Brahma Dasa
© Sarajit Poddar
Introduction
Brahma dasa has been pronounced Maharishi Jaimini
in immortal classic Jaimini Sutras. The dasa determines
the period of death of a native by considering two
important concepts in Jyotisha shastras, Brahma, the
creator and Maheswara, the destroyer. According to
Maharishis, the longevity of a native is from Brahma to
Maheswara as per Brahma Dasa. This article endeavors
to throw light on this dasa, which is not widely used, in
spite of its accuracy. When this dasas is used along
with other tools of longevity calculation, death can be
accurately timed for a native. I have given many case
studies which elucidate the computation of Brahma,
Maheswara and the dasa.
Brahma and Maheswara are two key concepts in Ayur
Jyotisha. We know that in Hindu Pantheon, the Trinity,
Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara Create, Sustain and
Annihilate respectively. Thus the concept of Brahma as
creator and Maheswara as the liberator are used in
some key Ayur Dasas such as Brahma, Sthira, Shoola
dasa etc. Though their importance is high, many do not
venture into finding them as they turn out to be little
complicated. I tried to make this little easier to
understand and compute. With hard work and patience,
this can be learnt and applied in Ayur Jyotisha.
Before venturing into computing Brahma, Maheswara
and the Dasa Period we need to know how to find the
stronger sign between two given signs and the stronger
of the co-lords of Scorpio and Aquarius. They are as
follows:
Determining stronger sign
1. The sign aspected by more planets becomes
stronger.
2. The sign placed with exalted or the sign lord
becomes stronger.
3. The sign aspected by the sign lord, Jupiter or
Mercury becomes stronger.
4. The sign whose lord is placed in sign with
different oddity becomes stronger. For
example if the sign under consideration is
even, and the lord is placed in Odd then it is
stronger than if the lord has been placed in the
even sign.
5. The sign whose lord has more longitude is
stronger.
Determining stronger planet
Scorpio and Aquarius are lorded by two planets each.
Scorpio’s lords are Mars & Ketu, while Aquarius’s
lords are Saturn & Rahu. There are times when we
need to find the stronger of the lords to determine who
shall lord mentioned signs. This is done in following
way:
If the lords are placed in the same sign then there is no
trouble in computing the dasa period. However, if they
are placed in two different signs, their strength need to
be ascertained, using the following rules.
1. If one of the lords is placed in the sign and the
other is placed elsewhere, the dasa is
estimated from the lord placed in the other
sign.
2. If both lords are placed elsewhere, the
stronger of the two signs1, where they are
placed, shall give the dasa period.
3. If the signs occupied by the lords are of equal
strength, the lord contributing a larger dasa
period should be considered.
Brahma
Saturn is the deity of Brahma and is the karaka for the
Dusthana. Thus the calculation of the Brahma involves
finding out the stronger among the three dusthana lords
namely, 6th, 8th, 12th lord based on their placement in
odd and visible signs. The predominance of Odd and
Visible signs indicates towards the masculine energy
and the power to create. If however, the condition of
Odd and visible signs are not fulfilled, the Visibility
condition is dropped and if even the odd-sign condition
fails, the condition gets modified to odd-house
placement.
One among these six planets (Sun to Venus) will
represent Brahma the creator, in the horoscope. Saturn
being the Ayus Karaka and having Brahma as his deity
cannot represent Brahma. The nodes do not have a
physical body and cannot contribute one, besides they
are actually demoniacal and have become immortal
due to their ‘drinking of the amrita’ clandestinely at
the time of the churning of the primordial ocean. (Pt.
Sanjay Rath)
The 8th lordship is always seen in regular order for determination
of Brahma, Rudra or Maheswara and not as per the Vriddha’s
principle of 8th house reckoning. The Vriddha’s principle is used
for determination of 8th house in the three pairs for computing
longevity.
Steps to identify Brahma
Rider: If the lord of the eighth house from the
Atmakaraka is placed in the eighth house itself, it
disqualifies to be the Maheswara, and instead becomes
the Brahma overriding all conditions for Brahma
determination.
1
The rules for determining the stronger of the signs are already
discussed in previous section.
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 Brahma Dasa
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Determine the stronger between the lagna and seventh
house as per sources of strength and call this dominant
satya peetha.
Identify the lords of the 6th, 8th & 12th houses from
the dominant satya peetha. Remember to consider the
co-lordship of Aquarius (Rahu) and Scorpio (Ketu) if
these signs are involved.
Check whether any of these lords are
1. Placed in an odd sign and placed in the visible
half of the zodiac from the dominant satya
peetha. The visible half of the zodiac
constitutes the signs from the 7th to 12th
house (the signs which are above the horizon).
2. If more than one planet becomes Brahma,
check the stronger of them to qualify for
Brahma. However, if none of the 6th, 8th or
12th lord from the dominant satya peetha, are
placed in the odd & visible sign, then move to
the weaker satya peetha and check the
conditions for the 6th, 8th and 12th lord
wherefrom.
3. If none satisfy the odd & visible sign
placement, drop the "visible sign" condition.
Now check again from the Dominant Satya
Peetha, if the lords of 6th/8th/12th placed in
odd signs. If this fails, move to the weaker
Satya Peetha and check the placement of
