Bhava

A rasi (sign) says where a graha (planet) stands on the zodiac, the same scale for every chart. A bhava (house) says where it stands as seen from a chosen point of the chart itself, so the same rasi can be a different bhava in each chart, and even within one chart.

Counting from a reference point

To find the bhavas, first pick a reference point: the lagna (ascendant) or a graha. The rasi that holds it is the 1st bhava. The rasi after it in the order of the zodiac is the 2nd bhava, the one after that the 3rd, and so on round to the 12th, the rasi just before the reference point's own. Pisces is followed by Aries, so the count wraps round the end of the zodiac.

A bhava here is always a whole rasi. It does not matter whether the reference point stands at the start of its rasi or near its end: the whole rasi is the 1st bhava, and a graha anywhere in the next rasi is in the 2nd.

With the rasis numbered from 1 for Aries to 12 for Pisces, the count is quick: take the number of the graha's rasi, subtract the number of the reference point's rasi and add 1. If the result is 0 or less, add 12.

The lagna as the default

When a bhava is named without saying where it is counted from, it is counted from the lagna. "The Sun is in the 9th" means the 9th bhava from the lagna, as in the example below. The book also counts from special lagnas (special ascendants), which it brings in later, in chapter 5; hora does not calculate them yet.

Counting from the Moon or another graha

Any graha can serve as the reference point. Counted from another point, the same chart gives each graha a different bhava, while its rasi stays the same. The Count bhavas from field on the home page chooses the reference point: the lagna, the default, or any of the nine grahas.

A worked example

Take hora's chart for 1 January 2000 at 12:00 UT, at Greenwich, the chart of the rasi page's example. Its lagna is in Aries, the Sun in Sagittarius, the Moon in Libra and Ketu in Capricorn.

Counted from the lagna (see the chart), Aries is the 1st bhava. Because Aries is also the first rasi, each bhava here has the number of its rasi:

1. The Sun, in Sagittarius, the ninth rasi, is in the 9th bhava.
2. The Moon, in Libra, the seventh rasi, is in the 7th bhava.
3. Ketu, in Capricorn, the tenth rasi, is in the 10th bhava.

Counted from the Moon (see the chart), Libra is the 1st bhava and the count starts over:

1. Libra is the 1st bhava, Scorpio the 2nd, Sagittarius the 3rd: the Sun is in the 3rd bhava. By the numbers, 9 − 7 + 1 = 3.
2. Capricorn comes next, so Ketu is in the 4th bhava: 10 − 7 + 1 = 4.
3. Aquarius is the 5th bhava and Pisces the 6th; after Pisces comes Aries, the 7th, so the lagna is in the 7th bhava from the Moon. By the numbers, 1 − 7 + 1 = −5, and adding 12 gives 7.

In the chart

The Bhava column of the chart page's table gives each graha's bhava, counted from the reference point chosen on the home page; each number there links to this page. Of the drawn charts, the South and East Indian styles keep each rasi in a fixed place, while the North Indian style keeps each bhava in a fixed place: its top diamond is always the 1st bhava, counted from the same reference point as the table.

Next comes the chart: every rasi, bhava and graha drawn in one picture.

Book reference: P.V.R. Narasimha Rao, Vedic Astrology: An Integrated Approach, chapter 1, § 1.3.3. Where to get the book