Also called: net · grille · grid · jaal

Where on the hand: Anywhere on the palm; specific readings are given for the wrist line and for the Mars, Rahu, Ketu, Saturn and Jupiter zones.

What it looks like: Many fine lines crossing in both directions to make a dense grid or mesh over a patch of the palm — not two rails with rungs (that is the ladder) but a lattice with no clear orientation.

The classical inauspicious counterpart of the ladder — harmful wherever it is located. It is recorded here because the ladder is so frequently a mis-read jaal, and because the 'net-like lines on the palms and soles' of the Lakkhaṇa Sutta is why the jāl became such a loaded category in later palmistry.

Read with care: This entry carries strongly negative traditional claims — lifelong illness, poverty, an unfortunate life — attached to a very common palm feature. Present it as tradition, not as prediction; the same grid-form is read as auspicious in the Lakkhaṇa Sutta's own list.