Points across the chart
Ashtakavarga scores every sign of the zodiac from the point of view of each planet, awarding a bindu — a point — where the placement is held to be favourable. It converts the chart into a set of numbers, which makes strength comparable in a way that reading placements one at a time does not.
Sarvashtakavarga
Adding the individual scores gives the sarvashtakavarga, a single total for each of the twelve signs. The average is about twenty-eight points. Signs scoring well above that are read as supported, and those well below as areas where effort meets more resistance.
Where it is used
The most common use is with transits: a planet crossing a sign that holds many bindus in its own ashtakavarga is expected to give better results there than the same planet crossing a sign that holds few. It is also used to judge which houses of a chart can actually carry the weight put on them.
Common questions
What is a good sarvashtakavarga score?
The average across the twelve signs is about twenty-eight. Above thirty is read as well supported and below twenty-five as an area where effort meets more resistance.
What is a bindu?
A point awarded to a sign from the point of view of a particular planet, where that placement is held to be favourable. The bindus are what the whole system counts.