Method
How Birthstar computes a chart
Hinglish mein: Birthstar chart computer se banata hai, andaaze se nahi; neeche poora tareeka hai. In English: Birthstar computes a sidereal (Vedic) birth chart from your birth date, time and place using the Swiss Ephemeris, the Lahiri ayanamsha and whole-sign houses, then reads timing with the Vimshottari dasha system. Every chart fact in a reply or reading is taken from that computation, not written from memory.
The chart costs nothing. A written reading starts at ₹499; the price is stated in the chat first and you pay only after saying yes. No app or sign-up.
Data source
Planetary positions come from the Swiss Ephemeris (version 2.10.03), a standard high-precision astronomical library, through the chart engine at mcp.birthstar.ai. Inputs are your date of birth, time of birth, time zone and the latitude and longitude of the birthplace.
Ayanamsha: Lahiri
Vedic charts use the sidereal zodiac, which is the tropical zodiac minus an offset called the ayanamsha. Birthstar uses Lahiri, the standard used in India's official panchang. Other ayanamshas (Raman, KP, Fagan-Bradley and others) shift planets by a fraction of a degree to over a degree and can change a sign or nakshatra near a boundary. We state the one we use so you can compare.
Houses and signs
The default house system is whole-sign: the sign that rises is the 1st house, the next sign the 2nd, and so on. A house lord is the planet that rules that sign (classical rulers; Rahu and Ketu do not rule signs). Lunar nodes are the "true" nodes by default. Alternative house systems (Sripati, equal, Placidus, KP) exist in the engine and are used only when a question needs them.
Timing: Vimshottari dasha
The Vimshottari dasha is a 120-year cycle of planetary periods: Ketu 7, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19 and Mercury 17 years. Your starting period is set by the lord of your Moon's nakshatra at birth, and how far the Moon had travelled through that nakshatra decides how much of the first period remained. Each period divides into sub-periods in the same order. This is why an hour's error in birth time can move dates by months: it moves the Moon's degree.
Transits and doshas
Current planet positions (transits) are counted from your natal Moon sign and from your lagna. Sade Sati and Manglik status follow the classical definitions described on the question pages: Sade Sati, Manglik dosh. Ashtakoot matching is explained at kundli milan.
How accuracy is audited
- Engine self-checks. The engine runs built-in checks, for example that the dasha years total 120 and that Ketu sits exactly opposite Rahu.
- Accuracy audit of a sample of chart claims. On 13 October 2026 we checked a sample of 145 chart claims made in customer replies and readings against the engine's output for each person's chart and date. 85.5 percent were correct. The errors found were fixed after the audit. A claim that is not in the computed chart counts as an error.
- Dates are checked against today. The audit flags a period that has already ended being described as upcoming, and any age or date that does not match the chart.
- Errors are logged, not hidden. If a calculation fails, the failure is surfaced and fixed; we do not fill in plausible-looking text.
What a chart cannot tell
- A chart cannot tell what another person thinks or will do.
- It cannot guarantee any outcome: marriage, a job, an exam, money, health or a legal result. Birthstar does not predict health, lifespan or legal outcomes.
- Timing depends on birth time. An unreliable birth time makes the lagna, houses and period dates unreliable; Birthstar says so rather than hiding it.
- Astrology is a traditional framework for reflection, not a science with experimental proof. Different schools use different rules, so two astrologers can read one chart differently.
Questions about the method
Which ayanamsha does Birthstar use?
Lahiri (Chitrapaksha), the standard of the Indian government panchang.
Which dasha system does Birthstar use?
Vimshottari, the 120-year system, for timing. Other systems exist in the engine but readings are based on Vimshottari.
Where do the planetary positions come from?
The Swiss Ephemeris, version 2.10.03, a standard high-precision astronomical library.
Is a chart computed for each customer, or generated text?
Computed. The date, time and place you send are turned into a chart by the engine, and chart facts in replies come from that chart.
What if my birth time is not exact?
Tell us how sure you are, and we state which answers still hold. See birth time nahi pata for what stays reliable and what does not.
How much does a reading cost?
The chart costs nothing. A written reading starts at ₹499, stated in the chat before you pay.
Question pages: Shadi kab hogi? · Job kab lagegi? · Birth time nahi pata · Sade Sati · Method
Birthstar is astrological guidance for reflection. It is not medical, legal or financial advice.