Your Atmakaraka is the planet holding the highest degree within its sign. Jaimini astrology ranks the seven planets from the Sun to Saturn by that degree alone, ignoring which sign and which house they occupy, and hands each rank a role: the highest is the Atmakaraka, the significator of the soul, and the lowest is the Darakaraka. This calculator lists all seven from your birth details.
Atmakaraka means 'significator of the soul' (atma = soul). In Jaimini astrology it is treated as the single most important planet in the chart, often compared to a king who rules over the other planets and karakas. It is not fixed to any one planet: whichever of the seven (or eight) planets holds the highest degree within its sign becomes your Atmakaraka.
The Atmakaraka is read as the soul's strongest desire and the central karmic lesson carried into this life. Its sign in the Navamsa (D9) is called the Karakamsha, an important reference point from which much of Jaimini prediction is derived.
Chara, meaning movable, karakas are ranked purely by the degree a planet holds within its sign, ignoring which sign and which house that is. Only the figure from 0 to 30 degrees is compared: the highest is the Atmakaraka and the lowest the Darakaraka. This calculator uses the seven-karaka scheme of the Jaimini Sutras, which ranks the Sun through Saturn. The eight-karaka variant additionally admits Rahu, whose degree is counted as 30 minus its longitude because it moves in reverse, and inserts a separate Pitrikaraka.
Because seven planets are ranked here, the list runs Atmakaraka, Amatyakaraka, Bhratrikaraka, Matrikaraka, Putrakaraka, Gnatikaraka and Darakaraka, and no Pitrikaraka appears. If you have seen an eight-row table elsewhere, that is the Rahu variant rather than a different calculation of the same thing, and the two schemes will often disagree about more than one row.
The whole ranking turns on the degree within the sign, and two planets can sit less than a degree apart. When they do, a small error in the recorded birth time is enough to swap their karakas, and swapping the top two swaps the Atmakaraka itself. The tool prints each planet's degree beside its karaka so you can see how close the neighbouring rows are.
How much a given planet can move is the thing to check. The Moon covers roughly thirteen degrees a day, so an hour of uncertainty moves it about half a degree; the Sun covers about one degree a day; Jupiter and Saturn move so slowly that the hour of birth barely touches them. If your time is approximate and two planets are within a degree of each other, treat the top of the list as provisional and test the time on the rectification page.
It is the 'significator of the soul' - the planet holding the highest degree in your chart. In Jaimini astrology it is treated as the most important planet, revealing your deepest desire and central karmic lesson.
Compare the degrees each planet holds within its sign (0° to 30°), ignoring which sign or house it occupies. The planet with the highest degree is the Atmakaraka; if Rahu is included, its degree is taken as 30 minus its longitude because it moves backward.
The seven-karaka scheme ranks the Sun through Saturn, while the eight-karaka scheme also includes Rahu and adds a separate Pitrikaraka (father). Both are used in practice; this tool shows the karakas ordered by degree.
No. It uses the seven-karaka scheme of the Jaimini Sutras, ranking the Sun through Saturn, which is the scheme most widely taught and the one KN Rao's school follows. The eight-karaka variant adds Rahu and a separate Pitrikaraka for the father; if you have seen an eight-row table elsewhere, that is why the two lists differ.
Usually one of three reasons. The other site may use the eight-karaka scheme that includes Rahu, which reshuffles the ranks below the inserted planet; it may use a different ayanamsha, which shifts every degree; or the two calculations used different birth times. Degrees within the sign decide the order, so a small change in any of the three can reorder the list.
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For educational purposes. Astrological interpretations are traditional and not a substitute for professional advice.