Vedic FAQ
Collected questions that come up during Vedic integration. If yours isn’t here — email hello@astroway.info, we’ll add it.
Which ayanamsas are supported? Which to choose?
Section titled “Which ayanamsas are supported? Which to choose?”The API supports 7 ayanamsas:
| Code | Name | When to use |
|---|---|---|
lahiri (default) | Chitra-Paksha | Indian government standard; the largest mass market. For most Vedic apps — this. |
raman | B.V. Raman | If your app targets the South Indian market (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu). |
krishnamurti | KP | If calling /v1/vedic/kp/* — KP has its own ayanamsa. |
yukteshwar | Sri Yukteshwar | Distance from Spica; theosophical / Western-leaning audiences. |
fagan-bradley | Fagan/Bradley | Western sidereal (not Vedic). For astrologers migrating from sidereal-Western traditions. |
de-luce | De Luce | Older astrologers’ choice, rare. |
jn-bhasin | JN Bhasin | Specific school, rare. |
The difference between ayanamsas is usually 0.5–1.5° — for most natal charts it does not change the signs, but it affects degree-based techniques (Nakshatra position, Argala, etc.).
Sidereal or tropical? What does the API return?
Section titled “Sidereal or tropical? What does the API return?”By default, Vedic endpoints return sidereal positions (zodiac fixed to stars, ayanamsa applied). Western endpoints (/v1/chart, /v1/synastry) return tropical (zodiac fixed to the equinox).
For tropical-Vedic (a rare edge case — Sanjay Rath and Ernst Wilhelm propose it) — pass zodiac=tropical to the Vedic endpoint that supports it.
Which school for which use case?
Section titled “Which school for which use case?”| School | Region / Audience | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Parashara (BPHS) | All Vedic world — universal baseline | Most complete corpus of techniques; always start here |
| Jaimini | Tamil Nadu + advanced practitioners | Karaka-based predictions; AK-driven life themes |
| Lal Kitab | Punjab + North India | Unique remedies (upayas), Manglik-specific |
| KP (Krishnamurti) | Tamil Nadu + Andhra Pradesh | Sub-lord theory, precision in event-timing |
Pratyangira, AstroSage and other major APIs mostly ship Parashara only. AstroWay covers all four through separate endpoint groups.
Ashtakoot or Dashakoota — which market?
Section titled “Ashtakoot or Dashakoota — which market?”| Ashtakoot | Dashakoota | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | North/Central India, Pakistan, Nepal | South India (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala) |
| Scale | 36 points max | 10 koots (factors) |
| Components | Varna + Vashya + Tara + Yoni + Graha Maitri + Gana + Bhakoot + Nadi | Dina + Gana + Mahendra + Stri-Dirga + Yoni + Rashi + Rashi-adhipathi + Vashya + Rajju + Vedha |
| API | /v1/vedic/compatibility/ashtakoot | /v1/vedic/compatibility/dashakoota |
If your matchmaker serves all of India — call /v1/vedic/compatibility/full — you get both + Manglik + Bhrigu.
Mangal Dosha — why does it matter?
Section titled “Mangal Dosha — why does it matter?”Mangal Dosha = Mars in the 1/2/4/7/8/12 house from the Lagna, Moon, or Venus (schools interpret differently). In India — this is a deal-breaker for marriage: if both partners have a Mangal affliction without compensation, a traditional astrologer won’t green-light without upayas (remedies) or compensating factors.
API endpoint: /v1/vedic/compatibility/manglik-check — returns { chart1: { manglik: true/false, severity, factors }, chart2: ..., compensation: ... }.
D9 (Navamsha) — why is it the most important varga?
Section titled “D9 (Navamsha) — why is it the most important varga?”D9 = 9-fold division of each sign = detailed “soul-level” chart. In Vedic — used for:
- Marriage predictions — Venus + 7th lord in D9 show the true nature of married life
- Strength of planets — a planet strong in D1 but weak in D9 = “shows but doesn’t deliver”
- Vargottama — a planet in the same sign in D1 and D9 = special strength
API: /v1/vedic/vargas returns all 16 divisions in a single call; focus on D9 for marriage/relationship features.
