/v1/chart/shadbala

Six-fold strength for all planets.

What this tells you

Shadbala ("six-fold strength") is the most rigorous quantitative strength measure in Vedic astrology — described in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. A planet must score above its required threshold to deliver full results; below that, significations weaken. Each of the 6 components captures a different dimension of strength. All values are in virupas (also called shashtiamshas); 60 virupas = 1 rupa.

Shadbala costs 30 credits. Cache per birth — the result does not change for the same birth data unless `shadbala_version` changes.

Request

All requests require an Authorization header with your dv_live_* API key.

example request

curl "https://api.lifeastroapi.com/v1/chart/shadbala?date=1990-01-15&tz=Asia%2FKolkata&lat=19.076&lon=72.8777&time=10%3A30" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Query parameters

Checked against the API: a parameter is marked required when the request fails without it.

Name	Required	Example	Description
`date`	yes	`1990-01-15`	Birth date (YYYY-MM-DD).
`tz`	yes	`Asia/Kolkata`	Birth place timezone: IANA name (Asia/Kolkata) or UTC offset (+05:30).
`lat`	yes	`19.076`	Birth place latitude in decimal degrees.
`lon`	yes	`72.8777`	Birth place longitude in decimal degrees.
`time`	no	`10:30`	Birth time (HH:MM, 24-hour, local). Defaults to 12:00.
`ayanamsa`	no	—	Ayanamsa (sidereal offset) to use. Defaults to lahiri.

Response (200 OK)

The real response to the example request above, generated from the API itself. Long arrays are trimmed to their first two items. Field names are stable across versions.

200 response

{
  "date": "1990-01-15",
  "time": "10:30",
  "location": {
    "lat": 19.076,
    "lon": 72.8777,
    "alt": 0
  },
  "tz": "Asia/Kolkata",
  "ayanamsa": "lahiri",
  "ayanamsa_value": 23.71795,
  "house_system": "whole_sign",
  "shadbala_version": "v2_bphs",
  "shadbala": [
    {
      "planet": "Sun",
      "sthana": 103.9,
      "dig": 49.37,
      "kala": 126.16,
      "cheshta": 1.68,
      "naisargika": 60,
      "drik": 7.5,
      "total": 348.61,
      "rupas": 5.81,
      "required_min": 390,
      "is_strong": false
    },
    {
      "planet": "Moon",
      "sthana": 178.04,
      "dig": 33.02,
      "kala": 198.03,
      "cheshta": 43.65,
      "naisargika": 51.43,
      "drik": -15,
      "total": 489.17,
      "rupas": 8.15,
      "required_min": 360,
      "is_strong": true
    }
  ]
}

Field reference

Every field in the response, with its type, a real example, and what it means.

Field	Type	Meaning
date	string	Birth date you sent (YYYY-MM-DD), echoed back. example: `"1990-01-15"`
time	string	Birth time you sent, echoed back. "12:00" when you leave `time` out. example: `"10:30"`
tz	string	Timezone you sent (IANA name or fixed offset such as +05:30), echoed back. example: `"Asia/Kolkata"`
location	object	Birth coordinates used. `alt` is in metres and is 0 unless you send `alt`. example: `{ "lat": 19.076, "lon": 72.8777, "alt": 0 }`
ayanamsa	string	Ayanamsa used. Default lahiri; set it with the `ayanamsa` parameter (lahiri, raman, krishnamurti, fagan, yukteshwar, true_chitrapaksha). example: `"lahiri"`
ayanamsa_value	number	Ayanamsa in degrees at the birth moment. Sidereal longitude = tropical longitude − this value. example: `23.71795`
house_system	string	Echo of the optional `house_system` parameter (default whole_sign). This endpoint does not use it, so you never need to send it; only /v1/chart/houses changes with it. example: `"whole_sign"`
shadbala_version	string	Version tag of the Shadbala method. It changes if the calculation changes, so you can invalidate cached results. example: `"v2_bphs"`
shadbala[]	array of 7 objects	Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn. Rahu and Ketu have no Shadbala. example: `[{ "planet": "Sun", "sthana": 103.9, … }, …]`
shadbala[].planet	string	Planet name. Translated with `locale`. example: `"Sun"`
shadbala[].sthana	number	Sthana Bala (positional strength) in virupas: exaltation (uccha), saptavargaja, odd/even sign, kendradi and drekkana parts added together. example: `103.9`
shadbala[].dig	number (0–60)	Dig Bala (directional strength) in virupas. 60 at the planet's strongest point, 0 at the opposite point. example: `49.37` Jyotish: Strongest points: Sun and Mars at the MC, Jupiter and Mercury at the ascendant, Saturn at the descendant, Moon and Venus at the IC.
shadbala[].kala	number	Kala Bala (temporal strength) in virupas: day/night (nathonnatha), paksha, tribhaga, year, month, weekday and hora lords, ayana and yuddha parts added together. example: `126.16`
shadbala[].cheshta	number	Cheshta Bala (motional strength) in virupas. For the Moon it equals its paksha strength. For the Sun the API returns a fixed 1.68. example: `1.68`
shadbala[].naisargika	number	Naisargika Bala (natural strength) in virupas. Fixed per planet: Sun 60, Moon 51.43, Venus 42.86, Jupiter 34.29, Mercury 25.71, Mars 17.14, Saturn 8.57. example: `60`
shadbala[].drik	number	Drik Bala (aspect strength) in virupas. Benefic aspects add and malefic aspects subtract, so it can be negative (the Moon has -15 in this example). example: `7.5`
shadbala[].total	number	Sum of the six components, in virupas. example: `348.61`
shadbala[].rupas	number	Total in rupas (total ÷ 60). example: `5.81`
shadbala[].required_min	integer	Classical minimum total, in virupas: Sun 390, Moon 360, Mars 300, Mercury 420, Jupiter 390, Venus 330, Saturn 300 (6.5, 6, 5, 7, 6.5, 5.5 and 5 rupas). example: `390`
shadbala[].is_strong	boolean	True when `total` ≥ `required_min`. A planet below its minimum struggles to deliver its results. example: `false`

Usage tips

How to use it

Render as a bar chart
Show each planet's `rupas` as a bar, with `required_min / 60` as the threshold line. Color it red when `is_strong` is false.
Components matter for diagnostics
A planet may have a high `total` but a weak `kala` (born at a bad time of day for it). Show the six components so advanced users can dig in.
One component only
If your UI shows one component at a time, /v1/chart/shadbala/{component} returns just that value for each planet.

Errors

Every error follows the same envelope. Use the error.code field (not the message) for conditional logic in your integration.

401 Unauthorized

{
  "error": {
    "code": "unauthorized",
    "message": "missing or invalid API key",
    "request_id": "req_01hqy7k8c3e7m1n"
  }
}

402 Payment Required

{
  "error": {
    "code": "trial_exhausted",
    "message": "your free trial credits are exhausted — pick a plan to continue",
    "top_up_url": "https://lifeastroapi.com/pricing",
    "request_id": "req_01hqy7k8c3e7m1n"
  }
}

429 Too Many Requests

{
  "error": {
    "code": "rate_limited",
    "message": "rate limit exceeded; retry after 12 seconds",
    "request_id": "req_01hqy7k8c3e7m1n"
  }
}

Try it

Get a dv_live_* key from your dashboard and paste into the cURL snippet above. New accounts get 1,500 free credits. Sign up.