Lesson 22 of 27 · Expert
Divisional Charts (Vargas) in Vedic Astrology, Explained
One birth longitude, sliced sixteen classical ways — and what each slice is traditionally read for.
The short answer
A divisional chart, or varga, subdivides each sign of the birth (D1) chart into smaller parts and reassembles them into a new twelve-sign chart, read for one domain of life. Classical Vedic astrology recognises sixteen of them, the Shodashavarga. Nothing about the sky changes between them — only how the same birth longitudes are re-grouped.
What a divisional chart actually is
The chart most people mean by "my birth chart" — grahas placed in twelve houses, one sign each — is the D1, or rashi chart. It is accurate as far as it goes, but a 30° sign is a wide net: two people can both have Jupiter in Sagittarius and still sit nearly thirty degrees apart within it. A varga, or divisional chart, recovers that lost precision by subdividing each sign into smaller parts and reassembling those parts into a new twelve-sign chart, read for one particular domain of life.
Vargaa divisional chart — a chart derived by subdividing each sign of the birth chart into smaller, equal or defined arcs
Nothing new is measured to build a varga. The arithmetic runs entirely on the birth longitudes the D1 chart already uses — no new data, no additional moment in time. What changes is only how those existing degrees are grouped into a fresh set of twelve signs.
How a varga is actually calculated
Every varga follows the same basic shape: divide each 30° sign into N equal (or, for some vargas, defined but unequal) parts, then map each part onto one of the twelve signs by a fixed rule specific to that varga. Take the navamsa, or D9, as an example. It divides each sign into nine parts of exactly 3°20′ each. A fire sign like Leo starts its count of ninths from Aries; an earth sign starts from Capricorn; an air sign from Libra; a water sign from Cancer — each element cycling through the zodiac from its own starting point.
So a graha sitting at 12°45′ Leo falls in the fourth of Leo's nine parts (each part is 3°20′ wide, and 12°45′ lands past the third boundary). Counting four signs on from Aries, where fire signs start their navamsa count, lands that fourth part in Cancer. The graha itself never moved a single degree in the sky — only the label of which navamsa sign it falls into was worked out.
The sixteen classical vargas — the Shodashavarga
Classical Vedic literature, chiefly the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, defines sixteen divisional charts as the standard set, collectively called the Shodashavarga. The table below gives each one's part size and the domain it is traditionally read for — the assignments for the better-known vargas (D1, D9, D10) are widely agreed; for the less commonly used ones, later in the table, different classical commentators emphasise somewhat different domains.
| D | Name | Part size | Traditionally read for |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Rashi | the whole sign | the life as a whole |
| D2 | Hora | 15° halves | wealth and material resources |
| D3 | Drekkana | 10° thirds | siblings, courage, and effort |
| D4 | Chaturthamsha | 7°30′ quarters | home, property, and fixed assets |
| D7 | Saptamsha | 4°17′09″ sevenths | children and creative legacy |
| D9 | Navamsha | 3°20′ ninths | marriage, and the chart's underlying strength |
| D10 | Dashamsha | 3° tenths | career and public action |
| D12 | Dwadashamsha | 2°30′ twelfths | parents and lineage |
| D16 | Shodashamsha | 1°52′30″ parts | vehicles and general comforts |
| D20 | Vimshamsha | 1°30′ parts | spiritual practice |
| D24 | Chaturvimshamsha | 1°15′ parts | learning and education |
| D27 | Saptavimshamsha | 1°06′40″ parts | general strengths and weaknesses |
| D30 | Trimshamsha | unequal, by planet | difficulties and character flaws |
| D40 | Khavedamsha | 0°45′ parts | auspicious effects from the maternal line |
| D45 | Akshavedamsha | 0°40′ parts | general conduct and the paternal line |
| D60 | Shashtiamsha | 0°30′ parts | a fine-grained view of past actions, used to confirm results from other charts |
The navamsa (D9) — read alongside almost everything
Of the sixteen, the navamsa carries the most weight in daily practice. It is read alongside the D1 for far more than marriage alone — it is treated as a second opinion on a graha's real strength. A graha that looks weak in the D1 but lands well in the D9 is traditionally read as improving over the course of a life, like a tree whose roots turn out to be sturdier than its visible branches suggested.
When a graha's sign is the same in both the D1 and the D9, that placement is called vargottama, and classical technique treats it as a meaningful strengthening of whatever that graha and house already indicate. Checking whether the two charts agree on a graha's sign is standard practice, not an advanced or optional step.
Vargottamawhen a graha occupies the same sign in both the D1 (rashi) and D9 (navamsa) charts, traditionally read as a strengthening of that placement
One further detail ties the two together directly: a nakshatra pada — one quarter of a lunar mansion — is also exactly 3°20′ wide, the same size as a navamsa division, and both systems start counting from the same point at 0° Aries. That means a graha's pada and its navamsa sign are the same information, arrived at from two different classical vocabularies rather than two different calculations.