6th/8th/12th lord in Odd sign.
4. If all the lords (6th/8th/12th), from both satya
peetha are placed in even signs, then the
placement of 6th/8th/12th lord in Odd
"Houses" need to be checked from the
Dominant Satya Peetha and if this condition is
not met, the same is checked from weaker
satya peetha.
5. If two or more planets contend for the position
of Brahma, then the strongest should be
declared as Brahma.
Exception for Saturn, Rahu & Ketu
Should any of the three planets Saturn, Rahu or Ketu
qualifies for the position of Brahma, then the sixth
planet from it, in the order of the reckoning of the
weekdays, becomes Brahma.
If Saturn qualifies as Brahma, then replace
Saturn with Mars.
If Rahu qualifies as Brahma, then replace
Rahu with Mercury.
If Ketu qualifies as Brahma, then replace Ketu
with Jupiter.
Maheswara
There are Ekadasa (11) rudras in a horoscope, each
being the lord of 8th from each of the signs excluding
the one which is conjoined with Jupiter. Among them,
the lord of the 8th house from the sign occupied by
Atmakaraka has the highest status among the Rudras
and is called Mahesvara. However, if the Nodes are
present with Atmakaraka (or the 8th from it), the
counting is done in reverse direction, which means, we
need to count 6 signs instead of 8 signs.
The Bhagavat Gita also indicates this difference when
Sri Krishna says,”amongst the rudras I am sankara (or
Mahesvara)”. The philosophical difference is that each
of the other ten rudras simply destroys the body
whereas Mahesvara liberates the soul (atma) by
delivering it from the cycle of rebirth to the highest
spiritual plane. (Pt. Sanjay Rath)
Riders
1. If the 8th lord from Atmakaraka is exalted or
in own sign, the lord of the 8th/12th from it,
whichever is stronger, becomes Mahesvara.
This is based on the principle that the 8th lord
in exaltation or in own sign loses its sting to
kill and delegates the power to another i.e. the
lord of the 8th/12th from the sign where it is
placed.
2. If Rahu or Ketu becomes Mahesvara then the
sixth planet counted in the weekday order
becomes the Mahesvara.
a. Rahu is replaced by Mercury
b. Ketu is replaced by Jupiter
Note: A planet who is qualified to become Brahma is
disqualified to become Maheswara. This can happen if
the 8th lord from Atmakaraka is in own house in 8th.
For such case, the 8th lord becomes Brahma, over-
riding all conditions of Brahma determination.
However for Maheswara, we need to look at the
8th/12th lord from the Brahma.
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Brahma Dasa
Maharishi Jaimini says that the longevity is from
Brahma to Maheswara. This means that the dasa begins
from sign occupying Brahma planet (or the 7th from it,
when Brahma sign is even) and the death happens
during the dasa of Maheswara. Since, the signs in the
trines of a sign are known as saha-dharmi (having the
same nature); they can also be considered for the death
inflicting dasa. In exceptional cases, few other signs
can also inflict death, which is explained in subsequent
section.
Starting sign & Progression
Brahma dasa commences from the sign occupied by
the Brahma and proceed zodiacally if the starting sign
is an odd sign.
If the sign housing Brahma happens to be an even sign,
the dasa progresses anti-zodiacally from the seventh
sign from Brahma.
For illustration, in the following horoscope of
Mahatma Gandhi, Brahma Jupiter is placed in Aries
and odd sign; the dasa commences from Aries and
proceed in the zodiacal direction. Thus the dasa
progression would be Aries Taurus Gemini
Cancer etc.
In the horoscope of Rajiv Gandhi, Brahma Mars is
placed in Virgo an even sign. Hence the dasa
commences from Pisces, 7th from Brahma and
progresses in an anti-zodiacal manner. Thus the dasa
progression would be Pisces Aquarius
Capricorn Sagittarius etc.
Period of Dasa
1. The period of Brahma dasa is reckoned from
the dasa sign to the sign occupied by the lord
of sixth from it. If the lord is exalted then add
1 to the period, while if debilitated, then
subtract 1. If the 6th lord is placed in the dasa
sign, the period is zero. For Gemini and
Cancer dasas, the stronger of the co-lords
need to be found2.
2. The counting is based on the dasa sign being
odd or even.
3. If the dasa sign is odd, then the counting is
zodiacal and if even, it is reverse.
4. In the next cycle of the dasa, the period is
arrived by subtracting the period in the 1st
cycle from 12.
For illustration, for Aries dasa, the 6th lord is Mercury
(reckoned in zodiacal direction); hence the dasa period
is known by counting the sign of Mercury from Aries
in zodiacal direction. Similarly for Taurus, 6th lord is
Jupiter (reckoned in anti-zodiacal direction); hence the
dasa period is known by counting the sign of Jupiter
from Taurus in anti-zodiacal direction
Illustration
In the following horoscope Brahma is Venus and Maheswara is Sun.
Brahma Dasa starts from Brahma, Venus who is placed in Aries and
moves in a zodiacal direction. Death can happen in Maheswara sign
Taurus or signs trines to it, Virgo or Capricorn. Death happened in
Taurus dasa.
Dasa Period Reason
Sign
Aries 0 6th lord from Aries is Mercury. Mercury is
placed in Aries, hence dasa period is zero.
Taurus 3 6th lord is Jupiter, who is placed in 5th sign from
Taurus and debilitated. Thus the period would
be 5-1-1. Extra 1 is subtracted for debilitation.
Gemini 9 6th sign is Scorpio. Among the lords, Mars &
Ketu; Mars with more planets is stronger in
2
For Gemini dasa, 6th house is Scorpio. The 6th lord would be
stronger of the lords, Mars and Ketu. Similarly for Cancer dasa,
Aquarius becomes the 6th house and the stronger of the lords Saturn
& Rahu needs to be considered.
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Pisces. Pisces is 10 signs away from Gemini,

