Introduction
A traditional janam-patri prints a table beside the chart called the avakahada chakra. The name comes from the syllable table that begins "a, va, ka, ha, da": the name syllables of the nakshatra padas.
The whole table is built from the Moon at birth: its sign, its nakshatra and which quarter (pada) of it. So most fields do not change with a small error in birth time, unless the Moon sits on the edge of a pada or nakshatra.
The fields, one by one
- Rashi: the Moon sign and its lord. North India uses it for names and the rashifal.
- Nakshatra and pada: the birth nakshatra among 27, and which of its four padas. The nakshatra lord also opens the Vimshottari dasha.
- Name syllable: each pada has a syllable. Bharani's four padas, for example, are ली, लू, ले, लो. Many families name a child from it; some use any of the rashi's nine syllables. Both customs are common.
- Varna: from the Moon sign. Water signs (Karka, Vrishchika, Meena) are Brahmana, fire signs (Mesha, Simha, Dhanu) Kshatriya, earth signs (Vrishabha, Kanya, Makara) Vaishya, air signs (Mithuna, Tula, Kumbha) Shudra. (an old astrological category, not caste)
- Vashya: a class of the sign: Chatushpada (quadruped), Nara (human), Jalachara (water-dwelling), Vanachara (forest-dwelling) or Keeta (insect). The two halves of Dhanu and Makara fall in different classes.
- Yoni: an emblem animal for the nakshatra, fourteen in all: horse, elephant, ram, serpent, dog, cat, rat, cow, buffalo, tiger, deer, monkey, mongoose, lion.
- Gana: from the nakshatra: Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa, nine nakshatras each. Tradition links it to the pace of temperament. Rakshasa gana is the name of an old category, not a sign of anything bad; tradition associates it with an independent, intense temperament.
- Nadi: from the nakshatra: Aadi, Madhya or Antya.
- Tattva: the element of the Moon sign: fire, earth, air or water.
- Pāya: found by two common methods that can give different answers (see below).
An example
Suppose at birth the Moon is in Mesha, in the 3rd pada of Bharani. The avakahada would read:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Rashi · lord | Mesha · Mars |
| Nakshatra · pada · lord | Bharani · 3 · Venus |
| Name syllable | ले |
| Varna | Kshatriya (an old astrological category, not caste) |
| Vashya | Chatushpada (quadruped) |
| Yoni | Gaja (elephant) |
| Gana | Manushya |
| Nadi | Madhya |
| Tattva | Fire |
Pāya: two methods
Pāya (gold, silver, copper, iron) is found by two methods in circulation: one from the birth nakshatra, the other from the Moon's house counted from the lagna. They can disagree, and each is right by its own method. Both are folk custom; pāya does not appear in Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi, Dharmasindhu, Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra or Phaladīpikā. ePandit prints the house-method answer, and the nakshatra-method answer only where the circulating nakshatra tables agree, each with its method named. Pāya is not a sign of luck for the child or the family.
What the avakahada is used for
- Naming: the name syllable and the rashi.
- Marriage matching: most ashtakoot points come from this table: varna, vashya, yoni, gana, nadi, plus tara from the nakshatras and graha maitri and bhakoot from the signs.
- The start of the dasha: the nakshatra lord.
ePandit prints the North Indian set; some South Indian tables add fields such as yunja and rajju, which we do not print. Tradition treats all of these as a few aspects among many in a chart; no single field describes a person.