Shadbala Calculator - Planetary Strength and Bhava Bala
A free Vedic planetary-strength calculator — the six balas that together make up Shadbala, computed in virupas for every graha from precise astronomical positions.
Shadbala — literally 'six-fold strength' — measures how much power each planet can express in a chart. It sums six separate sources of strength into a single score, stated in virupas, where sixty virupas make one rupa. Jagannatha Hora computes all six for the seven grahas straight from precise astronomical positions, so you never assemble the classical tables by hand.
Enter a birth date, time and place and the calculator returns each planet's Sthana, Dig, Kala, Cheshta, Naisargika and Drik bala, the total in virupas against the required figure the texts set for each graha — with Vimshopaka strength and Bhava Bala on the same screen.
Naisargika bala — the fixed natural strength
Five of the six balas change with the chart, but Naisargika (natural) bala is a constant in every horoscope — the Sun strongest, Saturn weakest. These are its classical values in virupas.
| # | Graha (planet) | Naisargika bala (virupas) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun (Surya) | 60.00 |
| 2 | Moon (Chandra) | 51.43 |
| 3 | Venus (Shukra) | 42.86 |
| 4 | Jupiter (Guru) | 34.29 |
| 5 | Mercury (Budha) | 25.71 |
| 6 | Mars (Mangala) | 17.14 |
| 7 | Saturn (Shani) | 8.57 |
| All seven grahas | 240.00 | |
Values are in virupas (60 virupas = 1 rupa) and are identical in every chart; only the other five balas — Sthana, Dig, Kala, Cheshta and Drik — change from horoscope to horoscope.
How to read the result
Start with the Strength Ratios strip, which ranks the seven grahas by actual Shadbala over the required figure and repeats each as a percentage. BPHS sets that requirement at 390, 360, 300, 420, 390, 330 and 300 virupas, Sun first and Saturn last, so a ratio of 1.00 marks a graha that has just reached it. Parasara computes Shadbala for these seven and leaves out the nodes, which is why Rahu and Ketu get no card.
Each planet card then lists the six components in virupas. Sthana Bala arrives as one figure, though BPHS builds it from exaltation, seven-varga dignity, odd-even sign, angular-house and decanate strength. Cheshta Bala reads 0 for the Sun and Moon because Parasara takes the Sun's ayana bala and the Moon's paksha bala as their motional strength, and both sit inside Kala Bala here. A negative Drik Bala means the malefic aspects a graha receives outweigh the benefic ones.
The Other Balas follow. Parasara introduces Ishta and Kashta Phala as a graha's benefic and malefic tendencies, from which dasha effects are judged; Harsha Bala and the five- and twelve-chart Vargeeya balas belong to Tajaka (annual-chart) technique in Narasimha Rao's textbook. The Vimsopaka rows give a score out of 20 in each of four varga groupings, Shadvarga to Shodashavarga, and the Vaiseshikamsa rows name the amsa a graha reaches, listing the charts that count toward it.
The Bhava Bala table closes the screen: each house's total in virupas and rupas, a bar scaled to the top-ranked house, and a rank from 1 to 12. Read it across houses, since no required figure is shown for a bhava; the total adds the house lord's Shadbala, the house's directional strength and the aspects on it.
Key terms
- Shadbala Pinda
- BPHS's name for a graha's summed six-fold strength, the Total Shadbala figure on each planet card that is set against the required virupas.
- Uchcha Bala
- The exaltation part of Sthana Bala: the graha's distance from its deep debilitation point, divided by three, worth up to 60 virupas.
- Saptavargaja Bala
- The part of Sthana Bala earned by dignity in seven vargas: rasi, hora, drekkana, saptamsa, navamsa, dwadasamsa and trimsamsa.
- Cheshta Bala
- Motional strength, found for Mars to Saturn from the cheshta kendra divided by three; the Sun's and Moon's motion is counted through ayana and paksha bala.
- Drik Bala
- Aspectual strength: a quarter of each benefic graha's aspect is added and a quarter of each malefic's deducted, so the figure can fall below zero.
- Ishta and Kashta Phala
- A graha's benefic and malefic tendencies in BPHS, used to judge dasha effects; here each is a square root built from uchcha bala and cheshta bala.
- Vaiseshikamsa
- The named amsa a graha reaches by its count of own, exaltation or moolatrikona placements across a varga group, such as Parijata for two in the Dashavarga.
Full Shadbala breakdown
Every graha's Sthana, Dig, Kala, Cheshta, Naisargika and Drik bala, totalled in virupas beside the classical required figure.
Bhava Bala for every house
Each house's strength in virupas and rupas with its rank from 1 to 12, so the twelve houses can be compared with one another.
Vimshopaka and Bhava bala
Vimshopaka strength for each planet in four groupings, Shadvarga to Shodashavarga, plus Bhava bala — the computed strength of all twelve houses.
Common questions
What is Shadbala in astrology?
Shadbala is the six-fold strength of a planet in Vedic astrology. It combines six sources — Sthana (positional), Dig (directional), Kala (temporal), Cheshta (motional), Naisargika (natural) and Drik (aspectual) bala — into one score measured in virupas.
How is Shadbala calculated?
Each of the six balas is computed separately for a planet from its exact position, sign, house and motion, then added together. The total is usually expressed in rupas, where 60 virupas make one rupa. The calculator runs all six computations from your birth data.
What does Shadbala indicate?
Classically, Shadbala is used to compare planets taking part in the same yoga or combination: the one with greater Shadbala is taken to express that combination more fully. It is a measure of computational strength, not a prediction of outcomes.
Which planet has the highest Shadbala?
It depends on the chart, because five of the six balas change with planetary positions. Only Naisargika (natural) bala is fixed — there the Sun always scores highest and Saturn lowest — while totalling all six can rank any planet first in a given horoscope.
Why do Shadbala values differ between astrology software?
Narasimha Rao notes that most computer programs give Shadbala, though with minor differences between the definitions they use, and he points to BPHS and B.V. Raman's Graha and Bhava Balas for the full method. Comparing two results component by component, from Sthana to Drik Bala, shows which part the programs define differently.
What is Bhava Bala in astrology?
Bhava Bala is the strength of a house. Parasara works it from a directional figure for the house, adjusts it for the aspects it receives and adds the strength of its lord. The table here totals the lord's Shadbala, the house's directional strength and its aspect strength, and leaves out the further rules BPHS adds for occupants and birth time.