hence period becomes 10-1 = 9.
Cancer 4 6th sign is Aquarius and both the lords are
placed in the 5th sign from Gemini. Thus the
period is 5-1 = 4.
Leo 7 6th Sign is Capricorn. 6th lord Saturn is placed in
8th sign from Leo. Thus the period is 8-1 = 7.

Death Inflicting Dasa- Antardasa:

Following sutras of Maharishi Jaimini gives the dasa
and antardasa in which the death can occur.
1. Longevity extends from Brahma to Maheswara. (2.1.55)
2. During the Brahma dasa of the sign having Mahesvara the
antardasa will be of a sign in trines to the sign occupied
by the eighth lord from Maheswara. (2.1.56)
3. The strongest of the lords of the 3rd, 6th, 8th & 12th
houses from atmakaraka becomes the maraka. (2.1.57)
4. Generally, the 6th lord is death inflictor. (2.1.58)
5. The dasa of the sign occupied or aspected (or in trines) for
the death inflictor furnishes the last period of life. (2.1.59)
6. The antardasa could be of the signs in the 6th, 7th, 8th or
12th from the death inflictor dasa sign. (2.1.60)

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Case Studies
Case II: Queen Victoria
Death: 22 January 1901
Case I: Harish Johari
Death: August 20, 1999

Determination of Brahma:
Brahma
Lagna Taurus is stronger than the seventh. Lords competing for
In this horoscope, the Seventh (Aquarius) is stronger as it conjoins
Brahma are 6th – Venus, 8th – Jupiter and 12th – Mars. All of them
one planet and the lagna has none. 6th lord from Aquarius is Moon,
are placed in the visible half where only Venus is placed in the odd
8th lord is Mercury and 12th lord is Saturn. Since, all the planets are
sign, hence becomes Brahma.
placed in the invisible half, we need to consider the 6th/8th/12th
lords from the Lagna.
Brahma: Venus
From the Lagna, the lords are 6th is Saturn, 8th is Jupiter and 12th is
Determination of Maheswara:
Moon. Jupiter disqualifies to become the Brahma as it is placed in
Since Atmakaraka Mars is placed with Rahu, Maheswara would be
the invisible half, reckoned from the Lagna. Moon and Saturn are
the 6th lord from Atmakaraka. 6th house from Atmakaraka is Leo and
placed in the visible half and also in odd signs. However, Moon
its lord Sun becomes Maheswara.
conjoins many planets and hence becomes the Brahma.

