Charakaraka Replacement, AK Sign & Ishta Devata

Charakaraka Replacement

A student asked about his own chart (born 1974), so the class opened with it. The full theory of replacement was put off to a later class.

Two Planets in the Same Degree

• Mars and Venus are in the same degree (the 26th), minutes apart.
• The class notes give the rasi longitudes: Mars 25°11'07" Gemini, Venus 25°10'39" Pisces — less than half a minute of arc between them, Mars the higher.
• Rule: if two planets are in the same degree, the higher one becomes the karaka.
• So Mars is Atmakaraka (AK) and Venus is Amatyakaraka (AmK).
• Later in life Mars is displaced. He is no longer a charakaraka. Venus, next to him, becomes AK. The AmK slot falls empty and another planet fills it.
• When it happens is hard to predict.

"When charakaraka changes in life from one planet to another planet, then all the dynamics also changes."

What the Replacement Does

Replacement of the AK usually means a spiritual transformation in the person. All placements below are in the navamsa of the example chart (Virgo navamsa lagna).

While Mars was AK — Mars is in the 9th house from lagna:

• The soul is focused on dharma. It is contented.
• No disharmony between the person and his soul. Things go smoothly.

Once Venus is AK — Venus is in the 6th house, the house of trouble and of overcoming obstacles:

• Things that seemed easy now seem difficult. Confusion, anxiety, obstacles to overcome.
• Venus is the planet of passion and tapasya, so a lot of sadhana is needed.
• Venus is the planet of marriage. A person who resisted marriage and then suddenly married probably had Venus become AK at that time, whatever the dashas. This student married a year or two before the class; Mars was probably AK until then.

"When you look at Atmakaraka placement, if you have a replaced Atmakaraka, you will have to look at the replaced Atmakaraka to see the dynamics, because the dynamics can change."

Ishta Devata Is Still From the Original AK

Another student asked which AK to use for the Ishta Devata.

"What I was told by my guru is, even if there is a replacement in the Atmakaraka, you see from the original Atmakaraka only. That is what I was taught."

• PVNR admits his guru gave conflicting signals, but this is what he was always taught.
• So here Mars stays the AK for this purpose. The 12th from Mars in navamsa is Aries, and Jupiter is in Aries. The Ishta Devata is a form of Jupiter, such as Vamana.

AK Sign Analysis

To read the AK, look at four things: the house it occupies from lagna, the sign it is in, the planet it joins, and the planets having argala on it. (Same example chart, navamsa.)

The Sign

Mars as AK in Taurus (9th house):

"You just do whatever you have to do with a sense of duty, whether it is a puja, whether it is a meditation. You just do it with a sense of duty and that's it. You are done with it."

Venus as AK in Aquarius: the soul becomes a philosopher. It thinks a lot and does not stop.

The Planet It Joins

• The planet with the AK decides the focus of the soul. Jawaharlal Nehru had his AK with Venus: his soul's focus was on romance, beauty, poetry, the company of beautiful ladies.
• Here Venus, once AK, is with Sun — the natural Atmakaraka, the giver of light. Compared with Mars, Venus has access to light.
• In Aquarius this turns the soul toward the universal light. The philosopher is awakened and wants to understand the universal mystery.
• But Venus and Sun are not friends, and Venus is combust when with Sun. So it is not pleasant. Sun with Mars or Jupiter would have been better.

"Your individual soul, Venus, can get some light from the universal soul by pondering, because it's Aquarius. But it's a painful process because of the combustion as well as the 6th house placement."

Argala on the AK

• Venus is in Aquarius, a sign ruled by Saturn and Rahu. Both of them have argala on Venus: Rahu from the 2nd (Pisces), Saturn from the 11th (Sagittarius).
• Both argalas are strong because they come from the lords of the sign.
• Saturn in a Jupiterian sign: discipline, the yogi, the ascetic. Rahu in Pisces: bhoga, luxuries, the material path.

"Between Saturn and Rahu, there is a tussle. You want to be like a yogi, at the same time you want to have luxurious life. Once one of them wins, then direction would be found."

• The struggle would be there even without these argalas, because Venus is in the 6th. The argalas show what the struggle is about.
• Caution from the teacher: "Saturn Atmakaraka gives this, Rahu Atmakaraka gives that" is only one factor. Read all the influences.

Ishta Devata & Dharma Devata

Worked on the student chart (1961) after its navamsa lagna was rectified to Scorpio. AK = Sun, in Sagittarius in navamsa.

Ishta Devata (12th from AK in Navamsa)

• The 12th from the AK is what the soul is willing to give up — the giving up of the soul's identity, moksha.
• A planet in that sign shows the deity to worship for moksha. If there is no planet, take the lord of the sign.
• Additional principle: if the lagna is in the 12th from AK, the person is spiritual and dharmic, with detachment at the level of the soul. Lagna is the character, the personality, the whole existence — and the soul is willing to give all of it up.
• This is read only in navamsa, because navamsa shows the dharma of the soul.
• He need not be a saint. PVNR has example charts where the person is not. But a high level of spirituality will be there.

"Your atma is willing to basically give up your entire existence. That is the quality of a self-realized person or a saint."

In this chart the 12th from Sun is Scorpio, which holds no planet and is the navamsa lagna itself. Its lords are Mars and Ketu.

Dharma Devata (9th from AK in Navamsa)

• The 9th from the AK is the dharma the soul has to discharge.
• Same procedure: planets in the sign (the stronger one); if empty, the lord.

In this chart the 9th from Sun is Leo, with Mars and Mercury in it.

Choosing the Deity

• Mars, one lord of the 12th from AK, sits in the 9th from AK. The two houses are linked through Mars, so Mars is preferred to Ketu.
• Mars can be Subrahmanya, Hanuman or Narasimha. Look at the influence on Mars: he is conjoined with Mercury, and Mercury shows Vishnu. So Narasimha.
• Ketu, the other lord, shows Ganesha. Ketu is with Moon in Libra. Moon in a sign of Moon or Venus can show the Mother — Gauri, Parvati. The native already does Lalita worship; that activates this Moon and also leads toward moksha.
• Both Narasimha and Lalita are good for moksha. Narasimha also helps the soul complete its unfulfilled duties.

"If he worships Lord Narasimha, that will make his soul discharge the duties that it has and also get more detachment from the worldly things."

Worship of Any Other Deity

• Praying to Hanuman, Rama or Shiva is not bad or ineffective. When the time comes the person is led to the next deity, the next guru, the next mantra. It can take several lives.
• Worship done with a tamasic desire ("I want to become President", "I want a million dollars") can harm. Sattvic worship, done with submission, never harms.
• The right deity from the chart accelerates the progress. That is all the astrologer can do.

Physical Characteristics and Lagna

The given time puts the rasi lagna late in Sagittarius. Ten minutes more and it is Capricorn. The teacher asked the student to smile and the class to look at his face.

• A student said Sagittarius, because he is dharmic. Answer: the chance of being dharmic is higher with Sagittarius lagna, but dharmic people are found in every lagna. That does not settle it.
• Judge by build and features: eyes, cheeks, forehead, nose, teeth. Complexion is hard to judge, so leave it.

"Each sign has a characteristic, and if you look at the lagna in the Rasi chart, that should correspond reasonably well to the physical outlook of the person."

• The student's teeth are not prominent. Capricorn is very unlikely. Sagittarius stands.
• Scorpio was suggested and dismissed: it is nearly two hours away.
• Reference given: How to Judge a Horoscope by Dr. B.V. Raman, for the features of each sign.