BPHS Ch.31 Argala — Foundation (Bolt = Certainty), Sthanas, Grades & Rahu/Ketu Reversal Correction

Context — Starting the Reading of Parāśara

• A month earlier the plan was announced: half of each class on examples, half on reading Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra and interpreting it, reasoning out different interpretations where the text allows more than one. A break followed, so the reading starts today — Chaturdaśī, the day before Guru Pūrṇimā.
• Why argala first: before the Durgā Saptaśatī three stotras are read — Kavacha (ṛṣi Brahmā), Argalā (ṛṣi Viṣṇu), Kīlaka (ṛṣi Śiva). He wants to begin with Viṣṇu's energy, so he begins with the chapter on argala.
• The chapter is the 31st in Santhanam's edition; Sharma's edition is two chapters ahead. The Sanskrit he reads from was downloaded from a website and has typos; he will check it against the printed text.
• After this chapter he will probably go to the closing chapters on doṣas and remedies, which the class has not touched, and only then return to the opening chapters on bhāvas, padas and kārakas.
• His standing on authority:

"All the knowledge that I have given you, or the knowledge that I was given, is not necessarily accurate. This is Kali Yuga, corruptions are galore. As far as I am concerned, Parāśara is the highest authority, nobody else."

• Parāśara's style: he does not spoon-feed. Things are left hanging so that the determined reader works them out. Every detail of wording and order is deliberate.

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Argala — What the Word Means (Ślokas 1–2)

Maitreya's question

• Maitreya asks about the argala "that gives auspicious results" (śubhadā), which Parāśara had mentioned, and asks for its results.

Parāśara's answer

• Argala is that by which the results of bhāvas become dṛḍha — pakkā, solid, unmovable — and the results of grahas become sthira — fixed.
• When Parāśara teaches aspects he says only that a planet has an influence. He does not use the word dṛḍha. Here he does. Argala makes a result rigid.
• The literal meaning of argala is a bolt with which a door is closed. Argalita means fastened, bolted.
• Maitreya's word implies only good results. Parāśara has not said good or bad — only that the results become rigid.
• Argala falls on houses and on planets. The later verses give results only for houses, but everything applies to a planet too: strong argala on the Sun makes the Sun give his results, whatever his agenda is by kārakatva, ownership or occupancy.

What argala is for

"This is basically to see a big gang that is forming in support of the matters of a particular house, who are hell-bent on giving the results of that house."

• Argala does not say that a planet blindly gives the result of a house. It marks where a result is certain: definitely very fortunate, definitely a lot of struggle, definitely many enemies.
• What kind of result — a good cause or a bad one, disease or tireless work — is not seen from argala. The rest of astrology is for that. Argala identifies the periods when a strong result has to be given.

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Argala Sthānas and Their Obstructions (Ślokas 3–4)

The verse

Chaturthe cha dhane lābhe grahe jñeyā tad-argalā; tad-bādhakāḥ kramāt kheṭāḥ vyoma-riṣpha-tṛtīyagāḥ.

• A graha in the 4th, 2nd or 11th from a house is to be understood as argala on it.
• Its obstructors (bādhaka), respectively, are planets gone into the 10th (vyoma — the sky, the midheaven), the 12th (riṣpha) and the 3rd.
• Added in a later verse: the 5th is also an argala sthāna, and the 9th opposes it. Parāśara does not call the 5th secondary. He simply adds it.

Only planets cause argala

• The class had been taught that the 2nd, 4th and 11th houses have argala on a house, planets or no planets. That is not what Parāśara says.

"Only planets have argala. Houses do not have argala on houses. Argala is on planets as well as houses, but argala is caused only by planets."

• If the 2nd, 4th and 11th are empty, there is no argala. If the bādhaka sthānas are empty, there is no obstruction. The word -gāḥ ("gone into") again points to occupying planets.
• Parāśara names the 4th first, before the 2nd. The 4th-house argala gets the most importance.

What an argala placement means

• A planet in the 2nd from a house has that house in its own 12th: the planet gives to the house.
• A planet in the 4th from a house has that house in its own 10th: the planet does karma for the house.

When an obstruction counts

Nirbalā nyūna-saṅkhyā vā bādhakā naiva sammatāḥ.

• Obstructors that are weak, or fewer in number, are not accepted as obstructors.
• Parāśara puts this condition on the bādhakas only, not on the argala planets. The momentum is with the argala. Ten people want a project done; two who object are thrown out.
• "Fewer than what" is not stated. The teacher takes it as fewer than the argala planets.
• Kramāt — respectively. The 10th obstructs only an argala from the 4th, the 12th only one from the 2nd, and so on. Planets in a bādhaka sthāna do nothing if the matching argala sthāna is empty. Each pair is balanced first; then the balances are added.

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Rāhu and Ketu Count in Reverse

The old teaching

• If Ketu occupies a sign, every argala on that sign is counted in reverse, whichever planet causes it. The teacher learnt this from his own teacher, taught it, and programmed it into his software.
• Example with the sky on the day of the class — Ketu in Virgo, Sun in Gemini, Jupiter in Libra, Mercury, Saturn and Mars in Cancer. The old method counts backward from Virgo: Leo is the "2nd", Gemini the "4th" (so the Sun has argala), Scorpio the "11th".

What Parāśara says

Tamo-graha-bhavā sā cha vyatyayāj jñāyate dvija.

• An argala brought about by a tamograha is known in reverse (vyatyaya).
• Tamograha can be read two ways: the lightless, shadowy planets (Rāhu and Ketu), or all tāmasic planets (Mars, Saturn, Rāhu, Ketu). The teacher takes it as Rāhu and Ketu only. Not Ketu alone — otherwise Parāśara would have said Ketu.
• The reversal belongs to the planet causing the argala or bādhā, not to the sign Ketu sits in.
  • Argala on Virgo that day: Jupiter in the 2nd causes argala; Mercury, Saturn and Mars in the 11th cause argala. Ketu being in Virgo changes nothing.
  • Argala on Libra: Ketu is in the 12th from Libra, and the 12th is an argala sthāna for a node.
• For Rāhu and Ketu the sthānas swap. A node gives argala from the 12th, 10th, 3rd and 9th, and bādhā from the 2nd, 4th, 11th and 5th.
• Consequence: when Rāhu sits with planets that are causing argala from the 2nd, 4th or 11th, he is the one obstructing them.
• Reason offered: the nodes move backward and see everything backward.

"Whatever you have learnt on Rāhu and Ketu's argala is at loggerheads with whatever Parāśara taught. You can go with what I taught you, or with what Parāśara is unambiguously teaching here. My recommendation would be to follow Parāśara."

Left open

• Whether houses counted from Rāhu or Ketu in other techniques ("the 5th from…") should also be counted backward. The verse hints at it. The teacher leaves it to the students. For argala the reverse count is clear.

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Grades of Argala — Count the Planets

Three grades

• The planets need not be in one sign. Count every planet in the 2nd, 4th, 11th (and 5th) from the house together.
• With uttama argala the results of the house become very solid. The planets' own agendas add a flavour.

Ignore a single planet

• A further verse speaks of four quarters: only when two, three or four of the four come together should argala be considered — "that is my opinion" (me matam), says Parāśara.
• So argala from one planet alone is ignored.

"Just because one planet is strong and causing argala, it may not give the results of the argala. There have to be other planets causing argala, maybe from the same sign or from a different sign."

• The count is net of obstruction. Three planets in argala against two in bādhā leaves one: not a big deal.
• Strength matters as well as number. Of several argala planets the strongest may dominate, and a weak obstructor does not count.

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