Classification of Houses
In this lesson, we will discuss about different categorization of the 12 houses along with the basic meaning of each house. In Vedic astrology, certain houses get importance as they play vital role in prediction. They are called,
Kendra or Angular houses
Trikona or Trines houses
Panapara or Succedent houses
Apoklima or Cadent houses
Upachaya or Increasing houses
Apachaya or Decreasing houses
Maraka or houses
Duhsthana or Evil houses
Badhaka or Obstruction houses
Trishadaya or Evil Houses
Kendra or Angular (1st, 4th, 7th, 10th) houses (Vishnu Sthanas)
The 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th houses are called Kendra sthanas or Angular houses .These are very powerful energetic and decisive. They give power for achievement and a strong will in life. These houses are also called Vishnu Sthanas.
1 is raising and the person; 10 is heaven and profession; 7-setting (asta) and interation; 4-patala and mind. These are very important aspects of one’s life and hence great importance is given.
Lagna is both a Kendra as well as Trikona, hence extra strong and important. Kendras (and their lords) are considered auspicious as they represent some of the most important and fundamental areas of our lives - body and innate nature, home and mother, marriage and relationships, our position in society (profession/status) and so forth. Planets in Kendra’s are considered strong and active which help them accomplish their potential.
Benefic Grahas here leads to powerful manifestations with smaller efforts, while Malefic
Grahas can cause struggle and pose challenges for accomplishments. Grahas placed here are highly active. The grahas having lordship of these houses is said to lose their basic characteristics. That is, the benefics loose their beneficence and malefics loose their maleficence. Hence it is desirable that the malefics own the houses and the benefics occupy it. If the 1st house is Nara Rasi (lagna) then it is powerful. Like-wise, keeta the 7th; jala the 4th and chatuspada(4 leg animals) the 10th house. 10th is the strongest apart from lagna, and then follow 7th and 4th house.
Trikona or Trines (1st, 5th, 9th) houses (Lakshmi Sthanas)
The 1st, 5th and 9th houses are called Trikonas or Trine houses. These houses (and their lords) are the most auspicious houses in the chart. The Trikonas are dharmasthanas and they are also called as Lakshmi Sthanas. They bring spirituality, knowledge, goodness, generosity and well-being if they are well placed and unafflicted. 1st is the person – Kendra; 5th is intelligence and purva punya and such resources – Panapara; 9th is religious, fortune, inherited characters - Apoklima. The speciality of Trikona is it has Kendra,Panapara and Apoklima indicating the balance.
With their location forming a triangle relative to Lagna, these are most auspicious houses of all. These houses relate to our sense of purpose and the spirit that moves us. The planets posited therein get closely associated with destiny and hence gain strength. 1st house is the self or spirit. The 5th house is the inspiration of the sense of purpose through creative expression. The 9th house is our spiritual beliefs and truths. It is the realization of our spiritual connection to all through the spirit. While the Benefics here ease the flow of destiny, the Malefics could cause challenges to be faced by the soul and hence require one to connect with mystical inner selves.
Panapara or Succedent (2nd, 5th, 8th, 11th) houses
The 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th houses are called Panapara or "succedent" houses. These panapara sthanas are important calculating one’s financial status. This indicated the resources of native.
2nd house is one’s own money, 5th house inherited money and also children our wealth, 8th house is unexpected money or the things like near house land or othe r income whic h prov ides us the income for our daily lively h ood (other than income f rom job/profess ion ) and 11th house is gain from profession or business.
Panaphara (Succedent) was equal to “accumulated or promised in future”and also ‘money related' or 'wealth related'. Grahas posited in these places are moderately strong. Based on these resources indicated by grahas, the effect of the grahas in Kendra is decided. The order of the houses is 5,11,2 and 8. Houses indicate middle age of the person’s life.
Apoklima or Cadent (3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th) houses
The houses 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th houses, behind the Kendra sthanas are called Apoklima houses or cadent houses. Apoklima houses indicate ‘weakness’, 'becoming less', 'expenditure' or 'destruction'.
Planets placed in these signs are considered weak. Except 9thhouse, it is considered as bad position to the planets. Grahas in these houses are weak, very delicate, sensitive, highly intelligent, fluctuating, undecided and provide spiritual inclination to the native. The order of strength is 9, 3,6,12.
