Chapter 9 · वर्ग Varga
Divisional charts and the navamsa
The birth chart shows the outline of a life; the divisional charts zoom in. This chapter explains how the vargas are formed, what each is read for, and why the navamsa matters so much.
- How divisional charts divide each sign
- What each of the sixteen vargas is read for
- How to find a planet’s navamsa, and what vargottama means
1. Charts within the chart
A sign is 30° wide, which is coarse. Divisional charts (vargas) split each sign into finer parts and map each part to a sign, producing a new chart for each area of life. Parashara describes sixteen of them (shodashavarga). The navamsa (D9), which divides each sign into nine parts, is the most important after the birth chart itself.
Enter a planet’s sign and degree to see where it falls in the main divisional charts.
| Chart | Falls in | Read for |
|---|
2. The sixteen divisions
Each divisional chart is read for its own area of life. Select one to see what it is used for.
3. Vargottama
When a planet occupies the same sign in the birth chart and the navamsa, it is vargottama, and considered especially strong. Divisional charts are also the reason accurate birth times matter: the ascendant of the navamsa changes roughly every 13 minutes, and that of finer charts in a minute or two.
Worked example · Albert Einstein
Einstein’s navamsa
The navamsa ascendant is Pisces. Exalted Venus falls in Aquarius in the navamsa, the Moon in Capricorn and Mars in Aquarius. None of his planets is vargottama.
Try it: enter Pisces and 24.8 in the calculator above to find Venus’s navamsa.
Birth data: 14 March 1879, 11:30 local time, Ulm, Germany; Rodden rating AA (from the birth record), as listed by Astrotheme from Astro-Databank. Positions converted by LotusAstro to the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri ayanamsa, about 22°10′ in 1879), whole-sign houses. One famous chart illustrates a technique; it proves nothing on its own.
Worked example · Indira Gandhi
Two vargottama planets
Her navamsa ascendant is Pisces. Mars is in Leo in both the birth chart and the navamsa, and Jupiter is in Taurus in both: two vargottama planets. For Mars, her yogakaraka, this is a mark of real strength.
Try it: enter Leo and 16.4 in the calculator above.
Birth data: 19 November 1917, 23:11 local time, Allahabad (now Prayagraj), India; source given as her own account (Rodden rating A), as listed by Astrotheme. Positions converted by LotusAstro to the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri ayanamsa, about 22°42′ in 1917), whole-sign houses. One chart illustrates a technique; it proves nothing on its own.
Test yourself