Ashtakavarga score explained.
A working explainer of the Ashtakavarga score. What BAV and SAV mean, where the 0 to 8 range comes from, why every chart sums to 337, and what high or low actually predicts in a real reading.
What an Ashtakavarga score actually is
Ashtakavarga is a Vedic astrology scoring system that evaluates every sign in your birth chart from eight independent reference points. The Sanskrit word means "eight-fold strength" (ashta is eight, varga is a class or division). Each of the eight reference points checks whether the sign in question is favourable for a given planet. The number of reference points that consider it favourable is the score. The score for one planet in one sign is the Bhinnashtakavarga value, abbreviated BAV.
Because there are eight contributors, the BAV ranges from 0 to 8. A BAV of 0 means none of the eight reference points consider the sign favourable for that planet; a BAV of 8 means all eight do. In practice scores cluster between 2 and 6 across most signs, with extremes at either end relatively rare. The classical thresholds, set out in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra and reiterated in later texts, are 5 and above for strong, 4 as average, and 3 and below for weak.
This is the layer most readers know. The deeper layer is the second aggregation step. Each sign carries seven BAVs (one for each of the seven classical planets). When you sum all seven into a single number per sign, you get the Sarvashtakavarga value, abbreviated SAV. The SAV grid is what most modern software shows you when you ask for "Ashtakavarga". Reading your Ashtakavarga score, in plain language, means reading both the BAV grid and the SAV grid against fixed benchmarks.
The eight contributors
The eight contributors are the seven classical planets plus the lagna (the rising sign at birth). Each contributor has its own table that lists which houses, counted from itself, are favourable for each of the seven planets. To compute the BAV of a sign for Jupiter, for example, you check each of the eight contributors against Jupiter's contributor table and count how many of them find that sign favourable from their position.
| Contributor | Role | Total bindus across 12 signs (Jupiter table) |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | One of eight evaluating points | 7 |
| Moon | One of eight evaluating points | 9 |
| Mars | One of eight evaluating points | 7 |
| Mercury | One of eight evaluating points | 8 |
| Jupiter | Self-evaluation point | 9 |
| Venus | One of eight evaluating points | 7 |
| Saturn | One of eight evaluating points | 5 |
| Lagna | One of eight evaluating points | 4 |
The numbers in the third column are the totals from the Jupiter contributor table specifically. They sum to 56, which is Jupiter's total bindu count across all twelve signs. Each of the seven planets has its own fixed total: Sun 48, Moon 49, Mars 39, Mercury 54, Jupiter 56, Venus 52, Saturn 39. These are not arbitrary; they are determined by the contributor tables. The seven totals add to 337, which is why the full Sarvashtakavarga grid sums to 337 in any correctly computed chart.
Rahu and Ketu are not contributors in the canonical eight-source method. Some practitioners include them in extended versions but the standard reading uses only the seven planets and the lagna. If your software shows a SAV total that is not 337, the software is using a non-standard contributor set.
How to read a BAV score: 0 to 8
The BAV is the most direct reading. It tells you, for one specific planet, how strongly an individual sign supports that planet. The classical thresholds are these.
| BAV value | Interpretation | Practical reading |
|---|---|---|
| 7 to 8 | Very strong | The sign overwhelmingly supports the planet. Transits and dasha periods of this planet, when active in this sign, deliver significations with minimal friction. |
| 5 to 6 | Strong | More than half of the eight contributors support the planet. The default reading is favourable. This is the threshold most classical texts use as the line for strong. |
| 4 | Average | Half-and-half. The sign neither obstructs nor amplifies the planet. The dasha or transit will read more on the planet's natal dignity than on its sign-specific Ashtakavarga. |
| 3 | Weak | Below half. The sign provides less support than usual. Significations face mild friction. Not catastrophic but not clean either. |
| 0 to 2 | Very weak | The sign actively obstructs the planet. Transits through this sign are the classical caution windows; dasha periods of this planet running here read with the planet's most difficult expression. |
In the Ashtakavarga method article, the BAV grid is described as the most under-used layer in modern Vedic prediction. Most readers stop at planet placements and aspects; the Ashtakavarga adds a sign-specific filter that often resolves whether a transit or dasha will read cleanly or messily.
How to read an SAV score: the 337 baseline
The SAV is the sum of all seven planetary BAVs in a single sign. It tells you not how a single planet is doing in that sign but how the sign itself is supported across the planetary system. If three or four planets all give the sign a high BAV, the SAV will be high. If most planets give it low BAVs, the SAV will be low.
