of the sky at a moment."
},
{
"method": "void_of_course_moon",
"why": "A Moon void of course is a Western horary idea. The astrologer ruled it out (PC-11): the Moon is read by its last and next Tajika aspect instead."
}
],
"not_computed": [
"repeat questions: the 72-hour rule is stated in `repeat_rule` and not enforced here. The API stores nothing and takes no user id, so your app keeps track (PQ-50)",
"chandra bala against a natal Moon: a prashna chart needs no birth chart",
"calendar dates: a question gets an estimate in days, weeks, months or years from the applying aspect (PQ-11), never a date"
],
"findings": {
"karya_bhava": 7,
"weak": {
"asker_lord": {
"graha": "Mars",
"because": [
"debilitated"
]
}
},
"delay": {
"applying_planet_retrograde": false,
"saturn_aspects": [],
"both_in_fixed_signs": false,
"modality": {
"Mars": "movable",
"Venus": "movable"
}
},
"interference": {
"malefics": [
"Moon",
"Sun"
],
"occupying": [
"Moon"
],
"aspecting": [
{
"faster": "Sun",
"slower": "Mars",
"aspect": "sextile",
"aspect_angle": 60,
"orb": 11.5,
"within_orb": true,
"motion": "separating",
"degrees_from_exact": 6.4176,
"degrees_to_perfection": null,
"degrees_past_exact": 6.4176,
"retrograde": [],
"applying_planet_retrograde": false,
"graha": "Sun",
"lord": "Mars"
}
]
},
"benefic_aspects": {
"on_asker_lord": [
{
"faster": "Mercury",
"slower": "Mars",
"aspect": "square",
"aspect_angle": 90,
"orb": 7.5,
"within_orb": true,
"motion": "applying",
"degrees_from_exact": 0.5186,
"degrees_to_perfection": 0.5186,
"degrees_past_exact": null,
"retrograde": [],
"applying_planet_retrograde": false,
"graha": "Mercury",
"lord": "Mars"
},
{
"faster": "Venus",
"slower": "Mars",
"aspect": "square",
"aspect_angle": 90,
"orb": 7.5,
"within_orb": true,
"motion": "applying",
"degrees_from_exact": 6.3633,
"degrees_to_perfection": 6.3633,
"degrees_past_exact": null,
"retrograde": [],
"applying_planet_retrograde": false,
"graha": "Venus",
"lord": "Mars"
}
]
}
},
"trisphuta": {
"uses": "gulika",
"source": "Prashna Marga ch. 5",
"provisional": true,
"provisional_rules": [
"PQ-45",
"PQ-46",
"PQ-47"
],
"moves_verdict": false,
"rule": "Trisphuta is the longitude of the lagna + the Moon + Gulika, reduced to 0-360. negative_or_delayed: its navamsa sign is ruled by the Sun, Mars or Saturn, or Saturn or Rahu casts whole-sign drishti on its rasi sign. Otherwise not_triggered,…",
"gulika": {
"name": "Gulika",
"method": "parashara",
"taken_at": "start",
"longitude": 198.3866417,
"sign": "Libra",
"sign_number": 7,
"degree_in_sign": 18.3866417,
"degree_dms": "18 : 23 : 12",
"nakshatra": "Swati",
"nakshatra_lord": "Rahu",
"pada": 4
},
"mandi": {
"name": "Mandi",
"method": "kalidasa",
"taken_at": "end",
"longitude": 215.5280845,
"sign": "Scorpio",
"sign_number": 8,
"degree_in_sign": 5.5280845,
"degree_dms": "05 : 31 : 41",
"nakshatra": "Anuradha",
"nakshatra_lord": "Saturn",
"pada": 1
},
"saturn_part": {
"divided": "day",
"part": 3,
"starts": "2026-10-01T09:51:09-04:00",
"ends": "2026-10-01T11:18:13-04:00"
},
"inputs": {
"lagna": 223.9284858,
"moon": 49.1953757,
"gulika": 198.3866417
},
"sum": {
"longitude": 111.5105032,
"sign": "Cancer",
"sign_number": 4,
"degree_in_sign": 21.5105032,
"degree_dms": "21 : 30 : 38",
"nakshatra": "Ashlesha",
"nakshatra_lord": "Mercury",
"pada": 2,
"house": 9,
"navamsa": {
"sign": "Capricorn",
"sign_number": 10,
"ruler": "Saturn",
"malefic": true
},
"aspected_by": []
},
"fired": [
"malefic_navamsa"
],
"status": "negative_or_delayed",
"not_computed_reason": null,
"differs_from_verdict": true,
"fired_text": [
"the point falls in a navamsa (a small ninth part of a sign) ruled by a harsh planet"
],
"reading_id": "prashna:trisphuta:status:negative_or_delayed",
"text": "This check leans toward a harder or slower result, because the point falls in a navamsa (a small ninth part of a sign) ruled by a harsh planet. It shows a tendency, not a sure outcome. We do not use it to change the main answer."
