4 types of Karma

As we continue to explore the basics of Vedic astrology, it is important to touch on a fundamental aspect of the system: the role of karma in sidereal astrology. When a Vedic astrologer reads your birth chart, they see a map of the karma to be played out in this lifetime. The house shows the area. The zodiac shows the energy. The Nakshatras are the scripts. Astrology was never meant to be purely predictive, but a blueprint of the soul that helps you understand the karma your soul came to fulfill. As one of my favorite astrologers, Raaj Kapiel, says, the birth chart is like your personal tree of life. Some of the fruit has already fallen and spoiled. Some is still growing and not ready to be picked. If you take it too early, it will be bitter. And some is ready now. In this life, you must eat certain fruit to grow. Astrology cannot help you avoid your fruit, but it can show you how to face it with more awareness. To sum it up, astrology helps you face your karma with an attitude that allows for growth and evolution, and that is what the soul is here to do.

Most people know the basic idea of karma, but not its depth. Karma is more than doing something bad and having something bad happen in return. While that is one component, it is much more complex.

There are four types of karma. Sanchita, Prarabdha, Agami, and Kriyamana. Let’s talk about them.

Sanchita Karma

This is the full accumulation. Everything carried from past actions across lifetimes. Not all is active at once. It exists as a stored reserve. Think of it as the entire tree, not just the fruit you are dealing with now. Most stays in the background but remains part of what you carry. It sets the range of what is possible, even if not currently experienced.

Prarabdha Karma

This is the portion that is active in this lifetime. It is already in motion and cannot be avoided. This is what you are here to face. It shows up as the major themes or events that shape your life. This is why certain scenarios feel inevitable. This does not mean you have no power. How you respond to both ease and challenge is still within your control. It just means this part has already been set into motion. This is the layer the chart reflects most clearly.

Agami Karma

This is the karma you are creating through your current actions and desires. Every choice continues the cycle. How you respond to what already has movement. This is where awareness starts to shift things for future experience or incarnations. You are not stopping Prarabdha, but you are shaping what comes next. This is how the future is built from the present.

Kriyamana Karma

This is karma in real time, and the one most are familiar with. It is the immediate cause and effect as you move through life. It is the moment to moment interaction between your actions and your environment. Small choices, reactions, habits. This is where patterns are either reinforced or broken. It may seem minor, but this is where Agami begins to form.

Each one of these is essential for the development of the soul. When we approach life with a level of detachment, we can move through it with greater balance and acceptance. This does not mean we do not feel or care. It means we understand what is ours to control and what is not.

© 2026 Delaina Kashner | Kashner’s Vault