KP Astrology Glossary — 45 Terms Defined

This KP astrology glossary is a complete reference to Krishnamurti Paddhati terms — 45 definitions across 9 sections, with anchor IDs for direct linking and cross-references between related concepts. If you're trying to read a KP chart and getting stuck on terminology, start here.

Each term has a precise, practical definition, cross-references to related terms (the "see also" links), and where relevant, a link to the free tool that lets you experiment with the concept hands-on. Bookmark this page — it's the reference that sits underneath every KP article on this site.

KP Astrology Glossary — Table of Contents

1. Core KP System (6 terms)
2. Zodiac & Coordinates (5 terms)
3. Houses & Cusps (7 terms)
4. Planetary Lords & Significators (7 terms)
5. Nakshatras & Sub-Divisions (4 terms)
6. Vimshottari Dashas (6 terms)
7. Planetary States & Aspects (4 terms)
8. Specialised KP Use (4 terms)
9. Technical Foundations (2 terms)
10. Frequently Asked Questions

Core KP System

KP Astrology / Krishnamurti Paddhati

A stellar (nakshatra-based) system of sidereal astrology developed by Prof. K.S. Krishnamurti in the mid-20th century. KP differs from traditional Parashari astrology in three structural ways: it uses sidereal longitudes calculated with KP New ayanamsa, Placidus house cusps instead of Equal House or Whole Sign, and the 249-segment sub-lord table for judging events. The single most distinctive feature is the cuspal sub-lord — the planet ruling the specific KP sub-division a house cusp falls in — which decides whether the matter that house governs is promised.

See also: Sub-Lord, Cuspal Sub-Lord, 249 Sub-Divisions, KP New Ayanamsa

Sub-Lord

The planet ruling a specific sub-division within a nakshatra. The KP zodiac is partitioned into 249 unequal sub-segments (using Vimshottari proportions), and each segment has a ruling planet — its sub-lord. The sub-lord of the position a planet (or house cusp) occupies is the most diagnostic single value in any KP chart. Two charts with identical sign and nakshatra placements can produce completely different verdicts if their sub-lords differ. The Sub-Lord is the heart of the KP method.

See also: Cuspal Sub-Lord, Three-Level Reading, 249 Sub-Divisions, Star Lord

Cuspal Sub-Lord

The sub-lord of the longitude where a house cusp falls. Each of the 12 house cusps has a cuspal sub-lord, and that sub-lord decides whatever the house represents; the cusp's star lord plays no part in the verdict. The 7th cuspal sub-lord decides marriage; the 10th career; the 5th children; the 6th cure or illness. It is read at three levels — the planet, its star lord, its sub lord — collecting the houses each occupies and owns. If any one of the houses classical KP requires for the matter appears (2-7-11 for marriage, 2-6-10 for a job), the matter is PROMISED; it is NOT PROMISED only when the sub-lord is connected exclusively to the adverse houses stated for that matter.

See also: Sub-Lord, House Cusp, Three-Level Reading, Verdict, Significator

Cuspal Interlink (KCIL)

A later school built on KP foundations — the Khullar Cuspal Interlink system — which judges events by whether the sub-lords of two cusps reference each other through their star and sub chains ("interlinked" cusps are held to fire together). It is a distinct system with its own rules, not a device of classical KP judgement, where the cuspal sub-lord read at three levels decides a matter on its own. Listed here because chart software and KP forums use the term freely; readings on this site do not use it.

See also: Cuspal Sub-Lord, Three-Level Reading, Sub-Lord

Three-Level Reading (Planet → Star Lord → Sub Lord)

The way classical KP reads what a cuspal sub-lord (or any planet) signifies. Three levels: (1) the houses occupied and owned by the planet itself, (2) the houses occupied and owned by the planet's star lord, (3) the houses occupied and owned by the planet's sub-lord. Nothing else enters at any level. The combined set is what the planet signifies for the promise test and for dasha delivery. A fourth step — the star lord of the sub-lord — belongs to a different system (Four Step Theory) in which the sub is a signifier rather than a decider; KP stops at three.