Since the 8th from the Atmakaraka Sun is Scorpio and its lord Mars is not placed in the Maheswara: Sun
Scorpio, hence is disqualified to become the Brahma.
Brahma Dasa:
Brahma: Moon Brahma Dasa starts from Brahma, Venus who is placed in Aries and
moves in a zodiacal direction. Death can happen in Maheswara sign
Maheswara Taurus or signs trines to it, Virgo or Capricorn. Death happened in
The Atmakaraka is Sun placed in Aries. Eighth from the Atmakaraka Taurus dasa.
is lorded by Mars and Ketu. Since Mars is placed with more planets,
it is stronger than Ketu. However, it cannot become the Maheswara, Dasa Sign Period Years
since it is placed in own sign, so Ketu becomes the Maheswara. Aries 0 1819-1819
However, Ketu delegates this responsibility to Jupiter Taurus 3 1819-1822
Gemini 9 1822-1831
Maheswara: Jupiter Cancer 4 1831-1835
Leo 7 1835-1842
Brahma Dasa: Virgo 6 1842-1848
Brahma dasa commences from Aries, the Brahma sign and moves in Libra 4 1848-1850
a zodiacal manner, since it is an even sign. Death can happen in Scorpio 7 1850-1857
Virgo, housing Maheswara Jupiter or trines to it, i.e., Capricorn or Sagittarius 4 1857-1861
Taurus. Death happened in Capricorn dasa. Capricorn 8 1861-1869
Aquarius 4 1869-1872
Dasa Sign Period Years Pisces 11 1872-1883
Aries 0 1934 – 1934 Aries 12 1883-1895
Taurus 7 1934 – 1941 Taurus 10 1895-1904
Gemini 10 1941 – 1951
Cancer 6 1951 – 1957
Leo 6 1957 – 1963
Virgo 5 1963 – 1968
Libra 11 1968 – 1979
Scorpio 7 1979 – 1986
Sagittarius 4 1986 – 1990
Capricorn 10 1990 – 2000

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Case III: Indira Gandhi Case IV: Rajiv Gandhi

Death: 31th October, 1984 Death: 21st May, 1991

Determination of Brahma: Determination of Brahma:

The Lagna is stronger being placed with the Atmakaraka. 6th lord is Lagna is stronger compared to 7th, since it is placed with more
Jupiter, 8th lord is Saturn & Rahu and 12th lord is Mercury. Rahu is planets. Counting from Lagna, 6th lord is Saturn, 8th lord is Jupiter
the only planet in an odd sign, however in the invisible half. Before and 12th lord is Moon. Saturn stands out alone satisfying the
pronouncing Rahu as Brahma, we need to check if from 7th house, condition of placement in an odd sign and in the visible half.
anyone satisfies both the condition of placement in an odd sign as
well as visible half. From 7th house, 6th lord is Mercury, 8th lord is However, whenever Saturn becomes Brahma, it delegates its power
Sun and 12th lord is Jupiter. Here also none of them are placed in the to Mars. Thus Mars becomes the Brahma in the horoscope.
odd signs. Since none qualifies for Brahma as seen from 7th house,
Rahu becomes Brahma. However since Rahu delegates this Brahma: Mars
responsibility to Mercury; Mercury becomes Brahma.
Determination of Maheswara:
Brahma: Mercury Atmakaraka is Mercury and 8th from Mercury lorded by Jupiter who
is neither placed in own sign or exaltation, hence becomes the
Determination of Maheswara: Maheswara.
Saturn is the Atmakaraka, placed in Cancer; the 8th house from the
Atmakaraka is Aquarius. Among the co-lords, Rahu & Saturn, Rahu Maheswara: Jupiter
with more planets shall become Maheswara. However, since Rahu
delegates this responsibility to Mercury; he becomes Maheswara too. Brahma Dasa:
Brahma Mars is placed in an even sign Virgo; hence Brahma dasa
Maheswara: Mercury commences from 7th from it, i.e., Pisces and moves in an anti-
zodiacal manner. Death can happen either in Leo, housing
Brahma Dasa: Maheswara or in trines to it, the fiery signs, namely Sagittarius or
Brahma is placed in the Scorpio. However, since it is placed in an Aries. Death happened in Leo dasa, housing Maheswara.
even sign, the dasa starts from 7th from it, i.e., Taurus and moves in
an anti-zodiacal manner. Maheswara Mercury is placed in Scorpio Dasa Sign Period Years
and death can happen in either Scorpio or the signs trine to it, i.e., Pisces 7 1944- 1951
Pisces or Cancer. Death happened in Cancer dasa. Aquarius 6 1951-1957
Capricorn 5 1957-1962
Dasa Sign Period Years Sagittarius 8 1962-1970
Taurus 0 1917-1917 Scorpio 3 1970-1973
Aries 7 1917-1924 Libra 10 1973-1983
Pisces 3 1924-1927 Virgo 0 1983-1983
Aquarius 11 1927-1938 Leo 10 1983-1993
Capricorn 2 1938-1940 Cancer 2 1993-1995
Sagittarius 11 1940-1951 Gemini 3 1995-1998
Scorpio 11 1951-1962 Taurus 9 1998-2007
Libra 7 1962-1969 Aries 4 2007-2011
Virgo 1 1969-1970
Leo 11 1970-1981
Cancer 6 1981-1987

