Vedic Astrology Glossary: Read a Chart Label
Decode common chart terms by what they identify: objects, coordinates, divisions, relationships and periods. Learn how to disambiguate lord and sign.
Overview
A useful Vedic glossary explains what kind of information each word represents. Graha names a chart factor, rashi a zodiac sector, bhava a house, and dasha a period system. Keeping these categories separate prevents a familiar word from silently changing meaning inside a reading.
At a glance
- Objects and points
- Graha, lagna, Rahu and Ketu
- Spatial divisions
- Rashi, bhava, nakshatra and pada
- Derived diagrams
- Varga, including D9
- Time vocabulary
- Dasha, mahadasha, antardasha and gochara
Words for objects and locations
Graha includes the Sun, Moon and lunar nodes in the familiar nine-factor scheme; lagna is the ascendant, not a tenth physical planet. Rashi is a 30° sign, while bhava requires a stated house reference and method.
Nakshatra divides the zodiac differently; pada is one quarter of a nakshatra in the equal 27-sector convention. A Moon position can have a rashi, a house and a nakshatra simultaneously without contradiction.
Words for relationships, charts and time
Drishti identifies an aspect framework, not automatically a Western degree-based aspect. Varga means a derived division chart, so D9 is not a second observation of the sky. Yoga names a combination whose conditions must be specified.
Mahadasha and antardasha are parent and subperiod labels within a dasha method. Gochara refers to transits. A period ruler and a currently transiting body are not the same field even when they share a planet name.
Always complete the phrase lord of what
If a note says “Venus is the lord,” ask whether it means a sign ruler, a house ruler, a nakshatra-period ruler or the current dasha ruler. These roles use different rules and need not coincide.
A good personal vocabulary sheet has four columns: term, type of information, required setting and example. The individual terminology pages explain these ambiguities; the cluster hubs provide comparison lists. Definitions do not certify an interpretation about a person.
Sources and editorial basis
- P. V. R. Narasimha Rao: Vedic Astrology — An Integrated ApproachRao, added note dated March 18, 2010 and §§1.2–1.3.3: names and chart terminology only. Ethical checklists, scientific study interpretation and editorial evidence separation are not attributed to Rao.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.
- OpenFate Editorial MethodologyOpenFate 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.