Author: Nitin Kashyap

[Editor: This is first article in a series that will be published under "Guest Author" category. Mr. Nitin Kashyap has kindly written this article for the website planetarypositions.com. He hails from Dwarka and practices astrology professionally. He can be reached at kashyap_nitin [at] rediffmail dot com.]

In a Vedic astrology birth chart, third house is representative of attributes like courage, younger siblings, short tours, skills, servants and capability of being a writer in literally sense. Still, it should be noted that in a lot of of cases, a powerful third house comes at the cost of trouble in profession and finance. Some of the examples where this is seen are:

1. if the third house lord is conjunct with the tenth lord in seventh house,
2. if the third house lord is situated in tenth house or the tenth lord is situated in third house, or
3. if third lord is not a friend of ascendant lord and at the same time it is exalted.

Take an example of Aquarius ascendant. Mars is the lord of two houses - third as well as tenth. It is not a natural friend of Saturn, which is the lord of the lagna in this case. If Mars is exalted in house number 12 for this lagna, the person faces a lot of problems in his career. Some astrologers can say these problems are being caused by the 10th lord being in inimical 12th house but in my opinion, the root cause of all the problems is Mars being the third house lord and at the same time it being strong by virtue of exaltation. The reasoning behind my observations and opinion is as follows:

1. First of all, third house is sixth from tenth house, thereby indicating enemies of the profession. In this capacity, it indicates problems and struggles in professional life.
2. Seventh house from any house is considered to be a maraka bhaav for that particular bhava. The third house is seventh from ninth house. Ninth house, also known as labhastana, is indicative of luck, religion, higher studies etc. Therefore, a strong third house would automatically create deficiency of good luck.

I think it is necessary for all poets and writers to have a good influences on the third house and a strong third house lord, because this indicates a command over language and communication and their literally capabilities. However, if you look closely over history, a large number of good writers have lived in poverty and have lead a miserable life.

All comments on this article, in form of praise or criticism, are most welcome.

The problem of determining financial success of a person can essentially be broken down in to three main questions:

1. What is the profession of an individual?
2. What is the source of money for this individual and what amount of money will this person earn through this source?
3. How will this person be able to retain this money and increase its value?

Astrologically, the first question is answered by looking at the 10th house that represents the profession and the area in which a person is employed. If you look at the last post about Cricket, Mars, the ruler of the 3rd house associated with 10th house and its ruler would give a career in sports.

In Vedic Astrology, the three main houses that govern wealth in a chart are the 2nd house, 11th house and the 5th house.

5th House: This Lakshmisthana governs money coming from speculation - shares, stock market and related instruments. A powerful 5th house along with 9th house is said to bring luck to an individual. 9th house represents bhagya and is therefore called bhagyasthana. 5th being 9th from 9th also represents luck in the horoscope.

11th House: House number 11 represents livelihood in a chart. A person may have a lot of interests, but the kind of influence on 11th house alone will determine what this person will earn from. The strength of the house and ruler would determine the the size of source of income. It is also known as labhasthana, which loosely translated means - house of profit. It, therefore, represents gains of all kinds.

2nd House: Financially, house number 2 (dhanasthana) represents the net worth of an individual. It denotes the extent to which the individual will be able to retain the money earned through sources represented by 5th and 11th house.

11th house can be thought of as a tap and 2nd house as a bucket. The bucket is filled with water flowing from the tap. How much water will accumulate depends on the rate water flows from the tap and size of the bucket. Shri J.N. Bhasin, in his book "Astro Sutras", makes a very good point about the 2nd house. He says that the 4th house represents the house where an individual lives. Similarly, 2nd house, by being 4th from 11th represents where money coming from 11th house is deposited - a bank, treasury, or in other words, it represents the accumulated wealth of the individual.

Various Dhana Yogas, i.e. planetary combinations of wealth, are formed when rulers of these houses are associated with each other and with rulers of 1st, 5th and 9th house. This association could be through conjunction in good houses, exchange and through mutual aspect. Involvement of Jupiter as benefic planet in these combinations is considered extremely auspicious. In Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, Venus and Mercury are also mentioned along with Jupiter as planets bestowing wealth when connected with 2nd or 11th house. Apart from these dhana yogas, various raj yogas and the panch mahapurusha yogas are also considered combinations of wealth.

Just as there are Dhana Yogas denoting wealth, there are yogas denoting poverty - Nirdhana Yogas. These yogas are formed when ruling planets of these wealth houses are associated with rulers of  6th, 8th and 12th house or are situated in these houses. Any such association would cause loss of status, distress and bring adversity to an individual. This situation can be thought of either the bucket being leaky or someone disrupting the flow of water by turning the tap off.

Rulers of 2nd house and 11th house, if rendered powerless, e.g. by being in evil houses and/or by being combust, will bring extreme poverty to an individual. Therefore, the strength of these planets, along with the strength of ascendant, is extremely important for prospects of money. If there are any dhana yogas in the chart, appropriate measures should be taken to strengthen the planets during their dasha periods. If any nirdhana yogas are indicated in the chart, care should be taken to strengthen the planets situatued in the ascendant, ascendant lord, Jupiter, if benefic, and other yogkarakas in the chart to neutralize the affect of planets causing nirdhana yoga. Making changes to lifestyle is also suggested.

