Life Predictor Algorithm & Event Compatibility Guide
Why This Guide Exists
VedAstro's Life Predictor uses multiple scoring algorithms to colour-code your timeline—green for favourable periods, red for challenging ones. But here's the thing most users don't realize: not every algorithm works with every event type.
Some algorithms are built specifically for Dasa (planetary period) events. Others only activate during Gochara (transit) events. A few work universally. Picking the wrong combination is like fitting a diesel nozzle into a petrol car—nothing breaks, but nothing useful happens either. The algorithm simply returns 0, painting your timeline a meaningless grey.
This guide gives you the complete compatibility matrix, explains what each algorithm actually does, and provides tested "recipes"—algorithm combinations tuned for specific use cases.
Quick Reference — Three Scopes
Every algorithm falls into one of three scopes. Know these and you'll never pick the wrong combination:
Universal
Works on every event type — Dasa, Gochara, Yoga, everything. Always safe to include.
Dasa Only
Activates only for planetary period events (PD1–PD8). Returns 0 for transits.
Transit Only
Activates only for Gochara and Ashtakvarga Gochara events. Returns 0 for Dasa.
Compatibility Matrix
Each algorithm silently returns 0 for event types it doesn't handle. Green cells mean the algorithm actively scores that event type. Grey cells mean it returns 0 — no effect, no harm, just wasted CPU.
| Algorithm | PD1 Dasa |
PD2 Bhukti |
PD3 Antaram |
PD4-8 Sukshma+ |
Gochara | Ashtakv. Gochara |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General ALL | ✓ +3/−3 | ✓ +3/−3 | ✓ +3/−3 | ✓ +3/−3 | ✓ +3/−3 | ✓ +3/−3 |
| IshtaKashtaPhalaDegree DASA | ✓ Strongest planet | ✓ Strongest planet | ✓ Strongest planet | ✓ Strongest planet | — | — |
| PlanetStrengthDegree ALL | ✓ Shadbala % | ✓ Shadbala % | ✓ Shadbala % | ✓ Shadbala % | ✓ Shadbala % | ✓ Shadbala % |
| DasaAshtakvargaBindu DASA | ⚠ Needs 2 planets | ✓ Major↔Sub | ✓ Major↔Sub | ✓ Major↔Sub | — | — |
| SarvashtakavargaBhavaStrength ALL | ✓ House vitality | ✓ House vitality | ✓ House vitality | ✓ House vitality | ✓ House vitality | ✓ House vitality |
| DirectionalZoneStrength ALL | ✓ Direction SAV | ✓ Direction SAV | ✓ Direction SAV | ✓ Direction SAV | ✓ Direction SAV | ✓ Direction SAV |
| LifeSectionStrength ALL | ✓ Life chapter | ✓ Life chapter | ✓ Life chapter | ✓ Life chapter | ✓ Life chapter | ✓ Life chapter |
| GocharaAshtakvargaBindu TRANSIT | — | — | — | — | ✓ Bindu → ±5 | ✓ Bindu → ±5 |
| GocharaReducedBindu TRANSIT | — | — | — | — | ✓ Trikona ±3 | ✓ Trikona ±3 |
| AshtakvargaGocharaStrength TRANSIT | — | — | — | — | ✓ Asymmetric ±3 | ✓ Asymmetric ±3 |
| GocharaKakshyaLord TRANSIT | — | — | — | — | ✓ Kakshya ±2 | ✓ Kakshya ±2 |
| GocharaKakshyaDisposition TRANSIT | — | — | — | — | ✓ Lord house ±1.5 | ✓ Lord house ±1.5 |
| RadicalChartCapacity TRANSIT | — | — | — | — | ✓ SAV capacity | ✓ SAV capacity |
| DasaGocharaCrossEffect TRANSIT | — | — | — | — | ✓ Dasa × Transit | ✓ Dasa × Transit |
| Neutral ALL | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Algorithm Deep Dive
Here's what each algorithm actually measures, the BV Raman source it's based on, and the score range you can expect.
