Week 2 · Unit 1 · The Chart's Language
Milestone 1 of 5: The twelve signs
The Twelve Signs and the Cosmic Body
The stage the grahas stand on — and the one image that makes the whole zodiac cohere.
Assumes you have done: Week 1 in full — dignity in particular, which is stated in terms of signs
Why this matters
You have nine actors and nowhere to put them. Chapter 4 supplies the twelve places, and it does something more interesting than listing them: it opens by mapping the zodiac onto a body. That image is not decoration. It is the reason the signs are in the order they are in, and it will still be doing work for you in Week 12 when BPHS discusses which part of a person a chart describes.
Learn
Week 1 gave you the actors. This week gives you the stage — and by the end of it you will be able to read a chart in the plain sense of the word: to look at one and say completely what is there.
Chapter 4 is where that starts, and it opens with an image rather than a list.
A body, laid out along the zodiac
Verse 4 says: the twelve signs beginning from Aries are the head, face, arms, heart, stomach, hip, the space below the navel, the private parts, thighs, knees, ankles and feet of the Kālapuruṣa — the Person of Time.
It is easy to read that as poetry and move on. Do not. It is the answer to a question that most beginners never think to ask, which is why the signs are in this order at all. They are in this order because they are a body, from crown to sole, and the order of a body is not arbitrary.
Notice what that gets you immediately. Aries, the head, is the sign of the first impulse — the thing that goes first. Cancer, the heart, is where BPHS locates the emotional interior. Capricorn at the knees is about bearing weight and enduring. You have not memorised a single keyword and you can already reason about a sign.
Four classifications in one line
Verse 5 is almost absurdly compressed. In a single sentence Parashara says the signs from Aries are, respectively, of movable / fixed / dual nature; malefic and benefic; male and female; and of bilious, windy, tridhātu and phlegmatic disposition.
Everything hangs on “respectively”, and on the fact that each of these cycles.
Quality, in threes. Aries movable, Taurus fixed, Gemini dual — then Cancer movable, Leo fixed, Virgo dual, and round again. Movable signs initiate. Fixed signs hold. Dual signs turn from one thing into another. Four of each.
Gender and sign-level benefic/malefic, alternating. Odd signs from Aries are male and malefic; even signs are female and benefic.
Humour, in a repeating cycle of four.
The whole grid is periodic, which is why Parashara can give it in one line rather than a table of thirty-six entries. If you take one habit from this unit, take that one: when BPHS gives you a list and the word “respectively”, look for the period before you start writing things down.
The word “malefic”, doing two different jobs
Here is the trap that the legacy course found students falling into repeatedly, and it is worth stopping on.
You learned in Week 1 that Saturn, Mars, Rahu, Ketu and the Sun are natural malefics. You have now learned that Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquarius are malefic signs.
These are unrelated claims. The planet-level classification says something about what a graha does to the matters it touches. The sign-level odd/even division is a structural property that feeds into varga construction, into how Upapada is counted, and into several later techniques — and it is not a statement that anything bad happens in odd signs.
Jupiter in Aries is not somehow neutralised. Nothing in BPHS combines these two schemes, and the urge to combine them is entirely the reader’s.
Twelve portraits, one template
From verse 6 to verse 24 each sign gets its own description, and the most useful thing to notice is how similar the descriptions are in shape. Each one gives you roughly the same properties: complexion, body type, how many feet, strength by day or night, direction, caste, element, guṇa, the terrain it inhabits, and its lord.
Aries: blood-red, bulky, quadruped, strong at night, east, royal caste, wanders in hills, Rājasika, rises by its back, fiery, ruled by Mars.
Gemini: rises head-first, a couple holding a mace and lute, west, air, biped, strong at night, villages, windy, even-bodied, grass-green, ruled by Mercury.
Read them as a set. Some properties you will use constantly — quality, element, lord. Some you will use occasionally — direction and strength by day or night both feed into Ṣaḍbala in Week 5. Some, like complexion, you will essentially never use, and there is no shame in reading those at speed.
