What Is a Kundli (Birth Chart)? Houses, Planets and Lagna Explained Simply
A simple guide to the kundli, or Vedic birth chart: what it shows, the 12 houses, the 9 planets, your lagna (ascendant), why the exact birth time matters, and how a kundli is used to choose crystals.
Reiki is a complementary practice. It supports relaxation and well-being and may help you feel better, but it does not diagnose, treat or cure any illness. Please keep following your doctor’s advice and medicines.
What is a kundli?
A kundli (also called janam kundli, janam patri or birth chart) is a map of the sky at the exact moment and place you were born. In Vedic astrology (Jyotish), it shows where the Sun, Moon and planets were, and which zodiac sign was rising in the east.
Astrologers read the kundli to understand a person's nature, strengths, challenges and the timing of important phases of life.
What you need to make a kundli
- Date of birth
- Exact time of birth (from a birth certificate or hospital record if possible)
- Place of birth (city or town)
The time matters a lot. The rising sign changes roughly every two hours, so even a 15 to 30-minute difference can change parts of the chart.
The 12 houses (bhavas)
A North Indian kundli is drawn as a square with diamond-shaped sections. Each section is a house, and each house looks after an area of life:
- 1st: Self, body, personality
- 2nd: Money, family, speech
- 3rd: Courage, siblings, short travel
- 4th: Mother, home, peace of mind, property
- 5th: Children, education, creativity
- 6th: Health, debts, competition
- 7th: Marriage, partnership, business deals
- 8th: Sudden events, longevity, hidden matters
- 9th: Luck, father, dharma, higher learning
- 10th: Career, status, work
- 11th: Income, gains, friends, wishes
- 12th: Expenses, foreign lands, sleep, spirituality
The 9 planets (navagraha)
Vedic astrology uses nine "grahas": the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu. Rahu and Ketu are not physical planets but the two points where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's path.
Each graha is linked with qualities, a gemstone and a colour. For example, Jupiter with wisdom and growth, Venus with love and comfort, Saturn with discipline and hard work.
Lagna: your ascendant
The lagna is the zodiac sign rising on the eastern horizon at your birth time. It becomes the 1st house of your chart and is one of the most important points in the kundli. Two people born on the same day in the same city can have different lagnas if they were born a few hours apart.
How we use the kundli
At Shree Sai Reiki we use the birth chart to choose crystals for a birth chart bracelet: stones that support the planets and houses that need strength in your chart. Read how it works in Birth Chart Bracelets: How Crystals Are Chosen From Your Kundli, or see all three personal bracelets.
Do not know your exact birth time? A numerology (date of birth) bracelet needs only your name and date of birth.
A note on expectations
Astrology is a traditional system of guidance. Use it as one input for reflection and decisions, not as a replacement for medical, legal or financial advice.
Written by the team at Shree Sai Yog & Reiki Healing Centre (Surat & Bengaluru). Reiki supports healing; it does not replace medical care.
