Navagraha — The Nine Planets of Vedic Astrology
Seven visible planets and the two lunar nodes: the nine grahas through which jyotish reads a birth chart, its timing and its transits.
The nine grahas
- Surya · SunThe Sun, king of the cabinet and significator of the soul, father and authority; exalted in Aries, strongest in the 10th house, honoured on Sundays.Read more →
- Chandra · MoonThe Moon, queen and graha of the mind and mother, whose sign is your rashi; exalted in Taurus and the fastest mover, changing sign every two days.Read more →
- Mangal · MarsMars, commander of the army: courage, siblings, land and competition, with special aspects on the 4th and 8th houses and the source of Kuja dosha.Read more →
- Budh · MercuryMercury, the prince: speech, trade, writing and wit, a benefic that changes nature with its company, exalted and at home in Virgo.Read more →
- Guru · JupiterJupiter or Brihaspati, the minister and greatest benefic: knowledge, children and dharma, aspecting the 5th, 7th and 9th, a year in each sign.Read more →
- Shukra · VenusVenus, the poet and preceptor of the asuras: love, marriage, comfort and the arts, exalted in Pisces and ruler of the longest twenty-year dasha.Read more →
- Shani · SaturnSaturn, the slow servant: longevity, labour and discipline, two and a half years per sign, exalted in Libra and the planet behind Sade Sati.Read more →
- Rahu · North NodeRahu, the north node and eclipse head of the churning myth: ambition, foreign lands and the unconventional, always moving backwards opposite Ketu.Read more →
- Ketu · South NodeKetu, the south node and headless body: detachment, past karma and moksha, read like Mars and linked with intuition, research and letting go.Read more →
The nine grahas compared
| Graha | Weekday | Own sign(s) | Exalted in | Debilitated in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surya (Sun) | Sunday | Leo | Aries (10°) | Libra (10°) |
| Chandra (Moon) | Monday | Cancer | Taurus (3°) | Scorpio (3°) |
| Mangal (Mars) | Tuesday | Aries and Scorpio | Capricorn (28°) | Cancer (28°) |
| Budh (Mercury) | Wednesday | Gemini and Virgo | Virgo (15°) | Pisces (15°) |
| Guru (Jupiter) | Thursday | Sagittarius and Pisces | Cancer (5°) | Capricorn (5°) |
| Shukra (Venus) | Friday | Taurus and Libra | Pisces (27°) | Virgo (27°) |
| Shani (Saturn) | Saturday | Capricorn and Aquarius | Libra (20°) | Aries (20°) |
| Rahu (North Node) | None of its own | Aquarius | Taurus | Scorpio |
| Ketu (South Node) | None of its own | Scorpio | Scorpio | Taurus |
Every reading in Vedic astrology comes back to nine grahas: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, and the two shadow points Rahu and Ketu. Together they are the navagraha, from nava, nine, and graha, that which seizes or grasps, because each is said to take hold of a part of life and colour it. This hub explains how the classical texts group the nine, how a planet combines with a sign and a house, the difference between transit and dasha, and how to begin reading any graha in your own chart. Each card below opens a full guide to one planet.
What navagraha means
A graha is not quite a planet in the astronomer's sense. The Sun is a star, the Moon a satellite, and Rahu and Ketu are not bodies at all, yet all four are grahas, because the word describes what something does in a chart rather than what it is made of. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (BPHS) lists the nine as Surya, Chandra, Mangal, Budh, Guru, Shukra, Shani, Rahu and Ketu, which is the weekday sequence followed by the two nodes. The same nine are worshipped together in the navagraha shrines found in many Indian temples, usually arranged in a square with the Sun at the centre.
Seven visible planets and two nodes
The first seven grahas can all be seen with the naked eye, and each rules one weekday: Sunday the Sun, Monday the Moon, Tuesday Mars, Wednesday Mercury, Thursday Jupiter, Friday Venus and Saturday Saturn. Rahu and Ketu are the north and south nodes of the Moon, the two points where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's apparent path. Eclipses can occur only near them, which is why the tradition counts them among the nine although they have no light, no body and no weekday. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are not part of the classical scheme.
Natural benefics and malefics
BPHS sorts the grahas by nature. Jupiter and Venus are natural benefics; Mercury is a benefic that takes on the nature of malefics it joins; the Moon is benefic when waxing and malefic when waning. The Sun, Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu are natural malefics, the Sun the mildest of them. These labels describe tendency, not outcome. A malefic can be the most helpful planet in a chart when it rules good houses, as Saturn does for Taurus and Libra ascendants, and a benefic can struggle in a difficult house or sign.
Planets, signs and houses together
A useful shorthand is that the planet says what, the sign says how, and the house says where. Mars stands for drive and courage; in Capricorn, its sign of exaltation, that drive is read as disciplined; in the 10th house it is turned toward career. Every graha also has signs of dignity, its own, exaltation and mooltrikona, and signs where it is weak, along with natural friends and enemies, special aspects for Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, and a house where it gains directional strength. Each planet page sets these facts out in a table.
Transit and dasha: two clocks
Grahas are read on two separate clocks. Transit, or gochar, is where a planet is in the sky today, counted from your natal Moon sign: the Moon changes sign every two and a quarter days, Jupiter about once a year, Saturn every two and a half years. Dasha is a timetable fixed at birth: in the Vimshottari system each graha rules a period of six to twenty years, set by the nakshatra of the natal Moon. Sade Sati belongs to the first clock and a Shani mahadasha to the second, and the site keeps a separate guide for each mahadasha.
Reading a graha in your own chart
Start with a birth chart, which you can generate with the free kundli tool on this site from your date, time and place of birth. For any graha, note its sign and whether that sign is a dignity for it, the house it occupies counted from the ascendant, the houses it rules, the planets it sits with or aspects, and its nakshatra. Then read the matching planet page alongside your chart. The pages describe classical associations, not predictions, and a single factor is always weighed against the rest of the chart.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 9 planets in Vedic astrology?
The Sun (Surya), Moon (Chandra), Mars (Mangal), Mercury (Budh), Jupiter (Guru), Venus (Shukra), Saturn (Shani), and the two lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu.
What is navagraha?
Navagraha means the nine grahas, the planetary influences jyotish uses to read a chart. The word graha means one that seizes, and the nine are also worshipped together in temple shrines.
Which planet is the most powerful in Vedic astrology?
No single graha is powerful in every chart. The Sun is king and Jupiter the greatest benefic, but strength depends on sign, house, aspects and dasha, so the strongest planet differs from one chart to the next.
Are Rahu and Ketu real planets?
They are not physical bodies. They are the two points where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic, counted as grahas because eclipses happen along their axis and their effects are read in every chart.
Why are Uranus, Neptune and Pluto not used in Vedic astrology?
The classical texts were built on the planets visible to the naked eye plus the lunar nodes. Some modern practitioners look at the outer planets, but the traditional system of nine does not include them.
How do I find the planets in my own birth chart?
Generate a free kundli on this site with your date, time and place of birth. It shows each graha's sign, house and nakshatra, which you can then read alongside the planet pages here.