Sanskrit and Jyotish Glossary

Terms in the order you meet them, not alphabetically — because the order they are taught in is usually the order that makes them make sense. Use the browser’s find to jump to one.

The premise

Jīvātma aṁśa — the portion of the individuated soul, present in all beings. BPHS 1.21–24.

Paramātma aṁśa — the portion of the Supreme. Predominant in the grahas, which is Parashara’s argument for why a planet’s position can signify anything at all. BPHS 1.21–24.

Graha — literally “one who grasps”. The nine: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu. BPHS 3.10.

Pūrṇa avatāra — a complete incarnation. Four of the nine are so described in BPHS 2. A doctrinal classification, not a strength claim.

Grahas and their condition

Śubha / Pāpa — benefic / malefic. Natural nature, fixed by planet. Mercury and the Moon are conditional. BPHS 3.11.

Uccha — exaltation. Nīcha — debilitation, the 7th sign from exaltation at the same degree. BPHS 3.49–50.

Mūlatrikoṇa — the “root trine” portion of a planet’s own sign, where it operates near its best. BPHS 3.51–54.

Svakṣetra — own sign.

Naisargika maitrī — natural relationship, fixed, derived from Mūlatrikoṇa and exaltation. BPHS 3.55.

Tātkālika maitrī — temporary relationship, chart-specific, from mutual position. BPHS 3.56.

Pañchadhā maitrī — the compound five-grade relationship. BPHS 3.57–58.

Avasthā — the state a planet is in. BPHS 47.

• Bālādi — Bāla, Kumāra, Yuvā, Vṛddha, Mṛta, by degree within the sign.
• Jāgradādi — awake, dreaming, sleeping, by dignity.
• Dīptādi — Dīpta, Svastha, Pramudita, Śānta, Dīna, Duḥkhita, Vikala, Khala, Kopa.

Ṣaḍbala — the six strengths: Sthāna, Dig, Kāla, Cheṣṭā, Naisargika, Dṛg. BPHS 29.

Iṣṭa / Kaṣṭa Bala — the auspicious and inauspicious portions of a planet’s force. BPHS 30.

Combust — too close to the Sun to act. Reduces longevity contribution by half (except Venus and Saturn) in the Piṇḍāyu calculation. BPHS 45.9.

The frame

Rāśi — sign. Twelve, from Meṣa to Mīna.

Kālapuruṣa — the Person of Time, whose body the twelve signs map. Aries head to Pisces feet. BPHS 4.4.

Chara / Sthira / Dvisvabhāva — movable, fixed, dual. Cycling in threes from Aries. BPHS 4.5.

Lagna — the ascendant, the rising sign.

Bhāva — house. Named in BPHS 8.37: Tanu, Dhana, Sahaja, Bandhu, Putra, Ari, Yuvati, Randhra, Dharma, Karma, Lābha, Vyaya.

Kendra — angle: 1, 4, 7, 10. Paṇaphara — succedent: 2, 5, 8, 11. Āpoklima — cadent: 3, 6, 9, 12. BPHS 8.33–36.

Trikoṇa — trine: 1, 5, 9.

Duḥsthāna / Trika — 6, 8, 12. Difficult places.

Trishadāya — 3, 6, 11. Difficult lordships. BPHS 36.15.

Upachaya — houses of increase: 3, 6, 10, 11.

Varga — a division of a sign. Sixteen given in BPHS 7.

Navāṁśa (D9) — nine parts of 3°20′. Marriage and underlying strength.

Daśāṁśa (D10) — ten parts. Action and work.

Saptāṁśa (D7) — seven parts. Children.

Dṛṣṭi — sight, aspect. Two systems: Rāśi Dṛṣṭi between signs (BPHS 9.1–3) and Graha Dṛṣṭi cast by planets (BPHS 9.10–15).

Ayanāṁśa — the gap between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs. This course uses Lahiri.

Interpretive tools

Kāraka — natural significator. BPHS 34.

Ātmakāraka — the planet with the highest degree within its sign. The significator of the self, under which the others operate. BPHS 34.3–12.

Amātyakāraka — the next highest. Then Bhrātṛ-, Mātṛ-, Pitṛkāraka.

Kārakāṁśa — the Navāṁśa sign occupied by the Ātmakāraka. BPHS 35.

