9. YOGAS AND ASTROLOGY

A unique characteristic of Indian astrology are the yoga’s. Yoga’s are planetary positions that lead to a certain result. We have already discussed one yoga, that of raja yoga.

This was mentioned in diagram 8. This is a simple yoga. It was a matter of one planet and the houses over which it was lord. There are literally thousands of these kinds of yogas. In India, an astrologer must know them of by heart. Then it is said that the first thing an astrologer needs, is a good memory. During this course, we shall discuss a number of yogas. Studying a horoscope for the presence of yogas presents an astrologer with new dimensions in horoscope interpretation. When you analyse a horoscope for the presence of yogas, as discussed below, you will quickly obtain insight into the principle components of a horoscope.

9.1 PANCHA MAHAPURUSHA YOGAS

Pancha mahapurusha yogas are yogas that are easy to find in a horoscope. To begin our analysis for this group of yogas, we note the position of the ascendant and the Moon.

The Moon is an exceptionally important planet in Indian astrology, and for this reason, we can use the sign the Moon is in as an alternative ascendant. So if we look for yoga’s we can look for them from the ascendant but we can also take the Moon as a starting point in our search for yoga’s.

For instance, if we say that a certain planet must be placed in a kendra house to be considered as a planet making a yoga, the kendra house is calculated from either the ascendant or from the sign the Moon is in.

Example: We have a Moon placed in the fifth house. Kendra houses calculated from the ascendant are the first, fourth, seventh and tenth houses. Kendra houses calculated from the Moon in this example, are the fifth (first house calculated from the Moon), eighth (fourth house calculated from the Moon), eleventh (seventh house calculated from the Moon) and the second (tenth house calculated from the Moon) houses.

And now to the yogas and their consequences:

Ruchaka yoga: Mars in its own sign or in exaltation, and in a kendra house - brave, arrogant, the victor.

Bhadra yoga: Mercury in its own sign or in exaltation, and in a kendra house - intellectual, learned, rich.

Hamsa yoga: Jupiter in its own sign or in exaltation, and in a kendra house - religious, very fortunate.

Malavaya yoga: Venus in its own sign or in exaltation, and in a kendra house - wealthy, loves life, sometimes self-indulgent, good marriage, strong sense of justice.

Shasya yoga: Saturn in its own sign or in exaltation, and in a kendra house - powerful, strict, position of authority.

 

In short, the characteristics of a certain planet are strongly emphasised in a pancha mahapurusha yoga.

Example of a ruchaka yoga: Adolf Hitler had Mars in Aries in the seventh house. Mars is in its own sign (also a moolatrikona sign) and in a kendra house (the seventh house). How he used the ruchaka yoga is evident. This yoga need not be used is this manner. Many sports people have a ruchaka yoga in their horoscope.

A bhadra yoga enables a person to become good in commerce and communicating.

A hamsa yoga could be seen in the horoscope of a learned person, a clergyman or someone who has a lot of good fortune in his life.

We could expect a malavaya yoga in the horoscope of a millionaire or a beauty queen. We can see a malavaya yoga in John F. Kennedy's horoscope (which has been enclosed with the course). In his horoscope, Venus is in its own sign, in the ninth house (this is a kendra house as seen from the Moon). In his horoscope, this resulted in great riches and because of meeting many beautiful women, a great deal of sexual enjoyment. However, we can see this yoga also in the horoscope of the peaceable Gandhi. In this horoscope, Venus is in the first house in a moolatrikona sign. In both examples, we see expressions of Venus (peace, sexual enjoyment, riches) but, depending on the rest of the horoscope, the malavaya yoga has unfolded in different ways.

A shasya yoga is fitting for the horoscope of a politician or a director.

Let us not forget we find pancha mahapurusha yogas in the horoscopes of approximately of half the population, and certainly not everyone is famous. Only the appearance of such a yoga is by no means enough to warrant fame. Other aspects in the horoscope must also support this.

9.2 PARIVARTANA YOGAS

A parivartana yoga occurs when planet A is in the sign of planet B, and planet B is in the sign of planet A.

For example, if Mars is in Taurus and Venus is in Aries, Mars is in the sign of Venus and Venus is in the sign if Mars. In Western (horary) astrology, this position is called ‘in reception'. If this position occurs in your own horoscope, it is indicated by a small wave (˜, in mutual reception with another planet). Although the computer programme that we use for our printouts regards this as a beneficial condition code, that is not always the case. We can ascertain that the influence both planets have on each other is similar to that of a conjunction. If this is beneficial or not depends of the character of both planets and especially the houses they rule. There are three kinds of parivartana yogas.

Dainya yoga: This yoga occurs when one of the planets participating in the yoga is lord of the sixth, eighth or twelfth house. These are dushtana houses that generally have an unfavourable influence.

In most cases, the lord of the sixth, eighth or twelfth house will be strengthened by the benefic influence of the other planet.

However, the other planet involved in this yoga is always damaged.

Example: When Sagittarius is on the ascendant, the Moon is lord of the eighth house and the Sun is lord of the ninth house. Should the Moon be in Leo and the Sun in Cancer, then we have a dainya parivartana yoga. In this case, the Sun will be damaged because it has to battle with the difficult energy of the eighth house. The Moon however, will get a boost from the influence of the favourable ninth house energy.

A possible interpretation for the lord of the eighth house when it is favourably influenced: Perhaps the person involved here will receive an inheritance (eighth house) from his father (ninth house), or he may be a teacher (ninth house) of psychology (eighth house).

