Chapter 15: Method of studying the effects of the Bhavas

All Bhavas will produce completely their good results if they are occupied or aspected by benefics or their own lords, or planets owning benefic Bhavas and are free from association or aspect of malefics. The same will be the result in the case of malefics if they happen to be the owners of the Bhavas concerned. This good effect will be ensured in the case of all the planets when they are not occupying depression signs, when they are not eclipsed and when they are not posited in inimical signs.

Astrologers pronounce the strength of a Bhava such as the Lagna to be ample and the Bhava thoroughly beneficent, when a Trikona, the 2nd, the 4th, the 7th and the 10th places therefrom are occupied by auspicious planets or the lord of the Bhava and are unoccupied and unaspected by malefic planets. A Bhava suffers decay when the positions referred to above are differently occupied and aspected. The effect of a Bhava will be mixed when positions noted above are occupied or aspected by benefic and malefic planets promiscuously.

Of the Lagna and other Bhavas examined in succession, whichever Bhava has its lord occupying the 8th place or obscured by the solar rays or in depression or in an inimical house while no benefic planets aspect or are associated with it, the result is the total destruction of such a Bhava. The bhava will be incapable of producing any good effect even if a benefic other than its lord similarly circumstanced occupy the Bhava ; if a malefic should be in that position, the total destruction of the Bhava would be the result.

Malefics posited in the 6th, 8th and 12th places counted from the Lagna or other Bhava under consideration cause the destruction of the said Bhava. Benefics in such a position are not capable of producing good effects for the Bhava. So say the astrologers with respect to the several Bhavas.

When a Bhava has its lord in the 6th, the 8th or the 12th, or is occupied by the lord of any of these three, it suffers annihilation, say those that know the properties of a Bhava. If such a Bhava be aspected by a benefic planet, it will be in a flourishing condition.

A Bhava suffers annihilation when the Bhava itself, its lord and its Karaka are devoid of strength and are hemmed in betwixt malefics, or are associated with or aspected by malefic or inimical planets and not by others ; or if the 4th, the 8th and the 12th houses or the 5th and the 9th houses from them be occupied by malefics. This will be all the more clear and evident when any two or three of the conditions specified above synchronise.

In the case of any Bhava, the following planets cause the destruction of the Bhava during their Dasa periods. (1) the lord of the 8th house reckoned from the Bhava (2) the lord of the 22nd Drekkana counted from the bhava, (3, 4 and 5) planets posited in the 6th, the 8th and the 7th houses counted from the Bhava, if they are weak. Malefics occupying the 3rd, the 6th and the 11th houses and benefics in houses which happen to be Kendra and Trikona ones, all reckoned from the concerned Bhava, as also the planets which are friendly to the planet owning the Bhava, are declared to bring success to the bhava (during their respective Dasas) if they are possessed of strength.

The lords of the 3rd house from the Lagna as well as the Moon, the planet occupying, as well as the one aspecting the 8th house, Saturn, the lord of the 22nd decanate, the planet owning the sign occupied by Mandi, the planets owning the Rasis and Amsas occupied by the several aforesaid planets, Rahu when weak by being posited in untoward houses (the 6th, the 8th or the 12th) or in conjunction with or aspected by malefics ; each one of these— is declared as causing the destruction of the Bhava in its respective Dasa- period.

Whichever Bhava is occupied by the lord of the Lagna, the prosperity or well-being of that Bhava is assured. Note the houses owned by the planet associated with or aspecting the lord of the Lagna. It is only the effects of these Bhavas that will be pushed on by the lord of the Lagna. If the lord of a Bhava occupy a (Dusstthana — 6th, 8th or 12th) the effect will be reverse ; i. e., if the planet be weak, the effect will be immensely harmful ; if strong, the injury will be slight.

The lord of the Lagna though malefic will only promote the growth of the Bhava it occupies. If he should also happen to own any of the (Dusstthanas 6th, 8th, 12th), the effect of his ownership of the Lagna alone will predominate and not that of the other one. For example, if Mars owning the Lagna, occupy Simha or Meena identical with the 5th house and be aspected by a benefic, astrologers declare that the person concerned will beget sons very soon

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 his own house will be half. The effects of both the Bhavas will come to pass in the Dasa of the planet, the first half of the Dasa-period being monopolised by the effects of the Bhava that comes first in order. This is the opinion of some. There are others who hold that a planet posited in an odd house will have the effect of that house felt first while the one that occupies an even house will have its effect in the first half of the Dasa.

The destruction of each of the Bhavas from the Lagna onwards should be predicted by the astrologer to a querist during the Dasa-periods of planets which are very inimical to the planet owning the particular Bhava, or which occupy houses where there are no benefic dots in their Ashtakavargas.

A planet may be in his exaltation or may occupy a friendly house and may be endowed with the 6 kinds of strength. Notwithstanding all this, if he should happen to be in a Bhavasandhi, he becomes ineffective. This should first be noted before predicting the effects of the Dasas and Bhuktis of planets.

In the several Bhavas, the planets that occupy the exact degrees, etc., signified by any particular Bhava produce the full effect of that Bhava. When a planet is in a Bhavasandhi, it produces no effect. In the case of planets occupying intermediate positions, the effect must be ascertained by a rule-of-three.

