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In short
Trikona shodhana is the first of two reductions BPHS applies to each planet's Ashtakavarga. Within each trine of signs, such as Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, the largest count is kept and the others are replaced by the difference, with two exceptions. This app computes it for all seven grahas and shows it beside the raw counts.
What the term means
Shodhana means "purification" or "rectification". Trikona shodhana is a step applied to each planet's own Ashtakavarga row, sign by sign. It works inside the four trikonas of the zodiac, the groups of three signs that stand in trine: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius; Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn; Gemini, Libra and Aquarius; Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. These groups are fixed signs, not houses, so they do not depend on the Ascendant.
Where the term comes from
BPHS Ch. 67 Sl. 1-2 names the four trikonas. Sl. 3-5 gives the rule: a sign with fewer marks is given the greater count minus its own; no reduction is made if any sign of the three has no mark; and if all three are equal, all three become zero. The same passage says Ekadhipatya Shodhana follows, and Ch. 69 then weights the result (Pinda Sadhana).
How this app computes it
- If any of the three signs holds no bindu, the group is left unchanged.
- If all three hold the same non-zero count, all three become 0.
- Otherwise the largest count is kept and each other sign gets the largest minus its own.
The engine runs this for all seven grahas and reports the result by house. The Ashtakavarga calculator returns it beside the raw rows. A reduced number is no longer a count of supporting points, and the app's house ranking and transit readings keep using the unreduced figures. Ch. 69's weighting is not computed.
A small illustration
For 19 January 1985, 11:14 IST, New Delhi, the Moon's own row holds 5 in each fire sign, 3 in each earth sign and 4 in each water sign, so all nine of those cells become 0. In the air signs it holds Gemini 5, Libra 5 and Aquarius 3: the 5s are kept and Aquarius becomes 5 - 3 = 2.
Related pages
- Ashtakavarga calculator - the reduced rows for your chart, with a worked explanation of all three rules.
- Kundali features - the full reading, which carries both reductions.
- Saturn in Vedic astrology - works through Saturn's unreduced own table, the input this step starts from.
Related terms
- Ekadhipatya shodhana - the second reduction.
- Bhinnashtakavarga - the single-planet row being reduced.
- Bindu - the unit counted.
Ashtakavarga calculator
Benefic bindus for all twelve houses, per graha and summed across the seven.
What it needs
Date, time and place
That is more than this article asks for - it only ever takes a date, and sometimes a time, and never a name or a birth place. So this one runs on its own page, which asks for exactly what it needs and stores none of it.
Run it on its own page