A possible interpretation for the lord of the ninth house when it is unfavourably influenced: Probably this person's father (ninth house) has had a problematical life because the lord of the ninth house has been affected by the influence of the lord of the eighth house, which has to do with all kinds of problems. In addition, it is possible that his good fortune (lord of the ninth house) will be tainted (influence of the lord of the eighth house).

Kahala yoga: This occurs when one of the planets of this yoga is lord of the third house. The other planet may not be lord of the sixth, eighth or twelfth house (because we then have a dainya yoga). The third house is the house of energy and strength. A kahala yoga would mean that the person involved would invest a lot of energy and vigour in improving his circumstances.

Example: If Taurus is on the ascendant, the Moon is lord of the third house and Saturn lord of the ninth and tenth houses. Supposing the Moon is in Capricorn

and Saturn in Cancer. Then we have a kahala yoga. This person will put a lot of energy (third house) into his career (tenth house) and into broadening his horizons (ninth house).

Maha yoga: When a parivartana yoga occurs between the lords of the first, second, fourth, fifth, seventh, ninth, tenth or eleventh houses, we have a maha yoga. The lords of the third, sixth, eighth or twelfth houses may not be involved, because then we would have either a dainya yoga or a kahala yoga. This yoga enriches the planets involved.

9.3 SCISSORS YOGAS (KARTARI YOGAS)

This group of yogas is caused by planets being placed around a certain house and/or planet. The most generally occurring scissors yoga is when two benefics or malifics enclose a planet or a house.

Scissors yogas can also be called kartari yogas. Kartari means scissors.

Example: Let us assume that Venus is in Taurus, Saturn (a malefic) in Aries and Mars (a malefic) in Gemini. Two malefics enclose Venus. Therefore, Venus will not be able to function optimally. In Western horary astrology, we know the term enclosed, which is used when a planet in enclosed by two malefics. In Indian astrology, the term enclosed is used for containment in a negative sense, and also for containment with positive consequences.

We call enclosure by malefics of a planet or a house papa kartari yoga. We call enclosure by benefics of a planet or a house shubha kartari yoga.

Example: If Venus is in Taurus, Jupiter (a benefic) in Aries, and the Moon (a benefic) in Gemini, then Venus will function exceptionally well. This is shubha kartari yoga.

A house can also be enclosed, although there is no planet in that house.

Example: Mars is in the fourth house, the fifth house is empty and Saturn is in the sixth house. This can have awkward consequences for the children, because two malefics enclose the fifth house. In this case, the fifth house encounters a papa kartari yoga.

However, when Venus is in the fourth house and Jupiter in the sixth house, everything pertaining to the fifth house will be beneficially influenced. In this situation, the fifth house is strengthened by the occurrence of a shubka kartari yoga.

The planets can form these scissors yogas, but not Rahu and Ketu.

This type of scissors yoga is common. When the first house is enclosed, it is of particular importance. This is because the first house is so important. One could say that the first house is the horoscope in miniature.

In Gandhi's horoscope we can see that the first house is enclosed by the Sun (malefic in the twelfth house) and Saturn (malefic in the second house). This is a papa kartari yoga, which caused a certain number of problems in his life.

SCISSORS YOGAS OF THE MOON

There are a number of scissors yogas that apply specifically to the Moon or the Sun.

Sunapha yoga: Planets in the second house (other then the Sun) calculated from the Moon – richness, financial benefits. The effects of this are stronger if benefics are situated in the second house calculated from the Moon. Should there be one or more malefics in this second house from the Moon, the effect will be limited, or there will be no effect at all.

Anapha yoga: Planets in the twelfth house (other then the Sun) calculated from the Moon - religious. This effect increases if there are benefics in the twelfth house calculated from the Moon, but should it concern one or more malefics, the effect is limited or non-effective. In Kennedy's horoscope, Saturn is in the eleventh house, which is the twelfth house calculated from the Moon. He was not known to be a particularly religious man.

Durudhura yoga: Planets (other then the Sun) in both the twelfth and the second house calculated from the Moon - rich and high morals (especially if it concerns beneficial planets).

Kemadruma yoga: There are no planets in either the twelfth or the second house calculated from the Moon. Other planets do not support the functions of the Moon. The person will feel lonely and lead a rather difficult life. There are many ways in which this difficult yoga can be neutralised. An example: should the Moon be in either a kendra or a trikona house, in conjunction with another planet or being aspected by Jupiter this yoga will be greatly neutralised.

Gandhi had Kemadruma yoga in his horoscope, because there are no planets in either the twelfth or the second house calculated from the Moon. However, the Moon is in the tenth house (a kendra house). This greatly neutralises the Kemadruma yoga.

SCISSORS YOGAS OF THE SUN

Now we shall discuss the scissors yogas of the Sun. Planets in the second or the twelfth house calculated from the Sun, will strengthen the Sun (naturally in their own manner, according to their character).

Veshi yoga: When a planet (other then the Moon) is in the second house calculated from the Sun, it forms a veshi yoga. This yoga gives riches and status, at least when this yoga is formed by benefics. If it is formed by malefics it can lead to all kinds of problems.

Voshi yoga: This occurs when a planet (other then the Moon) is placed in the twelfth house calculated from the Sun. This yoga supports spiritual development and intelligence, at least when it is formed by a benefic. A malefic in the twelfth house calculated from the Sun will give us problems.

Kennedy had both a benefic and a malefic in the twelfth house calculated from the Sun. He was intelligent (the influence of Mercury), but the fact that he was murdered had something to do with the powerful malefic Mars (in a moolatrikona house) in the eighth house, which is the twelfth house calculated from the Sun. This very same Mars also gave him his sex appeal.

