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In short
The nakshatra sub-lord is the graha ruling the slice of a nakshatra a point falls in, when each nakshatra is cut into nine unequal parts in proportion to the Vimshottari dasha years. BPHS gives the proportions for dividing time, not arc, so the split is an extension of its rule. This app computes it with the Lahiri ayanamsa and shows how close each point is to the next slice.
What the term means
Every nakshatra spans 13°20' and has a ruling graha, its star lord. The sub-lord cuts one level finer: the nakshatra is divided into nine slices, one for each Vimshottari lord, each as wide as that lord's share of the 120-year cycle. The first slice belongs to the nakshatra's own lord, and the rest follow in dasha order. The sub-lord of a planet or of the Ascendant is the lord of the slice it falls in.
Where the term comes from
BPHS supplies the ingredients but not the split itself. Ch. 46 Sl. 12-15 give the nine dasha lords and their years, and Ch. 51 Sl. 1-2 divide a period among the nine in proportion to those years, starting with "the Lord of the Dasha". Nowhere does BPHS divide a nakshatra's arc this way, and the word sub-lord does not occur in it. Saravali Ch. 42 speaks of "sub-Lords", but as lords of sub-periods of time. The arc version is associated with KP practice; the publishers' note in Advanced Predictive Astrology mentions KP readers needing the "Sub lord".
How this app computes it
- nakshatraSubdivision() applies the Vimshottari proportions to arc, starting from the nakshatra's own lord. The slices run from 40 arcminutes (the Sun's) to 133.33 (Venus's).
- Longitudes use the Lahiri ayanamsa, as everywhere in the app. This is not KP, which uses its own ayanamsa.
- Each result carries the distance in arcminutes to the next boundary and the lord beyond it, so a near-boundary answer is visible.
- It needs a birth time: the engine's notes say the Moon crosses about nine sub boundaries a day. The Ascendant row appears only when a birth place resolves.
A small illustration
For 15 August 1947, 00:00 IST, New Delhi, the Ascendant falls at 37.7348 degrees, in Krittika, whose lord is the Sun. Counting the slices from the Sun's, the point lands in Ketu's, so Ketu is the sub-lord, with 2.58 arcminutes to go before Venus's slice begins. A birth time a few minutes different could change the answer.
Pages that use this term
- The nakshatra sub-lord and birth time - the full essay on the split and its sensitivity.
- Nakshatra sub-lord calculator - sub-lords for every point in your chart.
- Why apps disagree on your nakshatra - how ayanamsa differences reach the sub level.
- Krittika nakshatra - the nakshatra of the example above.
- Rahu in Vedic astrology - lists Rahu's star lord and sub-lord.
Related terms
KP system, Vimshottari Dasha, Antardasha, Lahiri ayanamsa and Birth-time rectification.
Nakshatra Sub-Lord
Each nakshatra split nine ways by Vimshottari years - which slice every graha sits in, and how close it is to the edge.
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.