BPHS Ch.34 Sagittarius/Capricorn/Aquarius/Pisces: Sag=Sun+Mars Benefic+Saturn Maraka; Cap=Venus Yogakaraka+Moon Malefic(Karka=Lord=Extreme Desire); Aqu=Venus Yogakaraka+Moon 6L Worst Malefic; Pisces=Mars+Jupiter Raj Yoga+Mars Won't Kill; Three House Categories: Trikona=Lakshmi Blessings, Kendra=Vishnu Effort, 3/6/11=Struggle; Closing: Yogas Override Base Classification

Sagittarius Lagna

Verse (as heard): "Eka eva kaviḥ pāpaḥ … śubhau bhauma-divākarau … yogo bhāskara-saumyābhyām … nihantā bhāskarātmajaḥ … guruḥ sama-phalaḥ khyātaḥ, śukro māraka-lakṣaṇaḥ"

Rāja yoga: Sun + Mercury together — 9th and 10th lords.

Māraka: Saturn.

• Mercury as 7th lord could also be a māraka, but Saturn owns both the 2nd and the 3rd, so he is the clear killer.

Venus also has killing ability ("śukro māraka-lakṣaṇaḥ"):

• Venus is the only functional malefic and an enemy of the lagna lord. If such a planet afflicts a house of life or death (3rd, 8th, 2nd, 7th) he can kill. Example given: Venus placed in the 7th.
• Not only the lords of the 2nd and 7th: occupants are mārakas too. Aspecting planets can be, but that is weaker.
• Occupants are mārakas provided they are malefics. People take that to mean natural malefics; several verses of this chapter show it means functional malefics.

Student's question: Saturn owns the house of vitality — can he give vitality?

• 3rd = vitality, 8th = longevity. 7th is the 12th from the 8th (loss of longevity); 2nd is the 12th from the 3rd (loss of vitality).
• Saturn owns both the house of vitality (3rd) and the house that takes it away (2nd). Which one dominates depends on which house he is better disposed to: where he sits from each, which planets occupy each, and his relationship with them.
• The analogy: a man with a house in Boston and one in Florida keeps better the one he lives near and visits more.
• Example: if the 11th lord, a friend of Saturn, sits in the 3rd, Saturn becomes well disposed to that planet and grants its wishes.

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Capricorn Lagna

Verse (as heard): "Kuja-jīvendavaḥ pāpāḥ, śubhau bhārgava-candrajau, mandaḥ svayaṁ na hantā syāt, hanti pāpāḥ kujādayaḥ, sūryaḥ sama-phalaḥ proktaḥ, kavir ekaḥ suyoga-kṛt"

Yoga-kāraka: Venus alone.

• Parāśara does not name Mercury + Venus (9th and 10th lords) as a yoga-giving pair. Mercury also owns the 6th.
• The two are friends, so that is not the reason. The reason is the 6th: when the 6th lord joins a quadrant or trine lord it is a duryoga. The rāja yoga Mercury gives is tainted, not pure. Parāśara plays it down.

Māraka:

• Saturn himself will not kill. With another planet he may.
• The malefics — Mars, Moon, Jupiter — kill when they are associated with the 2nd and 7th houses.

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Why Moon as 7th Lord Is a Malefic

The puzzle: the general rule for quadrant lords was left vague — not benefic for a benefic, not malefic for a malefic. Yet for Capricorn Parāśara puts Moon among the malefics, whether waxing or waning.

One factor, not enough by itself: Moon is an enemy of the lagna lord. But Sun is a worse enemy of Saturn and is only called neutral. So enmity does not explain it.

The answer (a student gave it, the teacher confirmed it):

"Moon is the karaka of desires, and if he owns the 7th house of desires, he will make your desires very, very strong."

• Moon is the mind, and all desires are rooted there. The 7th is the house of nurturing a desire and putting effort toward it.
• Kāraka of desires owning the house of desires → the person is strongly attached to what the 7th shows. That puts the house in the category of struggle, like the 3rd (the urge to get something) and the 11th (fulfilment).

• "When you are so attached to it, you are basically putting yourself in a disadvantageous position. At the end of it you may get something, but you don't just sit back and relax."

Extension: if some other planet rules the 7th and is a friend of the kāraka of the 7th and joined with him, or sits in the 7th, it too makes the person nurture strong desires and can be taken as a malefic.

The lesson:

"Whether it's a benefic or malefic, you have to judge qualitatively. It's not just a formula. These are just generic guidelines."

A planet becomes malefic to the extent it is well disposed to pushing the agenda of such a house.

