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Seven vs Eight Chara Karakas: Rahu and Role Changes

Compare the seven and eight chara-karaka schemes, Rahu’s reverse measure, the added Pitri role, and why the same chart can produce different labels.

Names and related terms
7 vs 8 chara karakas · seven and eight significators

Editorially reviewed: · Reviewed by OpenFate · Editorial Methodology

Overview

The seven-role scheme used by OpenFate ranks Sun through Saturn and excludes Rahu. Rao’s eight-role table adds Rahu, measures it from the end of its sign, and inserts Pitri Karaka before Putra Karaka.

At a glance

Seven roles
AK, AmK, BK, MK, PK, GK, DK
Eight roles
AK, AmK, BK, MK, PiK, PK, GK, DK
Rahu in eight
30° minus its within-sign degree
Ketu
Excluded from both compared lists

Why is this more than adding one planet?

The role table changes as well as the participant set. In the eight-role list, fifth place is PiK, sixth PK, seventh GK and eighth DK. Seven-role fifth place is already PK. A rank number without a scheme is therefore incomplete.

Rahu at 28° within a sign has an eight-scheme advance of 2°, not 28°. OpenFate’s inspected implementation does not perform this operation because Rahu is excluded from its declared seven-role calculation.

Follow the change in the lower roles

Use invented advances Sun 28°, Moon 25°, Mars 22°, Mercury 18°, Jupiter 14°, Venus 9° and Saturn 4°. In seven roles Jupiter is PK, Venus GK and Saturn DK.

Now include Rahu at a within-sign position of 28°, giving reversed advance 2°. In Rao’s eight-role table Jupiter becomes PiK, Venus PK, Saturn GK and Rahu DK. The original seven planetary coordinates did not change; the rule set did.

Which scheme is correct for a saved report?

Use the scheme declared by that report’s calculation profile. If comparing a teacher or another program, reproduce its exact list, Rahu convention and tie handling separately. Do not describe a seven-role result as verified by an eight-role example.

Neither scheme proves a parent’s or partner’s behavior. This page explains reproducibility, not superiority through a preferred life story. An unavailable alternative implementation should remain unavailable rather than be guessed from existing labels.

Sources and editorial basis

  1. P. V. R. Narasimha Rao: Vedic Astrology — An Integrated Approach
    Rao, Chapter 8, §§8.1–8.4, printed pp. 79–83; especially §8.2 and Table 13, pp. 80–81: within-sign advancement, the eight-role table, Rahu measured from the sign end, and exact-tie sharing. The seven-role OpenFate policy and its deterministic tie break come from a separate implementation review, not from pretending this eight-role table specifies them. Original ranking examples are editorial arithmetic, not birth-chart evidence or proof of moral, spiritual or family outcomes.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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