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Case V: Mahatma Gandhi Case VI: JF Kennedy

Death: 30th January, 1948 Death: 22nd November 1963

Determination of Brahma: Determination of Brahma:

Lagna is stronger as it is placed with more planets. Counting from
Lagna, 6th lord is Jupiter, 8th lord is Venus and 12th lord is Mercury.
All the three planets are placed in odd signs; however only Lagna is
placed in the visible half (7th – 12th houses) and hence becomes
Brahma.
Brahma: Jupiter
Determination of Maheswara:
Atmakaraka is Jupiter and 8th from it is Scorpio. Hence Mars or Ketu
can become Maheswara. Mars with more planets wins over Ketu to
become Maheswara.
In this case, neither Lagna, nor the 7th house has any planets and they
are aspected by the nodes only. So we need to check the placement of
the lord of the signs. Lagna lord Mercury is placed in a odd sign,
while 7th lord Jupiter is placed in an even sign. Since both and the 7th
houses fall in even sign, Lagna is stronger, since its lord is placed in
a sign with different oddity.
From the lagna, the 6th lord is Saturn / Rahu, 8th lord is Mars and 12th
lord is Sun. Only Mars qualify to become the Brahma, since it is the
only planet placed in the visible half and odd sign.
Brahma: Mars

Maheswara: Mars Determination of Maheswara:

Atmakaraka is Mercury and the 8th lord from it lorded by Mars,
Brahma Dasa: however since Mars became the Brahma, it cannot become
The dasa starts from Aries, housing the Brahma, Jupiter and move in Maheswara. Hence we need to count 8th / 12th lord from Mars to
a zodiacal manner. Death can happen in the Maheswara sign, Libra determine Maheswara. 8th lord from Mars is Mars itself, whereas 12th
or the signs which are trines to it, namely Aquarius or Gemini. Death lord is Jupiter. Thus Jupiter becomes the Maheswara.
happened in Gemini dasa.
Maheswara: Jupiter
Dasa Sign Period Years Brahma Dasa:
Aries 6 1869- 1875 The dasa starts from Brahma sign Aries and continues in zodiacal
Taurus 1 1875- 1876 direction. Death can happen in Maheswara sign Taurus or other
Gemini 4 1876- 1880 Earthy signs, which are Virgo or Capricorn. Death happened in
Cancer 0 1880- 1880 Capricorn.
Leo 3 1880- 1883
Virgo 11 1883- 1894
Dasa Sign Period Years
Libra 6 1894- 1900
Scorpio 1 1900- 1901 Aries 0 1917- 1917
Sagittarius 10 1901- 1911 Taurus 0 1917- 1917
Capricorn 4 1911- 1915 Gemini 10 1917- 1927
Aquarius 5 1915- 1920 Cancer 0 1927- 1927
Pisces 5 1920- 1925 Leo 11 1927- 1938
Aries 6 1925- 1931 Virgo 5 1938- 1943
Taurus 11 1931- 1942 Libra 7 1943- 1948
Gemini 8 1942- 1950 Scorpio 7 1948- 1955
Cancer 12 1950- 1962 Sagittarius 7 1955- 1962
Capricorn 8 1962- 1970
Aquarius 6 1970- 1976

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Case VII: Mother Teresa Case VIII: Vivekananda

Death: 5 September 1997 Death: July 4, 1902

Determination of Brahma: Determination of Brahma:

