Vedic Astrology · Shashtiamsa (षष्ट्यंश / D60)
Shashtiamsa Chart (D60) — Overall Life & Past Karma
D60 is the most subtle divisional chart: overall life direction and past-life karma — the deepest layer of your chart, read from your birth details.
The Shashtiamsa (D60) is the most subtle of the sixteen divisional charts. Each 30° rashi is divided into sixty parts of just 0°30' each, so the D60 lagna shifts every two minutes — which is why Parashara treated it as a powerful summary of the whole chart and gave it the highest single weight in Vimshopaka Bala. The D60 is read for overall life direction and for sanchita karma — the accumulated karma a soul carries from past lives that colours everything else. Where the other vargas each specialise in one life area, the Shashtiamsa steps back and reveals the deep karmic signature beneath them all.
What Shashtiamsa Shows
- Overall karmic signature — The D60 lagna, its lord, and the strongest placements summarise the deep karmic direction of the whole chart — the layer beneath every specialised varga.
- Past-life (sanchita) karma — The Shashtiamsa is classically read for accumulated karma carried from prior lives, shaping the tendencies and results a chart is predisposed toward.
- Chart-strength confirmation — Because Parashara weighted D60 highly in Vimshopaka Bala, a planet strong here confirms and stabilises the strength it shows in the birth chart.
- Vargottama and repetition — A planet in the same rashi in D1 and D60 gains great strength — a soul-level reinforcement of that graha's significations across this life.
- Where remedy is deepest — A weak or afflicted D60 placement points to a deep-seated karmic pattern, the kind that a sustained upay and dasha-timed effort work with over time.
Get Your Shashtiamsa Chart
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The Ishvaram engine generates the Shashtiamsa alongside your birth chart, Navamsa, and the rest of the Shodashvarga — with planet placements, house lords, and dasha timing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Shashtiamsa chart?
Shashtiamsa (षष्ट्यंश, 'sixtieth part') is the D60 divisional chart in Vedic astrology. Each 30° rashi is divided into 60 parts of 0°30' each, producing the most granular of the divisional charts — read for overall life direction and past-life (sanchita) karma.
Why is the D60 considered so important?
Maharishi Parashara gave the Shashtiamsa the highest single weight in Vimshopaka Bala (the twenty-point strength scheme), because its fine 0°30' divisions summarise the deep karmic signature of the whole chart. A planet strong in D60 confirms its birth-chart strength.
Does the D60 really need an exact birth time?
Yes — more than any other varga. Each D60 division spans only 0°30', so the D60 lagna changes roughly every two minutes. A precise, rectified birth time gives the most reliable Shashtiamsa; enter your best-known time in the calculator.
What does 'past-life karma' mean in the D60?
The Shashtiamsa is classically read for sanchita karma — the accumulated karma a soul carries from prior lives that predisposes the tendencies and results of this one. It is interpreted as a signature of deep patterns, not a literal biography.
How do I get my Shashtiamsa chart from Ishvaram?
Enter your date, exact time, and place of birth in the calculator above. The Ishvaram engine computes the D60 layout — planets, varga lagna, and per-planet dignity — from the Swiss Ephemeris, so you can read the deepest karmic layer without calculating the varga by hand.
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The 16 divisional charts (Shodashvarga) — where Shashtiamsa fits
The Shashtiamsa (D60) is the most subtle varga — past-life karma and the finest layer of a chart. These are the sixteen divisional charts Ishvaram's engine calculates, each read for a different area of life. Parashara's own list of sixteen (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra) has D45 Akshavedamsa where this list has D5 Panchamsa.
| Varga | Name | Reveals |
|---|---|---|
| D1 | Rashi | Base chart, overall life |
| D2 | Hora | Wealth |
| D3 | Drekkana | Siblings, courage |
| D4 | Chaturthamsa | Property, fortune |
| D5 | Panchamsa | Spiritual merit |
| D7 | Saptamsa | Children |
| D9 | Navamsa | Spouse, dharma, spiritual life (most important after D1) |
| D10 | Dasamsa | Career, profession |
| D12 | Dwadasamsa | Parents |
| D16 | Shodasamsa | Vehicles, comforts, happiness |
| D20 | Vimsamsa | Spiritual progress |
| D24 | Chaturvimsamsa | Education, learning |
| D27 | Bhamsa/Nakshatramsa | Strength, vitality |
| D30 | Trimsamsa | Evils, misfortune |
| D40 | Khavedamsa | Auspicious/inauspicious effects |
| D60 | Shashtiamsa | Past life karma (most subtle) |