Score: always 0 | Mute mode
Turns off all astrological judging. Every event is painted a flat neutral grey. Use this when you want to see the raw timeline of events without any good/bad colour-coding — useful as a baseline or for custom analysis where you apply your own interpretive lens.
Score: +3 (good) or −3 (bad) | Classic BV Raman textbook colouring
The simplest and most traditional scoring. Each event carries an innate nature (Good or Bad) as described by BV Raman. Like a traffic light: green for favourable, red for unfavourable. No birth chart analysis — the score comes purely from the textbook definition of the event itself.
Score: variable | Based on Raman Ch. XII, p.110–114
Finds the most dominant planet among all dasa lords (using Shadbala), then reads its Ishta-Kashta balance — its capacity for good versus difficulty. A planet with high Ishta Phala delivers "reputation, financial success, health, and political power"; high Kashta Phala brings the opposite. Predicts the overall tone of any planetary period.
Score: roughly −1 to +1 per planet (cumulative) | Shadbala percentage
Measures whether each planet involved in an event is above or below 50% Shadbala (sixfold strength). Like a sports team's combined fitness score — planets above 50% push the score up, below 50% drag it down. Scores of all planets sum together.
Score: −4 to +4 | Based on Raman Ch. XII, p.111–114
Checks how "welcome" the sub-period lord is in the major period lord's Bhinnashtakavarga. The major lord is the host, the sub-lord is the guest — the bindu count tells you whether the guest is warmly received or treated with suspicion. Neutral midpoint is 4 bindus; score = bindus − 4. Requires at least 2 related planets (PD2+ events).
Score: ±10 bindus = ±1.0 | Based on Prasna Marga via Raman Ch. XI, p.98–99
Measures whether the houses involved in an event meet their minimum SAV bindu thresholds from Prasna Marga: 1st=25, 2nd=22, 3rd=29, 4th=24, 5th=25, 6th=34, 7th=19, 8th=24, 9th=29, 10th=36, 11th=54, 12th=16. Predicts whether the life department an event touches has the structural strength to deliver results.
Score: variable | Based on Raman Ch. XI, p.104, Rule 26
Maps the zodiac into four cardinal directions (East=Fire signs, South=Earth, West=Air, North=Water) and measures accumulated SAV energy per direction. Applies three lord modifiers: Lagna lord's direction = livelihood (+0.5), 2nd lord's = wealth (+1.0), 8th lord's = destruction (−1.5). Useful for relocation astrology and choosing business premises.
Score: variable | Based on Raman Ch. XI, p.101–102, Rules 15–18
Divides the zodiac into three life chapters — childhood (Pisces–Gemini), youth (Cancer–Libra), old age (Scorpio–Aquarius). The block with the highest SAV total promises the happiest chapter. Also applies benefic/malefic modifiers per Rules 17–18. Contextualises current events: a difficult transit during a strong life section will be far less damaging.
Score: −5 to +5 | Based on Raman Ch. XIII, p.127–128
The personal fingerprint overlaid onto planetary transits. Bindus are like approval ratings: 8 = near-unanimous support, 0 = total disapproval, 4 = neutral tipping point. Remaps the 0–8 bindu scale to −5 to +5. Predicts the personal impact of planetary transits — will Saturn's passage bring wealth or worry?
Score: −3 to +3 | Based on Raman Ch. II & Ch. XIII
A more refined, distilled version of the raw bindu score. Trikona reductions strip away "background noise" and reveal true relative sign strength. Especially useful for identifying transits that look benign on the surface (decent raw bindus) but are actually hollow underneath (low reduced bindus). Critical for health timing and surgery date selection.
Score: −3 to +3 | Based on Raman Ch. XIII, p.127–128
The algorithm that captures Raman's key insight: bindus work differently for good versus bad transits. Good transit + high bindus = amplified benefit (wind filling a sail). Bad transit + high bindus = neutralised evil (armour absorbing a blow). The most faithful implementation of Raman's asymmetric teaching.