The arithmetic of the 337 total fixes the per-house baseline. Divide 337 by 12 (the number of signs) and you get 28.08, which rounds to 28. A house at exactly 28 SAV is exactly average for the chart. Above 28 means above average; below 28 means below average. The conventional thresholds are these.
| SAV value | Interpretation | What it tends to predict for the house |
|---|---|---|
| 32 and above | Strong | The life area governed by this house tends to develop with momentum. Career (10th), wealth (2nd), partnerships (7th), gains (11th) all read more cleanly when their house has high SAV. |
| 28 to 31 | Average | The house performs at chart-average. Outcomes depend more on transits, dashas and natal placements than on Ashtakavarga support. |
| 25 to 27 | Mildly weak | Below average. The house tends to require more deliberate cultivation. Not blocked but not supported either. |
| Below 25 | Weak | The classical caution band. The house tends to deliver less than expected. Themes of the house may demand sustained effort over many years to produce the outcomes other houses produce by default. |
What high SAV in a house tells you
A house with high SAV is structurally supported. Read the house carefully. The 10th house at 34 SAV in a Capricorn-rising chart, with Saturn well placed and the dasha sequence cooperative, is the classical reading for a long career arc. The 11th house at 35 SAV is the classical reading for sustained gains across the life. The 7th house at 33 SAV is the classical reading for stable partnership.
The reading is not deterministic. A high SAV does not guarantee outcomes; it indicates that when the planets and dashas activate the house, the house has the structural support to deliver. The SAV is the static layer; the dasha and transit are the dynamic layers. Both have to be working for the outcome to manifest.
The classical example is reading career timing through the 10th house SAV combined with the 10th lord's dasha. If 10th SAV is 32 or higher and the 10th lord is running its dasha or antardasha, the career is structurally cued to deliver. If the 10th SAV is 24 and the 10th lord is in a difficult dasha, career outcomes during that period read with friction even if other indicators look fine.
What low SAV in a house tells you
A house with low SAV is structurally under-supported. Activity in the house tends to require more sustained effort to produce equivalent outcomes. The 2nd house at 22 SAV reads as a chart where wealth accumulation is slower; the 7th house at 23 SAV reads as a chart where partnership requires sustained work; the 6th house at 38 SAV (yes, low SAV in dusthana houses is generally favourable for the chart owner) reads as a chart that defeats opposition with more ease.
The dusthana inversion is worth a careful note. The 6th, 8th and 12th houses in Vedic astrology are difficult houses, traditionally associated with conflict, transformation and dissolution. A high SAV in these houses generally indicates more activity in those areas, which can be unfavourable for the owner. A high 8th house SAV, for example, can indicate frequent transformations of fortune; a high 12th house SAV can indicate frequent dissolution of accumulated resources. Low SAV in dusthana houses is generally read positively. The 28 baseline does not reverse here, but the interpretation does.
Reading transits through Ashtakavarga
The most practical use of the BAV grid is transit filtering. Saturn moves at roughly 2.5 years per sign. Jupiter moves at roughly 13 months per sign. When Saturn enters a sign where its BAV is 1 or 2, the standard reading is that the Saturn transit will read with significant obstruction across the 2.5-year period; this is the classical setting for difficult Sade Sati segments. When Jupiter enters a sign where its BAV is 7 or 8, the standard reading is that the Jupiter transit opens that sign's themes for the 13 months it sits there.
The full transit reading combines the planet's BAV in the transiting sign with the SAV of that sign and the dasha context. A Jupiter transit through a sign with Jupiter BAV 7 and SAV 32, while Jupiter is running its mahadasha (the major planetary period in the Vimshottari system), is the cleanest possible Jupiter signal in the system. A Saturn transit through a sign with Saturn BAV 1 and SAV 22, while a difficult mahadasha or antardasha is running, is the tightest possible caution flag.
Reading dasha periods through Ashtakavarga
The same logic applies to mahadasha and antardasha periods. When a planet's mahadasha begins, look at the BAV of the sign the planet sits in natally. A Venus mahadasha starting with Venus in a sign where Venus BAV is 6 reads more cleanly than a Venus mahadasha with Venus BAV of 2. The dasha lord's natal sign Ashtakavarga modifies the entire 20-year arc.
The same applies to the lord of a house whose theme you are reading. If you want to know how the 10th lord's dasha will read for career, check the 10th lord's BAV in its natal sign and the SAV of the 10th house. High BAV plus high SAV is the cleanest career-period reading. Low BAV plus low SAV is the classical reading for a career-difficult dasha; the reading does not predict failure, but it predicts friction.
How Tempora uses Ashtakavarga in research
In Tempora's research stack, Ashtakavarga sits as a chart-strength filter that runs alongside Vimshottari dasha (the primary timing engine), Jaimini Chara dasha (a sign-based cross-check) and Shadbala (the six-fold strength score). The four layers cross-validate each other. A forward call that fires on Vimshottari but disagrees with Ashtakavarga is weaker than one where both agree. The cross-validation is what allows the framework to publish dated calls with explicit lift figures, as documented in the falsifiable astrology piece.
For personal-chart reading, the same cross-validation works. A career signal in the dasha that lines up with high SAV in the 10th, high BAV for the 10th lord, and supportive transits is the strongest possible reading for that period. Cross-system agreement is what separates calibrated readings from one-off guesses.
The companion piece: Sarvashtakavarga deep dive
This article focuses on the score itself. The companion piece, the Sarvashtakavarga deep dive, walks through the SAV grid sign by sign and house by house, including transit benchmarks, life-area rankings, and how to use the 337 distribution to identify which life areas your chart was structurally built around. Read this piece first for the framework; read the companion for the chart-by-chart application.
Limitations and honest caveats
Three limitations sit on the front of the framework.
