Khavedamsa Chart Calculator (D40)

Cast your Khavedamsa (D40), the fortieth divisional chart of Vedic astrology, from date, time, and place of birth. The tool computes your D40 Lagna with a birth-time-confidence check, every planet’s segment, deity, D40 sign and house, and renders the chart in North or South Indian style. Uses the sidereal Lahiri ayanamsa, the same engine as our Kundli, and the BPHS parity rule.

100% private - the D40 calculation runs entirely in your browser. No birth data sent anywhere.

Enter birth details

Supports 1900 onwards for better calculation reliability.

Birth time is critical here: a D40 segment is 45 minutes of arc, so your D40 Lagna changes roughly every 3 minutes - only the D45's moves faster.

Related Tools

Quick facts

Chart / harmonicD40 (Khavedamsa, also Chatvarimshamsa), the fortieth divisional chart
Division size40 equal segments of 0.75 deg (45 min of arc) per sign
Start-sign ruleBy PARITY: odd signs from Aries, even signs from Libra - unique in this varga set
Presiding deitiesTwelve (Vishnu through Varuna, BPHS Ch. 6, 30), repeating in ONE order for all signs - no reversal
Reachable signsAll twelve, across a whole chart
Classically read forAuspicious and inauspicious effects (BPHS Ch. 7, 1-8) - the full phrase; narrower readings = later practice
D40 Lagna sensitivity~3 min of birth time per segment at Indian latitudes - only the D45's is finer
Same-sign geometry40 of 480 cells, unevenly spread - no one-in-forty rule
NodesRahu/Ketu ALWAYS share one D40 sign and deity (six signs apart = same parity)
InputsDate, time, and place of birth
EngineMeeus VSOP87 + Lahiri ayanamsa; Rahu/Ketu = mean node (same engine as Kundli)
Privacy100% client-side; no birth data leaves your browser

What is the Khavedamsa (D40) chart?

The Khavedamsa - also spelled Khavedamsha, and called the Chatvarimshamsa in the same verse - is the fortieth harmonic, one of the sixteen divisional charts (Shodasavarga) described in the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. Where the birth chart (D1) maps the whole life, each varga re-reads the same positions at a finer resolution; at 45 minutes of arc per segment the D40 is second only to the Akshavedamsa (D45) shipped alongside it.

Like every varga, the D40 is a derived chart: it takes each planet’s exact sidereal longitude from the birth chart and re-maps it. Nothing new is observed in the sky. What makes the D40 unique in this set is that its starting sign is fixed by the natal sign’s parity - odd or even - where its neighbours (D16, D20 and the D45) all seed by modality.

How the D40 is calculated

Each sign is divided into forty segments of 45 minutes of arc. The verse rule: “For odd Rasis count from Mesh and for an even Rasi from Tula in respect of Khavedahsas.” The count then advances one sign per segment.

Natal sign parityCounting starts from
Odd sign (Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius)Mesh (Aries)
Even sign (Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, Pisces)Tula (Libra)

The twelve presiding deities repeat across the forty segments in the same order for every sign - the verse states no odd/even reversal for this chart, unlike the D16, D20, D24, D27 and D60:

Segment numbersDeity (all signs)
1, 13, 25, 37Vishnu
2, 14, 26, 38Chandra
3, 15, 27, 39Marichi
4, 16, 28, 40Tvashta
5, 17, 29Dhata
6, 18, 30Shiva
7, 19, 31Ravi
8, 20, 32Yama
9, 21, 33Yaksha
10, 22, 34Gandharva
11, 23, 35Kala
12, 24, 36Varuna

Worked example: a planet at 10 deg of Taurus is in an even sign, so counting starts from Libra. 10 divided by 0.75 falls in the fourteenth segment (index 13), and thirteen signs on from Libra - one full zodiac plus one - is Scorpio, so its D40 sign is Scorpio with deity Chandra (position 14 = position 2 of the second cycle). Each varga in the family carries its own rule: the Trimsamsa walks unequal planetary segments, the D45 counts from a modality-selected seed, and the D40 from this parity-selected one.

