Krishnamurti Paddhati answers a question from a single number between 1 and 249. That number fixes the ascendant of the horary chart, so no birth date, time or place is needed. Enter yours to see the sign, star lord and sub lord it selects.
The zodiac is divided into 27 nakshatras, and each nakshatra into 9 subs in Vimshottari proportion — 243 divisions. Six of those straddle a sign boundary and are cut in two, giving the 249 sub-divisions of KP. The number you choose selects one of them, and its starting point becomes the ascendant of the chart cast for the moment you asked.
This is why KP horary needs no birth details: the number supplies the ascendant that a birth chart would otherwise provide.
In Krishnamurti Paddhati the sign lord shows the broad field and the star lord shows the source of results, but the sub lord decides whether the matter fructifies. For a horary question the sub lord of the ascendant is judged against the houses the question belongs to — marriage from 2, 7 and 11; career from 2, 6, 10 and 11; and so on. If the sub lord signifies those houses, the answer tends to yes; if it signifies the houses that deny them, it tends to no.
That judgement needs the full cuspal chart for your location and the ruling planets of the moment — which is what a KP astrologer does with the values shown above.
Horary is one branch of KP. The same sub-lord logic drives natal work — cuspal sub lords, four-step significators and Vimshottari-based event timing. You can see all of it computed on your own chart in the KP workbench, or read the method in full on KP Astrology (Krishnamurti Paddhati).
The sub lord above is the starting point, not the answer. To turn it into a KP astrology prediction with a date, a reader needs the cuspal chart for your place and the significators for your question — marriage, career, property or foreign travel.
Any whole number between 1 and 249 that comes to mind while you hold the question. It is not random in KP theory: the number you settle on is taken to reflect the moment, which is why it is chosen once, with the question clearly in mind, and not repeated until a liked answer appears.
No. That is the defining feature of horary: the number supplies the ascendant, and the chart is cast for the moment of the question. Birth details are needed only for natal KP work.
The 27 nakshatras split into 9 subs each give 243 divisions. Six of those cross a boundary between two signs, and a division cannot belong to two signs, so each is cut in two - giving 249.
Not by itself. It gives the sign, star and sub lord your number selects, which is the raw material of the judgement. A yes or no requires the full cuspal chart for your place plus the significators for your specific question.