Among the Lagna and the 7th house, none of them are occupied, and
both of them are aspected by their lord, hence we have consider their
strength from their lords. Since both the lords are placed in a sign
with same oddity, even this cannot differentiate between their
strength. Thus we need to fall back on the planet with higher
longitude where Jupiter wins over Mercury and so does Sagittarius
over Gemini.
The Brahma computation needs to be reckoned from Sagittarius, the
stronger sign. From here, 6th lord is Venus, 8th lord is Moon and 12th
lord is Mars. Moon and Mars are placed in odd sign, but Mars
becomes the Brahma, since it is placed in the visible half.
Lagna with more planets is stronger than the 7th house, hence Brahma
reckoning needs to be done from Lagna. From Lagna, 6th lord is
Venus, 8th lord is Moon and 12th lord is Mars or Ketu. Out of them
only Mars is placed in an odd sign, hence is capable of becoming
Brahma. Even if others are placed in visible half, none of them are in
odd signs, hence are disqualified from becoming Brahma. However,
before deciding on Mars, we need to check if any dusthana lord from
the 7th fulfils both the conditions. From 7th, 6th lords are Mars &
Ketu, 8th lord is Saturn and 12th lord is Venus. From here, only Mars
is placed in odd as well as visible half and hence becomes Brahma.
Brahma: Mars

Brahma: Mars Determination of Maheswara:

Atmakaraka is Sun and 8th house from it is lorded by Moon. Since
Determination of Maheswara: Moon is not placed in either own sign or exaltation, it becomes
Atmakaraka is Rahu; hence we have to count 6 signs from it to arrive Maheswara.
at Maheswara. 6th lord from Rahu is Venus. Since Venus is not
placed in own house or exaltation, it becomes Maheswara. Maheswara: Moon

Maheswara: Venus Brahma Dasa:

Dasa commences from Aries housing Brahma Mars and continues till
Brahma Dasa: Virgo Moon or its trines, Capricorn or Taurus. Death happened in
Dasa begins from Leo, housing Brahma and death can happen in the Virgo dasa, which houses Maheswara Moon.
dasa of Cancer housing Venus or the signs trines to it namely,
Scorpio or Pisces. Death happened in Scorpio dasa. Dasa Sign Period Years
Aries 9 1863-1872
Dasa Sign Period Years Taurus 7 1872-1879
Leo 8 1910-1918 Gemini 11 1879-1890
Virgo 1 1918-1919 Cancer 10 1890-1900
Libra 11 1919-1930 Leo 1 1900-1901
Scorpio 3 1930-1933 Virgo 5 1901-1906
Sagittarius 7 1933-1940
Capricorn 5 1940-1945
Aquarius 2 1945-1947
Pisces 8 1947-1955
Aries 6 1955-1961
Taurus 8 1961-1969
Gemini 2 1969-1971
Cancer 2 1971-1973
Leo 4 1973-1977
Virgo 11 1977-1989
Libra 1 1989-1992
Scorpio 9 1992-2001

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Case IX: Subhash Chandra Bose Gemini 11 1955-1966

Death: August 18, 1945 Cancer 6 1966-1972
Leo 9 1972-1981
Virgo 8 1981-1989
Libra 12 1989-2001

Case X: Rabindranath Tagore

Death: August 7, 1941

Determination of Brahma:
None of Lagna and the 7th house has any planets; hence we need to
check the lords of the signs to find out the stronger among them.
Among the lords Mars and Venus, Mars is aspected by Mercury,
while Venus is neither aspected by Mercury, Jupiter or the dispositor.
Thus Lagna is stronger than the 7th house.