Pada / Ārūḍha — the visible reflection of a house, found by counting the lord’s distance from its house twice. BPHS 31.

Ārūḍha Lagna — the Pada of the 1st. Upapada — the Pada of the 2nd, read from the 2nd house from it. BPHS 32.

Argala — intervention, from the 4th, 2nd and 11th. Virodhārgala — its obstruction, from the 10th, 12th and 3rd. BPHS 33.

Yogas

Yoga Kāraka — a planet ruling both a Kendra and a Trikoṇa, or a relational pair of such lords. BPHS 36.11–13.

Rāja Yoga — a connection between a Kendra lord and a Trikoṇa lord. Graded full, half or quarter. BPHS 41.

Nābhasa yogas — thirty-two distribution patterns. BPHS 37.

Sunāphā / Anaphā / Durudharā / Kemadruma — a graha other than the Sun in the 2nd from the Moon / the 12th / both / neither. BPHS 39.7–10.

Veśi / Vośi / Ubhayachari — the same, from the Sun, excluding the Moon. BPHS 40.

Adhi Yoga — benefics in the 6th, 7th and 8th from the Moon. BPHS 39.5.

Dhana Yoga — a wealth combination. BPHS 43.

Pañchamahāpuruṣa — Ruchaka (Mars), Bhadra (Mercury), Haṁsa (Jupiter), Mālavya (Venus), Śaśa (Saturn): the planet in its own sign or exaltation and in a Kendra. BPHS 77.1–2.

Pravrajyā — renunciation. Primary condition: four strong planets in one house. BPHS 81.2–3.

Longevity and endings

Ariṣṭa — evils at birth. Bālāriṣṭa — danger in the first 24 years. BPHS 11.

Piṇḍāyu / Aṁśāyu / Naisargāyu — the three longevity systems. BPHS 45.

Alpāyu / Madhyamāyu / Dīrghāyu — short life to 32, medium 32–64, long beyond 64. BPHS 46.10–14.

Māraka — the 2nd and 7th lords, malefics in those houses, and malefics conjunct those lords. Derived as the 12th from the 3rd and 8th, the houses of longevity. BPHS 46.2.

Timing

Daśā — a period. Mahādaśā — major period. Antardaśā — sub-period. Pratyantardaśā — sub-sub. Sūkṣma — fourth level. Prāṇa — fifth, periods of hours.

Viṁśottarī — “twenty over a hundred”. The 120-year cycle. Period lengths: Sun 6, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19, Mercury 17, Ketu 7, Venus 20. BPHS 48.15.

Bhayāta — the elapsed portion of the birth nakshatra. Bhabhoga — its full span, 13°20′. BPHS 48.16.

Kālachakra — a daśā system built on the Moon’s Navāṁśa pada. BPHS 48, 51, 66–67. Not taught in this course.

Chara — a sign-based daśā. BPHS 52. Not taught in this course.

Aṣṭakavarga

Aṣṭakavarga — “eight divisions”. A scoring system where eight contributors — the seven grahas and the Lagna — each mark favourable signs from their own position. BPHS 68.

Bindu / Rekhā — a favourable mark. 0 to 8 per sign in a bhinnāṣṭakavarga.

Bhinnāṣṭakavarga — one planet’s table.

Trikoṇa Śodhana — reduction removing support common to a trine. BPHS 69.

Ekādhipatya Śodhana — reduction removing double-counting from single lordship. BPHS 70.

Piṇḍa Śodhana — final consolidation. BPHS 71.

Sarvāṣṭakavarga / Samudāya — the collective figure, all seven summed per sign. Totals 337. Above 30 medium, below 25 distressful. BPHS 74.

Other

Upagraha — a computed shadow point. Dhūma, Vyatīpāta, Parivesha (Paridhi), Indrachāpa (Chāpa), the fifth point (variously “Ketu”, Sikhi, Dhwaja, Sikhini), Gulika, Prāṇapada. Calculated BPHS 3.61–74; interpreted BPHS 27.

Sudarśana Chakra — three concentric rings reading the chart from the Lagna, the Moon and the Sun. BPHS 76.

Praśna — horary. Answering from the moment of the question. BPHS 99. Not taught in this course.

Ghaṭī — 24 minutes. Pala — 24 seconds. Sixty ghaṭīs in a day.