See also: Cuspal Sub-Lord, Significator, Star Lord, Sub-Lord

Verdict (PROMISED / NOT PROMISED)

In KP Astrology Pro every cusp is judged PROMISED or NOT PROMISED from its cuspal sub-lord read at three levels. A matter is PROMISED when any one required house is signified, even alongside adverse houses — in which case the verdict is annotated "with difficulty"; it is NOT PROMISED only when the sub-lord is connected to adverse houses exclusively. Adverse houses never subtract. Timing follows: the Vimshottari periods whose Maha, Antar and Pratyantar lords jointly cover all the required houses are listed in time order, unranked, with candidate days inside each from Sun/Moon transit agreement. There are no grades, scores or percentages; where classical KP gives a rule in more than one form, every form is judged and any disagreement is stated.

See also: Cuspal Sub-Lord, Three-Level Reading, Dushtana Houses, Pratyantardasha

Zodiac & Coordinates

Sidereal Zodiac

A zodiac measured against the fixed stars rather than the equinoxes. The 0° point of sidereal Aries is anchored to a specific star reference (typically near the star Spica in Lahiri or near a similar fixed star in KP). Used in Indian astrology generally and in KP. Differs from the tropical zodiac by approximately 24°10' as of 2026 due to the precession of the equinoxes — and that gap grows by roughly 50.3 arcseconds per year.

See also: Tropical Zodiac, Ayanamsa, KP New Ayanamsa

Tropical Zodiac

A zodiac measured against the equinoxes — the 0° point of tropical Aries is the position of the Sun at the spring equinox. Used in Western astrology. Because the equinoxes precess (move backwards through the stars by ~50.3 arcseconds per year), tropical longitudes drift relative to the fixed-star background. To convert tropical to sidereal, subtract the ayanamsa value for the chart's date.

See also: Sidereal Zodiac, Ayanamsa

Ayanamsa

The angular offset between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs at a given moment. Multiple ayanamsa systems exist (KP New, KP Old, Lahiri, Raman). Lahiri and the two KP values differ by only a few arcminutes — small in absolute terms, but enough to shift sub-lord allocations near boundaries; Raman sits about a degree and a half lower. As of 2026 the values are roughly 24°10' (Lahiri), 24°06' (KP New), 24°06' (KP Old) and 22°46' (Raman). Use the Ayanamsa Converter to compare values for any date.

See also: KP New Ayanamsa, KP Old Ayanamsa, Sidereal Zodiac, Tropical Zodiac

KP New Ayanamsa

The modern Krishnamurti Paddhati ayanamsa, derived from a base offset of 1335.7 arcseconds at epoch 1900 plus Newcomb's precession formula. The default ayanamsa for contemporary KP work and the standard used by KP Astrology Pro. Slightly larger than KP Old (which uses base 1320 arcseconds). The two differ by about 15 arcseconds at any given moment — small, but enough to shift sub-lord allocation at boundaries.

See also: KP Old Ayanamsa, Ayanamsa

KP Old Ayanamsa (Krishnamurti)

The original ayanamsa proposed by K.S. Krishnamurti, with base offset 1320 arcseconds at 1900. Used in Krishnamurti's own writings and in some legacy KP software. Swiss Ephemeris implements this as SE_SIDM_KRISHNAMURTI. Most modern KP practitioners have moved to KP New, but charts cast with KP Old are still encountered, particularly in older literature.

See also: KP New Ayanamsa, Ayanamsa

Houses & Cusps

Ascendant / Lagna

The zodiacal degree rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth. Forms the cusp of the 1st house. The Ascendant moves at about 1° every 4 minutes, which is why birth-time accuracy is critical — even a 15-minute error shifts the Ascendant by 4° and can change its nakshatra and sub-lord. The Ascendant's sign sets the chart's overall framework; the Ascendant's sub-lord governs constitutional vitality and self-image.

See also: House Cusp, Placidus House System, Birth Time Rectification

House Cusp

The starting boundary of a house. In KP, cusps are calculated using the Placidus system, which produces unequal house widths that depend on the birth latitude. Each cusp has its own sub-lord, and that cuspal sub-lord decides what the house represents. The 12 cusps together form the spatial framework of the chart, with the 1st cusp = Ascendant and the 10th cusp = Midheaven (MC).

