Why the time of birth matters, and what to do if you do not know it

Of the four birth details, the time is the one people are least sure about. Older records often say only "morning" or "after dinner". Yet the time decides the Lagna, the first house, and the Lagna moves into a new sign roughly every two hours. Shift it by an hour and career, marriage and health can all land in different houses.

So the first thing done in a sitting is to check the time against life. A few known events, a marriage, a job change, a serious illness, are matched against the dashas the chart gives. If they line up, the time is trusted. If they do not, the time is adjusted in small steps until they do. This is called birth-time rectification and it is ordinary work, not a special service.

If the time is not known at all, there is still a way. A Prashna chart is cast for the moment the question is asked, and read on its own. It answers the question in front of it well. It does not replace a birth chart for long-term matters like dasha timing, and it is said so plainly.

What to bring: the hospital slip or birth certificate if it exists, or the closest memory a parent has. Even "between 5 and 6 in the morning" is useful. Do not guess a precise time to look confident. An honest range is better than a confident wrong number.