Why Rahu and Ketu share a sign in the D40

This is the property most often mistaken for a calculation error, so it is worth stating plainly. Rahu and Ketu are always exactly opposite, six signs apart - and six is even, so the two nodes always sit in signs of the same parity. They start their count from the same sign, sit at the same degree within their own signs, and land on the same segment number. The result is the same D40 sign - and, because the deity depends only on the segment number, the same deity - in every chart, all 480 sign-segment combinations. Verified exhaustively in this repository’s test suite.

The same arithmetic applies to any two bodies six signs apart at the same degree, and it is independent of the node model: mean node or true node, the co-location holds. In the birth chart the nodes remain opposite as usual.

What the D40 is classically read for

The varga-use passage of the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Ch. 7, 1-8) lists what each divisional chart is consulted for. Its wording for this chart is auspicious and inauspicious effects - the full phrase, both halves. That is the classical claim, and it is the only domain claim this page makes. Halving it to “auspicious effects” would change the claim, so we do not.

Modern practice commonly narrows the D40 to general auspiciousness. That reading is later practice, not the verse’s own wording, and we label it as such rather than presenting the two as one tradition. This tool computes the chart; it does not interpret it.

What this version leaves out

This version computes the D40 chart, houses (whole-sign from the D40 Lagna), the segment deities, and the birth-time-confidence checks. It does not interpret the chart, it does not read houses for auspicious or inauspicious outcomes, and it ships no predictions and no remedies.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Khavedamsa (D40) chart?

The Khavedamsa - also called the Chatvarimshamsa - is the fortieth divisional chart (varga) of Vedic astrology. Each 30-deg sign is divided into forty segments of 45 minutes of arc (0.75 deg), and every planet is re-mapped to a new sign based on which segment it occupies. The classical varga-use verse in the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra assigns this chart to auspicious and inauspicious effects. It is read alongside the birth chart (D1), not instead of it.

How is the D40 chart calculated?

By Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra Ch. 6, 29: counting starts from Aries for a planet in an odd sign and from Libra for a planet in an even sign, then advances one sign per segment. The starting point depends only on the natal sign's parity - the D40 is the only chart in this micro-varga set seeded by parity rather than by modality, so all six odd signs share one mapping and all six even signs another. This tool applies the rule to each planet's exact sidereal longitude from the birth chart.

What does the D40 chart show?

The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra's varga-use verse assigns the Khavedamsa to auspicious and inauspicious effects - the full phrase, both halves. Those translated words are the classical claim, and they are all this page asserts. Popular practice narrows this to general auspiciousness; that is a later interpretive gloss on the same chart, and we name it as such rather than presenting it as the verse's own wording.

Why do Rahu and Ketu land in the same sign in my D40?

Because the rule forces it. The nodes are always exactly opposite, six signs apart - and six is an even number, so both nodes sit in signs of the same parity, get the same starting sign, and land on the same segment number. The result is the same D40 sign and the same deity, in every chart, whichever node model a calculator uses. In the birth chart they remain opposite as usual; it is only the D40 mapping that brings them together.

Who are the deities of the khavedamsas?

The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra names twelve: Vishnu, Chandra, Marichi, Tvashta, Dhata, Shiva, Ravi, Yama, Yaksha, Gandharva, Kala and Varuna, repeating across the forty segments in the same order for every sign. Uniquely in this varga set, the verse states no odd/even reversal for the D40 - the order simply repeats. This tool shows the deity for each planet's segment; it attaches no predictive meaning to them, because the classical text assigns the names without interpretation.

Why does exact birth time matter so much for the D40?

