Short answer: yes, there is a Jyotish API. Asterwise's fifty sidereal endpoints return the kundli with grahas, rasis, nakshatras, bhavas and drishti; the sixteen vargas; Vimshottari, Ashtottari, Yogini and Char dasha; yogas and doshas; panchanga and muhurta; and kundali milan, all as JSON with Lahiri ayanamsa by default. The full endpoint list is on the Vedic astrology API page; this page is the glossary.
Jyotish terms and where they appear in the API
| Jyotish term | Meaning | In the API |
|---|---|---|
| Graha | the nine grahas, Sun to Ketu | planets[].planet on POST /v1/astro/natal |
| Rasi | sign, by Sanskrit name (Mesha, Vrishabha, Mithuna, Karka, Simha, Kanya, Tula, Vrischika, Dhanu, Makara, Kumbha, Meena) | planets[].sign, ascendant_sign, moon_sign |
| Nakshatra and pada | the 27 lunar mansions and their quarters | planets[].nakshatra, planets[].nakshatra_pada; encyclopaedia at GET /v1/astro/nakshatra/{name} |
| Lagna | the ascendant | ascendant (longitude), ascendant_sign |
| Bhava | houses, in both conventions | planets[].rasi_house, planets[].bhava_chalit_house, bhava_madhya[], bhava_sandhi[] |
| Drishti | planetary and sign aspects | graha_drishti (strength per house, 25 to 100), rashi_drishti[] |
| Arudha padas, upapada | Jaimini arudhas A1 to A12 and the upapada lagna | arudha_padas, upapada_lagna |
| Avakahada chakra | nakshatra lord, varna, vashya, yoni, gana, nadi, paya | avakahada |
| Varga | the sixteen divisional charts | POST /v1/astro/divisional (chart_type D1 to D60, or all sixteen) |
| Dasha | planetary periods | POST /v1/astro/dasha (Vimshottari, five levels), /ashtottari, /yogini, /char-dasha |
| Gochar | transits | POST /v1/astro/gochar, POST /v1/astro/transits |
| Yoga, dosha | planetary combinations and afflictions | POST /v1/astro/yoga (with classical_sources), POST /v1/astro/dosha |
| Shadbala, Ashtakavarga | planetary and house strength | POST /v1/astro/strength, POST /v1/astro/ashtakavarga |
| Panchanga, muhurta | the five limbs of the day; auspicious timing | POST /v1/astro/panchanga, POST /v1/astro/muhurta |
| Kundali milan | matchmaking | POST /v1/astro/matchmaking (Ashtakoot, Rajju and Vedha as vetoes), Dashakoot, Porutham |
| Ayanamsa | the sidereal offset | request field ayanamsa; response ayanamsa_used, ayanamsa_value |
What the classical fields look like
From the natal response for the reference chart (12 November 1985, 06:45, Mumbai), the avakahada block, the upapada lagna and the arudha padas, abbreviated:
{
"avakahada": {
"nakshatra": "Swati", "nakshatra_lord": "Rahu", "charan": 4,
"rashi": "Tula", "rashi_lord": "Venus",
"varna": "Shudra", "vashya": "Nara", "yoni": "Buffalo", "gana": "Deva", "nadi": "Antya", "paya": "Silver",
"ascendant": "Tula", "ascendant_lord": "Venus"
},
"upapada_lagna": { "sign_name": "Makara", "upapada_lord": "Saturn", "second_from_upapada_sign_name": "Kumbha" },
"arudha_padas": { "A1": { "sign_name": "Karka" }, "A2": { "sign_name": "Karka" }, "...": "A3 to A12" }
}The full response, with all nine grahas, both house numbers per graha, bhava madhya and sandhi degrees, drishti tables and interpretation text, is shown on the Vedic astrology API page and specified in the natal chart reference.
What stays classical, what is modern
The calculations follow the classical rules: whole-sign rasi houses beside bhava chalit, Vimshottari from the Moon's nakshatra to five levels, Rajju and Vedha applied as vetoes before the Guna count, yogas returned with the text they are drawn from (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, Phaladeepika or Brihat Jataka). The astronomy underneath is modern: the Swiss Ephemeris, checked against NASA JPL Horizons on the accuracy page. Sign names are returned in Sanskrit; planets are keyed by their English names with Rahu and Ketu included, so planets[].planet reads "Sun", not "Surya".
Questions developers ask
- Is there a Jyotish API?
- Yes. Asterwise's Vedic astrology endpoints are a Jyotish API: fifty sidereal endpoints for the kundli, sixteen vargas, Vimshottari and three other dasha systems, yogas and doshas, panchanga and muhurta, kundli milan, KP and Lal Kitab, all returned as JSON. See the Vedic astrology API page.
- Which ayanamsa and which zodiac?
- Sidereal, with Lahiri ayanamsa by default; Raman and KP are available per request, and tropical for a zero offset. Every chart response states the ayanamsa used and its value in degrees.
- Are the classical names kept in the JSON?
- Largely, yes. Signs are returned by their Sanskrit names (Mesha, Vrishabha, Mithuna and so on), houses as rasi_house and bhava_chalit_house, aspects as graha_drishti and rashi_drishti, and the arudha padas and upapada lagna under those names. Planets are keyed by their English names (Sun, Moon, Mars) with Rahu and Ketu included.
- Is there a free tier?
- Yes. The Sandbox plan is free, includes 500 calls a month and every endpoint, needs no credit card and does not expire. See pricing.
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