There is one detail worth catching. Sagittarius is biped for its first fifteen degrees and quadruped after; Capricorn is quadruped in its first half and footless, gliding in water, in its second. So a sign is not necessarily uniform across its thirty degrees. You saw the same thing last week with Mūlatrikoṇa. It is a recurring feature of how BPHS thinks, and it is why “which sign” is often not a complete answer to “where is this planet”.
The chapter’s last section, read once
Verses 25 to 30 give Niṣeka Lagna — a method for finding the ascendant at the moment of conception, working backwards from the birth chart.
Read it. Notice what it claims. Then leave it.
That is not dismissal, and it is worth being clear about why. Niṣeka Lagna is genuine BPHS and it says something interesting about how Parashara thinks — that the birth chart contains information about what preceded it. But it is derived from the natal chart through a chain of steps, which means every error in the birth time compounds through it, and nothing later in the book depends on it.
Next: what a cast chart actually depends on, which turns out to matter far more than it sounds.
Read BPHS
This is the source itself. The teaching above prepares you for it; it does not replace it.
अहोरात्रस्य पूर्वान्त्यलोपाद् होराऽवशिष्यते ।
तस्य विज्ञानमात्रेण जातकर्मफलं वदेत् ॥ १ ॥
यदव्यक्तात्मको विष्णुः कालरूपो जनार्दनः ।
तस्याङ्गानि निबोध त्वं क्रमान्मेषादिराशयः ॥ २ ॥
1-2 Importance of Hora: The dropping of the first and the last Syllable of the word 'अहोरात्र' leaves behind it the word होरा (Hora), [or Hora is derived from the word 'Ahoratra' And Hora (the 12 signs) remains in between Ahoratra, i.e. day and night.] The good and the bad effects of the native are to be spoken only after knowing Hora. O Brahmin, know that the Zodiacal signs beginning from Aries are the limbs fo the indescribable Vishnu, the Time Personified, Janardana.
मेषो वृषश्च मिथुन: कर्क-सिंह-कुमारिकाः ।
तुलाऽलिश्च धनुर्नक्रे कुम्भो मीनस्ततः परम् ॥ ३ ॥
- Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces are the 12 Signs of the Zodiac in order.
शीर्षानने तथा बाहू हत्क्रोडकटिबस्तयः ।
गुह्योरुयुगले जानुयुग्मे वै जङ्घके तथा ॥ ४ ॥
चरणौ द्वौ तथा मेषात्ज्ञेयाः शीर्षादयः क्रमात् ।
Verse 4½4-4 1/2. The 12 signs beginning from Aries are respectively the head, face, arms, heart, stomach, hip, space below navel, the private parts, thighs, knees, ankles and feet, of the Kalapurusha.
"कालनरस्यावयवान पुरुषाणां चिन्तयेत प्रसवकाले ।
सद् सद् ग्रहसंयोगात् पुष्टाः सोप द्रवास्ते च ॥"
That is, the consideration should be as to which sign has the yoga of benefic planets and which has that of malefic ones. The signs that have the presence of benefic planet in it or is aspected by a benefic planet will strengthen that limb of the native in which it is situated in the body of the Kala Purusha; and the sign which has the presence or aspect of a malefic planet in it will weaken or will give disease to the limb of the native which is related to that sign in the body of the Kalapurusha. Thus Aries represents head. Therefore, if Saturn is situated in Aries and he doesnot have the aspect of any benefic planet, nor has he the combination of any benefic planet, then the native will be subject to headache and injuries in the head. If Aries has the effect of other malefic planet besides that of Saturn, it will cause more and serious problems in the cavity of head, such as giddiness, paralysis, wounds, derangement, brain fever, monomania etc.
Therefore, the underlying idea is that if sign number 1 one (Aries) is afflicted by a malefic planet then the first part of the body i.e. the head will be diseased or injured. Similarly, if the sign Taurus is under malefic influences then the face may get injury or disease. In the like manner the affliction by the influence of malefic planets of any number of a sign will bring injury, disease, want of growth or deformity to the corresponding part of the body, and if any sign is occupied by auspicious planets or aspected by them the corresponding parts of the body will be healthy, strong and beautiful.