We spend money for ourselves and for the body - so 12th house decreases the wealth; we spend for our family and relatives - so 3rd house decreases the wealth; we spend for our partner and also to fulfill our desires - so 6th house decreases the wealth; we spend for our parents (10th is father) and to maintain the profession and status - so 9th house decreases the wealth. These houses represent last stage of man’s life.
Upachaya or Increasing (3rd, 6th, 10th, 11th) houses
The 3rd, 6th, 10th, 11th houses are called Upachaya houses. Upachaya means improvement, growth or progress. They create a certain amount of urge / tension which drives one to improve life’s situations and gets better over time. These are called houses of growth and prosperity. Planets placed in these houses are considered to grow and improve over time. Particularly, malefic planets placed in these houses bestow good results during their dasa period. The strength of Kendra and Trikona houses decide name, fame, and monetary position of a native, the strengths of Upachaya houses show potential and opportunities for personal growth / gains and refers Native’s courage,duties,profession and gains.
Benefics in Kendra and Malefics in Upachaya houses will provide good results based on resources indicated in Panapara Sthanas.
Apachaya or Decreasing (1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th and 8th) houses
The 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th and 8th houses are called Apachaya houses. The Grahas in these places loses power as the time passes. Malefics do not do well in them.
Maraka or Death-Inflicting (2nd and 7th) houses
The 8th house from the lagna is the house of longevity; the 8th house counted from the 8th i.e. the 3rd house, is also the house of longevity. The 12th house counted from the 3rd and the 8th i.e. the 2nd and the 7th houses from the lagna, are the marakasthanas (the death-inflicting houses), and the lords of the 2nd and the 7th are designated as the principal Marakas (the inflictors of death or the killers). Planets occupying or owning these houses can cause death during their dasa periods. If they operate before the time of death is promised, they can bring death like suffering, disturbance of the health etc.
Dusthana or Evil (6th, 8th, 12th) houses
The 6th, 8th, 12th houses are called evil houses. Lords of these houses bring problems, impediments, enemies, lawsuits, accidents, injuries, surgeries, and death like experiences into our lives during their dasa-bukti period. They are said to be evil and malefic houses. The third house is a mild dusthana and even then only in some respects, but houses 6, 8 and 12 are extremely malefic. The third house is a mild dusthana and even then only in some respects, but houses 6, 8 and 12 are extremely malefic.
Badhaka or Obstruction houses
Badhaka means that which obstructs. Each sign has a particular sign corresponding to it which obstructs it.
The movable signs are obstructed by the 11th from them, the fixed are obstructed by the 9th from them, and the dual signs are obstructed by the 7th from them.
The Badhaka, obstructs. Literally, not figuratively. This is to say, it brings about barriers and disabilities or ends. But remember, badhaka obstructs a sign, it does not obstruct the horoscope.
Summary of Badhaka Sthana for all the Lagnas
Trishadaya or Evil Houses
The group of 3rd house, 6th house and 11th house represents the three evil factors i.e. desire, anger and greed respectively. These three houses in the Trishadaya group are entirely opposite to the most important houses for spiritual advancement i.e. the 9th house, 12th house and 5th houses respectively. The 11th house is the most powerful of the Trishadaya group as it is the last member of the group.
A person can achieve materialistic success and make lots of money only during the Maha Dasha period of the “trishadaya” houses. If a person is not getting Maha Dasha of “trishadaya” houses in his horoscope, he can never achieve material success in the modern world. If the lord of a “trishadaya” house is a natural malefic like Saturn, Mars or Sun, and the malefic planet is also placed in its own house, the results given are simply amazing during its Maha Dasha.
Houses & their motives
As per Vedic literature, human life has four types of motive or goals in life. They are:
The 12 houses can also be grouped in these 4 categories and they influence the planet(s) placed in it with its inherent motive.
As we have 3 houses in each category, hence they are also known as “Dharma triangle”, “Artha triangle”, “Kama triangle” and “Moksha triangle” because we have study the 3 houses of a category simultaneously to get into any kind of prediction and also by joining the mid-point of the 3 house of any category, they form a triangle.