ASHTAKAVARGA SYSTEM OF PREDICTION

PART 17
By Dr. E.S. Neelakantan
We just now discussed some of the important features in Jupiters Ashtakavarga such as the
yogas involving Venus and Jupiter and their role in elevating a person to fame and power. In
support of this theory we discussed the charts of Shri. Brahmananda Reddi and Shri.
Shantaram. I hope, all of you, who read this column regularly would have verified this theory by
applying the rules discussed herein with charts of people whom you know or those which you
have with you in your file. With these introductory remarks, we will proceed to discuss the
intricacies of Jupiters Ashtakavarga in greater detail.
If you read books on Astrology in Sanskrit, you will come across terms like Putrarishtam,
Putraklesham, and Putranashtam etc. What is the meaning of Putranashtam? Loss of a
child. How? Invariably through the death of the child. This is how we understand Astrology. But
please note that in every sentence, it is not the literal meaning alone that counts. I wish to cite
the example of a short story by Leo Tolstoy titled God sees the truth but waits, here and then
explain my view.
A person by name Semyonich was going to bazaar. Some people who had first murdered a
person put the knife in Semyonichs bag without his knowledge and ran away. The police
searched the bag and concluded him to be the culprit and exiled him to Siberia. After a very
long period, the real culprit confesses his crime to the police, who ordered the release of
Semyonich, who is languishing in jail. Now Leo Tolstoy brings the story to an end with an
enigmatic observation: By the time the order for the release came, the poor old man was
already dead. This sentence has to be understood carefully. If a prisoner is dead, nobody is
going to serve an order for release. As well the file itself may be closed. What this means is that
the person is as good as dead a living corpse, if we may say so.
Putranashtam as these textbooks say need not mean the child is dead. The child is as good
as lost. I dont need to give here an exhaustive list of circumstances where such a possibility
arises. Today you need to just open the newspaper and you will immediately see an
advertisement for a senior citizen home. I dont mean to say that all people living in senior
citizen homes are not looked after by their children. But in a majority of cases, these are
people, who for some reason or the other have no one to count as family members or who for
some other reason have chosen to spend their last days in a place away from their original
homes. The next astrological rule we are going to discuss deals with loss of children. Hence I
decided to discuss this point in greater detail so that the astrologer in the making does not
jump to wrong conclusions on seeing a chart.
The person will lose as many children as there are bindus in the 3
rd
or 5
th
house from Jupiter
provided Jupiter is in the 6
th
, 8
th
or 12
th
house from lagna. Needless to say, Jupiter is
Putrakaraka. So is the Karaka in an evil house bad by itself? Please note that for Libra lagna,
Jupiter is a functional malefic. Let us assume Jupiter is in Pisces. As the lord of 6 is in the 6
th

house, it is highly beneficial in a functional sense. But if we were to understand the divine
grace available to that person, Jupiter in 6 would be a drawback, eventhough as lord of 6 in 6,
it generates Harsha yoga. Please note that the natural qualities of a planet are different from its
functional qualities.
Birth of an illustrious and virtuous son is an event eagerly awaited in each and every family.
Such an event is bound to happen in the life of a person provided comeption takes place under
the following conditions:
1) Jupiter should not be combust.
2) It should occupy its own house.
3) It should have more than 5 bindus.
4) It should occupy the vargas of male planets.
5) It should either be in conjunct or in benefic or get aspected by a benefic.
6) Jupiter should be in lagna.
We need to discuss the above rule in detail for gaining more insight into this rule. The first point
is very easy to understand. A combusted planet is similar to a debilitated planet in giving
effects. Even if that planet is a benefic, combustion will take away its merits. Take the case of a
principal of a college. During admission season, there will be a queue in front if his office. But
after retirement, the same person loses importance. The combusted planet is like a retired
principal it has no powers. Please note that I mean no offence while giving this analogy it is
just to enable the student to grasp the subject better. An average student follows the example
of a teacher, headmaster or principal, better than anything else. The second point refers to
occupation of own house by Jupiter this means Jupiter should be in Sagittarius or Pisces. The
third rule is that it should obtain five or more bindus. Please refer to our previous write-up
about the concept of critical point. A planet should have a minimum residential strength in a
house to perform its role. Concepts such as Dikbala, Chestabala, Sthanabala etc. all centre
around this principle. Imagine that for Capricorn lagna, Venus is in Virgo. As the Yogakaraka
planet is in 9, one cannot ask for anything better. But Venus in Virgo will only be a helpless
spectator. It is considerably weak in Virgo. The saving grace can come about when Mercury
joins Venus in Virgo or Venus occupies Pisces in Navamsa or if in any other way Neerhabhanga
is obtained. So this mention about Jupiter obtaining 5 bindus or more is just one more area
where Jupiter is strengthened. The fourth point is Jupiter should occupy the varga of male
planets. Please note that Jupiter by itself is a male planet. So the other two male planets are
Sun and Mars. Our Rishis were the first to detect a one-to-one correlation between movement
of heavenly bodies and occurrence of terrestrial affairs. So birth of a male child bears a very
close link with the influence of male planets. For the sake of clarity, let us now understand the
sex of planets
TABLE 1
MALE Sun, Mars , Jupiter
FEMALE Moon, Venus
EUNUCH Mercury, Saturn