First, Ashtakavarga is a structural filter, not a predictor of specific events. A high SAV in the 10th tells you the house is supported; it does not tell you which job, which sector, or which year. The score modulates other timing signals; it does not replace them.
Second, the contributor tables vary slightly between classical sources. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra is the canonical reference but later texts (Phaladeepika, Saravali) have minor variations on a few cells. Most modern software uses the Parashara tables, which is what produces the 337 total. If your software gives a different total, check which table it is using.
Third, the BAV and SAV are computed against the natal chart and do not change over a lifetime. The static nature of the score is its strength (it gives a stable structural reading) and its limit (it does not capture transit-driven shifts). Combine it with dasha and transit analysis for a dynamic reading.
References
- Method article: Ashtakavarga: reading the eight-source binda system
- Companion piece: Sarvashtakavarga deep dive
- Cluster pillar: Method articles and technique deep-dives
- Falsifiable framework: Falsifiable astrology
- Mahadasha cluster: Mahadasha periods and Vimshottari
Frequently asked questions
What does my Ashtakavarga score mean?
Ashtakavarga (eight-source binda system) gives every sign in your chart a score from 0 to 8 for each of seven planets and the lagna. The score for a single sign and a single planet is called a Bhinnashtakavarga or BAV value. The score is the number of contributors (out of eight, namely the seven planets and the lagna) that consider that sign favourable for the planet in question. A BAV of 5 or higher in a sign is considered strong; 3 or below is considered weak. The total of all seven planets across all twelve houses is the Sarvashtakavarga or SAV total, which sums to 337 across a complete chart. Reading your Ashtakavarga score means reading the BAV grid sign by sign and the SAV grid house by house against this 337 baseline.
What is the difference between BAV and SAV?
BAV is Bhinnashtakavarga, the score for one specific planet in one specific sign. The eight contributors evaluate whether the sign is favourable for that planet, and the BAV is the count from 0 to 8. SAV is Sarvashtakavarga, the sum of all seven planetary BAVs in a single sign. Each BAV ranges 0 to 8; SAV in a single sign ranges 0 to 56 in principle but in practice falls between roughly 19 and 35. The full SAV grid totals 337 across all twelve signs because the sum of all classical contributor counts is fixed. BAV is used to assess one planet's strength in transit and dasha; SAV is used to assess overall house strength and life-area emphasis.
Why is 337 the baseline number?
The 337 figure is fixed by the underlying contributor tables in classical Ashtakavarga, primarily as set out in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. Each of the seven planets has a defined number of total bindus across its 0 to 8 grid, and those totals sum to 337 across all twelve signs. Sun contributes 48, Moon 49, Mars 39, Mercury 54, Jupiter 56, Venus 52 and Saturn 39, totalling 337. Any complete chart, computed correctly, will sum to 337. A single house gets the average of 337 divided by 12, which is approximately 28.08, so 28 is the per-house benchmark. A house with SAV above 30 is considered strong; below 25 is considered weak.
Who are the eight contributors in Ashtakavarga?
The eight contributors are the seven classical planets (Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn) and the ascendant (lagna). Each planet has its own contributor table that lists which houses, counted from each of the eight reference points, are favourable for it. To compute the BAV of a sign for, say, Jupiter, you check each of the eight contributors against Jupiter's contributor table and count how many find that sign favourable. Rahu and Ketu are not contributors in the classical eight-source method. Some traditions add them but the canonical method uses only the seven planets plus the lagna.
What does a high or low BAV in a house mean?
A BAV of 5 or higher for a planet in a particular sign indicates that the planet, when transiting that sign or running its dasha, has more than half of the contributors supporting its activity in that sign. Effects associated with that planet tend to express more cleanly. A BAV of 3 or lower indicates fewer than half of the contributors support the planet there. The planet's natural significations face friction in that sign. The principle applies to both transits and dasha periods. Saturn transit through a sign where its BAV is 1 or 2 is the classical reading for a difficult Sade Sati segment; Jupiter transit through a sign where its BAV is 7 or 8 is a classical reading for an opening window.
How do I use Ashtakavarga in transit prediction?
For a transit, look up the BAV of the transiting planet in the sign it is moving through. A BAV of 5 or higher means the transit can deliver the planet's significations with less friction. A BAV of 3 or lower means the transit will be weighted by the same significations but with more obstruction. The next layer is to check the SAV of the same sign: a SAV of 30 or higher means the sign as a whole supports activity for that house. A planet with a high BAV in a sign with a high SAV is the cleanest possible transit signal. The opposite combination, a low BAV in a low SAV sign, is the tightest classical caution flag.
Read next
This article is an explainer for the Ashtakavarga (eight-source binda) scoring system used in Vedic astrology. The contributor tables and total figures referenced are taken from the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra tradition. Score thresholds (5 strong, 3 weak, 30 strong house, 25 weak house) are conventional reading benchmarks documented in classical and modern sources. The framework filters timing signals; it does not predict specific events, actors or outcomes. This research is published for informational and educational purposes only. No commercial, financial, medical, legal or professional decisions should be taken solely on the contents of this article. Internal audit log maintained.