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Ayanamsa is the angle by which the tropical zodiac has drifted from the sidereal zodiac. Because of the slow wobble of the Earth's axis (precession), the vernal equinox slips back against the stars by about 50.3 arc-seconds every year. Vedic astrology uses the star-fixed sidereal zodiac — so a planet's sidereal position is its tropical position minus the ayanamsa.
Different zero-points give different systems: Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) — the standard of India's national calendar and the basis of every calculation on this site; Krishnamurti (KP) — about 6 arc-minutes less than Lahiri; Raman — about 1°27′ less; Yukteshwar — about 1°23′ less; Fagan-Bradley — the Western sidereal standard, about 53′ more. This calculator shows the Swiss Ephemeris value for the chosen date (12:00 UT) in each system.
Which ayanamsa is the “correct” one?
That is a question of tradition, not arithmetic — each system is internally consistent with its own zero-point. Lahiri is the most widely used in India (the national calendar and most software); the KP method works only with its own Krishnamurti ayanamsa. Two systems should not be mixed in one chart.
What changes in a chart when the ayanamsa changes?
Every planet and the ascendant shift by the same amount. A planet or ascendant sitting near a sign or nakshatra boundary can move into the next one, and Vimshottari dasha dates change too — a shift of a few arc-minutes in the Moon alters the dasha balance by weeks or months.
How much does the ayanamsa grow each year?
About 50.3 arc-seconds a year — roughly 1 degree in 72 years. The Lahiri ayanamsa was zero around 285 CE; today it is a little over 24 degrees.
Other calculators: 🌙 Moon Sign (Rashi) Calculator · ⬆️ Lagna (Ascendant) Calculator · ⭐ Nakshatra (Birth Star) Calculator · ☀️ Vedic Sun Sign Calculator · 🔤 Name Rashi Calculator · 📱 Mobile Number Numerology · ⏳ Ghati ↔ Hour Converter · 🕉 Ishta Devata Calculator · 🔯 Yantra Calculator · 🔱 Rudraksha Calculator · 💎 Gemstone (Ratna) Calculator · 🔴 Lal Kitab Kundali (Teva) Calculator · 🧭 Jaimini Calculator · 🐉 Chinese Zodiac Calculator · 📅 Varshaphal (Tajika) Calculator · 🕉 Prashna Kundali (Horary) · 🕐 Birth Time Rectification Assistant · 🔢 KP Horary (1-249)