Bhavas and Houses Essay 1
Planetary dignity allows an astrologer to see how a planet will function and manifest its qualities in an individual’s birth chart. The dignity of a planet shows the astrologer how a planet will function within its particular rasi. The rasi in which a planet is placed represents the field from which the planet acts and grows. Certain signs will bring out the innate nature of planets better than other signs.
To begin, each planet has a sign of exaltation and a sign of debilitation. An exalted planet will be able to give up to 100% of its essential nature. An exalted planet expresses itself with great strength and can produce results for the bhava with ease. A debilitated, or fallen, planet gives up to 12.5%. Debilitation causes weakness to a planet and has the potential to produce difficult results within the bhava it is placed. Within each exaltation sign there is a degree of greatest exaltation and 180 degrees away in the opposite sign will be the degree of its maximum fall. For example, The sun is exalted in 10 degrees Aries, and directly across from it the Sun falls in 10 degrees Libra.
To further expand this point, Brihat Parahara Horashastra states the Ratio of Effects: “A Grah in exaltation gives fully good effects, while in Mooltrikon it is bereft of its auspicious effects by one fourth. It is half beneficial in its own Bhava. Its beneficence is one fourth in a friendly Rāśi. In an equal’s Rāśi one eighth of auspicious disposition is useful. The good effects are nil in debilitation, or enemy’s camp. Inauspicious effects are quite reverse with reference to what is stated”.
The next most powerful placement for a planet is when it is in its mulatrikona sign. Mulatrikona is a sanskrit term meaning “root trine.” The mulatrikona sign of a planet supplies the strongest nutrients for that particular planet to grow and thrive at a potent capacity. All planets rule over two signs, excluding the Sun and Moon who rule over Leo and Cancer respectively. However, although each planet rules two signs, it only has partial ownership of one.
The mulatrikona signs of the planets are the following: Mars in Aries, the Moon in Taurus, Sun in Leo, Mercury in Virgo, Venus in Libra, Jupiter in Sagittarius, and Saturn in Aquarius. All mulatrikona signs are masculine fire and air signs, with the exception of Mercury and the Moon.
The following quote highlights an important use of Moolatrikona signs: “In the case of a planet owning two houses, that house which happens to be the Moolatrikona one will predominate and its effects alone will be felt in full while the effects of its other house will be half”. For example, for a Pisces Ascendant, Saturn rules the 11th and 12th houses. Since Aquarius is the mulatrikona sign for Saturn, the 12th house will be most emphasized for the Pisces ascendant.
If a planet is not in debilitation, exaltation, mulatrikona, or its own home, the dignity must be determined using the combination of the permanent and temporary relationship of the planets under consideration. According to Parashara, dignity is based on the positions of planets from a planet’s mulatrikona sign. Natural relationships (permanent relationships), according to Parashara, are defined as “Rāśis, which are the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th and 12th from the Mooltrikon of a Grah. The Grahas ruling such Rāśis are its friends, apart from the Lord of its exaltation Rāśi. Lords other than these are its enemies. If a Grah becomes its friend as well, as its enemy (on account of the said two computations), then it is neutral, or equal”. Note that the Moon has no enemies, and Jupiter is an enemy to no one.
The following table displays the permanent relationships between planets
Figure 1: Richard Fish and Ryan Kurczak, in The Art and Science of Vedic Astrology, vol.1 , p.60.
Once the natural relationship is determined, the next step is to consider the Temporary relationship. The statement given by Parashara for determining temporary relationships is: “The Grah, posited in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, or the 12th from another, becomes a mutual friend. There is enmity otherwise.”.
Therefore, the following guidelines can be used for the temporary relationship:
Planets that are in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, or 12th sign as counted from the planet under consideration are temporary friends.
Planets in the 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th away are temporary enemies.
Each planet in a birth chart has a temporary and permanent relationship with every other planet in the chart. The combination of these two relationships will give the final determination of the relationship between two given planets, or the compound relationship. This compound relationship forms the basis for dignity. Parashara gives the following statement regarding the compound relationship: “Should two Grahas be naturally and temporarily friendly, they become extremely friendly. Friendship on one count and neutrality on another count make them friendly. Enmity on one count combined with affinity on the other turns into equality. Enmity and neutralship cause only enmity. Should there be enmity in both manners, extreme enmity is obtained. The Jyotishi should consider these and declare horoscopic effects accordingly”.