The eighth house represents death as well as sexual charisma. A powerful Mars in that house can lead to a violent death (Mars as powerful malefic) as well as a lot of sexual charisma. The Voshi yoga increases the above effects.

Ubhayachari yoga: There is a planet (other then the Moon) in both the second and the twelfth house calculated from the Sun. This brings good fortune in many areas, but again only if it involves benefics. Malefics will create trouble.

When a person has both a Veshi and Voshi yoga, he actually has Ubhayachari yoga.

It would be logical to expect a yoga when there are no planets in the second or the twelfth house calculated from the Sun. This is not the case. The Sun is in itself, a powerful planet, and it can function very well alone, without the support of other planets. A benefic in the vicinity is always appreciated, but it is not necessary.

Several of the aforementioned yoga’s will appear in everyone's horoscope. Because they appear so often, they are yoga’s, that can only lead to sizeable results, when they are related to other indications.

9.4 VARIOUS YOGAS

I have already explained that there are literally thousands of yogas. The following list is of particularly important yoga’s. One must realise that this is only a very small selection. For those who wish to learn more on this subject, I refer to the list of books for further reading. The book 'yogas in Astrology' by K. S. Charak contains especially good descriptions of yoga’s. The book written by Hart deFouw also gives a lot of attention to this subject.

Raja yoga: The lords of a kendra and a trikona house are in conjunction, mutually aspected or in reception. This is a combination of good fortune (trikona house) and action (kendra house), so take advantage of it. I would like to point out that a raja yoga could be formed by one planet, and also by two planets.

Example: With an Aries ascendant, the Moon is lord of the fourth house and the Sun is lord of the fifth house. Should the Sun and the Moon be in conjunction in a horoscope with an Aries ascendant, the two planets then form a raja yoga. In this case, the Moon is lord of a kendra house (the fourth) and the Sun is lord of a trikona house (the fifth).

Adhi yoga: There must be art least two, but preferably more, benefics in the sixth, seventh and eighth house calculated from the Moon - leadership.

Explanation: Benefics in the sixth and/or eighth house support the seventh house (refer to scissors yoga’s). A benefic in the seventh house will of course lead to a better functioning of that house. However, the seventh house is opposite the Ascendant. Because of this, it also has consequences for the functioning of the ascendant. When a planet is placed in the seventh house, it will aspect the first house. This is the reason that a strong seventh house also gives us a strong first house.

Inasmuch as the first house is the whole horoscope in short, a strong first house is of particular importance. It then follows that the consequence of adhi yoga is a strong first house, which will therefore lead to positive results.

Analogically an adhi yoga calculated from the Moon, will also allow the Moon to function much better. The Moon is the most important planet in Indian astrology. That the Moon should function well is therefore of great importance.

Amala yoga: A benefic placed in the tenth house calculated from the ascendant or the Moon - philanthropic and benevolent attitude towards mankind, career in the social sector

If a malefic is placed in this position, it may be favourable for the owner of the horoscope (explanation: malefics in upachaya houses are good and the tenth house is an upachaya house). However, it may mean, that he attains a high-ranking position at the cost of others. At the very least, he will not be very particular in choosing the avenues leading to social success.

Gandhi has in his horoscope, amala yoga calculated from the ascendant (Moon in the tenth house) and amala yoga calculated from the Moon (Jupiter in the tenth house from the Moon).

Ashubha mala yoga: When all the benefics are placed in the sixth, eighth and twelfth houses - the benefics become powerless: misfortune, a difficult life.

Budhatiya yoga: The Sun and Mercury are in conjunction and are placed in the first, seventh, fifth or eleventh house - an intellectual. J.W. Goethe had this combination in his horoscope.

Explanation: The first house is the most important house in Indian astrology, and when the Sun and Mercury are placed in the seventh house, they aspect the ascendant. The intellect is a facet of the fifth house.

The intellectual combination of the Sun and Mercury is favourable for the intellect. When the Sun and Mercury are placed in the eleventh house, they aspect the fifth house. If Mercury is in combustion, the budhatiya yoga remains intact, but the person involved will find it difficult to convince the public of his good ideas. The budhatiya yoga will manifests, but it can only be publicly displayed with the greatest difficulty.

Chandra Mangala yoga: The Moon and Mars in conjunction or opposition - riches (often caused by women), probably made by unscrupulous means. It can also cause problems with the mother. Chandra is the Indian name for the Moon, and Mangala is the name for Mars.

Charussagara yoga: Planets placed in all the kendra houses - good reputation and good fortune (better when it is formed by benefics). The kendra houses are the pillars of the horoscope. Planets placed there are extremely effective. When planets are occupying all the kendra houses, their energy will be powerfully felt, which in most cases, will be a good thing (especially when it concerns natural or temporary benefics).

Srik yoga: This occurs when only natural benefics placed in the kendra houses - comfort, good luck, abundance.

Explanation: When there is srik yoga, the natural benefics will be very influential in life, which of course, is very positive.

Sarpa yoga: Only malefics are placed in the kendra houses - misfortune, a difficult life.

Gaja Kesari yoga: The Moon and Jupiter are either conjunct, square or in opposition - good luck, intelligence, and high morals. In this yoga, the Moon and Jupiter influence each other. The connection between the planet, which is the most important for our life on earth, the Moon, and the planet of good luck and fortune, Jupiter, has favourable effects.

Both Gandhi and Kennedy have Gaja Kesari yoga in their horoscope. That of Gandhi is the stronger because in his horoscope, both the Moon and Jupiter are placed in kendra houses, whilst in the Kennedy horoscope the Moon in placed in a dushtana house.

