Vimsopaka means twenty points. Pick a set of vargas: six, seven, ten or sixteen. Each varga in the set carries a weight, and the weights add up to 20. In each varga, find the lord of the sign the planet falls in and how the planet relates to that lord: its own varga earns 20, a great friend's 18, down to a great enemy's 5. Weight × that figure ÷ 20 is the varga's points; the sum over the set is the score.
☕ A weighted report card
Think of each varga as a subject on a report card, and its weight as the marks it carries. Parashara gives four sets of weights (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 7, vv. 17–25, pp. 94–95). In every set the marks add up to 20, so scores from different sets can be compared.
In each varga, the planet is graded by the lord of the sign it falls in. If that sign is the planet's own, it earns the full 20. Otherwise the grade follows how the planet relates to the lord: great friend, friend, neutral, enemy or great enemy. The varga's points are its weight × the grade ÷ 20 (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 7, vv. 26–27, p. 95); each grade is in “The grade by relation to the lord” further down.
The relation is the compound one: the natural friendship of the two planets, adjusted by where they sit from each other. The translator reads that second half from the rasi chart (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 7, pp. 97–98). Earlier in the chapter the book gives a planet full strength in its exaltation or own sign (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 7, vv. 9–12, pp. 92–93), but the grades for this score name only the relation to the lord, and the nodes get no score. What Nava follows: the grades as listed, so exaltation in a varga earns no grade of its own.
The book works one example (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 7, p. 99): Venus at Makara 4°32′30″ in the six-varga set. The book prints 16.8. Rebuilt with Nava's signs and weights, row by row, it comes to 16.8, the same figure; the rows are in “The book's Venus, worked row by row” further down. Of the four bands the book gives, a total over 15 is the strongest; under 5 is the weakest.
Some readings of this chapter list the seven-varga weights as if the saptamsa came last, which makes the navamsa weigh less than the dvadasamsa. The verse puts the saptamsa fourth. What Nava follows: the verse's order, so in the seven-varga set the saptamsa weighs 2.5 and the navamsa 4.5; and the compound relation, with its temporary half read from the rasi chart, as the translator explains.
How much each varga counts
- Shadvarga (6 vargas): Rasi (D1) 6, Hora (D2) 2, Drekkana (D3) 4, Navamsa (D9) 5, Dvadasamsa (D12) 2, Trimsamsa (D30) 1
- Saptavarga (7 vargas): Rasi (D1) 5, Hora (D2) 2, Drekkana (D3) 3, Saptamsa (D7) 2.5, Navamsa (D9) 4.5, Dvadasamsa (D12) 2, Trimsamsa (D30) 1
- Dasavarga (10 vargas): Rasi (D1) 3, Hora (D2) 1.5, Drekkana (D3) 1.5, Saptamsa (D7) 1.5, Navamsa (D9) 1.5, Dasamsa (D10) 1.5, Dvadasamsa (D12) 1.5, Shodasamsa (D16) 1.5, Trimsamsa (D30) 1.5, Shashtiamsa (D60) 5
- Shodasavarga (16 vargas): Rasi (D1) 3.5, Hora (D2) 1, Drekkana (D3) 1, Chaturthamsa (D4) 0.5, Saptamsa (D7) 0.5, Navamsa (D9) 3, Dasamsa (D10) 0.5, Dvadasamsa (D12) 0.5, Shodasamsa (D16) 2, Vimsamsa (D20) 0.5, Siddhamsa (D24) 0.5, Bhamsa (D27) 0.5, Trimsamsa (D30) 1, Khavedamsa (D40) 0.5, Akshavedamsa (D45) 0.5, Shashtiamsa (D60) 4
- Mix-up: the score is out of 100. In every set the weights add up to 20, so the score is out of 20.
- Mix-up: the four sets give the same score. They weigh the vargas differently, so a planet can score well in one set and less well in another.
- Mix-up: the relation is the natural friendship alone. It is the compound relation, natural and temporary together.
Frequently asked questions
Where does Nava show the Vimsopaka score?
On the horoscope page, for each of the seven planets, under all four sets, each out of 20.
Why does the worked example come out at the book's figure?
Because the signs Nava computes for that degree are the book's, and so are the weights and grades. Each row on this page is worked from the app's own tables.
Which set should I read?
The book gives all four. Its translator prefers the sixteen-varga set; the worked example uses the six-varga set.
Deep dive: grades, the worked example and the relation
The tables “The grade by relation to the lord” and “The book's Venus, worked row by row”, then where the grades come from.
🏅 The grade by relation to the lord
| Whose varga it is | Grade, out of 20 |
|---|---|
| Own varga | 20 |
| Great friend's | 18 |
| Friend's | 15 |
| Neutral's | 10 |
| Enemy's | 7 |
| Great enemy's | 5 |
🧮 The book's Venus, worked row by row
| Varga | Sign, lord, relation → points |
|---|---|
| Rasi (D1) | Makara, lord Saturn, great friend's → 6 × 18 ÷ 20 = 5.4 |
| Hora (D2) | Kataka, lord Moon, great enemy's → 2 × 5 ÷ 20 = 0.5 |
| Drekkana (D3) | Makara, lord Saturn, great friend's → 4 × 18 ÷ 20 = 3.6 |
| Navamsa (D9) | Kumbha, lord Saturn, great friend's → 5 × 18 ÷ 20 = 4.5 |
| Dvadasamsa (D12) | Kumbha, lord Saturn, great friend's → 2 × 18 ÷ 20 = 1.8 |
| Trimsamsa (D30) | Vrishabha, lord Venus, own varga → 1 × 20 ÷ 20 = 1 |
| Total | 16.8 out of 20 |
🤝 Natural plus temporary
The grade in each varga uses the five-fold relation: natural friend, neutral or enemy, shifted one step by whether the lord sits in a friendly place from the planet in the rasi chart. The whole rule is on temporary and five-fold friendship.
🧭 What this builds on
Which sign a degree falls in, in each varga, is on how each varga is built. The four sets are introduced on the sixteen vargas.