A D40 segment is 45 minutes of arc, and the ascendant crosses one in roughly 3 minutes of clock time at Indian latitudes - only the D45's segments are finer. A birth time recorded to the nearest five or ten minutes is therefore not precise enough to fix the D40 Lagna. This tool reports how many minutes your entered time sits from the nearest D40 Lagna boundary, and flags any planet sitting within about 0.01 deg of a segment edge.

Does a same-sign D1 and D40 placement mean anything special?

No, and it is not evenly distributed either. Because the count starts from a parity-fixed sign rather than from the natal sign, only 40 of the 480 sign-and-segment combinations map back to the natal sign - four segments for some signs and three for the rest. There is no tidy one-in-forty rule. The classical term vargottama refers to the D1/D9 correspondence, not the D40.

Does this show the North Indian or South Indian chart style?

Both - use the North Indian (diamond) / South Indian (square) toggle above the chart; both draw the same D40 (Khavedamsa) placements. In the North Indian format the houses are fixed with the Lagna at the top and the signs rotate; in the South Indian format the signs are fixed in the grid and the ascendant is marked in its box. Pick whichever regional format is more familiar.

Does this tool predict good or bad outcomes?

No. It computes the classical D40 chart and reports what traditional sources say the chart is consulted for - the varga-use verse assigns it to auspicious and inauspicious effects, and later practice narrows that in various ways. It makes no predictions about your life, it does not tell you what will happen to you, and it offers no remedies, gemstones, or rituals.

Sources

  • Parashara, Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, Ch. 6, 29-30, for the segment size, the parity start-sign rule and the deities: “Khavedahs (or Chatvarimshahs, 1/40th part of a Rasi). For odd Rasis count from Mesh and for an even Rasi from Tula in respect of Khavedahsas (each of 45’ of arc). Vishnu, Candr, Marichi, Tvasht, Dhata, Shiva, Ravi, Yama, Yaksh, Gandharv, Kaal and Varuna repeat successively, as presiding deities, in the same order for all Rasis.” Ch. 7, 1-8 for the varga-use assignment (“auspicious and inauspicious effects from Khavedahs”). Consulted through the English translation in the R. Santhanam lineage (full-text scan at archive.org, Parashara Hora Sastra, sha256 496476e1...93cb4b, probed 26 August 2026).
  • That English lineage is not treated as authoritative for the spelling of proper names: it truncates five of the twelve deities (Candr, Tvasht, Yaksh, Gandharv, Kaal), and the reviewed forms (Chandra, Tvashta, Yaksha, Gandharva, Kala) are used instead, with the disagreement recorded in this repository’s research notes. Sanskrit cross-check: siva.sh, Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra 6.26-30 (accessed 27 August 2026), which also confirms the verse carries no reversal word for the deity order.
  • Parity: D40 placements for two pinned fixtures were predicted in this repository’s evidence file before the external capture, then diffed against JHora 8.0 under Traditional Lahiri with the mean node and the standard divisional preset - captured and passed 28 August 2026: the two fixtures agree sign for sign and deity for deity, except one pre-registered edge case where the lunar nodes sit 1.4 arcseconds from a segment edge and the two engines’ ~12-arcsecond node difference lands JHora one segment over - the mapping itself agrees at either engine’s longitude, and the adjudication was recorded before the capture. Exact segment cutoffs, the deity order, reachability and the node co-location property are covered by our own exhaustive test matrix against the sources above.
  • N.C. Lahiri, Indian Astronomical Ephemeris (Rashtriya Panchang), for the sidereal Lahiri ayanamsa.
  • Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, 2nd ed., 1998 (VSOP87), for the planetary positions.

This page is the canonical surface for these terms: D40 chart, Khavedamsa, Khavedamsha, Chatvarimsamsa, and Chatvarimshamsa. They all refer to the fortieth divisional chart described above.

Cultural / informational purposes only
Khavedamsa results on this page are for cultural and informational purposes only. They describe a sidereal Vedic astrology reference frame, not predictions about auspicious or inauspicious outcomes in your life, and are not a substitute for professional advice. Last updated: August 2026.