Shakata yoga: When the Moon is placed in the sixth, eighth or twelfth house, calculated from Jupiter - fluctuating fortunes.

This is more or less the opposite of the Gaja Kesari yoga. When the Moon is placed in a dushtana house calculated from Jupiter, we have a difficult relationship between these two planets.

Maha Bhagya yoga: For a man: The ascendant, the Sun and The Moon are placed in uneven signs and he is born in the daytime - very fortunate. Uneven signs are, by the way, positive; masculine signs (the air and fire signs). Daytime is also masculine.

For a woman: The ascendant, the Sun and the Moon are placed in even signs, and she is born during the night - very fortunate. Even signs are negative; feminine signs (the earth and water signs). The night is feminine.

Saraswati yoga: When Jupiter, Venus and Mercury are placed in kendra houses, in a friendly sign, or even better, in the second house – writer, learned person, speaker, intellectual.

When they are in a favourable position, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury can provide wisdom.

In Gandhi's horoscope, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury are placed in kendra houses. It is true that Jupiter and Mercury are placed in, for them, neutral signs, but as all the named planets are either in conjunction with each other, or aspect benefices, the Saraswati yoga here is extremely powerful.

Vasumathi yoga: Benefics placed in upachaya (the third, sixth, tenth or eleventh houses) houses calculated from the Moon or the ascendant - riches. Kennedy had Jupiter and Venus in the tenth house calculated from the Moon. Two out of three benefics in upachaya houses calculated from the Moon provide reasonably strong vasumathi yoga.

9.5 THE POSITION OF YOGAS

No horoscope is without yogas. Favourable yogas are frequent. Still many people lead lives which shine in their mediocrity. Persons with favourable yogas are not always rich and famous.

The cause of this lies in just how a certain yoga is placed in the horoscope. If we want to form an opinion as to just how a yoga expresses itself, we shall have to examine the following.

1. How strong are the planets connected to the yoga?

Example: Let us assume that the Moon is placed in Scorpio in the third house and Jupiter is placed in Aquarius in the sixth house. We could say that there is a Gaja Kesari yoga. However the Moon is in her fall and Jupiter is in a dushtana

house. Both planets are in trouble. The yoga can hardly be felt. Refer to my comments about the Gaja Kesari yoga (yoga number 27) of Gandhi and Kennedy.

2. What aspects do the planets forming the yoga receive?

When, in the previously example of a Gaja Kesari Yoga, Saturn (a malefic) aspects the Moon, and Mars (also a malefic) aspects Jupiter, then yoga will hardly be visible. Because of the aspects from unfavourable planets, both the Moon and Jupiter are under pressure. This is the reason the yoga is threatened with failure.

3. How strong are the rulers of the signs where the yoga planets are placed?

If the (positive) promises made by a planet are to be kept, it is of great importance that the ruler of the sign where that planet is placed has a favourable profile in the horoscope. The ruler is the owner of a house. A planet placed in a house, lives in and rents that house. If the owner of a house runs into problems, then the occupants of that house will be affected as well, if only for the reason that there is no budget for the upkeep of the house.

Example: When the Moon is in Scorpio and Jupiter in Taurus, it will not be very favourable if Mars (ruler of the house where the Moon is placed) is in fall in Cancer and Venus (ruler of the house where Jupiter is placed) is in fall in Virgo. Again the yoga will become almost invisible.

Before you forecast great fortunes and fame based on certain yoga‘s, study the above material.

9.6 EXERCISE

Study your horoscope for the occurrence of the above mentioned yoga’s. Please send in a list of these yoga’s and make a short interpretation of them.

Mahatma Gandhi 2-10-1869, 2.33 GMT, 21.40 N., 69.42 E.

6th Pisces  7th AriesJupiter 28.11

8th Taurus 9th Gemini

5th Aquarius

 Rasi  Chart

10th CancerRahu   13.40Moon   27.56

4th CapricornKetu 13.40

 Mahatma  Gandhi 11th Leo

3rd Sagittarius 2nd ScorpioSaturn 20.17

Ascendant 4.34Mercury   11.45Venus      24.25Mars        26.23

12th VirgoSun  16.55

 

John F. Kennedy 29-5-1917 GMT: 20.13, 42.20 N.,71.07 W.

7th Pisces  8th AriesMars       25.43Mercury  27.53

9th TaurusJupiter    0.21Sun        15.09Venus     24.04 

10th GeminiKetu         18.29

6th Aquarius

 Rasi  Chart

11th CancerSaturn        4.27

5th Capricorn  John F.  Kennedy 12th LeoMoon         24.36  

4th SagittariusRahu        18.29

 

3rd Scorpio 2nd Libra 1st VirgoAscendant  29.43

In Vedic astrology there are methods which especially in this age of computers can give a quick insight in the state of planets and houses. One such method is treated here. This is the method of Shadbala. It gives a value to each planet. The more points a planet gets in Shadbala the stronger it is.

It is important to have some insight in how the Shadbala value is calculated. Only if you know the method followed by this system of calculation you can have an opinion about the value of it.

When you started the first course you were given a printout of your chart. In this printout you see an overview of the Shadbala calculations. Now I will

explain these. There are slight variances on how Shadbala is calculated. In this course I will follow the method of the late B.V. Raman as explained in his book ‘graha and bhava balas’. If you use Haydn’s Jyotish and you want to follow B.V. Raman’s method go to the options menu and select ‘B.V.Raman’ under Shadbala style.

