Ashtakavarga and Its 337 Bindus

Each of the seven grahas has a Bhinnashtakavarga, a score of bindus in the twelve signs, contributed by the grahas and the lagna under classical rules. The sums traditionally used are Sun 48, Moon 49, Mars 39, Mercury 54, Jupiter 56, Venus 52, and Saturn 39. Added, they make 337 in the Sarvashtakavarga. Rahu and Ketu are not given their own charts in this classical count. A sign with more bindus is treated as more supportive for the graha being asked, especially for transit and for strength of a house that falls there. The number is a tool. It is not the tenth house of career by itself.

A high score in the sign on the eleventh house of gains is often welcomed. A high score on the sixth house of conflict and debt is not automatically a blessing, because the house portfolio remains conflict and debt. Ashtakavarga does not rename houses. It weights signs. The lagna, the first house of the self, is part of the contribution rules, so a wrong birth time shifts the bindus that depend on the lagna. Lahiri sidereal signs decide which rashi receives which score.

Vimshottari still times events. A sign with many bindus does not run a mahadasha. Jupiter's 16 years run because the Moon's nakshatra said so. Practitioners compare a graha's Bhinnashtakavarga before judging a transit through a sign, without needing to invent today's positions on this page. If your software's total is not 337, the individual charts were mis-added. The importance of the system is that checkable arithmetic, not a vague promise of luck.