Therefore, the working formula is:
Friend + Friend = Great Friend
Neutral + Friend = Friend
Friend + Enemy = Neutral
Neutral + Enemy = Enemy
Enemy + Enemy = Great Enemy
As an example, let’s consider Jupiter in Taurus and Moon in Gemini in the Rasi chart of a Pisces ascendant. We can see that the Moon is naturally friendly towards Jupiter. Additionally, the Moon is placed in the 2nd sign from Jupiter which produces a friendly temporary relationship. Therefore, we see a great friend status for the two planets (Friend + Friend = Great friend).
Planets in exaltation, mulatrikona, own home, friend sign, and great friend sign are considered to be in good dignity, meaning they are able to take care of the affairs of that house and exist in harmony with the energies of the sign in which they are placed. Contrastingly, planets in debilitation, enemy sign, great enemy sign, or neutral will have more difficulty expressing their innate nature due to competing energies with differing agendas.
In addition to a planet’s dignity, planetary states, or Avasthas, need to be taken into consideration. The avasthas are used to determine the qualitative and quantitative impact of a planet in the birth chart. Firstly, the Balaadi Avasthas show the state of karmic fruition of a particular planet. Further, they help us determine how much good or bad one experiences as indicated by the planetary combinations in their chart. Balaaddi Avastha is established as follows: Each sign is divided into 6 degree sections, each corresponding to a particular state of karmic fruition.
Odd signs
0:00-5:59 Bala Avastha(Infant)
6:00-11:59 Kumara Avastha(Adolescent)
12:00-17:59 Yuva Avastha (Adult)
18:00-23:59 Vriddha Avastha (Old)
24:00-29:59 Mrita Avastha (Dead)
For even signs, the order is reversed:
0:00-5:59 Mrita Avastha (Dead)
6:00-11:59 Vriddha Avastha (Old)
12:00-17:59 Yuva Avastha (Adult)
18:00-23:59 Kumara Avastha(Adolescent)
24:00-29:59 Bala Avastha(Infant)
The general activity of the planet is noted through its position in the chart and dignity. The Balaadi Avastha adds more color to the degree to which the present karma will manifest. Through the state of karmic fruition, the Jyotish can determine to what degree and with how much force a karma will manifest in a person’s chart. If a planet is in an infant state, it will behave as an infant with little awareness and little force. On the other hand, if a planet is in a dead state, this indicates an exhausted karma, also with little force. States in the middle degrees, such as the Adult and Adolescent, will be able to act with more power and be more engaged in their agendas.
In addition to Balaadi Avastha, Jagraadi Avastha produces profound impacts on a chart. Parashara states the following regarding Jagraaddi Avastha: “Awakening, Dreaming and Sleeping States. If a Grah is in its own Rāśi, or in exaltation, it is said to be in a state of awakening (alertness). In the Rāśi of a friend, or of a neutral it is in dreaming state, while in an enemy’s Rāśi, or in debilitation it is in a state of sleeping.”. Awake, Dreaming (or sleepy), and Sleeping (or asleep) states refer respectively to the terms Jagraad, Svapna, and Sushupti. A planet is Jagrad if in its own sign, in mulatrikona, or exalted. A planet is Svapna if in neutral dignity. And lastly, a planet is Sushupti if it is in a natural enemy sign or debilitated. Planets that are fully awake can act with full consciousness, and therefore learn from difficult life circumstances with greater ease and elevated awareness. That area of life will be more easily activated. Planets that are sleepy or asleep can act semi-consciously or fully unconsciously respectively and therefore require special attention and focus for the native to develop that planet into a healthy, conscious energy.
Planetary dignity allows an astrologer to see how a planet will manifest. Planets are categorized into good, neutral, and bad dignity, however it is important to understand that no placement is absolutely bad or absolutely good. Other factors within the chart will also play a role in how a certain planet will manifest in addition to the planet in question’s dignity. For example, a planet could be debilitated but receive support through Rasi aspects from its friends or benefic planets. In this manner, bad dignity planet’s can be uplifted through other positive influences in the chart. Through awareness and effort, any negative placement can work for good within one’s consciousness.