Score: +2 or −2 | Based on Raman Ch. XIII, p.131–135
The highest-precision transit tool. Each sign is divided into 8 slices of 3°45' (Kakshyas), ruled by Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Ascendant in order. Whether the Kakshya lord donated a bindu determines the effect: lit room (+2) or dark room (−2). Pinpoints exactly when within a months-long transit results will manifest.
Score: −1.5 to +1.5 | Based on Raman Ch. XIII, p.134
Scores based on the Kakshya lord's natal house position. Well-placed lords (Kendra/Trikona) clarify results (+0.6/+0.4), while Dusthana placements (6th/8th/12th) muddy outcomes (−0.4). Explains why the same transit brings clear benefits for one person and mixed results for another.
Score: −0.8 to 0 (good events), −0.7 to 0 (bad events) | Based on Raman Ch. XIII, p.127
Tests whether the radical chart can support a Gochara event. Uses Prasna Marga SAV thresholds as a capacity proxy. Good events are dampened in weak houses; bad events are worsened. Explains why some transits have no effect in naturally fortunate charts.
Score: −1.0 to +1.0 | Based on Raman Ch. XIII, p.137 & Hindu Predictive Astrology Ch. XXIV
Bridges Dasa and Gochara: Good Transit + benefic Dasa = amplified. Bad Transit + malefic Dasa = amplified. Mixed = suppressed. Scaled by Dasa lord's Shadbala strength. Essential for understanding why the same transit feels different depending on which Dasa period you're in.
Recommended Recipes
Algorithm combinations tuned for specific use cases, derived from BV Raman's methodology.
The most common use case. See your life timeline coloured by planetary periods. The dasa lord's inherent strength (Shadbala) and its capacity for good/evil (Ishta-Kashta) determine the period's quality. Adding the Bhinnashtakavarga check refines sub-period predictions.
For checking current or upcoming transits. The asymmetric 2-factor scoring (AshtakvargaGocharaStrength) is the most faithful to Raman's Ch. XIII teaching that bindus amplify good transits but neutralise bad ones. Layer Kakshya analysis for week-level precision.
The complete picture — dasa periods providing the backdrop, transits overlaid for timing precision. Use the universal algorithms plus domain-specific ones for each event type. The DasaGocharaCrossEffect bridges both worlds as Raman prescribes.
The current default: General + IshtaKashtaPhalaDegree + PlanetStrengthDegree. A good starting point — General gives the textbook direction, IshtaKashta personalises dasa periods, and PlanetStrength adds birth-chart-specific power readings. Works reasonably well for dasa events but contributes nothing extra for transits beyond General.
Maximum precision for transit timing. Stacks all layers from Raman's Ashtakvarga system: raw bindu → reduced bindu → Kakshya lord → Kakshya disposition → birth chart capacity. Each layer adds a finer filter. Use for muhurtha selection or pinpointing exact weeks within a multi-month transit.
Design Notes & Edge Cases
Not a bug. The algorithm requires at least 2 related planets (major lord + sub lord) to compute the Bhinnashtakavarga relationship. PD1 events typically have only 1 planet, so they get 0. This is methodologically correct — the scoring per Raman Ch. XII specifically evaluates the relationship between two lords. However, if you select only PD1 events with this algorithm, you'll see no colouring from it at all.
All 7 Ashtakvarga-based algorithms explicitly return 0 for Rahu and Ketu. This is classically correct — the shadow planets have no Bhinnashtakavarga or Prashtara in the traditional 7-planet Ashtakvarga system. Events involving Rahu/Ketu dasa periods or transits will only be scored by General, PlanetStrengthDegree, and the house-based universal algorithms.
Based on
Ashtakvarga System of Prediction by B.V. Raman
Hindu Predictive Astrology by B.V. Raman
Prasna Marga (Stanza 63, SAV thresholds) | Published by Ranjan Publications & Motilal Banarsidass