चरस्थिरद्विस्वभावाः क्रूराकूरौ नरस्त्रियौ ॥ ५ ॥
पित्तानिलत्रिधात्वैक्यश्लेष्पिकाश्च क्रियादयाः |
Verse 5½5-5 1/2 Beginning from Aries the 12 signs are of movable, fixed and dual nature, malefic and benefic, male and female and, of bilious windy, tridhatu and phlegmatic disposition.
Notes : Sage Parasara has classified the nature of the 12 signs from different angles. Thus Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn are movable signs, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are fixed ones, and Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces are of dual nature. Again, Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius are cruel and male signs while Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces are Saumaya (Beneficial) and female signs. And Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are of bilious nature, Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn of windy nature, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius of tridhatu nature and Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces of phlegmatic nature.
All the signs of cruel nature are male signs and those of beneficial nature are female ones. The nature of the signs has great significance in a horoscope. If the sign of the Ascendant is of cruel nature and is a male one the native will have more of the manly qualities. On the contrary the occupation of the Ascendant by Saumaya or beneficial signs and the influence of the female planets will give the native womanly qualities like delicacy, gracefulness. humility and sense of yielding. It will be seen in all fields of life.
The usefulness of movable, fixed and dual nature is also manifold. These may be used in Prasnajyotisha and Hora. It has been said in ancient books on astrology that if the Ascendant is occupied by a movable sign and the Lord of the Ascendant is also in a movable sign, the native concerned earns his living from some foreign land. The meaning is that the place of earning his livelihood will not be one and a fixed place. He will be fond of wandering and moving. If there are more planets in a movable sign, then he will be more active and practical and less reflective and thoughtful. On the other hand, if there are more planets in a fixed sign, he is more reflective and thoughtful and less practical and active. If of movable nature he will be more prone to wrath, ready to take offfence which however is of short duration. If of fixed nature, he is slow to take offence but anger may remain for longer duration.
The theory of Dhatu (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) is the foundation of Ayurvedic science. Its embroyological, anatomical, physiological, pathological and therapeutical conceptions rest upon this foundation. It has been the product of the genius of this country and has not been borrowed from outside. There are references specially of tridhatu in Vedic literature also.
The three Dhatus known as Vata, Pitta and Kapha are the three elementary and fundamental units or principles on which the building and sustenance of the body depends. Hence it is that they are called Dhatus which literally means supporters. When they are in normal equilibrium, it is health, and ill health when they are not, in which case these Dhatus are technically known as Doshas literally meaning faults.
Vata, Pitta and Shleshma (or Kapha) come from the Sanskrit root va, Tapa and Shlish and indicate their action in the body. By some 'Vata' is translated as wind, Pitta as bile and Shleshma as phlegm or foetid sputum, which is evidently misleading. The meaning of the root 'Va' is gati (motion or movement) and gandhana (initiation and enthusation). This means that the natural attributes of Vatas or vayu are motion, sensation and power of imparting that motion and sensation to other bodies along with initiation and enthusation. Similarly, the meaning of Tapa is santap (heat) and that of Shlish is Alingana (to embrace). This means that the natural attributes of Pitta are to produce heat and bio chemical attributes in the body. Similarly the attributes of Shleshma is cohesion, union and integration.
According to Charaka (Sutrasthan Chapter 18) Pitta, Kapha and Vata are respectively responsible for the following:
Vision (as opposed to perception which is due to vayu), digestion lead to production of hunger, thirst, softness, and suppleness of the body; lustre, cheerfulness and intellingence are due to Pitta in its normal state. Snehanam smooth working of joints, general stability of the body, general build, potency, strength, forbearance, courage and greedlessness are due to Kapha in its normal state. Enthusiasm, inspiration and expiration, voluntary actions like talking and walking the due circulation throughout the body of its supporting elements like chyle, blood etc, Ayurveda speaks of the circulation not only of the blood as in Modern Western Medicure but also of other Dhatus used as the seven Dhatus and the due discharge from the body of its excretary products, are due to Vata in its normal state.
