Divisional Chart | An Introduction to Divisional Charts – Vedic Astrology

Divisions of A Rasi

Each rasi has many divisions. Divisions of rasis are again mapped to rasis. For example, a rasi may be divided into 4 parts and each part may be mapped to a  different rasi. Ar may be divided into 4 parts and the 4 parts may be mapped to Ar, Cn, Li and Cp. Then the 4 parts of Ta may be mapped to Ta, Le, Sc and Aq. And so on. Like this, we may divide all rasis into 4 parts and map the 4 parts to different rasis. We may also divide rasis to 9 parts and map each part into a rasi. We can have many different divisions. Sage Parasara defined 16 different divisions of rasis. Jaimini and Tajaka writers
mentioned 4 more divisions. It is possible that Parasara also dealt with these 4 special divisions in sections that are perhaps missing today. In addition, there are more higher and finer divisions that are normally not used.

Based on the rasis occupied by planets in various divisions, “divisional charts” are drawn. As we have seen before, we need to know the rasis occupied by planets, upagrahas, lagna and special lagnas to draw any chart. In every division, we divide the rasi into different parts, find the part containing each planet and see the rasi to which that part is mapped. Then we place the planet in that rasi in the chart corresponding to that division. We can draw a chart for each division. A planet can occupy different rasis in different divisions. Chart of each division is called a divisional chart. Each divisional chart can be treated as a different chart and interpreted differently. Different aspects of life are seen in different divisional charts. Rasi chart is simply a special case of divisional charts. If we divide each rasi into just one part (i.e. in effect, no division), we get rasi chart.

In the rest of this book, everything we describe will be applicable to all divisional charts, unless we explicitly state a chart. We can apply all the principles to all the divisional charts, but we should see only specific matters in a divisional chart. The list of matters to be seen in each divisional chart will be given after the details of computation are presented.

Computing Divisional Charts

We will explain the computation of 20 divisional charts in this section. Higher divisional charts like D-108 and D-150 and variations in charts like D-2, D-3, D-8 and D-11 will not be covered in this book.

Rasi Chart (D-1)

A simple example of divisions is rasi chart itself. It is also called “kshetra chakra”. It is denoted by D-1. Longitudes in the range 0°-30° are mapped to Aries, 30°-60° to Taurus and so on, as mentioned earlier. Using Table 1, we can find the rasi occupied by a body based on its longitude. By “body” here, we mean planets, upagrahas, lagna or special lagnas – basically a physical or a mathematical point in the zodiac that has a longitude associated with it.

Hora Chart (D-2)

Each rasi is divided into 2 equal parts of 15° each. Bodies in the first 15° of odd rasis are in Sun’s hora. Bodies in the second 15° of odd rasis are in Moon’s hora. Bodies in the first 15° of even rasis are in Moon’s hora. Bodies in the second 15° of even rasis are in Sun’s hora. 

NOTE: Though absolutely correct, the above is not quite complete. Proper use of hora chart is beyond the scope of this book. So we will ignore and not use hora chart in this book.

Drekkana Chart (D-3)

Each rasi is divided into 3 equal parts of 10° each. Bodies in the first 10° of a rasi are placed in drekkana chart in the same rasi. Bodies in the middle 10° of a rasi are placed in drekkana chart in the 5th from the rasi. Bodies in the last 10° of a rasi are placed in drekkana chart in the 9th from the rasi.

Example 11: Let us say Mercury, Jupiter and Venus are together in Gemini in rasi chart. Mercury is at 3°. Jupiter is at 19°. Venus is at 21°. Then Mercury is in the first 10° (0°-10°), Jupiter is in the middle 10° (10°-20°) and Venus is in the last 10° (20°-30°). So Mercury is placed in Gemini itself in drekkana chart; Jupiter is placed in Libra (5th from Gemini) in drekkana chart; and, Venus is placed in Aquarius (9th from Gemini) in drekkana chart.

Chaturthamsa Chart (D-4)

Each rasi is divided into 4 equal parts of 7.5° each. Bodies in the first, second, third and fourth 7.5° arc of a rasi are in the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th from that rasi (respectively) in chaturthamsa. In other words, planets in 0°-7.5° in a rasi go into 1st from that rasi; planets in 7.5°-15° go into 4th from that rasi; planets in 15°-22.5° go into the 7th from that rasi; and, planets in the 22.5°-30° go into the 10th from that rasi.
This chart is also known as Chaturamsa or Turyamsa.