It is possible that other astrologers in the future will develop their own version of Shadbala. Personally I welcome new and innovative approaches. However, before we can develop something new we should exactly know how the traditional system works. I would suggest you have the printout of the Shadbala calculation of your personal chart in front of you while I explain the calculations. This makes it much easier to follow the explanations.

1. STHANA BALA

We start with calculating the sthana bala of a planet. This is the positional strength of a planet. Sthana Bala consists of five components:

1. The first one is called Ocha Bala. In the first course you learned that in Vedic Astrology all planets have exact degrees of exaltation. Like the Moon is exalted at 3 degrees Taurus. When a planet occupies it exact degree of exaltation the planet gets 60 Shashtiamsas (Shashtiamsas are points). When it occupies the opposite point, its exact point of fall, it does not get any Shashtiamsas. Of course most of the time a planet will occupy a position somewhere in between these points. In that case the points that it will get will be calculated according to its position from the point of exaltation and fall. Example: The Moon at 3 degrees Scorpio will get 0 Shashtiamsas. The Moon at 3 degrees Leo will get 30 Shashtiamsas (this is exactly between 3 degrees Scorpio and 3 degrees Taurus).

2. The second one is called Saptavargaja Bala. To calculate this we will have to look at the following seven harmonic charts: Rasi, Hora, Drekkana, Saptamsa, Navamsa, Dwadasamsa and Trimsamsa. In all these charts we look at what kind of sign a certain planet is located. If a planet occupies in the rashichart its Moolatrikona sign it gets 45 Shashtiamsas (this is a special rule for the rashi chart only), if it is in its own sign (of whatever varga) it gets 30 Shashtiamsas, in the sign of a great friend 22.5 Shashtiamsas, in the sign of a friend 15 Shashtiamsas, in a neutral sign 7.5 Shashtiamsas, in the sign of an enemy 3.75 Shashtiamsas and in the sign of a great enemy 1.875 Shashtiamsas. The concept of friends and enemies has been explained in the first course. This is one of the most important parts of Shadbala because Saptavargaja bala can give a lot of Shashtiamsas.

3. Ojayyugma Bala The idea behind this concept is that a planet gains strength because it is in an even or uneven sign or navamsa. The Moon and Venus get 15 Shashtiamsas when they are in an even sign. These

planets also get 15 Shastiamsas when they are in an even navamsa. In totality the Moon or Venus may gain 30 Shashtiamsas if they are located in an even sign AND even navamsa. The reason behind this is that the Moon and Venus are female planets and are strong when they are in female (even) signs or navamsas. Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury and Saturn get 15 Shastiamsas when they are in an uneven sign. They also can get 15 Shashtiamsas when they are in an uneven navamsa. These planets are male or neutral and are strong in male (uneven) signs.

4. Kendra Bala A planet in a kendra house (1,4,7 and 10) gets 60 Shashtiamsas, a planet in the house 2,5,8 or 11 gets 30 Shashtiamsas, a planet in the house 3,6,9 or 12 gets 15 Shashtiamsas. The reasoning is that planets in kendrahouses can easily express themselves and are therefore strong.

5. Drekkena Bala To calculate this the planets are divided into masculine planets (Sun, Jupiter and Mars), neutral planets (Saturn and Mercury) and female planets (Venus and the Moon). If a male planet is in the first drekkana (0-10 degrees) of whatever sign it gets 15 Shashtiamsas. If a neutral planet is in the middle drekkana of whatever sign (that means it is located between 10-20 degrees of whatever sign) it gets 15 Shashtiamsas. If a female planet is located in the last drekkana (the last 10 degrees) of whatever sign it gets 15 Shashtiamsas. The reasoning is that the first drekkana of each sign is good for male planets, the middle drekkana for neutral planets and the last drekkana for female planets.

Now we have to add up all the Shashtiamsa values. The result is the total Sthana Bala. You are in the priviliged position that you do not have to calculate all this by hand. You can see it on the computer printout. When you know what the different strengths and weaknesses mean you can easily assess the strengths and weaknesses of your chart just by looking at the Shadbala printout.

2. DIG BALA

This principle has similarities with the principle of Ocha Bala. Only now the decisive factor is not the location of the planet in a certain sign, but in a certain house.

Each planet is powerful when it is located in a certain direction. Dig Bala means directional strength. The Sun and Mars are powerful in the South. These are planets which function especially well in the tenth house (the tenth house is the Southern part of the sky). Saturn is given maximum Dig Bala when it is in the West, the seventh house. Moon and Venus get maximum Dig Bala when the are in the North (fourth house). Mercury and Jupiter function well in the first house (the East).

A reason for this is that the morning is a great time for studying and learning. That is why Mercury and Jupiter, planets which have to do with studying and learning, are strong during that time of day (at that time the Sun is near the ascendant).

The Sun and Mars are energetic planets which need the energy that is available around noon (at that time the Sun is in the tenth house).

Saturn is the planet of shades, which are at its maximum during the evening (when the Sun is opposite the ascendant).

Moon and Venus are soft planets which function good during the time that is meaned for sleeping and making love (at midnight the Sun is in the fourth house).

A planet gets maximum Dig Bala when it is in middle of the bhava (house) where it functions especially well. If for example the Moon is located right in het middle of the fourth house he gets maximum Dig Bala and is given 60 Shashtiamsas. If the Moon is in the middle of the tenth house it is given 0 Shashtiamsas.

A slight complication is that for determining this BV Raman works with the bhava chart and not with the rashi chart. The midpoint of the houses in the bhava chart may differ from the midpoint of the houses in the rashi chart (which is always 15 degrees of a certain sign).