See also: Cuspal Sub-Lord, Placidus House System, Ascendant / Lagna

Placidus House System

The house system used by KP astrology, named after Placidus de Titis (17th century). It divides the diurnal arc of any zodiacal point into equal time segments, producing house cusps that are unequal in zodiacal width. Houses near the equator are roughly equal; at high latitudes (above ~66°) the system breaks down. Classical KP treats Placidus as a condition of the method, not a preference. Differs from Equal House (each house = 30°) and Whole Sign (each house = one whole sign) used in most traditional Indian schools.

See also: House Cusp, KP Astrology / Krishnamurti Paddhati

Kendra Houses

The four angular houses — 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th. In traditional Indian astrology these are considered intrinsically powerful (kendra means "angle" or "axis"). In KP the label carries no weight of its own: a cusp is judged by its sub-lord, and a planet by the houses it signifies. The four kendras matter as the cusps of body, home, partnership and career respectively.

See also: Trikona Houses, House Cusp

Trikona Houses

The three trine houses — 1st, 5th, 9th. In traditional Indian astrology these are the most auspicious houses (trikona means "trine"), governing self, intelligence/children, and dharma/fortune. In KP the 5th and 9th cusps matter for the matters they govern rather than for any intrinsic auspiciousness: 5th for children, love and speculation, 9th for higher learning, long journeys and fortune.

See also: Kendra Houses, Dushtana Houses

Dushtana Houses (Trika)

The three difficult houses — 6th, 8th, 12th. Together called dushtana or trika. The 6th governs disease, debt, enemies, daily struggle. The 8th governs sudden events, hidden matters, surgery, inheritance. The 12th governs loss, expenditure, foreign lands, dissolution, hospitalisation. In KP there is no fixed "bad" set: the adverse houses for a matter are stated per matter by classical KP writing (6-8-12 against health, 1-6-10-12 against marriage), and they annotate rather than subtract — a cuspal sub-lord that signifies a required house alongside them still promises the matter, "with difficulty"; only a sub-lord connected to adverse houses exclusively denies it. The adverse set is taken from the writing, never derived mechanically from the favourable houses.

See also: Kendra Houses, Trikona Houses, Maraka Houses, Verdict

Maraka Houses

The 2nd and 7th houses — termed "killer" houses in traditional Indian astrology, from the classical longevity rules in which their lords are held to end life during certain periods. The term is inherited vocabulary rather than a KP device: classical KP judges each of those houses by its cuspal sub-lord for what it governs (family and wealth for the 2nd, partnership for the 7th), and KP Astrology Pro readings do not time death or longevity at all. Most modern KP practitioners avoid the term's lethal connotation.

See also: Dushtana Houses

Planetary Lords & Significators

Sign Lord

The planet ruling a 30° sign (rashi). In KP: Aries → Mars, Taurus → Venus, Gemini → Mercury, Cancer → Moon, Leo → Sun, Virgo → Mercury, Libra → Venus, Scorpio → Mars, Sagittarius → Jupiter, Capricorn → Saturn, Aquarius → Saturn, Pisces → Jupiter. Note that classical KP uses traditional rulerships (Mars rules Scorpio, Saturn rules Aquarius) — not the modern Western rulerships that assign Pluto to Scorpio and Uranus to Aquarius.

See also: Star Lord, Sub-Lord

Star Lord (Nakshatra Lord)

The planet ruling a 13°20' nakshatra. The 27 nakshatras cycle through 9 planetary lords in a fixed sequence: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury — repeating three times across the zodiac. In KP, for any planet, the sub-lord outranks the star lord, and the star lord outranks the planet itself; the star lord's occupied and owned houses form the second of the three levels at which a planet's signification is read.

