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In short
Kaal Sarp is the condition in which all seven classical grahas, the Sun to Saturn, lie on one side of the axis joining Rahu and Ketu. None of the classical texts this app reads names it, so the rule is applied as commonly practised. This app gives a yes or no from longitudes alone, plus how close the nearest graha came to the axis.
What the term means
Kaal Sarp ("serpent of time") names a piece of geometry. Rahu and Ketu always stand exactly opposite each other, so the line between them splits the zodiac into two halves. When the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn all fall in the same half, the chart is said to have Kaal Sarp, usually called Kaal Sarp Dosha.
Where the term comes from
It does not come from the classical texts in this app's library. A search of BPHS, Saravali, the Bhrigu Sutras, Daivajna Vallabha and Advanced Predictive Astrology finds no spelling of Kaal Sarp. The "Sarpa Yog" of BPHS Ch. 35 Sl. 8 and Saravali Ch. 21 is a different rule entirely: malefics in three kendras, one of the Nabhasa yogas. A numerology book in the library borrows the name for a number-grid combination, which is also unrelated. The rule is therefore applied as commonly practised, without the additions popular practice attaches to it.
How this app computes it
- For each of the seven grahas the engine measures how far it lies past Rahu, using the mean node as everywhere else in the app.
- If every distance is strictly between 0 and 180 degrees, or every one strictly between 180 and 360, Kaal Sarp is present. A graha exactly on the axis counts as not between the nodes.
- The verdict uses longitudes only, so a date and time are enough. Houses of Rahu and Ketu are added to the description only when a birth place resolves.
- No twelve named types are attached, and the direction is stated as a plain fact rather than given a second name.
- The engine also reports a margin: how close the nearest graha came to the axis.
A small illustration
For 12 January 1997, 06:30 UTC, Delhi, the engine finds Kaal Sarp present, every graha on the arc from Rahu to Ketu, but Mars is only 0.09 degrees past Rahu. The engine's own notes show that on the true node instead of the mean node this verdict flips, which is why the margin is shown. Of the 3,000 sampled birth moments 1985-2060 used by this site's tools, 208 have Kaal Sarp.
Pages that use this term
- Kaal Sarp Dosha explained - the full essay on the geometry and the margin.
- Kaal Sarp calculator - the verdict, direction and margin for your chart.
- Rahu in Vedic astrology - one end of the axis.
- Ketu in Vedic astrology - the other end.
- Rahu Mahadasha - the period page that discusses it.
Related terms
Lunar nodes, Dosha, Nabhasa yoga and Manglik.
Kaal Sarp Dosha
Whether all seven classical grahas sit on one side of the Rahu-Ketu axis, and how close the call is.
This date and time are sent only to compute the answer. No name or place is asked for, nothing is stored, and no account is created.