KP, or Krishnamurti Paddhati, is a method created within Vedic astrology in the 20th century by K. S. Krishnamurti. It keeps the Vedic base, with the sidereal zodiac, the 27 lunar stars and the 120-year cycle of periods, and changes some techniques to answer in more detail whether a subject has a path in the chart and when. Both schools are legitimate and coexist. This guide shows what is the same and what changes.
What the two schools have in common
- Sidereal zodiac, tied to the fixed stars.
- The 27 lunar stars, the nakshatras, of 13°20' each.
- The 120-year Vimshottari cycle, with the periods of the nine planets in the same order (KP Reader I, p.104).
- The same nine planets, including Rahu and Ketu.
What KP changes
| Point | In KP |
|---|---|
| Ayanamsa | Uses Krishnamurti's ayanamsa. He advised following this one and forgetting the others (KP Reader VI, p.252) |
| Houses | Measures the houses with the Placidus system, with cusps at exact points in the sky (KP Reader I, p.65) |
| Sub | Divides each star into nine unequal parts, the subs, proportional to the years of the periods (KP Reader VI, p.92) |
| What decides the subject | The sub-lord of the house cusp shows whether the subject has a path (KP Reader III, p.238) |
| Significators | The planet delivers the matters of the houses that it and its star represent |
| Horary question | Uses a number from 1 to 249 chosen by the person asking (KP Reader VI, p.111) |
Why KP was created
Krishnamurti said the ancient principles were not enough to tell apart the destinies of twins, born a few minutes apart (KP Reader VI, p.9). The sub came from that search: a division fine enough for a few minutes to change the reading. See astrology of twins.
What remains in traditional Vedic astrology
The tradition uses tools that KP leaves aside or handles differently, such as the divisional charts, the combinations called yogas and houses counted by whole sign. These are techniques of an old and respected school, with a reading of their own.
Which one to choose
It depends on the question. KP was designed for questions about events and timing: whether a job is coming, when a commitment tends to happen, in which period a business moves forward. Those who want to study the whole tradition will find more paths in classical Vedic astrology.
Vedik uses the KP method, with Krishnamurti's ayanamsa and its own engine that calculates the position of the planets at the minute of your birth. The last word is always yours.
To go deeper: KP astrology, sub-lord, Lahiri and Krishnamurti and who Krishnamurti was.