See also: Sign Lord, Sub-Lord, Nakshatra, Three-Level Reading

Sub-Sub Lord

A finer division shown in many KP chart tables — the sub-lord of a sub-division. Each of the 249 sub-segments can itself be divided into 9 segments using the same Vimshottari proportions, producing the sub-sub level. It is a column in the chart, useful for seeing how close a planet or cusp sits to a sub boundary, and some later schools (notably the Khullar extension) build rules on it. Classical KP judgement stops at the sub-lord: a cuspal sub-lord is read at three levels — planet, star lord, sub-lord — and the sub-sub lord is not a fourth step.

See also: Sub-Lord, Star Lord, Three-Level Reading

Significator (Karak)

A planet that signifies (carries the energy of) one or more houses. A planet signifies a house if it occupies the house, owns the house, or sits in the star of a planet that occupies or owns it. Significators are ranked A/B/C/D/E (see Grade A Significator) — an ordinal ranking, not a score; classical KP assigns them no numeric weight and does no arithmetic over them. The significator framework is the bridge between static chart structure and event timing — a promised matter is delivered in the Vimshottari period whose lords are its significators.

See also: Grade A Significator, Three-Level Reading, Karaka

Grade A Significator

The first rank of significator. A planet is a Grade A significator of a house if it is in the star (nakshatra) of an occupant of that house. Grade B = an occupant of the house; Grade C = a planet in the star of the house's lord; Grade D = the lord of the house; Grade E = planets conjoined with or aspecting the above. When a higher grade is empty the next promotes: with no planet in the occupant's star, the occupant itself is Grade A; with a vacant house, the planet in the star of the owner promotes. The grades order the significators; they do not add up to anything.

See also: Significator, Star Lord

Grade B/C/D/E Significators

The remaining significator ranks. Grade B = a planet occupying the house. Grade C = a planet in the star of the lord of the house. Grade D = the lord of the house itself. Grade E = a planet conjoined with or aspecting any of the above. The ranks are ordinal labels from classical KP; no statement in KP writing gives them a magnitude, so any "A = 4, B = 3" arithmetic produces a number the method cannot justify.

See also: Grade A Significator, Significator, Sign Lord

Karaka (Natural Significator)

The planet that naturally rules a particular life area, regardless of its placement in any specific chart. Sun = self/father, Moon = mother/mind, Mars = energy/brothers, Mercury = communication/intellect, Jupiter = wisdom/children/wealth, Venus = relationships/marriage, Saturn = work/discipline, Rahu = foreign/unconventional, Ketu = liberation/mysticism. In KP a karaka is never necessary and never sufficient: house signification decides a matter, and the karaka only supports.

See also: Significator, Sign Lord

Nakshatras & Sub-Divisions

Nakshatra

A 13°20' segment of the sidereal zodiac, named after the lunar mansion it corresponds to. There are 27 nakshatras across 360° (27 × 13.333° = 360°). Each nakshatra has a ruling planet (star lord) and a presiding deity. The Moon's nakshatra at birth determines the Janma Mahadasha and is therefore the entry point into the entire Vimshottari timing system.

See also: The 27 Nakshatras, Star Lord, Janma Mahadasha

The 27 Nakshatras

The full sequence: Ashwini (Ketu), Bharani (Venus), Krittika (Sun), Rohini (Moon), Mrigashira (Mars), Ardra (Rahu), Punarvasu (Jupiter), Pushya (Saturn), Ashlesha (Mercury), Magha (Ketu), Purva Phalguni (Venus), Uttara Phalguni (Sun), Hasta (Moon), Chitra (Mars), Swati (Rahu), Vishakha (Jupiter), Anuradha (Saturn), Jyeshtha (Mercury), Mula (Ketu), Purva Ashadha (Venus), Uttara Ashadha (Sun), Shravana (Moon), Dhanishta (Mars), Shatabhisha (Rahu), Purva Bhadrapada (Jupiter), Uttara Bhadrapada (Saturn), Revati (Mercury). The 9-planet rulership cycle (Ketu → Venus →... → Mercury) repeats three times.

See also: Nakshatra, Star Lord

Nakshatra Pada

A quarter of a nakshatra — 3°20' (one-fourth of 13°20'). Each nakshatra has 4 padas, mapped to the four elements (fire, earth, air, water) in a specific pattern. Padas refine character indications (particularly in name-letter astrology, Naamakshara) and are used in some KP-rectification techniques. The pada is independent of the sub-lord — they are different divisions of the same arc.