Why is birth time critical? What to do if unknown?
Section titled “Why is birth time critical? What to do if unknown?”Vedic is highly time-sensitive:
- The Lagna (Ascendant) changes every ~2 hours — that shifts the WHOLE chart
- Moon Nakshatra changes every 6–8 hours
- Dasha balance (initial period) depends on the Moon’s nakshatra position
If the exact time is unknown:
- Sunrise chart — use 06:00 local time as an approximation. The Lagna will be Aries/Taurus for a Leo/Capricorn Sun; some Vedic astrologers consider sunrise charts valid for general-tendency forecasting
- Rectification — call
/v1/rectificationwith 2-3 known life events (marriage, child, job switch) — the API returns a probable birth-time window - Disclaimer to the user — tell them results with unknown time are an approximation, not an exact chart
Which house systems are supported?
Section titled “Which house systems are supported?”Vedic traditionally uses Whole Sign houses (the entire sign = one house). Western — Placidus / Koch / Equal etc.
AstroWay’s default for Vedic = Whole Sign. For KP endpoints — Placidus (KP convention). Pass the houseSystem parameter if you need a different one: whole-sign, placidus, koch, equal, porphyry.
Can I mix Vedic + Western in one app?
Section titled “Can I mix Vedic + Western in one app?”Yes — and it’s even recommended for multi-tradition audiences. Architecture:
- The natal chart is computed once — Western and Vedic endpoints share the same input (date/time/lat/lon)
- Expose a “Western view” / “Vedic view” toggle in your UI
- Vedic Moon sign (rashi) is often confused with the Western Sun sign — warn the user about the difference
- Compatibility — you can show BOTH: Western synastry + Vedic Ashtakoot simultaneously
The /v1/compat/astro-vedic endpoint does this automatically — Western synastry × Vedic Ashtakoot bridge.
What ephemeris is used? How accurate is it?
Section titled “What ephemeris is used? How accurate is it?”Swiss Ephemeris (LGPL) — the same engine used by Solar Fire, Kepler, Astro Gold, Janus, AstroSeek. Accuracy:
- Planetary positions: ±1 arc-second vs NASA JPL ephemeris
- House cusps: ±1 arc-minute
- Ayanamsa: Lahiri-table cross-validated against official Indian government tables
For Vedic-specific calculations (Nakshatra-position, Vimshottari balance, Vargas) — cross-checked against PyJHora (de-facto Python reference); divergences < 0.01° where present. Divergence report — docs/AUDIT-TRAIL.md in the repo.
Can I cache results? How?
Section titled “Can I cache results? How?”Yes — most Vedic endpoints are deterministic for the same chart input. Stable cache key: hash(date + time + lat + lon + ayanamsa + endpoint).
The API also offers an X-Idempotency-Key header — a 5-minute cache on the api-calc side. On a cache hit, credits are not charged.
How are response texts localized?
Section titled “How are response texts localized?”Vedic endpoints that return interpretations (yoga descriptions, dosha meanings, muhurat reasons) accept the lang parameter. Supported: 21 languages (T0 — uk/en/de/ru manual; T1 — pl/es/pt/hi/fr/ko AI Beta; T2/T3 — planned). Details: /en/languages/.
If an endpoint returns numeric data (degrees, dates, sign indices) — those are language-neutral. Text fields (note, meaning, manifestation) — localized.
What does YELLOW status mean?
Section titled “What does YELLOW status mean?”YELLOW = the endpoint works, but has one of three characteristics:
- Single-author school (Lal Kitab, KP) — no cross-verification with other schools because they don’t exist
- Scoring / heuristic-based (compatibility 0-100, breakup-timing) — numeric score subjective by nature
- Intrinsic precision limit (rectification, Bhrigu match) — the algorithm has an inherent precision floor
See docs/AUDIT-TRAIL.md for a specific endpoint — it states why YELLOW and whether there’s a path to GREEN. For most — no (intrinsic), and that’s an honest disclaimer for integrators.