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Ashtakavarga: Eight References, BAV and SAV Explained

Learn the eight-reference ashtakavarga structure, inclusive sign counting, notation differences and the distinction between raw counts and reductions.

Names and related terms
Ashtaka Varga · AV · eightfold table

Editorially reviewed: · Reviewed by OpenFate · Editorial Methodology

Overview

Ashtakavarga is a table-based method using eight references: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and lagna. A planet’s BAV counts their contributions by sign; SAV combines seven planetary BAV rows.

At a glance

Eight references
Seven classical planets plus lagna
BAV cell
Zero to eight contributions
SAV cell
Sum of seven planetary BAV cells
Required setting
Table version and sign-based counting

Why does “eight” produce seven SAV rows?

Eight refers to the contributing references inside each planetary table, including lagna. The SAV convention described here sums the seven planetary target rows; it does not add a separate lagna target row merely to make eight.

Different authors use bindu and rekha with opposite meanings. Read the numeric legend first: this page counts a favorable contribution as 1. The words “dot” or “line” alone are insufficient to identify what a printed mark means.

Count from the contributor’s sign

For a Sun-table example, place Mercury in Aquarius. Rao’s Table 19 includes the third sign from Mercury as a contributing position. Counting Aquarius as one, Pisces as two and Aries as three assigns that contribution to Aries.

This is sign counting, not a measurement of three equal thirty-degree arcs from Mercury’s exact degree. It supplies one contribution to the Sun’s table, not an entire Sun BAV value and not a SAV total.

Why should raw and reduced tables stay separate?

BAV and SAV counts come before separately declared reductions or weighted pindas. A number after reduction cannot be compared with a raw total without knowing the intervening operations. Keep the full label with the number.

Rao’s §12.8 documents alternative contribution entries. A program can preserve the same grand total while distributing points differently. Table identity and cell checks matter, and neither a point nor a total guarantees a favorable event.

Sources and editorial basis

  1. P. V. R. Narasimha Rao: Vedic Astrology — An Integrated Approach
    Rao, Chapter 12, §§12.1–12.4, printed pp. 145–153; Tables 19–25: eight reference contributors, individual raw BAV values and seven-target SAV aggregation. §12.6, pp. 156–157: prastara preserves contributor identity. §§12.7–12.8, pp. 157–162: reduced tables are separate; bindu/rekha notation and Moon/Venus contribution positions vary. The 337 figure is an explicitly identified raw-table checksum; it does not establish cell-wise equivalence between Rao’s preferred variant and the inspected OpenFate table or validate any life outcome. Example vectors and sums are editorial arithmetic, not claimed calculated birth charts.A named practitioner’s introduction to Jyotish. Used for terminology and a stated method, not universal school agreement or scientific validation. The added March 18, 2010 note describes changed views; it does not establish a fully revised 2010 edition.
  2. OpenFate Editorial Methodology
    OpenFate Editorial Methodology, stable sections #editorial-principles, #editorial-workflow, #editorial-ai, and #editorial-context. Used for the calculation/interpretation and evidence-boundary policy.OpenFate separates deterministic chart calculation, traditional interpretation, and modern editorial explanation.
  3. OpenFate Vedic implementation: local source review, 2026-09-08
    OpenFate local implementation review, 2026-09-08: app/modules/vedic/logic/policy.ts VEDIC_ENGINE_POLICY.karakaScheme and supportsVedicBav; facts.ts computeKarakas and computeSarvashtakavarga; constants.ts SAV_TABLES, SAV_EXPECTED_TOTALS and SAV_EXPECTED_GRAND_TOTAL; career-evidence.ts buildVedicCareerEvidence.unavailable. The reviewed policy uses seven roles without Rahu and a fixed classical-order exact-tie break. Raw BAV rows total 48/49/39/54/56/52/39, summing to 337; the Moon/Venus variant entries differ from Rao’s stated preference. BAV visibility depends on stored contract, and career evidence explicitly marks shadbala unavailable. This is a dated code review, not proof of current deployment or empirical prediction accuracy.An editorial review of local policy and calculation source files, not an independently accessible publication or proof of the deployed version. Implementation limitations and discrepancies remain separate from traditional arithmetic.
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