The Bhava Chart is a chart which has unequal houses. It is comparable to the way we work with houses in Western Astrology (and in particular the Porphyry house system). The Bhava Chart is explained later.

Dig bala gives a good indication for how strong a planet is in its house.

3. KALA BALA

This has to do with the strength which a planet has because of the time of the day. It is strength of time.

It consists of different factors:

1. Divaratri Bala According to this system the Moon, Saturn and Mars are powerful during midnight. At noon they are powerless. These are the natural malefics + the Moon. The Sun, Jupiter and Venus are powerful during noon and are powerless during midnight. These are the natural benefics + the Sun. Adaptable Mercury is considered to be always powerful. This means that in every chart Mercury gets the maximum of 60 Shashtiamsas which can be gained by this factor. The Moon, Saturn

and Mars are given 60 Shashtiamsas only if the person is born at midnight and 0 if the person is born at noon. Sun, Jupiter and Venus get 60 Shastiamsas if the person is born at noon and zero if he is born at midnight. Of course if the person is born at a time somewhere in between the value is interpolated.

2. Paksha Bala A Paksha is equal to 15 lunar days. When the Moon is increasing it is Sukla Paksha. When the Moon is decreasing it is Krishna Paksha .The benefics are Jupiter, Venus, Moon (from the 8th day of the bright half of the lunar month to the 8th day of the dark half of the lunar month) and good influenced Mercury. These beneficial planets are powerful during Sukla Paksha. The malefics are Sun, Mars, Saturn, badly influenced Mercury and the Moon (from the 8th day of the dark half of the lunar month to the 8th day of the bright half of the lunar month). They are powerful during Krishna Paksha. The benefics get more Shastiamsas if a person is born on Sukla Paksha and the malefics less. If a person is born during Krishna Paksha the malefics get more points. The maximum amount of Shashtiamsas to be gained is 60. The value of the Shastiamsas of the malefics + the value of the Shastiamsas of the benefics is always 60. The Shastiamsas of the Moon are always doubled.

3. Thribhaga Bala Sometimes in Shadbala you see things which look a bit curious. This is an example. The day (that means the period of daylight) is divided into three equal parts and the night (the period without daylight) is divided into three equal parts. In this system Jupiter is always given 60 Shastiamsas. In addition, if someone is born during the first part of the day Mercury gets 60 Shashtiamsas. If someone is born during the second part of the day the Sun gets 60 Shashtiamsas. If born during the last part of the day Saturn gets 60 Shashtiamsas. If born during the first part of the night the Moon is given 60 Shashtiamsas. If born during the second part of the night Venus gets 60 Shashtiamsas. If born during the last part of the night Mars gets 60 Shashtiamsas. I see some connection between this system and the system of Dig Bala. In the reasoning behind Dig Bala the first part of the day is seen as particularly good for Mercurial activities. Noon is seen as good for activities which have to do with the Sun. Saturn is strong when he is opposite the ascendant (at the place of the evening Sun). Also the Moon and Venus are strong during nighttime. However, the value attached to the late night Mars is something which cannot be found in Dig Bala.

4. Abda Bala The planet which is the lord of the year will get 15 Shahtiamsas. The lord of the year is the planet which belongs to the first day of the year. For example if the first day of a certain year is Sunday the year is ruled by the Sun, which receives 15 Shashtiamsas according to this method. However, because Mr. Raman does not look at the calender but tries to find this planet by making a calculation (in

which he uses the 360 day year) it is very well possible that the year began on another day then is seen on the Abda Bala printout.

5. Masa Bala The planet which is the lord of the first day of the month in which a person is born receives 30 Shashtiamsas. In finding this planet more or less the same problems appear as when calculating Abda Bala. Mr. Raman uses a duration of the month of 30 days.

6. Vara Bala The planet which rules the day at which the person is born receives 45 Shashtiamsas. This planet is found without calculations.

7. Hora Bala A day is divided into 24 hours or horas. Each hora is ruled by a planet. The first hora is ruled by the planet which rules the day. For example at Monday the first hora is ruled by the Moon. Then the order is according to the days of the week (next hora will be of Mars then of Mercury and so on). If you are born at some distance from the equator the horas are not of equal length. The period of daylight contains 12 horas and the period without daylight contains 12 horas. The ruler of the hora when you were born gets 60 Shashtiamsas.

8. Ayana Bala This is a somewhat exotic concept in Shadbala. To really explain it would take a lot of space. The value a planet gets according to Ayana Bala has to do with the declination it has from the equator. If a planet has 0 declination the ayana bala is 30. For Venus, the Sun, Mars and Jupiter the Northern declinations are added to his value and the Southern declinations subtracted (the consequence of this is that a planet has a low ayana bala if the planet has a Southern declination and a high ayana bala if the planet has a Northern declination). For Saturn and the Moon it is the other way around. For Mercury declinations are always added. The maximum amount of Shashtiamsas to be gained is 60. The ayana bala of the Sun is always doubled. I have not succeeded in finding an explanation why these rules are the way they are.

9. Yuddha Bala This concept has to do with planets which are in war. Therefore we only encounter Yuddha bala values if there are planets at war in the chart. First we have to calculate the total Sthana bala value + Dig Bala + Kala Bala till Hora Bala of the two fighting planets. Then we must calculate the difference between these two values. This difference must be divided by the difference between the diameters of the two planets as seen in the sky. The result of this calculation is the Yuddhabala. This must be added to the Kala Bala total of the winning planet and subtracted to the Kala Bala of the loosing planet. Maybe you experience this to be a difficult concept. You can also look at it simply from the point of view that a planet which wins a war gets some bonus Shashtiamsas, while the planet which looses the war looses some Shashtiamsas.

