Ashtakavarga: an overview of the bindu system
Ashtakavarga is a points system in which each graha, and the Lagna, receives points from the positions of the grahas in relation to one another. The total points are read for each sign and house.
What it is
The system takes a fixed number of points from each graha's relation to the others, and the totals across the twelve signs are compared. The tables are given in the classical texts and are long and detailed.
How it is worked out or read
The site's Ashtakavarga tool computes it from the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra tables, checks the fixed totals (337 in all) and shows which graha gave each bindu.
Where it appears on this site
The Kundli report includes it too. The ashtakoota article describes a different eight-part system used for matching.
What the system measures
Ashtakavarga is a points system in which each graha, and the Lagna, receives points according to the relations of the grahas to one another. The totals for each sign and house are then read as indicators of strength. It is one of the more elaborate methods in the classical literature, and its tables are long and detailed.
The idea is that the grahas support one another in different signs, and the totals show where the support is greatest. Because the method is systematic, it appeals to readers who like to count, but its interpretation is also school-dependent.
How the points are reckoned
The points come from fixed tables that assign a number of benefic points to each relation between a graha and a sign, counted from the graha's own position. The points for each graha are added across the twelve signs, and the totals are compared. The tables are given in the classical texts, and they must be followed exactly, since a single slip changes the total.
A reader working by hand should keep a clear table of the relations, check each entry twice, and total the points for each sign before drawing any conclusion.
How this site computes it
The tables are long and the reckoning is error-prone by hand. The site's Ashtakavarga tool applies the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra tables and checks the fixed totals: Sun 48, Moon 49, Mars 39, Mercury 54, Jupiter 56, Venus 52 and Saturn 39, which make 337. It also shows, contributor by contributor, which signs received a bindu, so any number can be checked by hand. No reductions (shodhana) are applied.
Using the points with care
Points are one measure among many, and a high total in one sign does not settle a question. Readers should combine the points with the placement of the grahas, their lords and their dignities, and state which tables were used. The method is best understood as a counting aid that supports the wider reading, rather than as a score that replaces it.
Reading the totals with care
Totals are most useful when they are compared with one another, rather than read in isolation. A sign with a high total stands out against the others, and a reader can ask whether the grahas placed there are the ones the totals describe. Comparison keeps the reading relative and prevents a single number from being overstated.