Example 12: Let us say Mercury, Jupiter and Venus are together in Taurus. Mercury is at 3°, Jupiter is at 14° and Venus is at 23°. Mercury is in 0°-7.5° arc, i.e. the first 7.5° arc, of Ta. So he is in Ta (1st from Ta) in D-4.
Jupiter is in 7.5°-15° arc, i.e. the second 7.5° arc, of Ta. So he is in Le (4th from Ta) in D-4.
Venus is in 22.5°-30° arc, i.e. the fourth 7.5° arc, of Ta. So he is in Aq (10th from Ta) in D-4.

Panchamsa Chart (D-5)

Each rasi is divided into 5 equal parts of 6° each. Bodies in the 5 parts of an odd rasi go into Ar, Aq, Sg, Ge and Li (respectively). Bodies in the 5 parts of an even rasi go into Ta, Vi, Pi, Cp and Sc (respectively).

Shashthamsa Chart (D-6)

Each rasi is divided into 6 equal parts of 5° each. Bodies in the 6 parts of a rasi go into the 6 rasis starting from Ar or Li, based on whether the rasi is odd or even.

Example 13: Let us say Mercury is at 11° in Ge and Jupiter is at 19° in Sc. We see that 11° is in the 3rd part of the rasi and 19° is in the 4th part of the rasi. Ge is an odd rasi and counting starts from Ar. The 3rd from Ar is Ge. So the 3rd part in Ge goes into Ge in D-6. On the other hand, Sc is an even rasi and counting starts from Li. The 4th from Li is Cp. So the 4th part of Sc goes into Cp in D-6. So Mercury is in Ge and Jupiter is in Cp in D-6 for this example.

Saptamsa Chart (D-7)

Each rasi is divided into 7 equal parts of 4° 17′ 8.57”. Bodies in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th parts of a rasi go into the 7 rasis starting from the rasi itself, if it is an odd rasi, or starting from the 7th sign from it, if it is an even rasi.

Example 14: Let us say Mercury is at 10° in Ge and Jupiter is at 19° in Vi. We see that 10° is in the 3rd part of the rasi and 19° is in the 5th part of the rasi. Because Ge is an odd rasi, the 3rd part in Ge goes into the 3rd from Ge, i.e. Le. On the other hand, Vi is an even sign and counting starts from the 7th from it, i.e. Pi. The 5th from Pi is Cn. So the 5th part of Vi goes into Cn. So Mercury is in Le and Jupiter is in Cn in D-7 for
this example.

Ashtamsa Chart (D-8)

Each rasi is divided into 8 equal parts of 3° 45′ each. Bodies in the eight parts of a rasi go into the 8 rasis starting from Ar, Sg or Le, based on whether the rasi is a movable, fixed or dual sign.

Example 15: Let us say Mercury is at 10° in Ge and Jupiter is at 19° in Sc. We see that 10° is in the 3rd part of the rasi and 19° is in the 6th part of the rasi. Because Ge is a dual rasi, counting starts from Le. The 3rd from Le is Li. So the 3rd part in Ge goes into Li in D-8. On the other hand, Sc is a fixed sign and counting starts from Sg. The 6th from Sg is Ta. So the 6th part of Sc goes into Ta in D-8. So Mercury is in Le and Jupiter is in Ta in D-8 for this example.

Navamsa Chart (D-9)

Each rasi is divided into 9 equal parts of 3° 20′ each. Bodies in the 9 parts of a rasi go into the 9 rasis starting from Ar, Cp, Li or Cn, based on whether the rasi is a fiery, earthy, airy or watery sign.

This chart is also known as Dharmamsa. It is the most popular chart after rasi chart and some astrologers simply refer to it as “Amsa” (division).

Example 16: Let us say Mercury is at 11° in Ge and Jupiter is at 19° in Sc. We see that 11° is in the 4th part of the rasi and 19° is in the 6th part of the rasi. Because Ge is an airy rasi, counting starts from Li. The 4th from Li is Cp. So the 4th part in Ge goes into Cp in D-9. On the other hand, Sc is a watery sign and counting starts from Cn. The 6th from Cn is Sg. So the 6th part of Sc goes into Sg in D-9. So Mercury is in Cp
and Jupiter is in Sg in D-9 for this example.

Dasamsa Chart (D-10)

Each rasi is divided into 10 equal parts of 3° each. Bodies in the 10 parts of a rasi go into the 10 rasis starting from the rasi itself or the 9th from it, based on whether the rasi is an odd or even sign.

This chart is also known as Dasamaamsa or Karmamsa or Swargamsa.

Example 17: Let us say Mercury is at 10° in Ge and Jupiter is at 19° in Sc. We see that 10° is in the 4th part of the rasi and 19° is in the 7th part of the rasi. Because Ge is an odd rasi, counting starts from Ge itself. The 4th from Ge is Vi. So the 4th part in Ge goes into Vi in D-10. On the other hand, Sc is an even sign and counting starts

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