Khavedāṃśa, also called Catvāriṃśāṃśa, is the fortieth divisional chart. Its sign assignment depends on the parity of the D1 rāśi, not on that rāśi’s name alone.
The rule in the source
Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra 6.29 says to reckon the fortieth divisions from Aries in odd signs and from Libra in even signs. Odd signs here are Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius; even signs are Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces. P. V. R. Narasimha Rao, §6.2.18, works through the same 45′ assignment using Gemini and Scorpio examples. Counting proceeds forward through the signs and wraps after Pisces. Do not carry the count forward from one D1 sign into the next: each new D1 sign begins its own forty-portion cycle.
To calculate one placement, normalize its sidereal longitude to 0°–360°. The D1 sign is the integer part of longitude ÷ 30°; the remainder is its degree inside that sign. Divide the remainder by 0.75°, discard the fraction, and add one for the portion number. Choose the Aries or Libra starting column by D1 sign parity and count forward. A portion includes its lower boundary and excludes its upper boundary.
All forty D40 portions
The odd and even columns give the D40 sign for any D1 rāśi of that parity. At 0°45′ exactly the second portion begins; at 30° exactly the next D1 rāśi begins. The presiding-deity sequence follows Parāśara 6.30 and repeats after every twelve portions.
| Part | D1 degree | Odd D40 sign | Even D40 sign | Deity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.00°–0.75° | Aries | Libra | Vishnu |
| 2 | 0.75°–1.50° | Taurus | Scorpio | Chandra |
| 3 | 1.50°–2.25° | Gemini | Sagittarius | Marichi |
| 4 | 2.25°–3.00° | Cancer | Capricorn | Tvashta |
| 5 | 3.00°–3.75° | Leo | Aquarius | Dhata |
| 6 | 3.75°–4.50° | Virgo | Pisces | Shiva |
| 7 | 4.50°–5.25° | Libra | Aries | Ravi |
| 8 | 5.25°–6.00° | Scorpio | Taurus | Yama |
| 9 | 6.00°–6.75° | Sagittarius | Gemini | Yaksha |
| 10 | 6.75°–7.50° | Capricorn | Cancer | Gandharva |
| 11 | 7.50°–8.25° | Aquarius | Leo | Kala |
| 12 | 8.25°–9.00° | Pisces | Virgo | Varuna |
| 13 | 9.00°–9.75° | Aries | Libra | Vishnu |
| 14 | 9.75°–10.50° | Taurus | Scorpio | Chandra |
| 15 | 10.50°–11.25° | Gemini | Sagittarius | Marichi |
| 16 | 11.25°–12.00° | Cancer | Capricorn | Tvashta |
| 17 | 12.00°–12.75° | Leo | Aquarius | Dhata |
| 18 | 12.75°–13.50° | Virgo | Pisces | Shiva |
| 19 | 13.50°–14.25° | Libra | Aries | Ravi |
| 20 | 14.25°–15.00° | Scorpio | Taurus | Yama |
| 21 | 15.00°–15.75° | Sagittarius | Gemini | Yaksha |
| 22 | 15.75°–16.50° | Capricorn | Cancer | Gandharva |
| 23 | 16.50°–17.25° | Aquarius | Leo | Kala |
| 24 | 17.25°–18.00° | Pisces | Virgo | Varuna |
| 25 | 18.00°–18.75° | Aries | Libra | Vishnu |
| 26 | 18.75°–19.50° | Taurus | Scorpio | Chandra |
| 27 | 19.50°–20.25° | Gemini | Sagittarius | Marichi |
| 28 | 20.25°–21.00° | Cancer | Capricorn | Tvashta |
| 29 | 21.00°–21.75° | Leo | Aquarius | Dhata |
| 30 | 21.75°–22.50° | Virgo | Pisces | Shiva |
| 31 | 22.50°–23.25° | Libra | Aries | Ravi |
| 32 | 23.25°–24.00° | Scorpio | Taurus | Yama |
| 33 | 24.00°–24.75° | Sagittarius | Gemini | Yaksha |
| 34 | 24.75°–25.50° | Capricorn | Cancer | Gandharva |
| 35 | 25.50°–26.25° | Aquarius | Leo | Kala |
| 36 | 26.25°–27.00° | Pisces | Virgo | Varuna |
| 37 | 27.00°–27.75° | Aries | Libra | Vishnu |
| 38 | 27.75°–28.50° | Taurus | Scorpio | Chandra |
| 39 | 28.50°–29.25° | Gemini | Sagittarius | Marichi |
| 40 | 29.25°–30.00° | Cancer | Capricorn | Tvashta |
Check two placements
At 11° Gemini, 11 ÷ 0.75 = 14.66…, so the fifteenth portion applies. Gemini is an odd D1 sign; the fifteenth sign counted from Aries is Gemini. At 19° Scorpio, 19 ÷ 0.75 = 25.33…, so the twenty-sixth portion applies. Scorpio is even; the twenty-sixth sign counted from Libra is Scorpio. These reproduce Rao’s two examples.
At exactly 0°45′ Taurus, the second even-sign portion begins and maps to Scorpio. A longitude one arcsecond before 0°45′ Taurus remains in the first portion and maps to Libra. At exactly 30° Aries the placement enters Taurus and returns to the even-sign first portion, D40 Libra.
Meaning and limits
Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra 7.5 names auspicious and inauspicious matters as this varga’s interpretive topic. Modern writing sometimes links D40 specifically to maternal lineage; that narrower association is an interpretive tradition, not a claim made by the cited 7.5 verse. This calculator reports assignments without promising outcomes.
The D1 inputs come from Astronomy Engine 2.1.19 with this site’s approximate Lahiri ayanamsha, not Swiss Ephemeris. A recorded birth time, birthplace coordinates, and historical UTC offset are needed for the D40 ascendant. Dates from 1800 to 2100 are accepted. The tool does not reconstruct past time-zone rules. At just 0°45′ per portion, a small time or ayanamsha difference can change a sign. It warns within 0.05° of a boundary. Mean lunar nodes and another node convention may also disagree near a boundary.
A D40 sign is a traditional derived placement. This page does not invent a within-sign D40 degree or interpret the deity names as physical bodies.
References
- Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra 6.29 — odd-sign Aries and even-sign Libra starting rule.
- Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra 6.30 — repeating presiding-deity sequence.
- Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra 7.5 — auspicious and inauspicious interpretive topic.
- P. V. R. Narasimha Rao, Vedic Astrology: An Integrated Approach, §6.2.18 (PDF p. 58) — equal 45′ calculation and Gemini/Scorpio examples.
- Astronomy Engine 2.1.19 — underlying D1 astronomy.