A precise Krishnamurti Paddhati (KP) Vedic astrology engine in pure Python, powered by the Swiss Ephemeris for arc-second accuracy.
Krishnamurti Paddhati (KP) is a stellar system of Vedic astrology developed by Prof. K. S. Krishnamurti that refines the 27 nakshatras into smaller sub-lord and sub-sub-lord divisions, so every chart point carries a precise ruling chain: star-lord, sub-lord, sub-sub-lord. Because a birth Moon sits inside one of 249 narrow zodiacal divisions, KP timing (Vimshottari dasha) and event judgment (significators, horary) reach a granularity classical jyotish does not.
Why Swiss Ephemeris precision — the engine computes every planet and house cusp with the industry-standard Swiss Ephemeris (arc-second accurate), then converts to the sidereal zodiac with a configurable ayanamsa. A silent Moshier fallback keeps the package working even with no data files installed; downloading the official ephemeris files unlocks full JPL/VSOP87 precision.
- Ayanamsa — Lahiri (Chitrapaksha, KP default), KP (
SE_SIDM_KRISHNAMURTI_VP291) and KP-old (Krishnamurti's table). - Nakshatra subdivision — star-lord, sub-lord and sub-sub-lord chains for every planet and house cusp.
- Placidus cusps — computed sidereally from the Swiss Ephemeris, with full KP lord chains on each cusp.
- Vimshottari dasha — mahadasha / antardasha / pratyantar-dasha with birth balances computed at all three levels (MD/AD/PD).
- Significators — Grah and Bhaav Nirdeshan: house and planet significators with 4-tier ranking.
- Ruling planets — day-lord, ascendant-lord and Moon-lord for the moment.
- KP horary — the 1-249 division number system with the horary ascendant taken as the division midpoint.
- Birth-time rectification — recover an unknown/approximate birth time from dated life events judged to fall in specific KP houses; each candidate minute is scored by lagna sub-lord + dasha + optional ruling-planet and a weak sibling hint, with a posterior-band range (75% mass, NOT a statistical credible interval) and a Jupiter/Saturn transit cross-check.
- CLI + Python API — everything available as a typed library and as a
kpastrocommand-line tool.
Requires Python 3.9+.
# editable install for development
pip install -e .
# with the dev/test extras
pip install -e .[dev]pyswisseph is the only runtime dependency. On very new CPython releases a source build may be needed; ensure a C compiler is available (or install a pre-built wheel) if the binary wheel is not yet published.
| Feature | kpastro | Generalist Libraries | API-only Tools |
|---|---|---|---|
| KP Specialization | High (249-Division) | Low/None | Variable |
| Precision | Arc-second (Swiss Ephemeris) | Variable | High |
| Deployment | Offline-first (No API) | Varies | Requires Internet |
| Integrability | Designed as an engine | Complex/Bloated | Locked to Cloud |
kpastro is built as an offline-first computational engine. It is designed for developers who need high-precision, sub-second KP system calculations (star-lord, sub-lord, sub-sub-lord) without the overhead of cloud APIs or the bloat of general-purpose astrological frameworks.
kpastro is designed to be easily embeddable. If you are building a larger astrological system and need high-precision KP-system subdivision math (star-lord, sub-lord, sub-sub-lord) without reinventing the wheel, simply import the engine:
from kpastro.vedic import point_info
# Pass any sidereal longitude (0-360°) to get the full KP breakdown
data = point_info(150.5)
print(f\"Sub-lord: {data.sub_lord}\")
print(f\"Sub-sub-lord: {data.sub_sub_lord}\")This makes kpastro an ideal high-precision subsystem for larger libraries.
# Complete KP birth chart (New Delhi)
python -m kpastro natal --date 1990-01-15 --time 14:30 --tz 5.5 \
--lat 28.6139 --lon 77.2090 --place "New Delhi"
# KP horary (Prashna) from number 45
python -m kpastro horary --number 45 --date 2026-08-20 --time 10:30 \
--tz 5.5 --lat 28.61 --lon 77.20
# Ayanamsa value on a date
python -m kpastro ayanamsa --date 2026-08-20
# Download the Swiss Ephemeris data files for full precision
python -m kpastro download-ephemerisOther subcommands: dasha, rulings. Run python -m kpastro --help for all options.
from datetime import date, time
from kpastro import BirthInfo, compute_chart, render_chart, ascendant_from_kp_number
birth = BirthInfo(
date=date(1990, 1, 15), time=time(14, 30),
latitude=28.6139, longitude=77.2090,
tz_hours=5.5, place="New Delhi",
)
chart = compute_chart(birth, ayanamsa="lahiri")
print(render_chart(chart))
# KP horary: all 249 divisions, or the ascendant for one number
divs = kp_divisions() # list of 249 HoraryDiv
q = ascendant_from_kp_number(45) # dict with ascendant + lord chainchart.planets, chart.cusps, chart.balance, chart.mahadashas, chart.current,
chart.planet_significators and chart.ruling give typed access to every KP layer.