A person ought to divine about his own self, father, influence, health, vigour and fortune from the Sun, It is the Moon that determines the character of one's heart, understanding, royal favour, mother and affluence. It is through Mars that a person can ascertain his own courage, disease, characteristic qualities, younger brothers, lands, foes and blood (paternal) relations. It is Mercury that influences one's learning, relatives in general, discrimination, maternal uncle, friends, speech and action,

One ought to conjecture about one's own genius, wealth, physical development, sons and knowledge by referring to Jupiter. Information regarding one's wife, vehicles, ornaments, love affairs and pleasures is to be sought through Venus. It is Saturn that settles a person's period of life, livelihood, the cause of death, his adversity and his servants. One ought to guess about one's paternal grand-father through Rahu, and about the maternal grand-father through Ketu.

The Karakas of the Bhavas beginning with the Lagna or the rising sign are (1) the Sun (2) Jupiter (3) Mars (4) the Moon and Mercury (5) Jupiter (6) Saturn and Mars (7) Venus (8) Saturn (9) the Sun and Jupiter (10) Jupiter, the Sun, Mercury and Saturn (11) Jupiter and (12) Saturn.

The fullness or otherwise of the effects of planets occupying the 12 houses, viz., Lagna, 2nd, 3rd, e/c., must be judged by a consideration of the exact nature of the sign occupied by the planet, i. e., whether it is a friendly or an inimical sign or the house of a neutral planet, or whether the planet in question is occupying his own, or his exaltation Rasi. Satyacharya, however, says that benefics posited in any house generally promote the advancement or prosperity of that house while malefics in any house work only its decay. This is reversed in the case of the 6th, the 8th and the 12th houses

Malefics posited in the 6th, the 8th and the 12th houses promote the evil effects of the Bhavas, while benefics in the same houses cause the destruction of the said Bhavas. Hence the destruction of the evil effects arising out of these three houses, should be declared Notes. —The author opines that the general principle to be observed is that benefics in good houses promote their good effects and in inauspicious houses spoil their evil effects, while malefics in good houses spoil them and in bad houses create untold sufferings.

Whenever the effects of any Bhava are to be determined in the case of a nativity, that Bhava should be considered as the Lagna and the effects of the 12 houses reckoned therefrom such as 1st (form), 2nd (wealth), etc., should be examined and declared.

In the same way should the effects of the father; the mother, the brother, the maternal uncle, the son, the husband and the servant be determined by treating the signs occupied by their respective Karakas, viz., the Sun, the Moon, and other planets, in the nativity as the Lagna (Ascendant).

Find the house occupied by the Sun. It is from this that one ought to conjecture all about the appearance of the father of the person concerned. The father's prosperity and renown should be divined from the 2nd house counted from that occupied by the Sun. His brothers, character, etc., must be ascertained from the 3rd house reckoned from the Sun. All about his father's mother, father's happiness, etc., should be sought for from the 4th house (from the Sun).

The father's intelligence and tranquillity of mind should be deduced from the 5th house (from the Sun); his sufferings, injury, enemies and disease should be guessed from the 6th house; his love and passion from the 7th house, his misery, death and his longevity should be determined from the 8th house (from the Sun).

All about the father's religious merit, auspicious works and his father should be sought for from the 9th house (from the Sun); his occupation from the 10th house ; his gains or income from the 11th and his expenditure or loss from the 12th house (from the Sun). The effects of the 12 Bhavas counted from the Moon, Mars, etc., (for the mother, brother etc.) should be similarly deduced.

All details about the mother, brother, father, son, etc., of a Bhava should thus be divined by a reference to the particular Bhava and its Karaka. When any Bhava, its lord and its Karaka are all strong, one ought to predict good effects (happiness) for that Bhava.

But others say that tho Sun in the Qi ’p the Moon in the 4th, Mars in the 3rd, Jupiter in the 5th Venus in the 7th and Saturn in the 8th, will cause distress to the Bhavas concerned.

The lord of the Lagna produces the effects pertaining to the Bhava with whose lord he is conjoined, or the one occupied by him. If the Bhava or its lord be strong, good will result from that Bhava; if weak, one has to expect only untoward things.

Whatever Bhavas contain a number of benefic dots in the Ashtakavarga of the lord of the Lagna, the effects derived from these houses will be happy if the respective owners thereof are strong and are associated with the lord of the Lagna. Wherever there are a less number of such dots, the lord of the Lagna causes adverse effects if he be associated with the owners of these houses and if they are also Weak. In the same way should all the Bhavas be judged.

If the lord of a (Dussthana) should occupy another house of his own, he will produce (in his Dasa) the effects of only that house occupied by him as (Swakshetra) and not the effects due to the (Dussthana). For example, if Saturn should occupy Makara identical with the 5th Bhava, there will be the acquisition of sons, and the untoward effects due as owner of the 6th house will not happen.

When two planets mutually occupy each the other's sign ; when two planets are together in one and the same house ; when two planets are mutually aspecting each other; when two planets are occupying mutually Kendra positions, i. e., when they are 90° apart ; when two planets are so situated that one is in Trikona position to the other, i. e., when they are trine or 120° apart ; the above are the kinds of connections recognised between the said two planets.