North Indian vs South Indian kundli: the same sky, two drawings
A North Indian and a South Indian chart show exactly the same data — only the drawing convention differs. In the North Indian (diamond) style the houses are fixed: the top diamond is always the 1st house, and the rashi numbers rotate into it. In the South Indian (grid) style the rashis are fixed: each of the twelve boxes is always the same sign, the lagna is marked with a diagonal stroke, and the houses are counted clockwise from it. Neither style is more correct; predictions are identical.
Schematic example: lagna in Meṣa (1), Sun in Vṛṣabha (2nd house), Moon in Karka (4th house).
The chart is a square with both diagonals and a rotated inner square, forming 12 fields. The top central diamond is always the 1st house (lagna); houses run counter-clockwise. The number written in each field is the rashi that occupies that house in this particular chart — so the numbers move from chart to chart while the houses stay put. Common across North India; it makes house-based reading (which house is strong, which lords sit where) immediate.
The same schematic example in the South Indian grid: the diagonal stroke marks the lagna in Meṣa.
The chart is a 4×4 grid with the centre left open. Each outer box is permanently one rashi — Mīna at the top-left, then Meṣa, Vṛṣabha and so on clockwise — so the boxes never change meaning. The lagna is marked with a diagonal line in its box, and houses are counted clockwise from there. Standard across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana; it makes sign-based reading (dignities, vargottama checks) immediate.
| Aspect | North Indian | South Indian |
|---|---|---|
| What stays fixed | Houses (1st always on top) | Rashis (each box one sign) |
| How the lagna appears | Top diamond, by definition | Diagonal stroke in its sign's box |
| Counting direction | Counter-clockwise | Clockwise |
| Rashi numbers written? | Yes — they rotate per chart | No — position implies the sign |
| Where it is standard | North & West India | South India |
- Which chart style is correct — North or South Indian?
- Both. They are two drawing conventions for identical data: same sidereal positions, same houses, same dashas. An astrologer trained in either style reads the same chart; nothing in the prediction changes.
- Why does my kundli look different in different apps?
- Almost always because the apps default to different chart styles (North Indian diamond vs South Indian grid), not because the data differs. If planet degrees differ too, check the ayanamsha each app uses.
- How do I find the lagna in each style?
- North Indian: the lagna is always the top central diamond — read its rashi number. South Indian: look for the box with the diagonal stroke (sometimes labelled "La" or "Asc"); that box's fixed sign is the lagna.
- Which style does Tarasetu use?
- Tarasetu draws kundlis in the North Indian style — it is the visual signature of the product — while all computation is style-independent: sidereal, Lahiri ayanamsha, whole-sign houses, computed with the Swiss Ephemeris.