Sidereal is a setting. Jyotiṣa is a method.
The most common misunderstanding in online astrology is that “sidereal mode” converts a Western tool into a Vedic one. It does not. Subtracting the ayanāṁśa moves the planets into the correct rāśis, which is a necessary first step — and then the entire apparatus of Jyotiṣa begins, none of which a tropical-native tool carries.
What actually does the work in a Vedic reading: ṣoḍaśavarga — sixteen divisional charts, each governing a different department of life, so marriage is judged in D9 and career in D10 rather than both in the birth chart; daśā — a conditional timing system that says which promise in the chart is currently live; yogas — named, defined combinations with stated effects; kārakas — significators, both fixed and chart-derived; arudha padas — the projected image of a house, which is how the tradition separates what is from what appears; and rāśi dṛṣṭi alongside graha dṛṣṭi, which is a sign-to-sign aspect scheme with no Western analogue at all.
None of that is available by toggling a setting. It has to be implemented, and implementing it faithfully is the whole product.
Feature-by-feature
| What you get | Parasara Jyotish | Astro-Seek |
|---|---|---|
| Sidereal chart | Native — Lahiri by default | Yes, sidereal mode with selectable ayanāṁśa |
| Ephemeris tables 1800–2100 | Not offered as a browsable table | Yes, excellent — Astro-Seek leads here |
| Ayanāṁśa calculator | Applied internally | Standalone tool covering Lahiri, Raman, KP — Astro-Seek leads here |
| Divisional charts (vargas) | All 16, D1–D60, topic-routed | Navāṁśa available; full ṣoḍaśavarga not the focus |
| Vimśottarī daśā | 5 levels, from Moon and Lagna | Not a core feature |
| Jaimini rāśi daśās | Nārāyaṇa, Sudāśā, Dṛg | Not offered |
| Classical yogas | 300+ detected with reasoning | Not offered |
| Chara kārakas & arudha padas | Used throughout the reading | Not offered |
| Rāśi dṛṣṭi (sign aspects) | Yes, alongside graha dṛṣṭi | Western aspect grid (conjunction, trine, square…) |
| Nakshatra & tārā | Nakshatra, pada, tārābala in the daily reading | Nakshatra transit pages |
| Sade Sati / Murthi / Vedha | Full gochar quality reading over the natal Moon | Transit positions |
| Synastry / compatibility | 5 Vedic matching engines | Sidereal synastry with aspect interpretations — different tradition |
| Indian-language output | 6 languages | Not offered |
| Cost & signup | Free core tools, flat premium unlock | Free, no login — Astro-Seek leads here |
The honest split
Choose Astro-Seek when
- You want an ephemeris table, an ayanāṁśa comparison or a planetary-position search across decades.
- You work in Western technique — aspects, houses, progressions, synastry grids.
- You want a fast calculation with no account and no paywall anywhere.
- You are comparing how different ayanāṁśas move a chart.
Choose Parasara Jyotish when
- You want the chart read in the Parāśara tradition, not calculated and left on the table.
- You need vargas beyond D9 — D10 for career, D24 for education, D30 for difficulties, D60 for past-life reading.
- You need daśā timing, which is the entire predictive apparatus of Jyotiṣa.
- You want yogas, kārakas, arudhas and rāśi dṛṣṭi — the parts that have no Western equivalent.
- You want the reading in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu or Marathi.
The thing a calculator cannot give you: timing
Western astrology times events mainly by transit and progression. Jyotiṣa times them primarily by daśā — a nested sequence of planetary periods, running decades deep, calculated from the exact position of the Moon in its nakshatra at birth. A transit only matters if the daśā has already opened the door.
This is why a sidereal chart calculator, however good, cannot substitute for a Jyotiṣa engine. It can show you Saturn crossing your natal Moon. It cannot tell you that the crossing lands inside a Saturn-Mercury antardaśā, that Saturn owns your 6th and 7th, and that the same transit in a different daśā would have passed almost unnoticed. The transit is the trigger; the daśā is the permission.
We run four daśā systems for exactly that reason — Vimśottarī from both the Moon and the Lagna, plus the Jaimini rāśi daśās (Nārāyaṇa, Sudāśā, Dṛg) — because independent systems converging on the same window is the strongest confirmation the tradition offers.
Other Astro-Seek alternatives worth knowing
If you came to Astro-Seek for Vedic work specifically, these are the tools built for it natively rather than reaching it through a sidereal setting.
- Parasara JyotishVedic reading in the browser
Native Jyotiṣa — 16 vargas, four daśā systems, 300+ yogas, chara kārakas and arudha padas, with the chart actually read.
- Jagannatha HoraVedic research depth
Free Windows software with the widest daśā and varga coverage available anywhere, plus the research tooling Astro-Seek users tend to want.
- AstroSageIndian system breadth
Broad free Indian portal — Ashtakavarga, Shadbala, KP sub-lords and horary alongside the standard kundli.
- ProkeralaQuick correct charts
Fast, clean sidereal charts with panchang and regional matching, in five languages.
- Astro-Seek (keep it)Western technique & ephemeris
For tropical charts, aspect grids, progressions, ephemeris tables and ayanāṁśa comparison, nothing free beats it. Keep it bookmarked.
The verdict
Astro-Seek is the better laboratory. Nothing else free gives you that much raw astronomical and astrological instrumentation with no account and no paywall, and its ephemeris tools are worth keeping bookmarked whichever tradition you work in.
Parasara Jyotish is the better Jyotiṣa. If your question is Vedic — which daśā is running, what does the Navāṁśa say about marriage, which yogas actually formed, what does the D10 promise about work — a Western tool in sidereal mode cannot reach it, however good its calculators are.
Frequently asked questions
Is Astro-Seek’s sidereal chart the same as a Vedic kundli?
The planetary positions will be correct for the ayanāṁśa you select, so the rāśi placements match. What is missing is everything built on top — the sixteen vargas, daśā periods, yogas, chara kārakas, arudha padas and rāśi dṛṣṭi. A Vedic reading is made of those, not of the zodiac offset alone.
Which ayanāṁśa does Parasara Jyotish use?
Lahiri (Chitrapakṣa), the standard for Parāśara-tradition work and the Indian national calendar.
Is Astro-Seek better for Western astrology?
Yes, comfortably. If you want tropical charts, aspect grids, progressions or Western synastry, Astro-Seek is a far better tool than ours and we do not attempt that tradition at all.
Do I need to pay to see my chart here?
No. The chart, all sixteen vargas, the daśā timelines, yoga detection and the daily, monthly and yearly horoscopes are free. Only the deep life reports and chart-specific Q&A require a one-time unlock.
How we compare, and how to correct us
Every rival feature listed here was checked against that product’s own public pages and free tools on the date shown above. We compare what a visitor can actually see and use without paying — not internal capability, not accuracy of predictions, which no one can measure from outside. Products change, and some of these teams ship quickly; if something below is out of date or wrong, write to us and we will correct the page. We would rather be accurate than flattering.
Rival features on this page were last checked on 30 Jul 2026. Tell us if something is wrong · Visit Astro-Seek