When only an approximate birth time is known, dated life events mapped to KP houses can recover it:
from datetime import date, time
from kpastro import BirthInfo, LifeEvent, rectify, render_rectification
# Birth info approximate time
birth = BirthInfo(date(1990, 1, 15), time(14, 30),
28.6139, 77.2090, 5.5, 'New Delhi')
events = [
LifeEvent(date(1995, 9, 3), 2, (), 'School admission'),
LifeEvent(date(2007, 4, 1), 4, (), 'Joined college'),
LifeEvent(date(2013, 2, 14), 4, (), 'First job'),
LifeEvent(date(2018, 1, 20), 7, (), 'Marriage'),
]
# Scans +/-60 min at 1-min steps
result = rectify(birth, time(14, 30), events)
print(render_rectification(result, birth))If you use kpastro in your research or application, please cite us:
@software{majumdar2026kpastro,
author = {Rituparno Majumdar},
title = {kpastro: A Precise Krishnamurti Paddhati (KP) Astrology Engine},
year = {2026},
url = {https://github.com/Rituparno-Majumdar/kp-astrology},
license = {MIT}
}Ayanamsa — the sidereal zodiac is the tropical zodiac minus the ayanamsa:
sidereal longitude = tropical longitude - ayanamsa
The Chitrapaksha (Lahiri) zero point anchors the sidereal origin to the star Spica (Chitra) at 0° Libra. Lahiri and KP modes differ only in the exact reference and precession model used; around 2026 the Lahiri ayanamsa is approximately 24.22° (the KP/VP291 value is ~24.14°).
Nakshatra — the zodiac is divided into 27 nakshatras of 13°20' = 800' each.
Sub-lords — each nakshatra is split into 9 sub-lords whose spans are proportional to the Vimshottari years:
sub span (arcmin) = (lord's years / 120) * 800'
The sub-lord sequence starts at the star-lord and cycles through the Vimshottari order; the sub-sub-lord divides the sub again with the same proportions.
Vimshottari years — the total cycle is 120 years:
| Planet | Years |
|---|---|
| Ketu | 7 |
| Venus | 20 |
| Sun | 6 |
| Moon | 10 |
| Mars | 7 |
| Rahu | 18 |
| Jupiter | 16 |
| Saturn | 19 |
| Mercury | 17 |
Nakshatra lord mapping — the star-lord of nakshatra i (0-26) is:
star_lord(i) = VIMSHOTTARI_ORDER[i % 9]
so the 9-planet Vimshottari cycle repeats every 9 nakshatras: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, then repeats.
Dasha balance at birth — anchored to the birth Moon's nakshatra (span star = 13°20'), with 1 year = 365.25 days:
MD_bal = (star_end - Moon) / star * Y_star * 365.25 # mahadasha balance
AD_bal = (sub_end - Moon) / star * Y_star * 365.25 # antardasha balance
PD_bal = (subsub_end - Moon) / star * Y_star * 365.25 # pratyantar-dasha balance
where star_end is the end of the Moon's nakshatra, sub_end / subsub_end the ends of the Moon's sub / sub-sub, and Y_star the mahadasha years of the star-lord. Every subsequent sub-period is Y_parent * Y_child / 120 years.
Why 249 divisions for horary — 27 nakshatras × 9 sub-lords = 243 subs. Six of the twelve sign boundaries fall inside a sub and split it in two (the sub-lord is unchanged but the sign changes), giving exactly 249 numbered KP divisions from 0° Aries. A querent's number 1-249 selects division n; the horary ascendant is that division's midpoint.
- Moshier fallback (default, no downloads) — planets to about 1 arc-second, Moon about 0.5". More than adequate for KP sub-lord work.
- Full Swiss Ephemeris precision — run
python -m kpastro download-ephemeris(ordownload_ephemeris()), which placessepl_18.se1,semo_18.se1andseas_18.se1into~/.kpastro/ephe. The engine then uses the compressed VSOP87 / JPL DE431 ephemeris at full precision. The files are also picked up fromSE_EPHE_PATH.
src/kpastro/
__init__.py public API surface + version
__main__.py python -m kpastro entry point
constants.py Vimshottari tables, signs, nakshatras, sign-lords
vedic.py pure-Python KP subdivision math (star / sub / sub-sub)
ephemeris.py Swiss Ephemeris wrapper, ayanamsa, houses, downloads
chart.py BirthInfo, compute_chart, render_chart
dasha.py Vimshottari balances, timelines, sub-periods
significators.py Grah & Bhaav Nirdeshan, ruling planets
rectification.py birth-time rectification (KP "time of birth" method)
horary.py the 249-division KP number system
cli.py argparse CLI (natal / horary / dasha / ayanamsa / ...)
- Full dasha view with all 120 sub-periods and transit overlays.
- Navamsa and other vargas in the KP scheme.
- KP year (KPY) and Saturn-return timing helpers.
- CLI subcommand for birth-time rectification.
- Western-style event chart export (JSON / CSV).
- Optional TinyDB/Pandas output and Jupyter notebooks.
- Contribution-driven: more ayanamsa modes, house systems, node options.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup, tests and style. Feedback and pull requests are welcome — file issues at the issue tracker.
MIT — see LICENSE. Copyright (c) 2026 Rituparno Majumdar.
This software is provided for educational and scientific purposes only. Astrological interpretations are not scientific predictions, and nothing here should be used to make financial, medical or legal decisions.