After everything has been calculated we add it all up and get the total Kala Bala.

4. CHESTA BALA

Again we encounter a concept which is not easy to explain without a lengthy introduction about astronomy. I suggest we take a shortcut. Planets which are relatively slow (among them retrograde planets) get a high Chesta Bala value. Planets which are relatively fast get a low chesta bala value. The reasoning is that slow moving planets are able to focus their energy more because they stay in one place. The maximum amount of Shashtiamsas to be earned is 60. I would like to stress that it is the relative speed I am talking about here: relative to the average speed of a planet. Therefore it is possible that a relatively fast moving Saturn gets a low Chesta Bala, while a relatively slow moving Mercury gets a high Chesta Bala. On the computer outprint of Haydn’s Jyotish you see the average speed (at the top of the printout). When you see a 1 behind a planet it is moving at its average speed. When you see a value higher than 1 it moves faster than its average speed, when you see a value lower than 1 it moves slower.

The Sun and Moon do not get Chesta Bala values. They move in a fairly regular pattern and do not go retrograde ever.

5. NAISARGIKA BALA

Each planet gets a certain amount of Shashtiamsas according to the luminosity it has. Because the Sun is the brightest planet it is given 60 Shashtiamsas. Saturn is the faintest and gets 8.57 Shashtiamsas. This means that the amount of Shashtiamsas a planet receives according to Naisargika Bala is in every chart the same.

6. DRIK BALA

Drik Bala is called aspect strength. If a planet is aspected by benefics the planet receives a positive Shashtiamsa value. If a planet is aspected by malefics than it gets negative Drik Bala points. See paragraph 3.2 for which planets are considered benefics and malefics.

The calculation of the Drik Bala value is a bit complicated because we also take partial aspects in account.

I will give one example of this. We know that the Sun, Moon, Venus and Mercury aspect the planet in the seventh sign from it. Now for this purpose we say that these planet aspect the zodiacal degree in opposition (180 degrees from it). The point which is 120 degrees from these planets get a partial aspect of 50%, the point which is 90 degrees from the planet gets a 75% aspect, the point which is 60 degrees gets a 25% aspect and the point which is 30 or 150 degrees from the planet gets no aspect at all.

Most Jyotishis only work with full (100%) aspects, but for this purpose we work with partial aspects (that means aspects which are weaker than full aspects). This makes the calculation of Drik Bala quite cumbersome. Thank God we have computers.

What is important to know is that if a certain planet has a negative Drig Bala value than it is mainly under the influence of malefics and if it has a positive Drig Bala value it is under the influence of benefics. Therefore I think the Drig Bala value is very interesting. By looking at the Shadbala printout we can immediately see if a planet is mainly under the influence of benefics or malefics and how strong this influence is.

7. TOTAL SHADBALA

Finally, the Shashtiamsas are added up. We get the Shadbala value in Shashtiamsas. Next they are divided by 60. Then we get the Shadbala values in Rupas. At the printout you can see the Shadbala value in Rupas.

It is important to realize that the influence of certain Shadbala factors is much greater than others. Simply because the amount of Shashtiamsas to be gained by certain Shadbala factors is much greater than by others. As an example: the amount of Shashtiamsas which can be gained by the factor Sthana Bala is a lot more than what can be gained by Dig Bala. Therefore the six Shadbala factors are not equally important.

Something else happens. According to the Shadbala rules every planet needs a certain amount of Rupas to be strong. According to these rules Mercury needs 7 Rupas, Jupiter needs 6 ½ Rupas, The Moon needs 6 Rupas, Venus needs 5 ½ Rupas, Saturn, the Sun and Mars need 5 Rupas. These values are seen as the minimum requirement for a certain planet to be strong. I have never seen an explanation of why this is so.

The total Shad Bala in Rupas is divided by this minimum requirement and then we get the Shad Bala ratio. The most interesting about this Shad Bala ratio is to see whether a planet has more or less than the minimum requirement and how much that is.

In general most astrologers attach more value to the total Shad Bala. Because I have some difficulties in seeing the logic behind the minimum requirements I also attach more value to the total Shadbala.

8. EXAMPLE: BILL CLINTON

As an example let us take a quick look at the Shadbala printout of Bill Clinton (chart is shown in the section about the Nakshatras). The strongest planet according to Shadbala is the Sun, which has a total Shadbala of 8.66. This is

something to be expected from a person who is president of the USA. Next comes Mercury, which is also fairly strong and indeed he always seems to talk his way out of problems.

If we look at the planets which have a low Shadbala value we see Venus and especially Saturn. Indeed, a lot of his problems have to do with sexuality, lovemaking and financial deals (Venus). It also seems that he has a difficulty in keeping limits (Saturn).

 

+--------------------------------- Shad Bala ----------------------------------+

       FULL SHADBALA PRINTOUT IS GIVEN IN THE COURSE MATERIAL

                  SUN   MOON MERC.VENUS MARS JUP. SATURN 

Total Shad Bala : 8.66 6.17  7.47 5.62 6.51 6.53 3.25

Shad Bala Ratios : 1.73 1.03 1.07 1.02 1.30 1.00 0.65

 

9. ISHTA PHALA AND KASHTA PHALA

On the printout you see some other factors mentioned. It is good to know what they mean.

The Ishta Phala value of a certain planet is calculated as follows: the Ocha Bala (see paragraph 1.1) is multiplied by the Chesta Bala (see paragraph 4). Then the square root of the product is extracted. We get a value between 0 and 60.

