Getting started
Which should I pick, Vedic or Western?
Whichever you already read in. If your astrology comes from magazines or Western astrologers, pick Western. If you were given a kundli, or read in the Jyotish tradition, pick Vedic. You can change it at any time in Settings, and your saved charts carry over.
What do I need to cast a chart?
A name, a birth date, a birth time and a birthplace. Choose the place from the built-in list of 34,136 cities; each carries its own time-zone history, so the offset that applied on the day is worked out for you, including wartime and summer time.
I don't know my exact birth time. Can I still use it?
Yes. Turn on Time is approximate when you enter the chart. The planets' signs and nakshatras barely move over a few hours, but the Ascendant moves about one sign every two hours, and every house moves with it. With an approximate time, treat anything house-based — and most of the divisional charts — with suspicion. Transits to the Ascendant and Midheaven are left out for the same reason.
My birthplace isn't in the list.
The list holds every city with more than 15,000 people. For a smaller town, pick the nearest listed city in the same country and time zone. The time zone is what matters most; the difference in position between two nearby towns moves the chart only slightly.
Which birth dates are supported?
From 1800 to 2200. That is the span of the ephemeris carried in the app, and the date picker keeps entries inside it rather than extrapolating.
Does Graha work on iPad?
Yes. Graha runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later.
Which languages does Graha support?
English for now.
Charts and calculations
Why is my sign different from the one in the newspaper?
Newspaper horoscopes use the tropical zodiac, measured from the spring equinox. Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, measured against the fixed stars, which currently sits about 24° earlier — so most placements fall one sign back. Neither is a mistake; they are two conventions.
Which ayanamsas and house systems are available?
Ayanamsas: Lahiri (Chitrapaksha), B. V. Raman, Krishnamurti (KP), Sri Yukteshwar and Fagan-Bradley, or none for the tropical zodiac. House systems: whole sign, equal, Sripati (Porphyry), Placidus, Campanus and Regiomontanus. Vedic charts default to Lahiri and whole sign; Western charts to Placidus.
How accurate are the positions?
Positions come from JPL's DE440, the planetary ephemeris behind NASA's own Horizons service. Graha carries a fitted copy of it that reproduces it to within a twentieth of an arcsecond, and applies nutation, aberration and light time on top. That is far finer than a chart can draw or a birth time is ever known to.
My chart differs from another app's. Which is right?
Usually the difference is a setting rather than an error: a different ayanamsa, house system, or mean versus true node. Check those first, and check that both apps have the same birth time and time zone. Wrong time zones, especially historical summer time, are the commonest cause of a chart that is off by an hour.
Which chart styles can I use?
North Indian, South Indian and the Western wheel, in either zodiac. Switch between them at the top of the Chart tab.
Does Graha tell me what will happen?
No. Graha computes: where the planets were, which period is running, when a transit becomes exact. Where it reports what a tradition says about a placement, it says whose tradition it is. It does not predict events, and it should not be used to make medical, legal, financial or relationship decisions.
Today, notifications and the widget
What notifications does Graha send?
Every two or three days, a short note on the day's sky: the Moon's sign and phase, and anything notable. Beyond that, only facts, and only the kinds you turn on: dasha periods changing, planets stationing retrograde or direct, new and full Moons, the Moon returning to your birth nakshatra, sign ingresses, and transits to your chart becoming exact. They are scheduled on your device; nothing is pushed from a server.
How do I turn notifications off?
In Graha, open Settings and switch off the kinds you don't want. To stop them all, turn off notifications for Graha in the iPhone's Settings app.
How do I add the widget?
Touch and hold an empty area of your Home Screen, tap Edit then Add Widget, and choose Graha. It shows the running dasha, the Moon and what is coming next for your selected chart. It is also available on the Lock Screen.
Privacy and your data
Is my birth data sent anywhere?
No. Graha has no networking code, no account and no analytics. Names, birth times and places stay in the app's own storage on your device, encrypted whenever it is locked. See the privacy policy for the details.
Will my charts move to a new phone?
Yes, if you restore the new phone from an iCloud or computer backup of the old one: your charts are part of the app's data, which Apple includes in device backups. Graha does not sync charts between devices on its own.
How do I delete my data?
Swipe left on a chart in the Charts list and tap Delete. Deleting the app removes everything it stored.
Purchases
What does Graha Pro include?
All sixteen divisional charts, every dasha level below the antardasha, the Western aspect grid, ashtakavarga, shadbala and yogas, compatibility and synastry, transits and daily readings, numerology, the full chart as a PDF with image and data export, and unlimited saved charts. Everything else is free.
Is it a subscription?
No. Pro is a one-time purchase. There is nothing to renew or cancel, and nothing stops working later.
I bought Pro. How do I get it on another device?
Sign in with the same Apple Account, open Graha, go to Settings and tap Restore purchases. The same button is on the Pro screen.
Can my family use it?
Yes. Graha Pro supports Family Sharing, so members of your family group get it too.
How do I get a refund?
Purchases are handled by Apple, so refunds are too. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com.