See also: Nakshatra, Sub-Lord

249 Sub-Divisions

The KP partitioning of the zodiac into 249 unequal segments using Vimshottari proportions. Each nakshatra (13°20') is divided into 9 segments according to the Vimshottari Mahadasha years of each planet (Ketu 7, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19, Mercury 17 — total 120). Across 27 nakshatras the count would be 243, but boundary splits push the count to 249. The sub-lord of any longitude is determined by which of these 249 segments it falls in.

See also: Sub-Lord, Vimshottari Dasha

Vimshottari Dashas

Vimshottari Dasha

The primary dasha system in Indian astrology and the only one KP uses — a 120-year cycle in which each of the 9 planets governs a fixed period: Ketu 7, Venus 20, Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19, Mercury 17. The starting planet is determined by the nakshatra the Moon was in at birth. KP times events at the nested levels Maha → Antar → Pratyantar, optionally Sookshma. Dasha cannot give what the birth chart does not promise.

See also: Mahadasha, Antardasha, Janma Mahadasha

Mahadasha

The major level of Vimshottari Dasha. Each Mahadasha runs for the planet's fixed Vimshottari years. In KP the Maha lord's signification is mandatory: a period can deliver a promised matter only if the Maha lord signifies at least one of the houses that matter requires. A Saturn Mahadasha covers 19 years; a Venus Mahadasha 20; a Sun Mahadasha 6.

See also: Vimshottari Dasha, Antardasha, Janma Mahadasha

Antardasha (Bhukti)

The second-level dasha — sub-periods within a Mahadasha. Each Mahadasha contains 9 Antardashas (one for each planet), each lasting a fraction of the Mahadasha proportional to the planet's Vimshottari years. The Antar lord is the second lord in the delivery test: a period delivers a promised matter when its Maha, Antar and Pratyantar lords jointly signify all the houses the matter requires, each lord contributing at least one different house. For marriage that means 2, 7 and 11 covered between them.

See also: Mahadasha, Pratyantardasha, Vimshottari Dasha

Pratyantardasha

The third-level dasha — sub-sub-periods within an Antardasha. Each Antardasha contains 9 Pratyantardashas. Typical duration: 2 weeks to a few months. This is the level at which KP timing is normally stated. The delivery condition is joint: the Maha, Antar and Pratyantar lords together must cover all the required houses, each supplying a different one, with the Maha lord signifying at least one. Every period that passes is listed in time order and unranked — promise takes any one house, delivery takes all of them.

See also: Antardasha, Sookshma Dasha, Verdict

Sookshma Dasha

The fourth-level dasha — within a Pratyantardasha. Each Pratyantar contains 9 Sookshmas. Typical duration: a few days to 2 weeks. Optional in KP timing: it can narrow a delivering Pratyantar further, but candidate days inside a period are normally found from Sun and Moon transit agreement rather than from a fifth level. Finer levels exist arithmetically but are too sensitive to a few minutes of birth-time error to be used for judgement.

See also: Pratyantardasha, Transit Agreement, Horary

Janma Mahadasha

The Mahadasha running at birth. Determined by the nakshatra the Moon was in at the moment of birth — the nakshatra's star lord becomes the Janma Mahadasha planet. The Janma Mahadasha period at birth is partial (only the unfinished portion of that planet's years remain). The Vimshottari sequence then proceeds in fixed order from that planet onward through the 120-year cycle.

See also: Mahadasha, Vimshottari Dasha, Nakshatra

Planetary States & Aspects

Retrograde

A planet's apparent backward motion through the zodiac as seen from Earth, caused by the relative orbital speeds of Earth and the planet. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn go retrograde periodically (Sun and Moon never do). In a birth chart KP gives retrogression no weight at all — a retrograde planet signifies its houses exactly as a direct one does. Retrogression is a horary device: in a question chart a retrograde sub-lord is read as delay or denial. Rahu and Ketu are always retrograde by convention.

