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Why Kundaligram uses Lahiri ayanamsa
Kundaligram education desk · About · Updated 2026-09-26
Ayanamsa is the angular gap between the tropical zodiac (tied to the seasons) and the sidereal zodiac (tied to the stars) that Vedic charts use. Kundaligram uses Lahiri, also called Chitrapaksha, everywhere: 23°15' at 21 March 1956, 00:00 UT, plus precession and the nutation term so the result is a true-of-date ayanamsa. Lahiri is the standard most traditional Indian kundlis expect. Changing it would move every planet and the Lagna, so it is treated as a fixed method, not a user preference.
Educational guidance — not medical, legal, or financial advice. Read the disclaimer.
Why two zodiacs disagree
Western sun-sign columns use the tropical zodiac, which keeps 0° Aries near the March equinox. Vedic kundlis use a sidereal zodiac, which keeps signs aligned with the stellar frame. Precession slowly separates them. The separating angle is the ayanamsa.
Subtracting Lahiri from a tropical longitude yields the sidereal longitude Kundaligram stores. Your Vedic Moon sign can therefore differ from a newspaper sun sign even on the same birthday. That difference is expected.
The 1956 anchor, plus nutation
Lahiri is anchored at 23°15'00" for 21 March 1956, 00:00 UT, the Chitrapaksha convention. From that epoch the engine accumulates precession at the rate commonly used for Lahiri, and it includes the nutation in longitude. Published Indian astronomical almanacs quote a true ayanamsa, referred to the equinox of date, which wobbles slightly. A mean-only value would miss that wobble.
The practical effect is usually arcminutes, not a new sign. Near a sign or nakshatra boundary those arcminutes still decide the lord.
One ayanamsa for the whole product
Matching, vargas, dashas, Shadbala, and the annual solar return all read the same stored sidereal longitudes. Offering Raman, KP, or Yukteshwar ayanamsa as a toggle would split one person’s “chart” into several incompatible charts and make old saved readings incomparable.
Kundaligram therefore does not expose an ayanamsa picker. If you are reconciling a family pandit’s printout, confirm they also used Lahiri before treating a one-degree difference as an engine bug.
What this does not settle
Lahiri is a widespread civil and jyotish standard. It is not a proof that every other sidereal offset is meaningless, and it is not a claim about religious authority. It is the method this product computes, documents, and refuses to mix.
The public method page states the same choice in shorter form. Chart questions inside the app inherit it automatically.
Frequently asked questions
- Will my Vedic sun sign match Western horoscopes?
- Often it will sit one sign earlier than the tropical sun sign, because Lahiri is currently a little over 24 degrees. Near the boundary it depends on the exact date.
- Can I request KP ayanamsa for cusps only?
- No. KP-style cusps in this product are still computed on the Lahiri sidereal frame used everywhere else, so the chart stays one system.
- Does ayanamsa change on my birthday each year?
- The value used is the ayanamsa of the birth instant, stored with the chart. It does not get replaced by this year’s ayanamsa when you log in later.