},
"readings": [
{
"id": "prashna:marriage:what_helps",
"part": "what_helps",
"title": "What helps",
"text": [
"Talk openly about what each of you expects. Bring the families in early and kindly. Small, steady steps work better than pressure. If you are choosing a date, choose it with care rather than in a hurry."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard",
"group": "answer"
},
{
"id": "prashna:marriage:watch",
"part": "watch",
"title": "What to watch",
"text": [
"Watch for rushing a decision just to calm your worry. Watch for old family disputes that nobody talks about. Do not treat this chart as the last word on a person. Look at the person, the facts and your own feelings too."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard",
"group": "answer"
},
{
"id": "prashna:question:verdict:possible_with_effort",
"part": "verdict",
"title": "What the chart leans to",
"text": [
"For your question about marriage, it is possible, but it will take effort. Some signs help and some hold things back. Read the reasons below to see what needs your attention."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard",
"group": "details"
}
],
"gaps": [],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard",
"asked_at": {
"local": "2026-10-01T12:00:00",
"utc": "2026-10-01T16:00:00Z",
"utc_offset_hours": -4,
"source": "given"
},
"place": {
"latitude": 40.7128,
"longitude": -74.006
},
"repeat_rule": {
"hours": 72,
"applies_to": "same_person_and_topic",
"starts_from": "last_answered_question",
"refusals_count": false,
"enforced_by": "caller",
"text": "The same person should ask about the same topic only once in 72 hours. This is a working rule. The 72 hours start from the last question that got an answer. A refused question does not count, so the person can ask again when the moment…"
},
"meta": {
"ayanamsa": "lahiri",
"ayanamsa_value": 24.2307715,
"julian_day": 2461315.167466,
"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/prashna | Question chart (prashna): one question, read for the moment it is asked |
| GET | /v1/prashna/topics | Question chart topics (prashna): what can be asked |
| POST | /v1/prashna/kp | KP horary: a question read from a number between 1 and 249 |
What the API reference says
Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.
- POST /v1/prashna · Question chart (prashna): one question, read for the moment it is askedCasts a chart for the moment and place a question is asked (prashna, or horary astrology) and reads it for one topic:
marriage,career,wealth,health,education,property,travel,litigation,lost-item,children,business,clients,love,loan-recovery,job-offer,pregnancy,exam-school,exam-higher,missing-spouse,missing-father,missing-mother,missing-sibling,missing-child,missing-friend,missing-employee,theft-recovery,vehicle-buy,vehicle-sell,house-buy,house-sell,settle-abroad,reconciliationorinheritance. - GET /v1/prashna/topics · Question chart topics (prashna): what can be askedLists every topic
POST /v1/prashnareads, with itskind(questionorcontest), itshouses(the first is thekarya_bhava, the house of the matter), itskarakasand a shortnoteon where the sources differ, all in?lang. - horary endpointsHorary (prashna): a question asked at a moment, read from a chart cast for that moment and place.
Feature page: Prashna (horary). 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
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
POST /v1/planets200 OK
- RisingVirgoHast
- SunCancerAshlesha
- MoonTaurusMrigashira
- MarsAriesKrittika
Real API output. A free test key gets the same answer.
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Test key: 1,000 test calls a month to build with
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Free plan: 2,000 live calls a month, no card needed
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Open rules: every rule is published, so you can check any answer