What Prashna is
Prashna (Sanskrit praśna, “question”) is the horary astrology of India. Its premise is the one Western horary shares: the chart of the moment a question is asked describes the matter asked about, so the astrologer reads the answer from the sky of that moment, not from anyone’s birth chart. Jyotishis have used it for centuries for questions of marriage, illness, travel, lost things and lawsuits, and above all when the person asking has no reliable birth time.
Three classics frame the tradition. The Ṣaṭpañcāśikā (“fifty-six verses”) of Pṛthuyaśas, son of Varāhamihira, from the 6th century, is the short foundational text. Nīlakaṇṭha’s Praśna Tantra (16th century) gathers the rules for many kinds of question. The Praśna Mārga, written in Kerala in the 17th century, is the great manual of the Kerala school, which adds omens at the moment of asking and an elaborate ritual around the consultation. AstroGPT’s Vedic mode reads only the chart.
How a Prashna chart differs
A Prashna chart is built the Vedic way, so it looks different from a Western horary chart cast for the same moment:
- Sidereal zodiac. Signs are measured from the fixed stars, with the Lahiri ayanamsa, the Indian standard, of about 24° today. A graha at 10° Taurus in the Western chart stands at about 16° Aries in the Prashna chart.
- Whole-sign bhavas. The rising sign, the Lagna, is the whole 1st bhava, the next sign the whole 2nd, and so on. There are no house cusps.
- Nine grahas. The Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, plus Rahu and Ketu, the Moon’s nodes. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are not used.
- Nakshatras. The 27 lunar mansions of 13°20′, each in four padas, colour every graha and above all the Moon.
- Graha drishti. Aspects fall on whole signs, without orbs: every graha aspects the 7th sign from its own, Mars also the 4th and 8th, Jupiter the 5th and 9th, Saturn the 3rd and 10th.
Dignity is by sign: exalted, moolatrikona, own sign, or debilitated. The Prashna section of the horary guide explains each of these in more detail, and its glossary defines the Sanskrit terms.
Reading a marriage question
The 7th bhava is marriage and the spouse, and its lord is the spouse’s significator. The Lagna and its lord are you. The first test is whether the two lords are linked: by a conjunction in one sign, by drishti from one to the other, or by one lord standing in the other’s bhava. A link promises the marriage in principle; no link at all, or a link spoiled by malefics, argues against it.
Venus is the karaka, the natural significator, of marriage and of the wife. Some traditions take Jupiter as the karaka of a woman’s husband, and many astrologers look at both. A strong karaka, in its own sign or exaltation and free of malefic drishti, supports the match; a debilitated or afflicted one shows obstacles or a mismatch.
The Moon is the mind of the person asking, and in Prashna her strength is central. A bright, waxing Moon in a good bhava and a friendly nakshatra helps every matter; a dark Moon, or one aspected by Saturn and Mars, shows worry, delay or opposition.
Last come the drishti between the Lagna lord and the 7th lord, and from the benefics (Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, a bright Moon) and the malefics (Saturn, Mars, the Sun, Rahu, Ketu) onto the Lagna, the 7th bhava and their lords. Rahu or Ketu on the 1st–7th axis is a classic sign of an unconventional, delayed or unsettled marriage.
When: timing in Prashna
A “when” question asks more of a chart than a yes-or-no question does. Prashna has several timing tools. The signs: a significator in a movable sign points to quick results, in a fixed sign to slow ones, in a dual sign to something in between. The Moon’s nakshatra: the swift (laghu) nakshatras such as Ashwini, Pushya and Hasta speed things up. And transits: the astrologer watches for Jupiter, the Moon or the 7th lord to reach the 7th bhava, the Lagna or the other significator.
These indications often disagree, as they do in the example below. So when AstroGPT gets a “when” question, it is instructed to give the verdict “Time will tell” and to discuss the timing in its answer, rather than invent a date the chart does not show. If you want a firmer period, the usual Jyotish route is the dashas of your birth chart; this site’s free kundli tool shows your current Vimshottari dasha. The timing section of the guide covers the Western rules.
Marriage factors at a glance
| Factor | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Lagna lord and 7th lord in one sign, or in mutual drishti | Marriage promised in principle |
| 7th lord in the Lagna, or the Lagna lord in the 7th | The two sides come together: a strong promise |
| Venus (or Jupiter) strong and free of malefic drishti | A fitting, affectionate match |
| Jupiter’s drishti on the Lagna or the 7th | Blessing and support for the marriage |
| Saturn on the 7th, its lord or the Moon | Delay, effort, an older or serious partner |
| Mars on the 7th or its lord | Quarrels, haste or friction |
| Rahu or Ketu on the 1st–7th axis | An unusual, delayed or unsettled marriage |
| A bright Moon in a swift nakshatra | Movement soon |
| No link between the lords | Marriage not shown by this chart |
Remedies (upaya)
A Vedic reading may end with an upaya, a remedy. AstroGPT keeps these simple and free: when the outlook is unfavourable or uncertain, it suggests one or two at most, chosen from chanting the relevant graha’s mantra, fasting on its weekday, giving charity (dana), or wearing its colour on its day. It never recommends gemstones, paid pujas or rituals, anything that costs money, or anything presented as mandatory. A remedy is a practice for steadiness while you wait, not a payment for a result.
How AstroGPT reads it
AstroGPT, the app behind this site, reads your question as a Prashna chart in its Vedic mode: open Menu → Astrology tradition and choose the Vedic tradition (the app suggests it first in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan). It casts the chart for the moment you ask, at your phone’s location, in the sidereal zodiac with the Lahiri ayanamsa, whole-sign bhavas from the Lagna, the nine grahas with true-node Rahu and Ketu, nakshatras and padas, graha drishti and dignity by sign, and a language model writes the reading by the Prashna rules above. You can ask in Hindi or in English, and the answer comes in the language of your question. The chart is kept for 60 minutes, so you can ask follow-up questions in the same chat. The example below is a real chart and the answer AstroGPT gave for it. It is a reading for reflection and entertainment, and it can be wrong, like any astrologer’s.