The classification of Dhatus in the signs or Rashis is of great importance. The equilibrium of the Dhatu in the body which is related to the sign or Rashi present in the 6th house depends upon as to what kinds of planets are situated in this house (the 6th House) or have their aspect on it. If on the Sixth House there is aspect of malefic planets and there is no influence of benefic planets, the body will have diseases related to that Dhatu. In the reverse case, the Dhatu will remain in equilibrium or balance and diseases related to it will not occur.
The inauspicious influences falling on the sign in the Ascendant have evil effect on the constitution of the body. This influence is based on the sign present in the Ascendant. And the same influence on the 4th House will have its relation with the psychological plane of the native.
रक्तवर्णो बृहद्गावश्चतुष्पाद्रात्रिविक्रमी ॥ ६ ॥
पूर्ववासी नृपज्ञाति: शैलचारी रजोगुणी ।
पृष्ठोदयी पावकी च मेषराशि: कुजाधिपः ॥ ७ ॥
6-7 Aries described : The sign Aries has blood-red complexion, huge bulky body is a quadruped sign and is strong during night. It resides in the east, is of royal caste and wanders in hills. It has the predominace of Rajoguna, rises with its back and is fiery; its lord is Mars.
श्वेतः शुक्राधिपो दीर्घश्चतुष्पाच्छर्वरीबली ।
याम्येट् ग्राम्यो वणिग्भूमिरज: पृष्ठोदयो वृषः ॥ ८ ॥
- Taurus described : Taurus is white in complexion and is lorded by Venus. It is long, is a quadruped sign and is strong in the night. It resides in the South and represents villages. It is of Vaishya caste, its element is the earth, it is Rajoguni and it rises with its back.
शीर्षादयी नृमिथुनं सगदं च सवीणकम् ।
प्रत्यग्वायुर्द्विपाद्रात्रिवली ग्रामबजोऽनिली ॥ ९ ॥
समगात्रो हरिद्वर्णो मिथुनाख्यो बुधाधिपः ।
Verse 9½9-91/2 Gemini described: The sign Gemini rises with its head, it is represented by a couple (male and female) holding a mace and a lute; it resides in the West and its element is air, it is biped, is strong in the night, resides in villages and is windy in temperament; it has an even body and its hue is grass green. Its Lord is Mercury.
पाटलो वनवारी च ब्राह्मणो निशि वीर्यवान् ॥ १० ॥
बहुपादचर: स्थौल्यतनुः सत्त्वगुणी जली।
पृष्ठोदयी कर्कराशिमृगांकाऽधिपतिः स्मृतः ॥ ११ ॥
10-11 Cancer described : The sign Cancer is pale red in hue, resides in forests, brahmin by caste and is strong in the night. It is many footed and has a bulky body; it is Sattwika in disposition, its element is water; it rises with its back and the Moon has been regarded as its Lord.
सिंह सूर्याधिपः सत्वी चतुष्पात् क्षत्रियो वनी।
शीर्वोदयी बृहद्गात्रः पाण्डु: पूर्वेड् धुवीर्यवान् ॥ १२ ॥
- Leo described: The sign Leo is of Sattwika disposition and lorded by the Sun; it is four footed and kshtriya (martial) by race and resides in forests; it rises with its head, has a bulky body and is pale in hue; it resides in the east and is strong in the day.
पार्वतीयाथ कन्याख्या राशिर्दिनबलान्विता ।
शीर्योदया च मध्यागं द्विपाद्याम्यवरा च सा ॥ १३ ॥
सा सस्यदहना वैश्या चित्रवर्णा प्रभञ्जिनी ।
कुमारी तमसा युक्ता बालभावा बुधाधिपा ॥ १४ ॥
13-14 Virgo described : The sign Virgo has been spoken of as Parvatiya or hillresorter and is strong in the day. It rises with its head and has a medium sized body. It is biped and resides in the South. It has grains and fire in its hands. It is of Vaishya Varna (race) and is variegated. Its element is air; it is virgin and is Tamoguni; it is of child like nature and its lord is Mercury.
