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जन्म-कुण्डली-प्रश्नोत्तरम्
Answers to the top 10 questions about kundali (Vedic birth charts), accuracy, and how to read them. Each answer cites BPHS, Sūrya-Siddhānta, or NASA-JPL Horizons.
A kundali (कुण्डली), also called janam kundli or birth chart, is a diagram of the sky at the exact moment and place of your birth. It shows the positions of the nine grahas (Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu) in the 12 zodiac houses. It's the foundation of Vedic astrology — pure structural information, no predictions or fortune-telling.
Source: BPHS · Sūrya-Siddhānta
Accuracy depends on (1) computational precision — verified ephemeris like NASA-JPL Horizons vs approximations — and (2) input accuracy — birth time must be correct to within ~1 minute for lagna accuracy. Bharat Ephemeris computes Sun to ~0.1 arc-minute and Moon to ~1 arc-minute vs NASA-JPL. Uncertain birth time means uncertain lagna-house positions, but the overall structure remains valid.
Source: NASA-JPL Horizons · Sūrya-Siddhānta
A kundali (birth chart) is the static sky-map at birth — planetary positions and houses. A horoscope is an interpretation or prediction derived from the kundali, often for a specific period. Kundali = data; horoscope = narrative. Bharat Ephemeris provides the kundali; interpretation requires a trained astrologer.
Source: BPHS · Vedic tradition
Yes, if the engine is transparent: published ephemeris (NASA-JPL), documented time systems (UTC↔IST), and ayanāṃśa choice (Lahiri default). Bharat Ephemeris publishes all three. You can verify by cross-checking coordinates with other engines using the same reference. Transparency = trustworthiness.
Source: Bharat Ephemeris documentation
Three pieces: (1) birth date (day, month, year), (2) birth time (hour:minute, accurate to within 1 minute — check hospital records), (3) birth place (city/country or lat/lon). Missing birth time means no lagna; missing place means ambiguous timezone conversions. All three are required for a complete chart.
Source: BPHS · standard practice
Convert birth date/time to Julian Day Number → fetch graha longitudes from NASA-JPL → rotate by ayanāṃśa (Lahiri) → place each graha into zodiac sign (rāśi) and lunar mansion (nakṣatra) → calculate lagna from local sidereal time → arrange all positions into 12 houses. The result: your kundali diagram.
Source: Sūrya-Siddhānta · BPHS calculation
The 12 houses (bhāva) represent life domains: (1) self, (2) wealth, (3) communication, (4) home/mother, (5) children, (6) health, (7) partnership, (8) death/transformation, (9) wisdom, (10) career, (11) gains, (12) spirituality. Each house is shaped by occupying grahas and sign-ruler. House analysis is key to kundali interpretation.
Source: BPHS §1.6 · Jaimini Sutras
A kundali alone does not predict; it shows your birth configuration. Future trends emerge from daśā periods (Vimśottarī) — time cycles that activate different grahas. Daśā says which graha is active during a life period, not what happens. Future prediction requires daśā analysis + transit + classical predictive techniques + astrologer judgment.
Source: BPHS daśā theory · Jaimini sutras
Kundali computation is scientific: verified ephemeris (NASA-JPL), geometric projection, mathematical time systems. Positions are measured, not assumed. Interpretation (mapping positions to life outcomes) is NOT yet scientifically tested — it's tradition-based. Bharat Ephemeris separates computation (verifiable) from reading (tradition).
Source: NASA-JPL · BPHS · Sūrya-Siddhānta
Best free tools show: (1) ephemeris transparency (NASA-JPL or Sūrya-Siddhānta mentioned), (2) accuracy claims with baseline (e.g., Sun within 0.1′ of NASA-JPL), (3) Hindi language support, (4) house-system choice. Bharat Ephemeris emphasizes transparency: NASA-JPL coordinates, Lahiri ayanāṃśa, Vimśottarī daśā, verified to p95 accuracy.
Source: Comparative accuracy · Bharat Ephemeris
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