Atmakaraka calculator
Find your atmakaraka, the planet Jaimini's system reads as the significator of the soul, and the full order of your seven chara karakas, from the highest degree to the lowest.
Date and place of birth. Add the time if you know it: the Moon moves about half a degree an hour, which can change the order.
What the atmakaraka is
Atma means soul, and karaka means significator. In the Jaimini system of classical Vedic astrology, the atmakaraka is the planet that stands for the soul in your chart. It is often called the king of the chart, and the other karakas are read in relation to it.
The fixed karakas never change: the Sun always signifies the father, for example. The chara karakas are chara, movable. They are chosen afresh for each chart, by degree, which is why your atmakaraka can be any of the seven visible planets.
How it is worked out
Jaimini's rule is simple. Take the seven visible planets, the Sun to Saturn. For each one, set the sign aside and look only at how far the planet has travelled into its sign, from 0 to 30 degrees. The planet with the highest degree is your atmakaraka, and the rest follow in descending order.
Rahu and Ketu are left out of this seven-karaka scheme. Some astrologers use an eight-karaka version that includes Rahu, counted backward. This calculator uses the seven.
The seven chara karakas
From the highest degree to the lowest: atmakaraka (the self), amatyakaraka (the minister: counsel and work), bhratrikaraka (siblings), matrikaraka (mother), putrakaraka (children), gnatikaraka (relatives, rivals and obstacles) and darakaraka (the spouse).
The amatyakaraka, second in line, is read as the planet that serves the atmakaraka, as a minister serves a king. The darakaraka, at the lowest degree, is often read alongside the atmakaraka because it stands for partnership. Your result lists which planet holds each role.
How to read your result
Read the atmakaraka through what the planet signifies. Classical astrology gives each planet a domain: the Sun the soul, the Moon the mind, Mars strength, Mercury speech, Jupiter knowledge and happiness, Venus desire and beauty, Saturn grief and what endures it.
Your atmakaraka's domain is read as the theme your chart keeps returning to. It describes a leaning, not a fate. How well the planet is placed in your chart shades how that theme tends to show up.
Questions people ask
What if two planets are at the same degree?
The calculator compares their positions in minutes and seconds of arc, not just whole degrees, so the one further into its sign ranks higher. A true tie at that precision is extremely rare. When two planets are within a few minutes of each other, a small error in birth time or data can swap them.
Does birth time matter for the atmakaraka?
Mostly through the Moon. The other planets move slowly enough that a few hours rarely change their order. The Moon moves about half a degree an hour, so it can climb past or fall below another planet during your birthday. Add your time if you have it.
Why does another site show a different atmakaraka?
Usually one of two reasons. Some sites use the eight-karaka scheme, which includes Rahu. Others use a different sidereal zodiac setting: a planet near the end of a sign in one setting can fall near the start of the next in another, dropping from first to last. We use the seven-karaka scheme and Lahiri.
Can Rahu be the atmakaraka?
Not in the seven-karaka scheme this calculator uses, which counts only the Sun to Saturn. In the eight-karaka version some astrologers follow, Rahu is included and its degree is counted backward from the end of its sign, since Rahu moves backward through the zodiac.
What is the darakaraka?
The darakaraka is the planet at the lowest degree within its sign, among the seven. In the Jaimini system it is the significator of the spouse, and it is read for partnership. It is the last of the seven chara karakas, and often read alongside the atmakaraka.
Is the atmakaraka the same as the lagna lord?
No. The lagna lord is the planet that rules your rising sign, fixed by the sign. The atmakaraka is chosen by degree, from all seven planets, whatever signs they are in. They can be the same planet, but only by coincidence.
The atmakaraka names a theme. The reading turns it into a practice.
The free reading looks at your whole chart, finds which planet carries your question, and names a small weekly practice for it.