Dinam porutham counts the stars from the bride's birth star to the groom's, both included, and reads the count in rounds of nine. Kalaprakasika (1917, p. 69) says the groom's star should be the 2nd, 4th, 6th or 8th; the 3rd, 5th and 7th do not agree. In the second round only one quarter of those three stars is counted against, and the third round has no adverse step. The 27th star, and the 22nd counted from either person's star, are counted against.
☕ How the count works
Start at the bride's birth star and call it 1. Count forward through the 27 stars until you reach the groom's birth star, counting it too. The number you land on is the Dinam count, from 1 to 27. Because the count always starts on the bride's side, swapping the two stars usually gives a different number. That is how the book sets the rule out; it says nothing about which person is better.
The 27 stars are read as three rounds (pariyaya) of nine. Each step in a round has a name. Chapter XIII names eight: Janma, Sampath, Vipath, Kshema, Pratyari, Sadhaka, Vadha, Mitra. Chapter XXXIII, which explains the rounds, adds a ninth, Parama Mitra. In the first round the book counts steps 2, 4, 6 and 8 as agreeing and steps 3, 5 and 7 as not agreeing.
The later rounds are lighter. In the second round (the 10th to 18th stars) only one quarter of each of the three unfavourable stars is set aside; the rest of those stars are good. In the third round no step is unfavourable as such. Two single stars are named on their own: the 27th, and the 22nd counted from either person's star.
Nava Panchangam now matches two charts by these ten poruthams: sign in and open Marriage matching at navapanchangam.com/matching for a Nava verdict. This page explains the rule as the book gives it.
The nine steps, and the rules for the later rounds
- 1. Janma: the same star; ch. XIII gives it no verdict here, and a shared star has its own rules
- 2. Sampath: agrees
- 3. Vipath: does not agree
- 4. Kshema: agrees
- 5. Pratyari: does not agree
- 6. Sadhaka: agrees
- 7. Vadha: the seventh step, which the book counts as unfavourable
- 8. Mitra: agrees
- 9. Parama Mitra: named only in ch. XXXIII; ch. XIII says nothing about the 9th
- Round 1 (stars 1 to 9): steps 3, 5 and 7 do not agree
- Round 2 (stars 10 to 18): only the 1st quarter of the 12th, the 4th quarter of the 14th and the 3rd quarter of the 16th star are set aside
- Round 3 (stars 19 to 27): the book gives no adverse step
- The 27th star from the bride's is counted against; the book counts it as milder when both stars are in one sign
- The 22nd star, counted from either person's star (Vainasika), is counted against
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I count Dinam porutham?
Take the bride's birth star as 1 and count forward to the groom's birth star, counting both. If the count is above 9, it falls in the second round (10 to 18) or the third (19 to 27); subtract 9 or 18 to find the step inside the round.
Which Dinam steps agree?
In the first round Kalaprakasika counts the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th as agreeing and the 3rd, 5th and 7th as not agreeing. In the second round only one quarter of the 12th, 14th and 16th stars is set aside, and the third round has no adverse step.
What about the 9th step?
Chapter XIII lists only eight names and says nothing about a 9th. Chapter XXXIII, which explains the rounds of nine, names the 9th Parama Mitra. These pages do not add a rule the book does not give.
Why are the 27th and 22nd stars mentioned separately?
The book names them on their own, after the round rules. The 27th from the bride's star is the star just before hers; the book counts it as milder when both stars are in one sign. The 22nd is counted from either person's star, so it is checked both ways.
Is Dinam the same as the Tarabalam the app shows?
They use the same nine-step names, but they are different checks. With your birth details added, the app's daily personal score uses Tarabalam: a count from your own birth star to the day's star. Dinam counts from the bride's star to the groom's, and the app does not compute it.
From the source
The nine names, a worked count, and what these pages leave out.
📖 The nine names, from two chapters
Kalaprakasika (1917) gives Dinam first among the ten poruthams (ch. XIII, p. 69) and names eight steps there. For the rounds it points to ch. XXXIII (pp. 166–167), which names all nine. They are given here as the app spells them elsewhere; the 1917 print spells some differently (Jenmam, Prathyara, Sadhaga, Maithra, Parama-Maithra):
- Janma
- Sampath
- Vipath
- Kshema
- Pratyari
- Sadhaka
- Vadha
- Mitra
- Parama Mitra
Chapter XXXIII uses the same count from one's own birth star for starting any undertaking; chapter XIII borrows it for matching. It also prints the second round as running "from the 10th to the 19th"; nine stars from the 10th end at the 18th, and the third round starts at the 19th, so our reading is 10th to 18th. The first page of this series is the ten poruthams overview.
🧮 A worked count
Bride Ashwini, groom Rohini: counting Ashwini as 1, Rohini is the 4th star, Kshema, which agrees. Bride Ashwini, groom Purva Phalguni: Purva Phalguni is the 11th star, so it is in round 2, step 2 (Sampath), which also agrees.
By our own count, on the 22nd-star rule: if the bride's star is the 22nd counted from the groom's, the groom's is the 7th counted from the bride's. So, counted from her side, that half of the rule falls on the 7th step, which the first round already counts as not agreeing. (Example: Ashwini is the 7th from Shravana, and Shravana is the 22nd from Ashwini.)
✂️ What this page leaves out
The book glosses each name with an outcome and says more about the 22nd star than its position. This page keeps the count and the verdict (agrees or not) and leaves those glosses out. The book's named exceptions to the 7th step are on their own page, and the rules for a shared birth star are on another.