Khavedāṃśa (D-40)

Khavedāṃśa (खवेदांश, also written Khavedamsha or Khavedansa) — the D-40 chart — is the fourteenth of the sixteen classical Ṣoḍaśa-vargas described in Brihat Parāśara Horā Śāstra. The Khavedāṃśa reads the śubha-aśubha register — the general auspicious-inauspicious effects the native's chart classically signals, with some classical sources additionally assigning the maternal-lineage register to this varga. The name khavedāṃśa derives from kha (zero/space, carrying numerical weight of 0) and veda (four) in the classical numerical-naming convention — the numbers naming "forty" (kha-veda, read in reverse per Sanskrit numerical-notation rules).

Classical grounding

Brihat Parāśara Horā Śāstra's Ṣoḍaśa-varga-adhyāya names the Khavedāṃśa's computational rule; BPHS's signification assignment for the D-40 is relatively concise, naming the general auspicious- inauspicious register. Later classical sources (including Jaimini tradition expansions and regional phala-dīpikā compendia) extend the reading — some assigning the maternal-lineage register, some refining the general śubha-aśubha register into specific life- areas. Classical source divergence on D-40 signification is noted as a flag-for-review item; BPHS's general śubha-aśubha framework is primary in this draft.

Computational scheme

BPHS's division rule for D-40: each 30° rāśi is divided into forty 45' parts (30° ÷ 40 = 0.75°, or 45 arcminutes per part), with rāśi-ownership assigned by the rāśi's odd-even classification. For odd rāśis (Meṣa, Mithuna, Siṃha, Tulā, Dhanu, Kumbha), the khavedāṃśa-count begins from Meṣa and proceeds sequentially through forty rāśis (wrapping more than three times through the zodiac). For even rāśis (Vṛṣabha, Karka, Kanyā, Vṛścika, Makara, Meena), the count begins from Tulā. The classical convention uses Meṣa (the first rāśi, associated with mūlādhāra-register beginnings) for odd-rāśi starting and Tulā (the seventh rāśi, opposite to Meṣa) for even-rāśi starting — the two cara-rāśis at the equinoxes. Each khavedāṃśa is classically associated with a presiding deity (the forty Mātṛkās or other classical deity-series per specific classical-source traditions).

Classical significations

The Khavedāṃśa-chart classically reads śubha-aśubha — the general register of auspicious and inauspicious effects across the native's life. Classical reading: grahas placed in the D-40 chart are read for their classical benefic-or-malefic register in that rāśi; strong Lagna-lord placement in the D-40 is classically read as a general-auspiciousness register for the native; overall malefic- saturation in the D-40 classically signals difficulty-register inclinations. Some classical sources assign the maternal-lineage register to this varga as a specialised reading — cross-referenced with Chandra's placement (classical mātṛ-kāraka) and with the Dvādaśāṃśa (D-12) which reads the general parent-register.

Classical interpretation register

The classical interpretation register of the Khavedāṃśa is general śubha-aśubha — the chart reads a synthesising register of overall auspiciousness-or-difficulty across the native's life. Classical commentators note that the D-40 is included in the full Ṣoḍaśa- varga graded scheme and figures in the Vaiśeṣikāṃśa classical scoring for graha strength-accumulation across vargas. The D-40 is not among the most-used supplementary vargas in contemporary practice but carries classical weight in the full Ṣoḍaśa analysis. As with all vargas, the classical tradition reports the register the chart reads; the reader's life-circumstances and moral decisions are the reader's.

Related Concepts

• Rāśi (D-1) — primary chart
• Chandra — classical mātṛ-kāraka for maternal-lineage expansion
• Dvādaśāṃśa (D-12) — paired parent-register reading
• Akṣavedāṃśa (D-45) — paired classical general-register