See also: Combust, Aspect

Combust

A planet within a small angular distance of the Sun (typically 6° to 17° depending on the planet). Mercury combust if within 14°, Venus 10°, Mars 17°, Jupiter 11°, Saturn 16°. Combust planets are considered weakened in traditional astrology — their light is "burnt" by the Sun. Classical KP judgement does not weight combustion: a combust planet occupies, owns and sits in a star like any other, and signifies accordingly. Chart tables flag it for the record.

See also: Planetary War, Retrograde

Planetary War (Yuddha)

A condition where two planets (excluding Sun and Moon) are within 1° of each other in longitude. The classical rule says one planet "wins" and the other is weakened, with various criteria for determining the victor (latitude, brightness, speed). It is not a KP device: classical KP judges both planets by their houses and their star and sub lords, and the sub-lord of a cusp decides regardless of any "war".

See also: Combust, Aspect

Aspect (Drishti)

The line of sight from one planet to another. Traditional Indian astrology uses house-based aspects: every planet aspects the 7th from itself; Mars also aspects the 4th and 8th; Jupiter the 5th and 9th; Saturn the 3rd and 10th. In KP, aspects have exactly two jobs, both supporting: a planet conjoined with or aspecting a significator becomes a Grade E significator of the same house, and a node (Rahu or Ketu) signifies through the planets that conjoin or aspect it. Aspects never decide a matter, and there is no benefic-strengthens / malefic-weakens rule in KP judgement.

See also: Retrograde, Combust, Grade A Significator

Specialised KP Use

Horary (Prashna)

A KP technique for answering specific questions without using the asker's birth chart. The chart is cast for the moment the question is asked, and a number between 1 and 249 (provided by the querent) selects a sub-division within the zodiac to set the Ascendant. Used when birth time is unknown or for time-bounded questions ("Will I get the job I just applied for?"). The house groupings are the same as for a birth chart; the devices that belong to horary alone are the number, the querent's ruling planets and retrogression. KP Astrology Pro's Ask a Question reading is a birth-chart reading, not a horary one.

See also: Ruling Planets, 249 Sub-Divisions, Muhurta

Muhurta

Electional astrology — picking a moment to begin a venture. The KP approach works from the birth chart outward: the cuspal sub-lord must promise the matter; a Vimshottari period whose lords jointly cover the required houses must be running; the Sun or Moon transit must agree on the day; and the chart cast for the elected moment at the venue is read on its own cusps — its Ascendant sub-lord signifying 1, 5 and 11 for the life of the undertaking, the cusp that governs the matter signifying that matter's houses, and no movable sign rising. Several qualifying moments are listed, none ranked. KP Astrology Pro's Muhurta reading tests candidate moments across a date range you choose; for the method see the step-by-step muhurta guide.

See also: Horary, Transit Agreement, Cuspal Sub-Lord

Ruling Planets

Five planets computed for a moment and a place, in a stated order of preference: the Lagna sign lord, the Lagna star lord, the Moon sign lord, the Moon star lord, and the Day lord — the Hindu day, sunrise to the next sunrise, not the civil day. Some practitioners add the Lagna and Moon sub-lords. Classical KP uses them for three purposes only: selecting the fruitful significators (those that also appear among the ruling planets), birth-time rectification, and horary. They do not decide a birth-chart matter; KP Astrology Pro shows them for the record and rests every verdict on the cusp.

See also: Horary, Muhurta, Sub-Lord

Birth Time Rectification

The process of correcting an uncertain birth time using known life events. Because the Ascendant moves at ~1° every 4 minutes, even a small birth-time error shifts the Ascendant's sub-lord and changes house-cusp allocations. Rectification cross-references confirmed events (marriage date, job change, accident, child birth) against candidate birth times until the cuspal sub-lords align with the events that happened. Classical KP treats this as a standing task; every KP Astrology Pro reading states, for each cusp it judges, how many minutes the recorded time could move before that cusp's sub-lord changes.

