Chandra bala is the Moon's strength for one person on one day. Count from your birth Moon sign (your rasi), as 1, to the sign the Moon is in today. When the count is 1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, the panchangam convention calls the day's Moon favourable for you. The 8th is chandrashtamam. Brihat Jataka's ashtakavarga chapter (P. S. Sastri's translation, p. 96) favours four of the six houses, and Sastri's note on the stanza counts them from the birth Moon.
☕ Counting signs instead of stars
The Tara bala page counts stars. Chandra bala counts signs. Your birth rasi is the sign the Moon was in when you were born. Each day the Moon is in some sign; count from your rasi to that sign, both included. The Moon stays about two and a quarter days in a sign, so the count changes every two or three days.
An example. Your rasi is Leo. When the Moon is in Libra, that is the 3rd sign from yours, one of the favourable six. When it moves into Scorpio, that is the 4th, which the day score counts as weak. When it reaches the 8th sign, it is chandrashtamam.
Where do the six houses come from? In the ashtakavarga chapter of Brihat Jataka (P. S. Sastri's 2013 translation, p. 96), planets do better in the 3, 6, 10, 11. Sastri's note on the same stanza counts those houses from the sign of the birth Moon. Adding the 1st and 7th to those four is the common panchangam rule. No passage of Kalaprakasika or Muhurta Chintamani is cited on this page for the six houses. A traditional Tamil monthly rasi column (Sri U. Pa. Kousikan, 1987–1992) shows the rule in use: 118 of its 121 listed good days fit it.
Nava Panchangam's day score uses this rule. The weight the score gives it is the app's own choice; the books give the rule, not a number.
The twelve places, and what the app does with each
- The 1st sign from your rasi
- The 3rd sign from your rasi
- The 6th sign from your rasi
- The 7th sign from your rasi
- The 10th sign from your rasi
- The 11th sign from your rasi
- The 4th and 12th: counted as weak
- The 8th: chandrashtamam, which the day score treats on its own
- The 2nd, 5th, 9th: neutral
Frequently Asked Questions
Which houses give chandra bala?
The 1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, counted from your birth rasi as 1. These are the houses the app uses and the ones a Tamil panchangam usually means by chandra bala.
Is chandra bala the same as tara bala?
No. Tara bala counts stars from your birth star; chandra bala counts signs from your birth rasi. A day can be strong in one and weak in the other.
Is there a classical source for the six houses?
Partly. Brihat Jataka's ashtakavarga chapter favours the 3, 6, 10, 11, and P. S. Sastri's note on the stanza (p. 96) counts them from the birth Moon. The 1st and 7th are the panchangam convention. This page cites no passage of Kalaprakasika or Muhurta Chintamani for the six.
Does a favourable chandra bala make a day good for everything?
No. It is one factor. A muhurtha also weighs the day's star, tithi, weekday and the rest; the other pages in this series explain them.
What did the Tamil column show?
Of the 121 good days it listed across five issues, 118 have the Moon in one of the six houses, and none in the 4th, 5th, 8th or 12th. But the six houses allow about 40 more days than it listed, so the column also used a second filter that it does not name.
From the sources
All twelve places with an example, and how far each source goes.
🌙 All twelve places
For a Leo rasi: the sign the Moon is in, and how the app's day score treats it.
| Day's Moon sign, counted from yours | Example: birth Moon in Leo | In the day score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo | favourable |
| 2 | Virgo | neutral |
| 3 | Libra | favourable |
| 4 | Scorpio | weak |
| 5 | Sagittarius | neutral |
| 6 | Capricorn | favourable |
| 7 | Aquarius | favourable |
| 8 | Pisces | chandrashtamam |
| 9 | Aries | neutral |
| 10 | Taurus | favourable |
| 11 | Gemini | favourable |
| 12 | Cancer | weak |
📚 How far each source goes
Brihat Jataka (P. S. Sastri's 2013 translation, ashtakavarga chapter, p. 96): planets do better in the 3, 6, 10, 11; Sastri's note on the stanza counts them from the birth Moon's sign. It does not list the six houses for the Moon itself.
A Tamil monthly rasi column (1987–1992): its good days fit the six houses, which shows the convention in practice. It is one writer's practice, not a classical text.
Kalaprakasika and Muhurta Chintamani: no passage giving these six houses was found, so neither is cited here.