शीर्योदयी धुवीर्याढ्यस्तुल कृष्णो रजोगुणी ।
पश्चिमो भूचरो घाती शूद्रो मध्यतनुर्द्विपात् ॥ १५ ॥
शुक्राऽधिपोऽथ स्वल्पांगो बहुपादब्राह्मणो बिली ।
सौम्यस्थो दिनवीर्यादय्ः पिशगों जलभूवहः ॥ १६ ॥
रोमस्वाढयोऽतितोक्षणापो वृश्चिकश्च कुजाधिए ।
15-161/2 Libra and Scorpio described : The sign Libra rises with its head, is strong in day, has black Complexion, is Rajoguni in nature; it resides in the West and wanders on the earth; it is violent, is of Shudra Varna (race) and has medium sized body and is biped. Its lord is Venus. The Sign Scorpio has slender physique and is multi footed (Centipede). It is Brahmin by Varna (race) and resides in holes. Its direction is north and it is strong in day. Its hue is reddish brown and it resides in both water and land. It has hairy body, very sharp forepart (very sharp sting) and its ruler or Lord is Mars.
पृष्ठोदयी त्वथ धनुर्गुरुस्वामी च सात्त्विक: ॥ १७ ॥
पिंगलो निशिवीर्याढ्यः पावकः क्षत्रियो द्विपात्।
आदावते चतुष्पाद समगात्रो धनुर्धरः ॥ १८ ॥
पूर्वस्थो वसुधाचारी तेजस्वी ब्रह्मणा कृतः ।
17-18 1/2 Sagittarius described : The sign Sagittarius rises with its back, and its Lord is Jupiter. It is Sattwika. Its hue is pale and it is strong in night; its element is fire and its Varna (race) is Kshtriya (royal or martial). It is biped to 15° and afterwards quadruped. It has even body, and bears a bow and arrow. It resides in the east and wanders on the earth. Brahma (the creator God) has made it splendorous.
मन्दाधिपस्तमी भौमी याम्येद् च निशि वीर्यवान् ॥ १९ ॥
पृष्ठोदयी वृहद्गात्र: करो वनभूचरः।
आदौ चतुष्पदोन्ते तु विपदो जलगो मतः ॥ २० ॥
19-20 Capricorn described: This sign is lorded by Saturn, is Tamoguni and its element is earth. It resides in the south and is strong in night. It rises with its back, has an unwieldy or huge body is variegated and wanders on land and in forests. It is quadruped in the first half and is foot less in the Second half and glides in Water.
कुम्भः कुम्भी नरो बभ्रुवर्णो मध्यतनुर्द्विपात् |
ध्रुवीर्यो जलमध्यस्थो वातशीर्षोदयी तमः ॥ २१ ॥
शूद्रः पश्चिमदेशस्य स्वामी दैवाकरः स्मृतः ।
Verse 21½21-211/2 Aquarius described: The sign Aquarius is represented by a male holding a pot. It has brown complexion and medium sized body and is biped. It is strong in day, resides in deep water and its element is air. It rises with its head and is Tamoguni. Its varna (race or Caste) is Shudra (low born). It is the Lord of the western direction. It is lorded or ruled by Saturn.
मीनौ पुच्छास्यसंलग्नौ मीनराशिर्दिवाबली ॥ २२ ॥
जली सत्त्वगुणाढ्यश्च स्वस्थो जलचरो द्विजः ।
अपदो मध्यदेही च सौम्यस्थो ह्य भयोदयी ॥ २३ ॥
सुराचार्याधिपश्चेति राशीनां गदिता गुणाः ।
त्रिंशद्भागात्मकानां च स्थूलसूक्ष्मफलाय च ॥ २४ ॥
22-24. Pisces described : The sign Pisces has the appearance of a pair of fish, one tailed with the head of the other and is strong in day. Its element is water and it is Satwaguni and healthy. It glides in water and its Varna (race) is Brahmin. It is footless, has medium sized body, resides in the northern direction and rises with both head and back. Its Lord is Brahaspati or Jupiter, the teacher of gods. It is in this way that the 12 signs each having 30° have been described to assess gross and specific effects.
