Varshaphal
Varshaphal is the annual horoscope of the Indian Tajika school: a chart for the moment the Sun returns to its birth position. From it a master astrologer tells what the year will be like: where the Muntha is, who the Lord of the Year is and how the Mudda Dasha periods are distributed. The calculator builds the annual chart and analyses it by the classical rules.
You need an exact birth time. The year is the calendar year of the birthday on which the annual chart starts. The place of the year is where you will be at the moment of your birthday. Latitude, longitude and UTC offset are only needed if your city is not on the list; north latitude and east longitude take a plus sign.
How the Varshaphal is built
1. The return of the Sun. The moment is found when the sidereal Sun returns exactly to its birth degree (Varsha Pravesha). It can fall a day earlier or later than the calendar birthday and at any time of day.
2. The annual chart is cast for that moment for the place where the person is: the year lagna and the grahas by sign and house.
3. The Muntha — the birth lagna advanced by the number of years lived. Its house in the annual chart is the main theme of the year.
4. The five office-bearers (Pancha Adhikari): the lords of the birth lagna, the year lagna and the Muntha, the Tri-Rashi Pati and the Dina-Ratri Pati.
5. Pancha-Vargiya Bala — strength across five divisions: sign (30), exaltation (20), hadda (15), drekkana (10), navamsa (5); the sum is divided by 4.
6. The Lord of the Year (Varsheshvara) — the strongest of the office-bearers that aspect the year lagna.
7. Mudda Dasha — Vimshottari compressed into a year — distributes themes across the months.
Tri-Rashi Pati
The Tri-Rashi Pati is the lord of the triplicity of the year lagna's sign; it differs by day and by night:
| Year lagna | By day | By night |
|---|---|---|
| Mesha | Surya | Guru |
| Vrishabha | Shukra | Chandra |
| Mithuna | Shani | Budha |
| Karka | Shukra | Mangala |
| Simha | Guru | Surya |
| Kanya | Chandra | Shukra |
| Tula | Budha | Shani |
| Vrishchika | Mangala | Shukra |
| Dhanu | Shani | Shani |
| Makara | Mangala | Mangala |
| Kumbha | Guru | Guru |
| Meena | Chandra | Chandra |
The Muntha through the houses
| House of the year | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 9, 10, 11 | best: luck, career, income |
| 1, 2, 3, 5 | favourable: health, money, courage, children |
| 4, 6, 7, 8, 12 | difficult: home, illness and debts, partnership, obstacles, expenses |
The result is strengthened or weakened by the lord of the Muntha: if it is strong and not in the 6th, 8th or 12th house of the year, the Muntha's promise is fulfilled.
Mudda Dasha
The year is divided into the nine Vimshottari periods in the same proportion as the 120 years of life: Ketu 21 days, Shukra 60, Surya 18, Chandra 30, Mangala 21, Rahu 54, Guru 48, Shani 57, Budha 51 (out of 360). The calculator stretches them to the actual length of the year between two returns of the Sun.
The first dasha of the year follows B. V. Raman's formula: the number of the birth Moon's nakshatra + the number of years lived − 2; the remainder after dividing by 9 gives the lord (1 Surya, 2 Chandra, 3 Mangala, 4 Rahu, 5 Guru, 6 Shani, 7 Budha, 8 Ketu, 0 Shukra). The first period starts with the same remainder as the Vimshottari at birth.
Which rules the calculator uses
Haddas (terms) follow the Egyptian system given in Nilakantha's Tajika Nilakanthi. Friendship between grahas is natural, as in Parashara; Tajika mainly distinguishes friends and enemies, so we give neutral relationships a share between the two. Aspects are Tajika aspects by sign: conjunction, 3/11 and 5/9 are friendly, 4/10 and 7 are hostile. Verification: the Sun's return and the year lagna match the Swiss Ephemeris to within arcseconds.
An honest note on the method: Varshaphal is a recognised part of Jyotish, but astrology has no verifiable predictive power. Use the reading as a framework for reflecting on the year.
Frequently asked questions
What is Varshaphal?
Varshaphal ("fruit of the year") is the annual horoscope of Tajika, the branch of Jyotish that uses Perso-Arabic techniques. The chart is cast for the moment the Sun returns to its sidereal birth position and is read through the Muntha, the Lord of the Year and the Mudda Dasha.
How does Varshaphal differ from the Western solar return?
The Sun's return is calculated in the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri), so the moment falls a few hours to a day later than the tropical solar return. The interpretation is different too: the Muntha, the five office-bearers, Pancha-Vargiya Bala, Mudda Dasha and Tajika aspects.
How do you find the Muntha?
In the year of birth the Muntha is in the sign of the birth lagna, and every year it moves on by one sign. In the Nth year (after the Nth birthday) it is in the sign N signs away from the lagna. The best houses for the Muntha in the annual chart are 9, 10 and 11; the difficult ones are 4, 6, 7, 8 and 12.
How is the Lord of the Year determined?
From five candidates — the lords of the birth lagna, the year lagna and the Muntha, the Tri-Rashi Pati and the Dina-Ratri Pati — the strongest by Pancha-Vargiya Bala is chosen among those that aspect the year lagna with a Tajika aspect.
What is Mudda Dasha?
Vimshottari Dasha compressed into a single year: nine periods in the same proportion. The first dasha of the year is determined by the birth Moon's nakshatra plus the number of years lived.
Where should you be on your birthday?
The year lagna depends on where the person is at the moment of the Sun's return. In the form you can enter the city where you will be on your birthday; by default the birthplace is used.