Last Updated on February 21, 2024 by astrologerbydefault

Today this is a totally astrology post on the Divisional chart 60, D-60, Shashtyamsha. This is ‘your secret life’! This is the chart you get when you divide the 30 degree long rashi/sign into 60 parts, each part being 1/2 deg or 30 secs in length.

There are 2 parts in this D 60 analysis.

1. Each amsha/part is also assigned to a rashi/sign, so you can draw a whole new chart using these new planet-rashi placements. This is the D-60 chart or D60 horoscope.
2. Each of these 60 parts of a rashi/sign has a defined character. There are 60 differnet sets of attributes here. Your birth planets are then allotted to these amsha as per his birth position. Each planet takes on the character of the amsha it gets allotted to. If you have the list of these 60 attribute sets you can get to know the deepest nature of your birth planets and this your own self.

Thus the 360 degrees of the Zodiac is thus divided into these deep level  720 parts/amsha. Astrology is Math/ Ganit, can’t get away from it.

So here is our list of important divisional charts.

1. D-1 is the first divisional chart which we always refer to as the birth chart. The physical manifested reality. We discuss this chart endlessly.
2. Then is the birth moon chart, this gives an indication of the perception and emotional filters of your life. Same as the D-1 horoscope, just turned around. We just count the house that has the birth Moon as the first house and onwards.
3. The Navamsha, D-9, the 9th divisional chart, this is the Real You, as discussed in this post.
4. The D-60 which is another important chart, we will now learn a bit more about this.

So why do we do this? Divide and subdivide the zodiac to get more and more divisional charts? Each divisional chart gives a deeper insight into the real you, the secret you, the physical you, the astral you, the spiritual you, the emotional you and so on. You and me are very complex beings, you see..

But a note, your birth time should be exactly known. Only then should you calculate the divisional charts. An error of even 1 min will change your D-60 and then it will mislead. And what should be the ‘exact birth time’? Time when the head comes out, or the entire body, or the first breath, or the first cry? It is the exact time when the umbilical cord is cut. This separates the child from the mother, now he /she is an independent individual. There is another way of calculating your exact birth time using palmistry. The vertical lines on the fingers are used in mathematical formulae to arrive at your exact to the second birth time. And there are other mathematical ways to rectify the birth time in case you cannot get a handprint. The point is that before starting with divisional charts please be sure of the birth time.

Back to D-60.  What do we use the Shashtyamsha for? The D 60 horoscope is the final tally of the Karma that you will face in this life. It indicates both the spectacular rises in power, severe karmic losses, ie, the final tally of the falls and gains in life. The D-60 is final conclusion, the summary of the horoscope analysis.

There are two ways of using the Shashtyamsha.

1.The first and more familiar way of analysing the D-60 chart.

Sometimes you observe that the D-1 is superb but still predictions fail. There are exalted planets but still they fail tragically. There are horoscopes which gain tremendous power and prestige but then after a few years are found begging in the streets. Big politicians and businessmen are revealed to be ultimately corrupt. Or the other way round, a complete unknown becomes and overnight celebrity, gains riches and elevates his life. This is domain of the D-60. The final tally of the results that a planet will give.

Exalted and beautifully placed planets in D-1 may be too good to be true, so look into their placement in the D-60 to indicate their actual final results. If the well placed planets of D-1 become debilitated or powerless in some way in the D-60, then the dasha/time period ruled by this planet will indicate a disaster and fall in power.

Retrograde planets are generally a source of confusion in the horoscope. The energies of these planets are directed differently thus the results expected can be delayed or even denied. The D-60 is the final on the results of retrograde planets. If the planet is in a good placement in in the D-60 rashi and house it will give its results, may delay will not deny them. Similarly for combust planets, their final results are to be determined accurately from the D-60.

Note the planets, if any, placed in the first house of the D-60 horoscope. These will have the final say on the chart’s destiny. If benefic planets, or the ascendant lord planets of D-1 or D-9 are located here, they can indicate an outstanding personality.

However all planets are important in the D-60 and should be analysed properly. The chart is analysed with the same principles of exaltation, debilitation, aspects, etc as the main birth chart.

2. Now let us take a look at the Shashatyamsha categories.

This is the real reason why D-60 is important. The 60 categories. These are very detailed and full of esoteric symbolisms. Here the character and potential of each planet is micro-analysed. As per the ancient seers/Rishis this analysis is even more important that the analysis of the D-1. If you open any of the Vedic software like Parashara light you will see some of these names against the planets in a table. It is in the D60 horoscope that the inner nature of these planets is seen at a glance.

• Of these 60 categories, 20 categories are fully malefic and a planet falling in theses categories will be ultimately act like malefic. Even if he is exalted or a functional benefic or anything good in the D-1, he still has the potential to turn the chart into a riches to rags story.
  • They are – Rakshasa, Bhrashta, Kulaghna, Garala, Pureesha, Kaala, Ahibhaaga, Gulika, Mrityu, Kalaa, Kantaka, Vishadagdha, Kulanaasha, Vamshakshaya, Utpaata, Kaalaroopa, Danshtraakaraala, Kaalaagni, Dandaayudha and Kroora.
• 10 categories are semi malefic where planets placed give mixed results but tending more to malefic.
  • These are – Ghora, Yaksha, Kinnar, Agni, Maayaa, Daavaagni, Ghoraa, Yama, Bhramana and Indurekaa.
• 20 categories of these are fully benefic, a planet assigned to these parts will be a benefic and have a positive influence on the D-1 manifested reality. A real benefic in every sense.
  • These are Amrita, Mridu, Sudhaa, Amritaa, Poornachandra, Indumukha, Praveena, Atisheetala, Sudha, Payodheesha, Deva, Apaampati, Heramba, Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara, Devaa, Kshiteeshwara, Kamlaakara and Marutvaan.
• 10 categories are semi-benefics where planet may give mixed results but more benefic than malefic.
  • These are Kubera, Chandra, Komalaa, Ardraa, Kalinaasha, Saumya, Komala, Sheetala, Nirmala and Saumya

These categories  have more detailed meanings than just malefic/benefic, (you can check out Phaladeepika and other standard books for more details).

Why 60 divisions? And why should our ancient Maharishi. Seers of Jyotish consider this chart to be the defining one. The reason is from the Surya-siddhanta, the Sanskrit text on which all astronomy is based. It is extremely accurate even by modern standards. eg. it mentions the avg length of the tropical year to be 365.2421756 days and the modern value is accepted at 365.2421904 days. It is the Suryasiddhant which gives the astronomical definition of an astrological ‘planet’, graha. So as per the Siddhantic concepts the Nakshtra, lunar mansions, ie the Bhaa – chakra, the belt of the zodiac takes 60yrs to complete one apparent revolution around the Sun. These 60 yrs are the Samvatsara of Jyotish and have unique names. So 60 is an esoteric number linked to one cycle of the Zodiac around the Sun.

This was a brief starter post on the D-60. Our seers/Rishis were supermen in the real sense. They mapped out the universe in tiny tiny bits and assigned names and meanings to each one of these bits. Today we have lost most of this deep knowledge. Your friendly neighbourhood astrologer may know a lot but there is even more that he does not know. Vedic astrology is an endless ocean of knowledge, the more you learn the more there remains to be learnt. Use Astrology to connect with your inner Self to make the most of your inner potential.