पृष्ठोदयेषु सिध्यत्यशुभं मूर्धादयेषु शुभभुक्तम् ।
उभयोदये विमिश्रं ग्रहरहितेभ्यः फलं वाच्यम् ॥
If in a horoscope a house or sign is without any planet in it, then the sign which rises with its head is to be regarded as beneficial, that which rises with its back is malicious or cruel and, that which rises with both head and back as giving both auspicious and inauspicious effects. Malefics in a sign which rises with its back grow more inauspicious effects giving, while its malicious effect will be some what diminished in a sign which rises with its head, although he will remain inauspicious effects giving even then. On the contrary, if the natural benefics are present in a sign which rises with its head, their auspiciousness will be augmented; and if they are in a sign which rises with its back, their auspiciousness will suffer diminuition.
These signs have relation with time of fruitation also. Thus planets in a sign which rises with its head give their effects earlier. On the other hand, planets in a sign which rises with its back give their effects in a longer duration of time and, those in a sign which rises with both its head and back become effectual neither very soon nor very late, they give their effects in mid duration.
The elements of these signs have also been determined. Elements are five: water, fire, earth, air and sky. These have been spoken of as Mahabhutas also. Rudra Bhatta says: "तत्र यस्मिनङ्गे विरुद्ध भूतैक्यं सम्भंवति तत्र तथाविधो रोगो वाच्यः" that is the limb which has the combination of opposite bhutas (elements) will be subject to the growth of various diseases.
Thus, if there is the mixture of the elements of earth and water, these elements are not opposite to each other, but fire and water are elements that are mutually opposite. In a horoscope, if a planet is situated in a sign whose element is opposed to the element of the planet, then in the limb represented by a house and a sign will get disease; and if the planet is situated in a sign whose element is the same as that of the planet, then the limb represented by a house and a sign will be strengthened.
The Varnas (castes or races) of the planets are made use of at the time of comparing the horoscopes of the bridegroom and the bride. The tradition is that the bridegroom should be a person belonging to higher varna in comparison to the varna of the bride or both should be of the same varna.
The sign or planet falling in the House of Enemy (the 6th House) begets enmity with the person having that sign or planet in his Ascendant. Besides this, the sign or planet which indicates profit or loss, the native will be benefitted or harmed by the person of that varna (race)
अथात: सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि श्रृणुष्व मुनिपुंगव |
जन्मलग्नं च संशोध्य निषेकं परिशोधयेत् ॥ २५ ॥
तदहं संप्रवक्ष्यामि मैत्रेय ! त्वं विधारय ।
जन्मलग्नात् परिज्ञानं निषेकं सर्वजन्तु यत् ॥ २६ ॥
यस्मिन् भावे स्थितो मन्दस्तस्य मान्देर्यदन्तरम् ।
लग्नभाग्यान्तरं योज्यं यच्च राश्यादि जायते ॥ २७ ॥
मासादि तन्मितं ज्ञेयं जन्मतः प्राक् निषेकजम् ।
यद्यदृश्यदलेङ्गेशस्तदेन्दोर्भुक्तभागयुक् ॥ २८ ॥
तत्काले साधयेल्लग्नं शोधयेत् पूर्ववत्तनुम् ।
तस्माच्छुभाशुभं वाच्यं गर्भस्थस्य विशेषतः ॥ २९ ॥
शुभाशुभं वदेत् पित्रोर्जीवन मरणं तथा ।
एवं 'निषेकलग्नेन सम्यग् ज्ञेयं स्वकल्पनात् ॥ ३० ॥
25-30. Nisheka Lagna: Parasara says to Maitreya" O excellent of all the Sages, listen to me, I tell you that having known the natal Ascendant the Astrologer should determine the Nisheka Lagna (the Lagna at the time of garbhadhan or conception). O Maitreya, consider it, now is explained to you as to how to arrive at the Nisheka Lagna when the natal ascendant has been ascertained or known. The difference between the house occupied by Saturn and that occupied by Mandi (Gulika) is first known. To the resultant is added the difference between the Ascendant and the House of Destiny (the 9th House). The product in Rashis (signs) and degrees etc which results will represent the months, days etc, that elapsed between Nisheka (conception) and birth. If the Ascendant Lord is in the invisible half (6 houses from the Ascendant House anticlock wise), the degrees etc. the Moon moved in the particular Rashi (sign) occupied by her are to be added to the above mentioned product. Having calculated the Nisheka Lagna in the above manner, or taking that resultant to be the Nisheka Lagna of the native, the good and bad effects experienced by him in the womb can be speculated and told. Also, with the help of the Nisheka Lagna, one can know well with one's imagination the effects like the longevity, death etc. of the native's parents.