From the lagna, 6th lord is Mercury, 8th lord is Mars and 12th lord is Determination of Brahma:
Jupiter. Among the said planets only Jupiter is placed in an odd sign; Lagna with one planet is stronger than the 7th, with no planets. From
however, since it is not placed in the visible half, before pronouncing Lagna, 6th lord is Sun, 8th lord is Venus and 12th lord is Saturn &
Jupiter as the Brahma, we need to check if from the 7th house, any Rahu. All the planets are placed in odd sign, but only Rahu is placed
planet satisfies both the conditions. From the 7th house, 6th lord is in the visible half, hence becomes Brahma. However, since Rahu
Jupiter, 8th lord is Venus and 12th lord is Mercury. Even though delegates this responsibility to Mercury, Mercury becomes Brahma.
Venus is also placed in an odd sign, only Jupiter satisfies both the
conditions, placement in an odd sign and also in the visible half. Brahma: Mercury
Hence Jupiter becomes Brahma.
Determination of Maheswara:
Brahma: Jupiter Atmakaraka is Jupiter and 8th from it is lorded by Rahu and Saturn.
Since Rahu already contested for the position of Brahma, it cannot be
Determination of Maheswara: Maheswara. Hence Saturn becomes Maheswara.
Atmakaraka is Venus and 8th lord from there is Mercury. Since
Mercury is not placed in own sign or exaltation, hence becomes Maheswara: Saturn
Maheswara.
Brahma Dasa:
Maheswara: Mercury Brahma dasa commences from Aries housing Brahma Mercury.
Death is likely in the dasas of Leo, Sagittarius or Aries. Death
Brahma Dasa: happened in Aries Dasa, which is trine to Maheswara sign Leo.
Brahma dasa commences from Leo, where Brahma, Jupiter is placed
and since it an odd sign, it moved in a zodiacal direction. Death can
Dasa Sign Period Years
happen in Maheswara sign Capricorn or trines to, which are Taurus
Aries 0 1861-1861
or Virgo. Death happened in Taurus dasa.
Taurus 11 1861-1872
Gemini 0 1872-1872
However there are speculations that he did not die in the plane crash
Cancer 11 1872-1883
and was living. Even if that is true, he could have lived till 1952.
Leo 0 1883-1883
Many even think that he lived longer. If that is true, he would have
Virgo 3 1883-1886
lived till Virgo dasa, which ran between 1981 till 1989.
Libra 10 1886-1896
Scorpio 7 1896-1903
Dasa Sign Period Years Sagittarius 5 1903-1908
Leo 3 1897-1900 Capricorn 10 1908-1918
Virgo 4 1900-1904 Aquarius 1 1918-1919
Libra 10 1904-1914 Pisces 11 1919-1930
Scorpio 10 1914-1924 Aries 12 1930-1942
Sagittarius 2 1924-1926 Taurus 1 1932-1933
Capricorn 0 1926-1926
Aquarius 7 1926-1933
Pisces 1 1933-1934
Aries 9 1934-1943
Taurus 9 1943-1952

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Case XI: Bertrand Russell Case XII: Aurobindo Ghose

Death: 2nd February, 1970 Death: December 5, 1945

Determination of Brahma: Determination of Brahma:

7th house having two planets is stronger than Lagna, with no planets. From the 7th house, the
6th lord is Mercury, the 8th lord is Mars & Ketu and the 12th lord is Jupiter. Of all Mercury is
the only planet placed in a odd sign, however placed in the invisible half. So let’s see from
Lagna, who becomes the Brahma. The 6th lord from Lagna is Jupiter, 8th lord is Venus and
12th lord is Mercury. Venus and Mercury, both placed in visible half and odd sign and
hence are capable to become Brahma. Since, Venus has more longitude compared to
Mercury, he becomes Brahma. However, for the purpose of Brahma dasa, it does not matter,
since the dasa shall begin from Aries in both cases.
Brahma: Venus
Determination of Maheswara:
8th lord from Atmakaraka Saturn is Moon and since it is not placed in either
exaltation or own house, becomes Maheswara.
Lagna with two planets is stronger than the 7th. The contenders for
Brahma are Jupiter, the 6th lord; Saturn & Rahu, the 8th lords and
Mercury, the 12th lord. Among all only Saturn is placed in an odd
sign, but in the visible half. Before considering Saturn to be Brahma,
let’s check out if from the 7th house, any other planet satisfies both
the condition of placement in an odd sign as well as in the visible
half. From the 7th house, 6th lord is Mercury, 8th lord is Sun and 12th
lord is Jupiter. While reckoned from 7th, Sun is placed in a odd sign
as well as the visible half and hence becomes the Brahma.
Brahma: Sun

Maheswara: Moon Determination of Maheswara:

Brahma Dasa:
Brahma Venus is placed in Aries; hence Dasa starts from there and moves in a
zodiacal direction. Since Maheswara sign is Virgo, death is likely to happen in
Virgo, Capricorn or Taurus dasa; however death happens in Cancer Dasa. Even
though there is apparent inconsistency with closer examination we find that the
strongest of 3rd, 6th, 8th and 12th lords namely Saturn, Rahu, Venus, Moon and
Mars, Ketu is Rahu (being placed with more planets and having more longitude
than Mars). Hence the dasa sign aspected by Rahu can bring about the death.
We can see in this case is that Rahu aspects Cancer, hence death happens in
that sign. Thus, here sutra 2.1.57 of Maharishi Jaimini is applicable.
8th lord from Atmakaraka Mercury is Jupiter, who is exalted in
Cancer and hence cannot become Maheswara. To find the
Maheswara, we need find the stronger lord of 8h and 12th sign
counted from Jupiter, 8th lord is Saturn & Rahu, whereas 12th lord is
Mercury. Since Mercury is the Atmakaraka, it cannot become
Maheswara; hence we are left with Saturn and Rahu. Among the two,
Saturn is placed with a planet, whereas Rahu is along, making Saturn
the stronger one. Hence Maheswara is Saturn.
Maheswara: Saturn

