Chart basics
Rashi in Vedic astrology
Updated
Rashi: how the API computes it
The API places the ascendant (rising sign) and every planet in a rashi. It uses the sidereal zodiac, the Vedic zodiac fixed to the stars. By default it uses the Lahiri ayanamsa, the gap between the Vedic and Western zodiacs. So a planet's Vedic sign is usually one sign earlier than its Western sign.
Each position comes with the sign name, the sign number (1 for Aries to 12 for Pisces) and the degree within the sign. POST /v1/planets returns them for a birth moment. When people ask for their rashi, they usually mean the Moon's sign at birth. That sign is used for the daily horoscope on GET /v1/rashi/{sign}/today. It is also used for sade sati (Saturn's seven-and-a-half-year period), transits and guna milan (marriage matching).
Houses are whole-sign, so each rashi is also one whole house, counted from the rising sign (CH-06). Use sign_number in your code and the name only for display. The names change with the language you ask for.
Rashi in a real API answer
POST /v1/planets200 OK{
"ascendant": {
"sign": "Virgo",
"sign_number": 6
},
"positions": [
{
"name": "Sun",
"sign": "Cancer",
"sign_number": 4
},
{
"name": "Moon",
"sign": "Taurus",
"sign_number": 2
}
]
}Get it from the API
POST /v1/planets
# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/planets" \
-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"}'{
"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"
}
},
"ascendant": {
"name": "Ascendant",
"longitude": 169.934155,
"sign": "Virgo",
"sign_number": 6,
"degree_in_sign": 19.934155,
"degree_dms": "19 : 56 : 03",
"house": 1,
"nakshatra": "Hast",
"nakshatra_lord": "Moon",
"pada": 3,
"speed": 0,
"retrograde": false,
"combust": false,
"dignity": "n/a",
"vargottama": false,
"pushkara": {
"navamsa": false,
"navamsa_number": 6,
"bhaga": false,
"bhaga_degree": 9,
"bhaga_by_element": false,
"bhaga_degree_by_element": 14,
"sources_agree": true,
"orb_degrees": 1
}
},
"positions": [
{
"name": "Sun",
"longitude": 118.7753409,
"sign": "Cancer",
"sign_number": 4,
"degree_in_sign": 28.7753409,
"degree_dms": "28 : 46 : 31",
"house": 11,
"nakshatra": "Ashlesha",
"nakshatra_lord": "Mercury",
"pada": 4,
"speed": 0.9610665,
"retrograde": false,
"combust": false,
"dignity": "friend",
"vargottama": false,
"pushkara": {
"navamsa": false,
"navamsa_number": 9,
"bhaga": false,
"bhaga_degree": 8,
"bhaga_by_element": false,
"bhaga_degree_by_element": 7,
"sources_agree": true,
"orb_degrees": 1
}
},
{
"name": "Moon",
"longitude": 54.5750352,
"sign": "Taurus",
"sign_number": 2,
"degree_in_sign": 24.5750352,
"degree_dms": "24 : 34 : 30",
"house": 9,
"nakshatra": "Mrigashira",
"nakshatra_lord": "Mars",
"pada": 1,
"speed": 14.258194,
"retrograde": false,
"combust": false,
"dignity": "mulatrikona",
"vargottama": false,
"pushkara": {
"navamsa": false,
"navamsa_number": 8,
"bhaga": false,
"bhaga_degree": 14,
"bhaga_by_element": false,
"bhaga_degree_by_element": 14,
"sources_agree": true,
"orb_degrees": 1
}
},
{
"name": "Mars",
"longitude": 27.7149328,
"sign": "Aries",
"sign_number": 1,
"degree_in_sign": 27.7149328,
"degree_dms": "27 : 42 : 54",
"house": 8,
"nakshatra": "Krittika",
"nakshatra_lord": "Sun",
"pada": 1,
"speed": 0.5753266,
"retrograde": false,
"combust": false,
"dignity": "own sign",
"vargottama": false,
"pushkara": {
"navamsa": true,
"navamsa_number": 9,
"bhaga": false,
"bhaga_degree": 21,
"bhaga_by_element": false,
"bhaga_degree_by_element": 21,
"sources_agree": true,
"orb_degrees": 1
}
}
],
"planetary_war": []
}Where the API returns it
| POST | /v1/planets | Planet positions and the ascendant |
| POST | /v1/spiritual | Spiritual path reading: devotion and release |
| POST | /v1/matching | Marriage compatibility score (ashtakoot, 36 points) |
| POST | /v1/matching/nakshatra | Compatibility score from two nakshatras, no birth charts |
| POST | /v1/karma | Karma reading: what you bring and where you are headed |
| POST | /v1/jaimini | Jaimini: sign aspects, argala, chara dasha and karakas |
| POST | /v1/ashtakavarga | Ashtakavarga: strength points for each sign |
What the API reference says
Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.
- POST /v1/spiritual · Spiritual path reading: devotion and releaseThe grahas in the 12th from the karakamsa are counted in the rasi chart (D1) and in the navamsa (D9), because schools differ.
- POST /v1/jaimini · Jaimini: sign aspects, argala, chara dasha and karakasSign aspects (rashi drishti) are not what
/v1/aspectsreturns. - POST /v1/ashtakavarga · Ashtakavarga: strength points for each signRashi pinda weights each sign by a multiplier for that sign.
- POST /v1/special-lagnasDagdha rashis are the signs "burnt" by the birth tithi.
The 12 rashis
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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Your first answer
John Doe, New York
- RisingVirgoHast
- SunCancerAshlesha
- MoonTaurusMrigashira
- MarsAriesKrittika
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