Example :
| Suppose the spashta of the House in which Saturn is situated is | 7-29°-15'-40" |
| and of Mandi (Gulika) is | − 6-24°-50'-20" |
| The difference between the the two is | 1-04°-25'-20" |
| The spashta of the 9th House | 2-15°-50'-26" |
| The Lagnaspashta | − 6-17°-20'-17" |
| The difference between the two | 7-28°-30'-9" |
| The resultant two differences are added | 1-4°-25'-20" |
| + 7-28°-30'-9" | |
| 9-2°-55'-29" |
Therefore, the time of conception of the native is 9 months, 2 days ago was at 55 ghatis and 29 palas.
Practice
Verse 4 maps the twelve signs onto the body of the Kālapuruṣa. What does Aries correspond to, and what does Pisces?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: Aries is the head; Pisces is the feet.
In between, in order: face, arms, heart, stomach, hip, the space below the navel, the private parts, thighs, knees, ankles, feet. The image is a single body laid out head to toe along the zodiac, and the sign order is the body's order. That is the answer to a question beginners rarely think to ask — why this sequence and not another.
Source: BPHS 4.4
Verse 5 says the signs from Aries are movable, fixed and dual "in order", and likewise malefic and benefic, male and female. What does "in order" mean here, and what does it save Parashara from having to write?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: It means the properties cycle. Movable, fixed, dual repeating in threes; malefic, benefic alternating; male, female alternating. It saves him from writing out thirty-six separate assignments.
Aries is movable, Taurus fixed, Gemini dual, Cancer movable again, and so on. Aries is male and malefic, Taurus female and benefic, alternating all the way round. Once you see that the classifications are periodic you stop needing a table — you need the starting point and the period. This kind of compression is everywhere in BPHS and learning to spot it is a large part of learning to read the book.
Source: BPHS 4.5
Verse 5 calls the odd signs malefic and the even signs benefic. In Week 1, verse 3.11 called Saturn, Mars, Rahu, Ketu and the Sun malefic. Are these the same claim about the same thing?
Show the answer and why
Answer: No — one classifies planets and the other classifies signs, and they are separate systems that happen to share a word.
This is the merge the legacy course found students making again and again, and it is worth being blunt about: nothing in BPHS licenses adding a sign's benefic quality to a planet's. Jupiter in Aries is not "benefic planet in malefic sign, therefore neutral". The sign-level odd/even division is doing a different job — it feeds into varga construction, into Upapada, into how certain yogas are counted — and it is not a moral quality attaching to the planet in it. Third time in two weeks you have been asked to keep two systems apart. It will not be the last.
Sagittarius is described as biped to 15° and quadruped afterwards; Capricorn is quadruped in the first half and footless in the second. What kind of classification is that, and where might it matter?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: It is a classification by form — how many feet the sign's image has — and it becomes practically relevant in strength calculations and in questions about direction, movement and residence.
The footedness scheme looks like ornament and is not. Signs described as quadruped, biped, footless or watery behave differently in later material — Ṣaḍbala's directional strength uses it, and BPHS's discussions of travel and residence lean on it. The Sagittarius and Capricorn cases also make a general point worth carrying: a sign is not always uniform across its thirty degrees. You already met that with dignity; here it is again in a different guise.
