AstroMedha

Divisional Charts (Vargas), Made Plain

A calm guide to divisional charts (vargas) in Vedic astrology, why the numbers jump from D1 to D60, and what each chart actually looks at.

This is the general definition. Find out whether you carry it, and what it does in your chart — How Your Chart Works reads your own houses, lords, retrogrades, significators, navamsa and aspects, with two things to do and two to avoid for each.

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Narrated by Medha

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Think of your birth chart as a map of a whole city. A divisional chart is a zoom on one neighbourhood. Same city, closer look. Each divisional chart, called a varga, takes one part of life and shows it in more detail.

The word varga simply means division. To build one, you cut each 30-degree sign into smaller equal slices and read where the planets fall in those slices. Cut into 9 and you get the D9, the chart often used for marriage and inner strength. Cut into 10 and you get the D10, used for career and public work. The number after the D tells you how many slices each sign was cut into.

The base chart comes first

Your main birth chart is the D1, also called the Rasi chart. It is the master map. Everything else refines it. A divisional chart adds nuance to a theme that already exists in the D1. It never overrides the D1. If a varga hints at one thing and your main chart says another, the main chart holds.

Why the numbers jump

The list of divisional charts is not a smooth count. You see D1, D2, D3, D4, D7, D9, D10, D12, D16, D20, D24, D27, D30, D40, D45, D60. There is no D5 or D6 on that standard list, and no D13, D14 or D17 anywhere. New readers often assume something is missing. Nothing is missing.

The reason is that classical Jyotish only names specific divisors. Sage Parashara nested the named charts into schemes, each scheme adding a few more:

  • Shadvarga, the group of six: D1, D2, D3, D9, D12, D30.
  • Saptavarga, the group of seven: the six above plus D7.
  • Dashavarga, the group of ten: adds D10, D16, D60.
  • Shodasavarga, the classical sixteen: adds D4, D20, D24, D27, D40, D45.

So the famous sixteen are D1, D2, D3, D4, D7, D9, D10, D12, D16, D20, D24, D27, D30, D40, D45 and D60. A few other named vargas sit outside this set and appear in extended or regional lists: D5 (Panchamsa), D6 (Shashtamsa), D8 (Ashtamsa) and D11 (Rudramsa). A few rare higher ones also exist, such as D81, D108 and D144, used by a smaller number of astrologers. Numbers that were never given a name, like D13, D14 and D17, are simply never cast. The list skips because the tradition only ever defined those particular divisors, not because pieces fell out.

What each main varga looks at

Here is a short map of the commonly used charts and the life area each one refines.

  • D1 (Rasi): the whole life, the master chart.
  • D2 (Hora): wealth and resources.
  • D3 (Drekkana): siblings, courage, effort.
  • D4 (Chaturthamsa): home, property, fixed assets.
  • D7 (Saptamsa): children and lineage.
  • D9 (Navamsa): marriage, partner, inner strength of planets.
  • D10 (Dasamsa): career and public standing.
  • D12 (Dwadasamsa): parents and ancestry.
  • D16 (Shodasamsa): vehicles, comforts, contentment.
  • D20 (Vimsamsa): spiritual practice and devotion.
  • D24 (Chaturvimsamsa): learning and education.
  • D27 (Bhamsa): general strength and weak spots.
  • D30 (Trimsamsa): difficulties and inner challenges.
  • D60 (Shashtiamsa): fine detail and past patterns.

AstroMedha computes a focused set of these: D1, D2, D7, D9 and D10. That covers the master chart plus wealth, children, marriage and career, which are the areas most people ask about first.

The full set of vargas, with links

The sixteen classical charts (Shodasavarga):

Named vargas outside the sixteen (used in some traditions):

Rare higher vargas (advanced, most readers can skip these):

How to use them without overthinking

Read the D1 first and let it set the main story. Then open a varga only for the question in front of you. Career question, look at the D10. Marriage question, look at the D9. A divisional chart is a lens, not a separate fate. Used this way it stays calm and useful rather than confusing.

If you want to see your own charts, you can start with a free birth chart from our free tools and build your reading from there.

Common questions

Why do the divisional chart numbers skip from D24 to D27 to D30?
Because classical Jyotish only names specific divisors. There is no D25 or D26 because the tradition never defined a chart for those divisions. The standard sixteen vargas were each chosen on purpose and nested into schemes, so the list reads D24, D27, D30 with gaps that were always part of the design, not pieces that went missing.
What is the difference between the D1 and a divisional chart?
The D1, or Rasi chart, is your full birth chart and the master map of your life. A divisional chart zooms into one area, such as marriage in the D9 or career in the D10. The varga adds detail to a theme the D1 already shows. It refines the D1 and never overrides it.
How many divisional charts are there?
The classical set described by Parashara is sixteen, called the Shodasavarga: D1, D2, D3, D4, D7, D9, D10, D12, D16, D20, D24, D27, D30, D40, D45 and D60. A few named charts like D5, D6, D8 and D11 sit outside this set, and a small number of rare higher charts such as D81, D108 and D144 also exist.
Which divisional charts does AstroMedha compute?
AstroMedha computes D1, D2, D7, D9 and D10. That gives you the master chart plus the charts for wealth, children, marriage and career, which are the areas most people want to understand first.
Do I need to read all sixteen charts?
No. Most readings use the D1 plus a small number of vargas chosen for the question at hand. Open the D9 for marriage, the D10 for career, and so on. Reading every chart at once tends to add noise rather than clarity.

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