Knowledge Base · Foundations

Graha

A graha is one of the nine moving forces of Jyotiṣa: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and the two lunar nodes, Rāhu and Ketu.

What the word means

From the root grah, to grasp or seize. A graha is that which takes hold.

How it is calculated

Each graha's sidereal longitude is calculated for the birth moment, then placed in a sign, house and nakṣatra.

History

The seven visible grahas gave the weekdays their names across South Asia. The nodes were added as eclipse points and treated as grahas in their own right.

Energy

Each graha carries a distinct quality. None is good or bad in itself, and none has a gender.

Physical description

Seven are visible to the naked eye. Rāhu and Ketu are not bodies but points where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's.

Interpretation

Read by sign, house, nakṣatra, strength and the grahas they sit with or face.

Vedaz's interpretation

The grahas are the actors, the instruments of karma. They are the “what” of a chart: the specific kind of energy brought into each field of life.

This is a symbolic pattern, not a prediction. Nothing in a chart removes your agency. Vedaz content is reflective and is not medical, psychological, legal or financial advice.