Lesson 13 of 14
Vargas, and why the navamsa matters
Each sign cut into smaller parts, and each set of parts read as a chart of its own.
Rasi
Navamsa
The places each graha in one of twelve signs. The divisional charts, the , look closer. Each sign is cut into a number of equal parts, each part is given a sign by a fixed rule, and those signs are laid out as a new chart. Parashara lists sixteen of them. The rasi chart is said to show what a life promises; the vargas show how much of each promise ripens.
The navamsa
The most used is the , the ninth division, D9. Each sign is cut into nine parts of 3 degrees 20 minutes. That is exactly the size of a , so the navamsa is really the pada made into a chart: the 108 padas of the zodiac map onto the twelve signs nine times over. pada 1 is navamsa, pada 2 is , and so on.
Tamil astrologers read the navamsa in two ways. First, as the chart of marriage: the seventh house of the navamsa and the state of in it are read for the spouse and the married life. Second, as a check on strength. A graha that looks strong in the rasi chart but falls into its sign of weakness in the navamsa is read as promising more than it gives; one that is weak in the rasi but strong in the navamsa is read as improving with time.
A graha in the same sign in both charts is , and is read as one whose promise holds. In the sample chart, compare the two diagrams: where a graha sits in the same sign in both, it is vargottama.
The other divisions
- D2, the hora: wealth.
- D3, the drekkana: brothers and sisters, courage.
- D7, the saptamsa: children.
- D10, the dasamsa: career and standing.
- D12, the dwadasamsa: parents.
- D30, the trimsamsa: misfortunes and how they are met.
- D60, the shashtiamsa: the finest of all, used to separate twins.
Each is read for its own matter, and the adds up a graha’s dignity across a set of them into one score out of 20.
Why the birth time matters even more
The finer the division, the faster it changes. The rasi lagna changes about every two hours; the navamsa lagna, a ninth of a sign, changes about every thirteen minutes; the D60 lagna every two minutes. A birth time rounded to the nearest half hour is enough for the rasi chart and the Moon’s star, but not for the navamsa lagna. The divisional charts of a chart without a firm time are best treated as tentative. The grahas’ own navamsa signs are safer, because the planets move far more slowly than the lagna; only the Moon, which crosses a navamsa in about six hours, needs care.
On this site the jathagam page opens the divisional charts on the navamsa and lets you step through the rest.