Budhaditya or Budhaaditya yog is formed when Sun and Mercury join together (i.e. are conjunct) in a house. This yog, in a person’s chart, is said to give lots of talent, success, honour among his/her peers and fame in society.

Mercury is the first planet in the Solar System and is very close to the Sun. As a result, it cannot be more than one sign away from the Sun in the rashi chart. This yog, therefore, appears in a lot of charts, but not all the charts can have the qualities mentioned in the first paragraph.

Any yog materializes only when all the planets involved in the yog are strong. They should be placed well in a chart and also should not themselves be badhakas for the chart, e.g. by being lord of dusthanas. Budhaditya yog is best formed when Sun and Mercury are in signs of Aries, Gemini, Leo and Virgo. The logic is simple - Aries is exaltation sign for Sun, Gemini and Leo are ruled by Mercury and Sun respectively and Virgo is exaltation/moolatrikona sign for Mercury. It is natural to think that these signs would be more conducive for this yog. In other signs, this yog would not fair that well and would give mixed results.

Ownership of Leo by Sun and Gemini and Virgo by Mercury make it a fairly tricky yog. Looking at all the lagnas, it is difficult to find a case both Mercury and Sun are rulers of good houses. Consider the case of Aries lagna where Mercury is a difficult planet as it rules house number three and six at the same time. Sun is an owner of a good house - house number five, but its association with Mercury may not be considered good for the person. 

This yog would give good results for Taurus, Leo, Libra and Aquarius lagna. For Sagittarius lagna, Sun and Mercury should be considered auspicious raj-yog karak. Based on Parashari principles, many astrologers might disagree with this observation. They could attribute Mercury to be afflicted because of ownership of two kendra houses at the same time. I am of the opinion that in this case Budhaditya yog still exists.

Apart from house ownership considerations, Mercury should not be extremely close to the Sun. It may be considered combust if it is within six degrees. During the recent transit of Mercury across the solar disc (November 8-9, 2006), Budhaditya yog would get canceled.

I do not know what happens to this yog if Mercury were to be retrograde when conjunct with Sun… I sincerely request an astrologer reading this to consider me a mere student and educate me and other readers of this blog on this matter.

In a horoscope, Pancha Mahapurusha Yoga is formed when one of the five planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are powerful, i.e. near their point of exaltation, and are in a kendra from Moon or Lagna. The planets in this combination exert a powerful influence on a horoscope. The influence is in form of general disposition of the person and since there is a kendra involved, it affects personal relationships and profession as well. These yogas are known to give a lot of wealth, name and fame to the person.

Ruchaka yoga: Mars is a planet of bravery, energy and initiative on the positive side and conflict on the negative side. Presence of Ruchaka Yoga in a horoscope makes a person brave and gives him/her passion and intensity. On the negative side, this yoga can also make a person arrogant. Since Mars has a fourth full drishti, presence of this yoga in any of the four kendras has a strong influence on the profession. Many police officers have Ruchaka Yoga in their charts. A negative influence in the horoscope would also show up. I had read this in the Astrology Magazine a while back that there is a fine line between law-makers and law-breakers and Ruchaka Yoga would certainly be found in charts of some famous criminals.

Bhadra yoga: This yoga is related to Mercury, which is a planet that rules intellect, speech and business practices. While exerting its influence in the horoscope through Bhadra Yoga, Mercury tends to make a person highly intelligent, a good orator/writer and someone who can communicate his/her ideas to the world with utmost ease. As Mercury also governs businesses in general, the corresponding influence would also help the person in fields of management - sales, marketing and finance. The moment I say finance, you can draw a conclusion that the person would automatically be rich. Usually there are very little negative effects of Bhadra Yoga. Any influences by Saturn or Rahu/Ketu on Mercury would simply not let this yoga show up.

Hamsa yoga: Jupiter is the supreme teacher, that is why it is called in Sanskrit as, simply, Guru. It is a planet of spirituality. Guru also represents blessings by God, and its drishti on lagna, Sun or Moon in a chart is considered very fortunate. You can now easily guess… if Guru is the strongest planet in the chart and if it influences Kendras, the person would be lucky and due to divine intervention, he would never get in trouble. The person would also be quite religious and not religious for just his/her own inner self, he would share his knowledge with the rest of the world as well, as Jupiter would like him to do. Naturally, this yoga would be strong in the charts of spiritual leaders. Since Guru also represents husband in chart of women, Hamsa Yoga in the chart of a woman would mean a lot of good for her husband.

Malavaya yoga: This yoga is related to Venus - a planet that governs beauty, luxury and comfort in life. It represents wife in a man’s chart. A strong Venus, through Malavaya?yoga bestows a very loving and supporting wife to such a man. In the chart of a woman, it makes her beautiful and desirable. Venus, through ownership of signs 2 (Taurus) and 7 (Libra), is also intricately linked to house number two and seven and their “fields of activity”. Malavaya yoga could also make a person a good businessman with ability to extend his empire through partnerships (7) and give him a lot of money (2).