See also: Ascendant / Lagna, Cuspal Sub-Lord

Technical Foundations

Transit Agreement

The KP use of transits: subordinate to dasha, never deciding. Once a delivering period is found, the Sun (for a period of months) or the Moon (for one of days) is checked day by day; a day qualifies when that body's sign, star and sub lords are all among the period lords, converted to houses against the fixed natal chart. Several candidate days per period result, unranked. Classical KP's precision ladder assigns the Lagna to the same day, the Moon to days within a month, the Sun to a month to a year and Jupiter to years. A transit disagreement never turns PROMISED into NOT PROMISED.

See also: Pratyantardasha, Sookshma Dasha, Verdict

Swiss Ephemeris

The reference astronomical library used by professional astrology software worldwide for planetary position calculations. Developed by Astrodienst and based on NASA JPL ephemerides, it provides arc-second-precision longitudes for all major celestial bodies across millennia. KP Astrology Pro uses Swiss Ephemeris under the hood for planetary positions and house cusps — the same library most professional KP software relies on. Internally every chart calculation converts the birth moment into a Julian Day (a continuous day count used by all ephemerides) before computing positions.

See also: Sidereal Zodiac, KP New Ayanamsa

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the single most important term to learn first in KP astrology?

The Sub-Lord. Every other concept in KP is built on top of the sub-lord framework — cuspal sub-lords decide whether a matter is promised, the period lords' significations time it, and the 249 sub-divisions partition the zodiac into the operative segments. Understanding why two charts with identical sign and nakshatra placements can produce completely different verdicts (because their sub-lords differ) is the conceptual unlock that separates KP from other astrology systems.

Are these definitions standard across all KP schools?

The core terms (sub-lord, cuspal sub-lord, 249 sub-divisions, Vimshottari Dasha, the A/B/C/D/E ranking of significators) are universally agreed. Later schools built on KP — the Khullar cuspal-interlink system, Four Step Theory — use overlapping vocabulary with different rules, and this page marks them as separate systems where they appear. The definitions here follow classical KP writing.

How is KP terminology different from Vedic astrology terminology?

KP shares most Sanskrit vocabulary with traditional Indian (Parashari) astrology — nakshatra, dasha, lagna, kendra, trikona, dushtana — but it is a distinct system, not a branch of it. KP adds its own terms: sub-lord, cuspal sub-lord, 249 sub-divisions and the ranking of significators; it uses Placidus cusps where traditional schools use Equal House or Whole Sign; and it drops the yogas, aspects-as-rules and planetary strengths that traditional judgement relies on. The two systems share a zodiac and diverge at the point of judgement.

Where should a beginner start?

Read the entries in the order: KP Astrology → Sub-Lord → Cuspal Sub-Lord → Three-Level Reading → Significator → Verdict → Vimshottari Dasha → Pratyantardasha. Then try the free birth chart calculator on your own data and use the sub-lord finder to verify each planet's sub-lord by hand. The combination of definitions plus hands-on tools is the fastest path to fluency.

Why does KP need so many specialised terms?

Because precision requires specificity. Western astrology gets by with about 30 core terms because its statements are general ("you may experience..." style). KP judges a matter PROMISED or NOT PROMISED and names the periods that can deliver it, and that requires a vocabulary for arcminute-level chart structure (sub-lord), the three-level chain (planet / star lord / sub-lord), the ordinal ranking of significators (A to E) and nested Maha-Antar-Pratyantar timing. The vocabulary is the cost of a definite answer.

Continue Learning

Now that you've covered the vocabulary, the next step is hands-on practice. These resources go deeper:

• Free KP Birth Chart Calculator — generate your full chart with sub-lord tables.
• Sub-Lord Finder — look up any longitude's sub-lord across the 249 segments.
• Vimshottari Dasha Calculator — see which dasha is running today and the sequence around it.
• Ayanamsa Converter — compare KP New, KP Old, Lahiri, Raman.
• What is KP Astrology? — the system explained from first principles.
• How to Read a KP Birth Chart — interpretation walkthrough.
• The 249 Sub-Divisions Explained — deep dive on the foundation.

To see the vocabulary applied to your own chart, Ask a Question judges one matter PROMISED or NOT PROMISED from its cuspal sub-lord and lists the periods that can deliver it — the glossary, put to work.