Astrology is the science of secrets, secrets about human life and destiny.

In Jaimini School of Astrology, the secrets about various factors of life are easily studied through
Karakas.
Karaka means significator. It gives indications about the secrets.

There are mainly 7 karakas. They are,

1. Atma karaka
2. Amatya karaka
3. Bhratru karaka
4. Matru karaka
5. Pitru Karaka
6. Gnati Karaka
7. Dara Karaka

Let’s look at a planetary table

Here you can see these planets are in different signs in different degrees. The calculations of
Karakas are purely based on the degrees.

1. Atma karaka
The planet with the highest degree is known as the AtmaKaraka. Atmakaraka is the indicator for
the soul. It shows the desire of your soul. The sign and house which the Atmakaraka is placed
will show what your heart desires to have during this birth.
In the above table, the planet with the highest degree is Moon.

Moon is placed in Libra. The ruler of Libra is Venus. Moon is in the Nakshatra of Vishaka, ruled
by Jupiter. So here we should add the characters of Libra, Venus, Vishakha and Jupiter. Libra is
the sign ruled by Venus. Venus is all about love, relations, unity, balance, arts and luxury. Moon
is placed in the Nakshatra of Vishaka and it is ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter is the planet of
spirituality, higher knowledge and philosophy. So this person’s soul will be interested in serving
the World with his knowledge and thus spread his love. That is his Dharma.
2. Amatya Karaka
Amatya Karaka is the planet with the 2nd highest degree. If Atmakaraka is the King, then
Amatya Karaka is the Minister. Amatya means Minister in Sanskrit. So, the duty of Amatya
karaka is to show a path to Atmakaraka. In the above table, the planet with a 2nd highest degree
is Venus..

Here Venus is placed in the sign of Leo, ruled by Sun. Venus is in the Nakshatra of Purva
Phalguni, again it is the nakshatra of Venus herself. Leo is the sign of self-expression, self-
promotion, speculative business, ancient knowledge, and love.
So the duty of this person should be connected to self-expression. He can start own business in
the domain indicated by Atmakaraka. Venus is in the nakshatra of Venus itself. So, this person’s
Dharma is to work in a domain where he takes care of people. It should be any domain
connected to spirituality, unity and knowledge.
3. Bhratru Karaka
A planet with the 3rd highest degree would be Bhratru karaka. This will give an idea about
siblings.

4. Matru Karaka
The planet with the 4th highest degree shows the details about the mother.

5. Putra Karaka
The planet with a 5th highest degree is showing the details about the children.

6. Gnati Karaka
The planet with the 6th highest degree shows the hurdles in life. Gnati means hurdles or
challenges.

7. Dara Karaka.
The planet with the 7th highest degree will give the details about the spouse.