The three details a Kundali needs
Date of birth fixes the Sun, Moon and planet positions. Time of birth fixes the Lagna, the rising sign, and with it every house in the chart. Place of birth gives the latitude and longitude, which decide how the sky looked from there at that moment.
Use the time on the birth certificate or hospital record if you have it. A time remembered by family is a fair second choice. If it is only approximate, say so to yourself when reading the result: a chart is as precise as its birth time.
Time zones and old birth records
Indian Standard Time as we know it was fixed for the whole country in the 1900s. For a birth before that, or a record that was kept in local time, the calculator has to use local mean time for the town instead. The AnkShakti Kundali asks for the timezone and shows the exact UTC offset it used for your date and place, so you can see it and change it if your family record says otherwise.
Daylight saving matters too for births abroad. A good calculator applies the historic rule for that date and place instead of assuming today's offset.
What you get once the chart is made
The chart itself, in North or South Indian style. A planet table that gives each planet's sign, degree, house and nakshatra with its pada. The Navamsa chart, called D9. The Vimshottari dasha timeline, which splits your life into planetary periods by age. And checks for common yogas and doshas such as Mangal dosha, Kaal Sarp dosha and Sade Sati, each with the rule that decided it.
Everything you see is calculated from the three details you typed. Reading it is a separate skill; the guide on how to read a Kundali takes you through the houses and planets.
How to tell the result is sound
Check the Moon sign and nakshatra first. They change slowly, so they should match any earlier chart you have unless the birth time is close to midnight. Check the Lagna next. If two programs give different Lagna signs, the usual cause is the birth time or the timezone, not the astronomy.
Small differences of a few arc minutes between programs are normal. They come from the ayanamsa and the way the lunar node is calculated. The AnkShakti Kundali uses the Lahiri ayanamsa, which is the most common choice in Indian software, and the mean node.
Try it on your own name
Common questions
- Is an online Kundali as accurate as one from an astrologer?
- The planetary positions come from the same astronomy. Where an astrologer adds value is in the reading, not in the calculation. The calculation is only as good as your birth time and place.
- Do I need my exact birth time?
- For the Lagna and houses, yes. Without it you can still get the Sun and Moon signs, the nakshatra and the dasha, but not the rising sign or house positions.
- Which ayanamsa should I choose?
- Lahiri, also called Chitrapaksha, is the standard in India and the default in most software. Other schools such as Raman and KP differ by a few arc minutes.
- Is my birth information stored?
- On AnkShakti the chart is worked out inside your browser. Your date, time and chart are not uploaded. Only the place name is looked up to find coordinates.