Lagna

Lagna (Sanskrit लग्न, lagna — "the attached", "the rising") is the ascendant in Vedic astrology (Jyotish), the point of the ecliptic rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth.

The starting point of the chart. Lagna is the beginning of the entire natal chart (Kundali) and defines the system of houses (bhavas). All 12 spheres of life are counted from it.

Difference from the Western Ascendant

The fundamental difference from the Western Ascendant (#1) is that Lagna is computed in the sidereal zodiac (Sanskrit निरयण, nirayana — "without precession"), whereas the Western Ascendant uses the tropical zodiac.

Ayanamsa. The difference is the Ayanamsa (अयनांश) — approximately 23°50′ in 2026. This means that for the same moment of birth, Lagna and the Western Ascendant most often fall into different signs.

What Lagna Determines

Lagna sets:

• Physical constitution (Deha — देह)
• Starting conditions of incarnation
• The general vector of the life path

Special Kinds of Lagna

• Chandra Lagna — the Moon as Ascendant
• Surya Lagna — the Sun as Ascendant
• Ara Lagna — Mars as Ascendant
• Navamsa Lagna — the Ascendant of the harmonic ninth chart (D9), revealing the dharmic potential