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Three Categories of Houses

The teacher asked the class why the 3rd, 6th and 11th are malefic houses at all, and built the Moon answer on it.

Why the 11th is malefic though it is gains:

"If a planet is in charge of giving you your desires, you getting what you wanted, the planet has to make you charged up. It's not something you relax. Getting what you wanted involves effort."

• 3rd = desire, the passion "I need to do this", a fire inside. 6th = fighting enemies and obstacles. 11th = getting what you wanted.
• These lords make you do things to get things. "They don't let you relax and be happy, just enjoy." It may still be for your good.

Definition of a benefic: one who does not make you work hard, who makes things easy. Trine lords are benefics on that definition.

Why the quadrant rule runs against the planet's nature: a natural benefic owning a house of effort may make you put in the effort; a natural malefic owning it may not push you. So you cannot go by the inherent nature of the planet.

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Aquarius Lagna

Verse (as heard): "Jīva-candra-kujāḥ pāpāḥ, śukra-sūryātmajau śubhau, rāja-yoga-karo jñeyaḥ kavir eva, bṛhaspatiḥ sūryo bhaumaś ca hantāraḥ, budho madhya-phalaḥ"

Rāja yoga: only Venus ("kavir eva").

• The 9th + 10th lord pair, Venus + Mars, is not a great rāja yoga: they are enemies and Mars is a functional malefic.
• The teacher first read "jñeyaḥ" as "jñaḥ" (Mercury) and corrected himself: it means "is to be known".

Killers: Jupiter, Sun, Mars.

• Jupiter: 2nd lord and enemy of the lagna lord.
• Sun: 7th lord and enemy of the lagna lord.
• Mars: the 3rd and 8th lords are givers of life, not killers — so why Mars? He is a malefic tied to the house of vitality and an enemy of Saturn. A planet charged with giving vitality that is no friend of the lagna lord gives trouble. To be a strong killer he must also be associated with the 2nd or 7th.

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Pisces Lagna

Verse (as heard): "Manda-śukrāṁśumat-saumyāḥ pāpāḥ, bhauma-vidhū śubhau, mahīsuta-gurū yoga-kārakau, mahīsutaḥ mārako 'pi na hantā 'sau, manda-jñau mārakau"

Rāja yoga: Mars + Jupiter together — 9th and 10th lords, friends. Jupiter, as lagna lord and slightly benefic, can still give the yoga with Mars.

Mars is a māraka who does not kill:

"He may be said to be maraka, but he doesn't really kill. You can call him killer, but he doesn't really kill."

• Mars daśā will not kill. He owns the 2nd, but he is a benefic and a friend of the lagna lord. Unlikely to kill unless badly afflicted.

Mārakas named: Saturn and Mercury

• Mercury: neutral to Jupiter, not an enemy, but he is the 7th lord. A killer irrespective of association.
• Saturn: "no real strong reason" is given. The teacher reaches him by elimination among the other functional malefics:
  • Sun is a friend of the lagna lord and owns no māraka house — unlikely to kill.
  • Venus hates the lagna lord, but he owns both the house of vitality (3rd) and the house of longevity (8th), and is a natural benefic, "dignified". His job is to give vitality and longevity. Unlikely to kill unless badly afflicted.
  • That leaves Saturn: functional malefic, enemy of the lagna lord.
• Saturn is not an unqualified killer. He kills when he is associated with the 2nd or 7th house.

"Parijñeya": the verse ends by saying the results should be "pari-jñeya". The prefix pari adds repetition or continuity — contemplate carefully, again and again.

"He is not saying look at this table, look-up table, and then print out a result. He is saying contemplate like this carefully."

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Closing Verses of the Chapter

Verse (as heard): "Evaṁ bhāvādhipatyena janma-lagna-vaśād iha, śubhatvam aśubhatvaṁ ca grahāṇāṁ pratipāditam. Anyān api punar yogān nābhasādīn vicintya vai, dehināṁ ca phalaṁ vācyaṁ, pravakṣyāmi ca tān aham."

Meaning: In this way, by ownership of houses counted from the birth lagna, the beneficence and maleficence of the planets has been set out. The other yogas too — nābhasa and the rest, which I will give in the coming chapters — are to be considered, and then the results for living beings are to be spoken. I will tell you those yogas.

What the teacher takes from it:

• This chapter gives the generic goodness or badness of a planet from the houses it owns.
• The yogas of the following chapters may modify that.

"At some point of time, they have a chance to override what he has just mentioned in this chapter, is what he is saying."

• Combine the two: the yogas "either enhance it or suppress something". The teacher adds that this is not how the yogas are normally used, but it is what Parāśara hints at here.

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