Reading dignity inside a varga
A graha's strength within any varga is judged by which sign it lands in — own sign, exalted, debilitated, or otherwise — never by a specific degree inside that varga. Vargas were never designed to carry the fine-grained, degree-level dignity rules (like exact exaltation points) that apply to the D1 chart; once a longitude has been folded into a varga sign, only the sign itself is meaningful there. Any report that prints a precise degree for a graha inside a divisional chart is adding a level of false precision the classical technique never claimed.
| Graha | Exalted (deepest at) | Debilitated (deepest at) | Own signs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | Aries 10° | Libra 10° | Leo |
| Moon | Taurus 3° | Scorpio 3° | Cancer |
| Mars | Capricorn 28° | Cancer 28° | Aries, Scorpio |
| Mercury | Virgo 15° | Pisces 15° | Gemini, Virgo |
| Jupiter | Cancer 5° | Capricorn 5° | Sagittarius, Pisces |
| Venus | Pisces 27° | Virgo 27° | Taurus, Libra |
| Saturn | Libra 20° | Aries 20° | Capricorn, Aquarius |
Not every "D-number" you see online is a classical varga
Some software and websites list eighteen, or even more, divisional charts, adding a D5 (Panchamsha), D6 (Shashthamsha), D8 (Ashtamsha), or D11 (Rudramsha) alongside the sixteen above. Two of these deserve real caution. No continuous, non-arbitrary rule for a genuine D5 has been reliably reproduced from classical sources; and the numbers some vendors label "D6" turn out, on inspection, to be a D60 in disguise — their reported boundaries only make sense at 0°30′ increments, not the 5° a true D6 would require. Rather than guess at a rule with no solid basis, it is more honest to simply not show either one.
D8 and D11 sit in a different category: real, calculable divisional charts with a defined rule, but not part of the Parashari sixteen — some modern software traditions add them on top. Any source using them should say so plainly rather than presenting them as part of the classical Shodashavarga.
Where even the classical vargas disagree: the D60 case
The Shodashavarga is not free of open questions. The D60, or Shashtiamsha, is a genuine sticking point: for the sign's odd-numbered half of the zodiac, every source agrees the sixty parts are counted starting from the sign itself. For the even-numbered half, sources split. The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra's plain reading counts every sign's sixty parts from the sign itself, with no exception for even signs. A number of professional reference reports and some well-known software instead count the even signs' sixty parts starting from that sign's seventh house — a real, if less literal, reading of the same tradition.
Common mistakes people make with divisional charts
- Treating a varga as a separate chart cast for a different, later moment — it is always derived from the same birth longitudes, calculated once
- Saying a graha "moves" into a new house in the D9 or D10 — only its label changes; the sky it was born under does not
- Reading a varga's dignity to the degree, when classical technique only supports reading it by sign
- Assuming every listed "D-number" belongs to the classical sixteen, when several common ones (D5, D6, D8, D11) sit outside it or lack a reliable rule altogether
- Judging one varga in isolation — the D9 is traditionally read together with the D1, not as a replacement for it
Questions people ask
What is a divisional chart (varga) in Vedic astrology?
A divisional chart, or varga, is derived by subdividing each 30° sign of the birth (D1) chart into smaller parts and reassembling those parts into a new twelve-sign chart, read for one domain of life such as marriage or career. It uses the same birth longitudes already calculated for the D1 — no new measurement or moment in time is involved.
What is the navamsa (D9) chart used for?
The navamsa divides each sign into nine parts of 3°20′ each and is read alongside the D1 for far more than marriage alone — traditionally as a second opinion on a graha's real underlying strength. A graha weak in the D1 but well placed in the D9 is traditionally read as improving over time, and agreement between the two charts (vargottama) is treated as a meaningful strengthening.
How many divisional charts are there in classical Vedic astrology?
The classical standard set is sixteen, called the Shodashavarga, running D1, D2, D3, D4, D7, D9, D10, D12, D16, D20, D24, D27, D30, D40, D45, and D60. Some software lists additional D-numbers such as D5, D6, D8, or D11, but these either lack a reliable classical rule or fall outside the Parashari sixteen and should be labelled separately.
What is vargottama?
Vargottama is when a graha occupies the same sign in both the D1 (rashi) chart and the D9 (navamsa) chart. Classical technique treats this agreement between the two charts as a meaningful strengthening of that graha's placement, since the birth chart and its most-consulted divisional chart are telling the same story about that graha's sign.
Are D5 and D6 real divisional charts?
They are widely listed online, but neither has a solid classical footing. No continuous, non-arbitrary rule for a genuine D5 (Panchamsha) has been reliably reproduced from classical sources, and figures labelled "D6" in some reference material are arithmetically identical to a D60 rather than a true sixth-part division. Treat either one with real caution.
Why do different sources disagree on the D60 chart?
The D60's rule for even-numbered signs is a genuine, long-standing methodological split. The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra's literal reading counts every sign's sixty parts starting from the sign itself, even signs included. Several professional reference sources instead count even signs' sixty parts from that sign's seventh house. Both are real readings of the tradition, not an error on either side.
Do planets actually move between the D1 chart and a divisional chart?
No. A divisional chart is a mathematical remapping of the birth longitudes already calculated for the D1 chart, not a chart cast for a different time. A graha's sign can change from chart to chart because the grouping rule changes, but the graha's real position in the sky at birth never does.