Source: BPHS 4.17–20
Apply it to a chart
Chart A — Rama, the teaching chart — A strikingly clean chart from a classical source, followed from Week 1 to Week 13. · about 14 min
Not placed: Mercury, Rahu, Ketu — the source this chart comes from does not say where they go, and nothing has been supplied to fill the space.
| Graha | Sign | House | Degree | Nakshatra | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | Aries | 10 | degree not recorded | — | exalted |
| Moon | Cancer | 1 | degree not recorded | — | own sign |
| Mars | Capricorn | 7 | degree not recorded | — | exalted |
| Mercury | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jupiter | Cancer | 1 | degree not recorded | — | exalted |
| Venus | Pisces | 9 | degree not recorded | — | exalted |
| Saturn | Libra | 4 | degree not recorded | — | exalted |
| Rahu | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ketu | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lagna | Cancer | 1 | degree not recorded | — | lord Moon |
Chart A again, this time for the frame rather than the planets. Cancer rises, which means the whole zodiac is oriented one particular way in this chart — and that orientation is what makes it this person's chart rather than a diagram of the sky.
- Write down the twelve signs in order starting from Cancer. That sequence, house 1 to house 12, is the spine of every judgment you will make about this chart.
- For each of the six placed grahas, name the sign it occupies, that sign's quality (movable, fixed or dual), and that sign's lord.
- Saturn is in Libra. Libra is a movable sign ruled by Venus. Write one sentence about what it means that a graha of grief sits in a movable sign of balance — not as a prediction, just as an observation you could defend.
- On your own chart: list all twelve signs from your lagna, and mark which are movable, fixed and dual. Keep it with your Week 1 dignity sheet.
Check your understanding
Answer from memory first. Looking back at the reading before you try turns a memory test into a copying exercise.
Which signs are dual (common), and which planet rules two of them?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo; Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Pisces.
The four dual signs are ruled by exactly two planets, which is a small structural fact with real consequences later — it is one reason Mercury and Jupiter turn up so often in questions about adaptability, learning and transition.
Source: BPHS 4.3, 4.5
What is Niṣeka Lagna, and why does this course read Chapter 4's last verses and then leave them?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: It is the ascendant at the moment of conception, derived backwards from the birth chart. The course reads it, states what it claims, and does not teach its use.
Two honest reasons. It depends on a chain of derivations from the natal chart that compounds any birth-time error, and nothing else in the course requires it — no later chapter builds on it. That is what Reference treatment means in practice: you have encountered it, you know what it is for, you know it is in Chapter 4 near the end, and you are not carrying it around.
Source: BPHS 4.25–30
You want to know which direction Scorpio is associated with. Where do you look?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: Chapter 4, in the twelve sign portraits — verses 6 to 24.
Every sign portrait carries the same handful of properties: complexion, body type, footedness, strength by day or night, direction, caste, element, guṇa, terrain and lord. Knowing the shape of the portrait means you can find any one property for any sign immediately, which is worth far more than memorising the grid.
Source: BPHS 4.6–24
What you carry forward
Two things grow across the whole course. This unit adds to both.
To your chart-analysis process
- **Step 2 — establish the chart.** Before reading anything, know what you are reading: whose chart, cast for what time and place, with which ayanāṁśa, and how reliable the birth time is.
- **Step 3 (opened) — read the Lagna and the chart's overall shape.** Which sign rises, what quality it has, who rules it. First impression, held loosely.
To your field manual
- Sign qualities cycle in threes from Aries: movable, fixed, dual. Gender and the sign-level benefic/malefic alternate.
- Movable: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn. Fixed: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius. Dual: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces.
- The sign-level benefic/malefic scheme (4.5) is not the planet-level one (3.11). Never combine them.
- Kālapuruṣa: Aries head, Taurus face, Gemini arms, Cancer heart, Leo stomach, Virgo hip, Libra below navel, Scorpio private parts, Sagittarius thighs, Capricorn knees, Aquarius ankles, Pisces feet.
By now you should be able to
- State the quality, gender, element and lord of any of the twelve signs
- Explain the Kālapuruṣa image and what it accounts for
- Distinguish the sign-level benefic/malefic scheme from the planet-level one
- Say what Niṣeka Lagna is and why the course does not use it