What is the Navamsa chart?
Your birth chart, the D1, shows the sign each planet was in when you were born. The divisional charts look inside each sign. The Navamsa cuts every sign into nine equal parts, called navamsas or padas, and gives each part a sign of its own. The sign of the part a planet falls in becomes its sign in the D9. The word itself means “ninth part”.
Of the sixteen divisional charts, the Navamsa is the one astrologers look at first. It is read for two things: marriage and the spouse, and the real strength of each planet, which shows how well a planet keeps the promise it makes in the birth chart. Your free kundli shows the D9 alongside the other divisional charts; this page reads it in more detail.
How the Navamsa is calculated
Each sign of 30° is divided into nine parts of 3°20′. The parts are numbered in zodiac order, and the first part of each sign starts from a fixed sign depending on its element:
| Signs | First navamsa begins from |
|---|---|
| Fire signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius | Aries |
| Earth signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn | Capricorn |
| Air signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius | Libra |
| Water signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces | Cancer |
The nine parts of every sign run 0°00′ to 3°20′, 3°20′ to 6°40′, and so on up to 26°40′ to 30°00′. For example, the Moon at 29°50′ Sagittarius is in the ninth part of a fire sign. Fire signs start from Aries, and the ninth sign counted from Aries is Sagittarius, so the Moon is in Sagittarius in the D9 as well: it is vargottama. The lagna is placed the same way, and the houses of the Navamsa are counted from the Navamsa lagna.
Counted across the whole zodiac, the parts run on without a break: the twelve signs hold 108 navamsas, which go round the zodiac nine times, so each of the 12 signs appears once in each of the nine rounds.
Vargottama planets
A planet is vargottama when it occupies the same sign in the birth chart and the Navamsa. This happens in the first part of a movable sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn), the fifth part of a fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) and the ninth part of a dual sign (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces). Tradition treats a vargottama planet like one in its own sign: steady, and able to give what it promises. A vargottama lagna is read as a steady, self-reliant temperament.
Strength in the D1 and the D9
The Navamsa shows what is underneath the birth chart. A planet that is debilitated in the birth chart but exalted or in its own sign in the Navamsa is read as one that improves with time and effort; a planet that is exalted in the birth chart but debilitated in the Navamsa looks strong but gives less than it seems to. The table in your result marks each planet that changes this way.
The Navamsa for marriage
For marriage, astrologers read the 7th house of the Navamsa, the sign on it, its lord and where that lord sits, together with Venus, the planet of marriage in every chart, and, by tradition, Jupiter as well in a woman's chart. The Navamsa describes the nature of the marriage; the 7th house of the birth chart and the running dasha show when the matter comes up. Two people's charts are compared with kundli matching.
How to read your Navamsa, step by step
- Check your Navamsa lagna and its lord: where the lord sits in the D9 colours the whole chart.
- Note any vargottama planets: these are the steadiest planets you have.
- Compare each planet's sign in the D1 and the D9: exalted or own sign in the D9 adds strength, debilitated takes it away.
- For marriage, read the 7th house of the D9, its lord and Venus.
- Bring it back to the birth chart: the D9 refines what the D1 promises, it never replaces it.
Questions about the Navamsa chart
What is the Navamsa (D9) chart?
The Navamsa is the ninth divisional chart of a kundli. Each sign of the birth chart is cut into nine equal parts of 3°20′, and each part is given a sign of its own. Where a planet falls in those parts makes up the D9. It is read for marriage and the spouse, and for the inner strength of every planet.
How do I find my Navamsa chart?
Enter your date, time and place of birth above. The calculator works out where each planet and your lagna stood at birth, finds which of the nine parts of its sign each one falls in, and draws the resulting Navamsa chart beside your birth chart.
What does vargottama mean?
A planet is vargottama when it is in the same sign in the birth chart and in the Navamsa. Tradition counts it as a mark of strength: the planet gives steady, reliable results. It happens to about one planet in nine, because each sign has one part out of nine that falls in its own sign.
Is the Navamsa more important than the birth chart?
No. The birth chart (D1) is the main chart and the Navamsa refines it. A planet that looks strong in the birth chart but is weak in the Navamsa tends to promise more than it gives; a planet that is weak in the birth chart but strong in the Navamsa tends to improve with time. Astrologers read the two together.
Can the Navamsa tell about my spouse?
The Navamsa is the chart traditionally read for marriage. Its 7th house, the lord of that house and the placement of Venus describe the nature of the marriage and of the spouse. Read alone it gives only part of the picture: it has to be combined with the 7th house of the birth chart.
Why does the Navamsa need an exact birth time?
The lagna moves through a whole sign in about two hours, so it passes through each of the nine parts in about 13 minutes on average. A birth time that is ten or fifteen minutes out can change your Navamsa lagna and every house in the chart. The planets, except the Moon, change their Navamsa much more slowly.
Why is my Navamsa different on another website?
Usually because of the birth time or place entered, or because the other site uses different calculation settings for the zodiac. If your Navamsa lagna is close to the edge of its part, the calculator above warns you, since a couple of minutes either way would change it.