Viprita Argala, Nirabhasa, Subhargala vs Papargala, Functional Nature Quality & Argala on All Trines

Viparīta Argala

Tṛtīye vyadhikāḥ pāpā yatra maitreya bādhakāḥ, tatrāpi chārgalā jñeyā viparītā dvijottama.

• Parāśara states this for the 3rd house: where more than two malefics sit in the 3rd as obstructors, that too is to be understood as argala — a viparīta argala.
• Viparīta means jumping from one end of the spectrum to the other, as in Viparīta Rāja Yoga. The obstructors stop obstructing and become promoters: somebody comes to spoil your project, then decides it is good and takes it up.
• The results of grahas and bhāvas are "bolted" (argalita) by these planets as well.
• This is the first place in the chapter where Parāśara says pāpa. Until here either a benefic or a malefic can be argala or bādhaka.
• Vyadhika is "more than two"; the teacher allows that it could be read as "two or more". One malefic in the 3rd is not viparīta argala. Benefics in the 3rd are not either.

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Working and Failing Argala; Nirābhāsa Argala

Two kinds

Nirbādhakā suphaladā viphalā cha sabādhakā.

• Seen from rāśis and also from grahas, argala is of two kinds: without obstruction it gives good results (suphala); with obstruction it is fruitless (viphala).
• Viphala is not "negative". It means no result. Su- is "good", not "auspicious". The division is argala that works and argala that fails, not auspicious and inauspicious.

Pada, lagna, mada

Pade lagne made vāpi nirābhāsārgalā yadā, tadā jāto 'tivikhyāto bahu-bhāgya-yuto bhavet.

• If the pada (Āruḍha Lagna), the lagna or the mada (10th house) has nirābhāsa argala, the native is extremely famous and has many fortunes.
• Pada without qualification is taken as the Āruḍha Lagna. Parāśara puts it before lagna, and not for the metre — lagne pade made vāpi would also have scanned. So argala matters most for the āruḍhas.
• Mada here is the 10th: achievement, pride. Vyome or daśame would not fit the metre. Parāśara uses many words for one house; the reader has to recognise them.
• The three are examples to generalise from. Lagna is who you are, AL is your image, the 10th is what you accomplish. The 5th, the 9th and the āruḍhas of important houses can be read the same way.

What nirābhāsa means

Nirābhāsa is "not fake, genuine". Two readings; the teacher leaves the choice open:

1. Unobstructed. Support that someone else is blocking is fake support.
2. The planet's agenda agrees with the house. A planet that causes argala on the 7th but wants divorce is not giving genuine support. So the formula cannot be applied blindly: judge whether the planet supports the matter of the house.

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Śubhārgala and Pāpārgala

Yasya pāpaḥ śubho vāpi grahas tiṣṭhet śubhārgale, tena draṣṭekṣitaṁ lagnaṁ prābalyāyopakalpate.

• If a planet, malefic or benefic, stands in a śubhārgala and also aspects the lagna, the strength increases.
• Here Parāśara uses the word śubhārgala for the first time, and in the same breath says the planet may be a malefic or a benefic.
• So śubha and pāpa argala do not come from the planet.

"Some people derive śubhārgala and pāpārgala from the planet: argala by Jupiter or Venus is śubhārgala, by Śani or Rāhu is pāpārgala. He is clearly hinting that śubhārgala and pāpārgala have nothing to do with the inherent nature of the planet."

• They come from the house that receives the argala. On lagna, AL or the 10th it is śubhārgala. Strong argala on the 8th makes the person work hard; on the 6th it gives a lot of opposition; on the 12th it is bad, materially speaking. These are pāpārgala.
• A student's summary, accepted: if the house wants to give sickness, an argala that works will give sickness.

Aspect on lagna

• A planet that causes a good argala on an important house and also aspects or occupies lagna gives more.
• Extension by the teacher, not stated by Parāśara: planets aspecting the Āruḍha Lagna and the Moon are also important; if they cause good argala it is better still.

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Results by House, and the Planet's Functional Nature

Results by house

• Parāśara goes through the houses. Argala on the 2nd, meaning argala stronger than its bādhā: the native is endowed with wealth and grain. Simply: rich.
• For some houses he gives sukha. For the 8th the word is kaṣṭa.

Benefic and malefic argala

• He then qualifies all houses together: argala by benefics gives happiness of many kinds; by malefics it is medium (madhyama).
• The teacher reads benefic and malefic here as functional nature for the lagna, on Parāśara's own definitions — the lords of the 3rd, 6th and 11th are malefics. Some say gains are good in Kali Yuga so the 11th lord is no malefic; he follows Parāśara and takes it as an axiom.

"The inherent nature of planets has no role so far. What has a role is the functional nature of the planet."

• Functional benefic → full result. Functional malefic → half, medium result. Functional neutral → counted like a benefic, full.

The 8th-house problem

If a functional benefic has argala on the 8th, whose result is kaṣṭa, what is "full happiness"? Readings discussed, left to the student:

1. The benefic's agenda is opposite to the 8th, so the kaṣṭa is lessened.
2. A student's reading: the hard work is done, but done happily.
3. As a gradation: benefic on a good house — full good; malefic on a good house — medium good; benefic on a bad house — medium bad; malefic on a bad house — full bad.

"I will leave it to you, but the important thing is: use the functional nature. That is the crucial thing."

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Argala on the Trines (Last Śloka)

Lagna-pañchama-bhāgyeṣu sārgaleṣu dvijottama, jātaś cha jāyate rājā bhāgyavān nātra saṁśayaḥ.

• If the lagna, the 5th and the 9th all have argala, the native is born a king and is fortunate — "in this there is no doubt".

The teacher's deductions (his, not Parāśara's)

• Two trines only: still good, short of a king. Lagna and 5th: fortunate and knowledgeable.
• Lagna together with another house (say the 7th): strengthens that house's argala. Lagna has a special role, both by argala on it and by aspect on it.
• All four kendras with argala: perhaps a karma yogī, one who makes a great deal of effort.
• All dusthānas with strong argala: perhaps very unfortunate.

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