Vedic Astrology Glossary: 30+ Jyotish Terms Every Beginner Should Know

Vedic astrology, or Jyotish, comes with its own vocabulary — rashi, nakshatra, dasha, graha, muhurat — and most beginner explainers throw these words around without ever defining them. This glossary fixes that. It's a plain-English reference to the 30+ Jyotish terms you'll actually run into: the nine grahas (planets), the 12 rashis (zodiac signs), the 27 nakshatras (lunar constellations), the Vimshottari Dasha timing system, the 12 houses, common doshas and yogas, and the everyday vocabulary of muhurat and panchang. Bookmark it and come back whenever a term trips you up.

What Does "Jyotish" Mean?

Jyotish (ज्योतिष) literally means "science of light" — from jyoti (light, or celestial body) and ish (lord, or knowledge). It's the traditional Indian system for reading planetary positions at the moment of birth to understand personality, timing, and life patterns. The key technical difference from Western astrology is the zodiac itself: Jyotish uses the sidereal zodiac, anchored to the actual position of the stars, while Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, anchored to the seasons. Because of a slow drift called the precession of the equinoxes, the two zodiacs are now roughly 24 degrees apart — which is why your Vedic (sidereal) rashi is often one sign "earlier" than your Western sun sign.

The 9 Grahas (Planets) in Vedic Astrology

Graha literally means "seizer" — the nine bodies whose positions a Jyotish chart tracks. Seven are physical (the Sun, the Moon, and five visible planets); two — Rahu and Ketu — are shadow points marking where the Moon's orbit crosses the Sun's path (the lunar nodes), not physical bodies at all.