One might wonder if the influence of Saturn or Mercury produces birth of eunuchs. But that is
not necessarily true. It can also produce twin births. The concept of eunuch in Astrology
needs to be carefully understood. Generally speaking, a eunuch is a person who is neither man
nor woman. (Example: Sikhandin in Mahabharata) But in Astrology, Mercury and Saturn are
planets who bear qualities of both male and female. Let us take the quality of Intelligence.
Intelligence is a quality possessed by certain men and certain women. Sex has no role to play in
Intelligence. Intelligence is governed by Mercury. Grief knows no sex. It is represented by
Saturn. Chivalry is a masculine quality it is represented by Mars. So Mars is designated as a
male planet only. Beauty is essentially feminine. It is represented by Venus. I hope this
concept is now made abundantly clear from the examples discussed so far.
The fifth point is that Jupiter should either be conjunct a benefic or be aspected by a benefic.
There is an enactment called General Clauses Act. The word Singular is defined in that act.
The definition is Singular includes Plural. When we say Jupiter should be associated with a
benefic, it can also mean two benefics are associated with Jupiter or two benefics aspect
Jupiter. If you read Phaladeepika of Mantreswara carefully, you will find that Chapter 7 of the
book deals exclusively with Raja yogas or yogas for becoming a king. I would advise the diligent
student of Astrology to understand verse 21 of chapter 7 in Phaladeepika in a comprehensive
manner. What this verse states is that even a single planet in exaltation is capable of elevating a
person to the status of a king provided the said planet is aspected by a friendly planet. The crux
of the issue is the aspect of the friendly planet. If this aspect is not there, the planet in
exaltation will not become a source for Raja yoga. In cricket you may come across a situation
when one batsman has crossed ninety and the non-striker is the last batsman at the crease. If
the first batsman should hit a century, the other batsman should atleast defend his wicket, if
not hit some runs. Should that batsman get out, the first man automatically loses the chance of
hitting a century. So what is the second batsmans role? Help the first batsman hit a century by
defending his wicket. This example needs to be applied to the rule stated by Mantreswara in
Phaladeepika.
The planet in exaltation is the planet elevating the person to a royal position. The second planet
by virtue of being the formers friend is now a formidable ally in this combination. Once this
planet aspects the exalted planet, the potential force gets converted into a kinetic one, thereby
activating the process of generating a Raja yoga.
Last but not the least, Jupiter should be in lagna. Though this rule appears simple, it is
pregnant with meaning. When Jupiter is in lagna, it aspects two vital houses namely the 5
th

house of Poorvapunya and the 9
th
house, which is the house of good fortune. Further a planet
in lagna carries directional strength or Digbala. Jupiter in lagna throws a protective sheath on
lagna. The 5
th
house rules progeny and the 9
th
house also has a bearing on progeny by invoking
the Bharat Bhavam concept. Jupiter is also the karaka planet for the fifth house. When all
these rules cumulatively apply to a single horoscope, birth of a virtuous son becomes a
mathematical certainty.
Each of the six rules is important in its own way. But in practice, one may not see a chart where
the rule occurs verbatim. In such charts, we may say that the rule is partially satisfied. Even if
the rule is partially satisfied, possibility of the predicted result exists. It is here that free-will
comes into play. An imperfect destiny can be rendered perfect by a strong action which is
nothing but free-will.
For instance if a boys chart shows some promise for education, by choosing an appropriate
Muhurtha for Vidyaramba, the boy is assured of success in education. For begetting progeny,
various remedial measures exist. Even choosing a good Muhurtha for begetting a child is also a
powerful remedial measure to fulfil the promise of Astrology. Results will accrue with certainty
if a person shown in the natal chart is fully supported by conscious exercise of free-will.
THE END