The Sun and the Moon do not have a Chesta Bala. Yet we need to have a Chesta Bala value for these planets otherwise we cannot calculate the Ishta Phala. To get a Chesta Bala value for the Sun and Moon we make the following calculation: we add 90 degrees to the Sun’s longitude. If the value we get is more than 180 degrees it will be subtracted from 360. The result is the Sun’s Chesta Bala value (at least the Chesta Bala value for this purpose). This value is divided by three. Then we get the Chesta Bala value in Shashtiamsas.

To calculate the Chesta Bala value of the Moon we make another calculation. The Sun’s longitude is subtracted from that of the Moon. Again if the value we get is more than 180 degrees it will be subtracted from 360. The result is the Moon’s Chesta Bala value for this purpose. Again to get the value in Shastiamsas the value is divided by three.

I hope by this time you are not overwhelmed by calculations. Personally I feel Ishta Phala/Kashta Phala is perhaps not one of the most interesting points of Shadbala but you should have some idea of way it is calculated.

Anyway, we have to explain the Kashta Phala. We calculate 60-Ocha bala and 60-Chesta Bala. Next we calculate the product of this and then the square root of this product will be the Kashta Phala value.

The idea is that if a planet has a higher Ishta Phala than Kashta Phala value it is inclined to do good in its dasa and bhukti and if it has a higher Kashta Phala than Ishta Phala value it is inclined to do evil in its dasa and bhukti. The logic of this may be clear. Of course it is good if a planet has a big Ocha Bala and Chesta Bala value. Then the value of Ishta Phala will also be large and the amount of Kashta Phala value will be small.

However, as the Shadbala system shows there are more factors to be considered how a planet performs. It may be wiser to evaluate the functioning of the planet in its dasa and bhukti by looking at the Total Shadbala value.

10. RESIDENTIAL STRENGTH

This is the last factor we have to consider. For this we have to calculate the Bhava Chakra (House Chart) which is dealt with in another tutorial.

The Bhava Chart is a Chart which works with unequal houses which are comparable to the housesystem of Porphyry.

The reasoning is that if a planet is close to the midpoint of a certain Bhava (house) it is given a high Residential Strength and if it is located at the edge of a Bhava (house) it gets a low Residential Strength. A planet with a high Residential Strength is powerful while a planet with a low Residential Strength is weak.

Ishta/Kashta Phala values and Residential Strength are values which stand on their own and are not used to calculate the total Shadbala.

11. CONCLUSION

It is my opinion that Shadbala is a useful and interesting system. All kinds of different strenghts are summarized in a single figure. We can look at the total strength of a planet and analyze from which factors this strength comes from.

However I consider some factors of Shadbala to be more useful than others. Factors which I consider to be especially interesting are Ocha Bala (1.1.),

Saptavargaja Bala (1.2), Kendra Bala (1.4), Dig Bala (2), Chesta Bala (4), Drik Bala (6).

If I would be so bold as to redesign the system I would skip some factors (like Naisargika Bala, which is the same in all charts and probably Thribhaga Bala) and probably add one or two new factors. For example: there is no Shadbala factor which considers whether a planet is in a dushtana house (houses 6,8 or 12) or not, while it is generally known that this is important for a planet. I would also like to modernize the way factors like Abda Bala and Masa Bala are calculated. As far as Ishta/Kashta Phala and Residential Strength is concerned I would skip Ishta/Kashta Phala and integrate Residential Strength in the calculations of the Shadbala ratio.

Vedic Astrology is traditional. Of course this has its advantages, but we should always evaluate whether a system could be improved. Indeed I am aware of some astrologers (like Ranjan Bose) who have come up with other systems to measure the strength of planets. These other systems can also be found in Tajika Astrology (which will be dealt with later in this course). In that system of Indian astrology we find systems which have the same goal that Shadbala has (to measure the strength of planets) but are quite different. Also there are authors which have developed slight variances of Shadbala.

However, the alternatives are not necessarily better. Most systems that can be an alternative to Shadbala are simpler, therefore easier to calculate, but also have characteristics, which can be criticized.

In fact, untill this day Shadbala is the most complete and sophisticated system to measure the strength of planets and therefore highly useful.

12. EXERCISE

1. Look at the Total Shadbala values of the planets in your chart. Put them in an order of strength. The weakest planet first and the strongest planet last and the others in between. Are the results surprising or do you recognize the results in the way you experience the planets.

2. Look at the Shadbala ratios and again put them in order of strength. Look especially at which planets have a value bigger than one and which planets have a value which is less than one.

3. We are going to look at some particular interesting factors of the Shadbala factors. Look at the following factors: ocha bala (1.1.), Saptavargaja Bala (1.2), Kendra Bala (1.4), Dig Bala (2), Chesta Bala (4), Drik Bala (6). For each of these factors look at which planet has the strongest value and which planet has the weakest value. Do not do this

exercise by ‘automatic pilot’, but when you analyze a certain factor try to realize what this factor means.

4. Take a look a the total Kala Bala value (3) of the planets. Sometimes I wonder whether this factor does not weigh to heavily in the system as the amount of Shashtiamsas to be gained by this factor are sometimes very high indeed. Again make an overview which planet has the highest Kala Bala and which planet has the least. Try to realize that if the differences are extreme this may have a big influence on the endresult (the total Shadbala ratio).

5. Look also at the Residential Strength. Put the planets in order of Residential Strength (9). We will deal with the Bhava Chart later, but untill now you have to realize that planets which have a high Residential Strength can disperse their energy better in the houses then planets which do not have much Residential Strength (it is possible that planets are located in a different house in the Bhava Chart than in the Rashi, this will be explained in a later tutorial).