Shasha yoga: Saturn is a mystical planet. This planet represents poverty, disease and adversity. You would wonder, how is a strong Saturn beneficial then… A strong Saturn, which represents pessimism, in a chart, can make the person a profound and deep thinker. In an organization, there are a lot of people who, under the influence of Mercury would come up with new ideas. The people, with a strong Saturn or best, Sasha yoga in their charts, would be the ones who finally implement these ideas and bring them to reality. These are the people with real sense and position of authority. These people are not optimists, but they would still be smiling in adversity because they have already thought ahead and taken the worst case scenario into account. Like in the case of Ruchaka Yoga, a lot of negative influences can creep in. Saturn is a cruel planet by disposition. If it is not under beneficial influence of Jupiter and is a cruel planet in the chart by position as well, Shasha yoga can make a person very cold and calculating.

OK, now is the time for some clarifications… Statistically, these yogas can appear in a lot of charts, but the effects would not show up everywhere. As I have mentioned in the post about Gaja Kesari Yoga, the chart by itself should be strong for any yoga to show up and materialize. In case of Panch Mahapurusha Yoga, the planet should also be close to its point of exaltation and not merely present in the sign of exaltation. It should also not be powerless due to shadbala, e.g. by being at rashi sandhi. The planet must be strong in Navamsha as well.

Also, existence of this yoga in a chart does not mean that the person would be a Mahapurusha in literal sense. Depending on other influences in the chart, as always, fame could also mean notoriety.

This article is first in the list of many articles that I would be writing on Yogas - Planetary Combinations. I would basically be publishing online the notes I have made during the ongoing process of learning astrology.

Gaja Kesari Yoga

Gaja Kesari Yoga is caused by Moon and Jupiter coming together in a chart by being in Kendras (1st, 4th, 7th, or 10th) from each other.

Why is it called Gaja Kesari yoga?

I do not have a good answer to this question. Jupiter can be compared to a Gaja - big, slow moving, intelligent and looks over all other animals. However, Moon cannot be called as Kesari - it is represented by color white. It is a saumya graha - cannot really be compared to a lion or a tiger.

However, this yoga does give the person qualities of a both animals - magnanimous and intelligent as an elephant and majestic as a lion. Such people would earn a lot of name and fame in life. A quality of generosity would also be associated with them.

Some of the coolest politicians of the world have this yoga in their charts… Mahatma Gandhi, Kennedy. Both the candidates in US presidential election in 2003 have this yoga.

When would this yoga work?

Mathematically, this yoga can appear in charts of a lot of people. However, like all other planetary combinations, this yoga also depends on the strength, position and house lordship of the two planets involved - Moon and Jupiter. It also depends on positions of other planets in the chart which may be stronger than these planets. The yoga would also be best shown in life if both these planets are in their exaltation sign and are at an angle not just from each other but from Lagna as well. Neechabhanga Chandra and Guru would be considered good. The two planets would need to be benefic in the charts and suitably disposed to the lord of Lagna as well. They themselves should be free from any negative aspect, particularly Rahu and Saturn should not be associated with Moon.

When would this yoga not work?

This yoga would not work if Jupiter is in regression - as benefic planets become considerably weaker when they are retrograde. Moon and Jupiter should not be in neech awastha or in combust state. If that is the case, the effects of this yoga are nullified and the person would lead a fairly ordinary life.

There is no exception to this rule that applies to all planetary combinations. The Lagna and Lagna lord would need to be strong for any yoga to work. Lagna and lagna lord are foundation stones of a horoscope. If the foundation is not strong enough, a building cannot be built on top of it.

When would the results show up?

The results would show up in dasha/bhukti periods of Jupiter and Moon and during mahadasha periods of other planets as well if the main dasha lord is favourable to both these planets, otherwise, this yoga would not show up. In short, there is nothing special about this yoga. The above statements are true about other yogas as well.

Points to ponder

Would this yoga work for people with Libra lagna? Prima Facie, Jupiter is not a good planet for a Libra lagna chart. It presides over affairs or 3rd and 6th house. It is not a natural friend of Venus, which is the lagna lord. There seems to be a problem with this logic, and I keep coming back to the chart of Gandhiji, he has a Libra lagna and his success is attributed in a large part to this yoga.

How would this work for people with Gemini and Virgo Lagna? For these lagnas, Jupiter is lord of Houses 7th and 10th and Houses 4th and 7th respectively. This would give Kendradhipati dosha to Jupiter.

The problem is that I do not have a lot of example charts to discuss this yoga. Searching on the internet for prominent persons from India with GKY in the chart resulted in only one name - Mahatma Gandhi. It is my request to people reading this blog that they educate me if they have any more examples to share.

Tags: Gaja Kesari Yoga, Moon, Jupiter, Yoga