Guides

Marriage biodata with jathagam: fields, the raasi chart and a sample

In Tamil families, the reply to a biodata is often “Please send the jathagam.” A marriage biodata with jathagam details already on it — written the way a jothidar reads them — saves a round of messages and avoids the mistakes that hold up porutham checks. Here is every field, how the chart is laid out, and a complete sample.

Jathagam and biodata: what goes where

A jathagam (ஜாதகம்) is the horoscope prepared at birth, either handwritten by a jothidar or printed from astrology software. It usually has the birth details, the Tamil year, month and day of birth, the raasi and navamsam charts, and the dasa periods. Kerala families call it jathakam, Telugu families jatakam and Kannada families jataka.

The biodata is a one-page introduction. The usual practice is to put the key horoscope facts on the biodata and share the full jathagam as a separate file when asked, which keeps the biodata to one page.

Horoscope fields to put on the biodata

Why padam matters. Some stars fall across two raasis. Karthigai padam 1 is in Mesham, while padams 2 to 4 are in Rishabam. Writing only “Karthigai” leaves the raasi unclear, so always add the padam.

Writing dosham and dasa irupu

Chevvai dosham refers to Mars being placed in certain houses — commonly listed as the 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th, counted from lagnam and sometimes also from the moon. Jothidars differ on which exceptions cancel it, so write what your own jathagam says rather than working it out yourself.

Dasa irupu is fixed by the birth star and by how far the moon had travelled through it. The star decides which dasa runs first — Hastham and Rohini start in Chandra dasa, Karthigai in Suriya dasa, Aswini in Kethu dasa — and the balance is given in years, months and days. Copy it exactly from the jathagam.

If the other family’s jothidar uses a different panchangam (vakya or thirukanitham), their figures for dasa balance can differ slightly from yours. That is normal. Your birth date, time and place let them recalculate.

The raasi and navamsam charts, explained in words

The South Indian chart is a square divided into a 4×4 grid. The twelve outer boxes are the twelve raasis, and the four boxes in the middle are joined into one space, used for a label such as “Raasi” or “Navamsam”, or for the name and birth details. The raasi boxes never move. Meenam is always top-left, and the signs run clockwise:

What changes from person to person is which planets sit in which box. Lagnam is marked in its box with “La” or “லக்”, or with a diagonal line. Planets are written as short Tamil abbreviations — for example சூ for Suriyan (Sun), சந் for Chandran (Moon), செ for Sevvai (Mars), ரா for Raagu and கே for Kethu. The exact abbreviations vary a little between jothidars and software.

The North Indian diamond chart works the other way round — houses fixed, signs moving — so if a North Indian family asks for your chart, mention that it is in the South Indian format.

The navamsam chart uses the same grid. It divides each raasi into nine parts, and jothidars read it alongside the raasi chart, particularly for marriage.

Should you attach the jathagam to the biodata?

• Usually, send it separately. Put the fields above on the biodata and share the jathagam as a PDF when a family asks.
• A second page works if you are handing a printed set to a marriage information centre (thirumana thagaval maiyam) or a relative who collects proposals.
• Scan a handwritten jathagam properly. Lay it flat in daylight, photograph it from directly above and convert it to a PDF.
• Check that the details match. The name, date, time and place on the jathagam should match the biodata exactly. A mismatch is the first thing a jothidar will question.

Porutham basics: the ten poruthams

Families usually send both jathagams to their jothidar for porutham (compatibility) checking. Ten poruthams are commonly considered. What each is traditionally said to indicate is given below; how much weight each carries is a matter for the families and their jothidar.

A jothidar’s report often says something like “7 poruthams out of 10, rajju and vedhai match”. There is no single pass mark that every family uses. The biodata’s job is only to give accurate birth details so the check can be done.

Sample marriage biodata with jathagam details

Note the Tamil naming style: the father’s initial comes before the name. If you want the whole biodata in Tamil script, see the Tamil marriage biodata format.

English, Tamil or both

Many Tamil families use English with Tamil horoscope terms, as in the sample, because relatives in other cities and abroad read it; elders often prefer Tamil. Marriage Biodata Maker supports Tamil along with 12 other languages, so you can keep one version in each. For the North Indian terms — rashi, nakshatra, manglik and gotra — see horoscope details in a marriage biodata.

Last updated 24 September 2026 · Biodata for Marriage team