Dasa Sign Period Years Brahma Dasa:

Aries 0 1872-1872 Brahma dasa commences from Leo, housing Brahma Sun and moves
Taurus 11 1872-1883 in a zodiacal direction. Maheswara Saturn is placed in Sagittarius;
Gemini 11 1883-1894 hence death can happen in Sagittarius, Aries or Leo. Death happened
Cancer 2 1894-1896 in Leo Dasa.
Leo 4 1896-1900
Virgo 4 1900-1904 Dasa Sign Period Years
Libra 10 1904-1914 Leo 4 1872-1876
Scorpio 7 1914-1921
Virgo 1 1876-1877
Sagittarius 4 1921-1925 Libra 10 1877-1887
Capricorn 8 1925-1933 Scorpio 3 1887-1890
Aquarius 7 1933-1940
Sagittarius 8 1890-1898
Pisces 11 1940-1951 Capricorn 5 1898-1903
Aries 12 1951-1963 Aquarius 10 1903-1913
Taurus 1 1963-1964
Pisces 7 1913-1920
Gemini 1 1964-1965 Aries 4 1920-1924
Cancer 10 1965-1975 Taurus 11 1924-1935
Gemini 0 1935-1935
Cancer 7 1935-1942
Leo 8 1942-1950

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Case XIII: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Case XIV: Srila Prabhupada

Death: August 16, 1886 Death: November 14, 1977

Determination of Brahma: Determination of Brahma:

Lagna with more planets is stronger than 7th. 6th lord from Lagna is Since both Lagna and the 7th are vacant, we need to take the aspects
Moon, 8th lord is Mercury and 12th lord is Saturn. Only Saturn is on these houses into consideration. 7th house Gemini is aspected by
placed in a odd sign as well as in the visible half and hence becomes Mercury, wins over Lagna. 6th lord from Gemini is Mars & Ketu, 8th
Brahma. However since Saturn delegates its power to Mars, Mars lord is Saturn and 12th lord is Venus. Even though only Ketu is
becomes Brahma. placed in an odd sign, none are placed in the visible half. Hence, we
need to consider the dusthana lords from Lagna to arrive at Brahma.
Brahma: Mars From Lagna, 6th lord is Venus, 8th lord Moon and 12th lords are Mars
and Ketu. Venus and Ketu are placed in odd signs as well as visible
Determination of Maheswara: half. Since Ketu is placed with more planets, it is stronger than
Since Atmakaraka is Rahu, we need to count 6 signs from Rahu to Venus and hence becomes Brahma. However, since Ketu delegates
arrive at Maheswara. 6th lord Venus is exalted hence cannot become its responsibility to Jupiter, ultimately it becomes the Brahma.
Maheswara. We need to count 8th and 12th from Venus again to arrive
at Maheswara. 8th lord is Venus itself whereas 12th lord is Saturn or Brahma: Jupiter
Rahu. Since Rahu is the Atmakaraka, it cannot become Maheswara,
hence Saturn becomes Maheswara. Determination of Maheswara:
Since Atmakaraka is Rahu, we need to count 6 signs to arrive at
Maheswara: Saturn. Maheswara. 6th lord from Rahu is Moon, who can become
Maheswara. However, Moon is placed in exaltation, hence
Brahma Dasa: disqualified. To arrive at the next possibility, we need to find the
Since Brahma Mars is placed in an even sign, the dasa commences lords of 8th and 12th from Moon. 8th lord is Jupiter, while 12th lord is
from 7th of Brahma and moves in an anti-zodiacal direction. The Mars. Since Jupiter is Brahma, it cannot become Maheswara, hence
death inflicting signs are Libra, housing Saturn and its trines, namely Mars becomes Maheswara.
Aquarius and Gemini. However he died in Capricorn dasa, which
does not belong to the signs which we arrived at. Even though this Maheswara: Mars
looks inconsistent to whatever we have been witnessing so far, this
becomes clearer when we see that Aquarius does not have any period Brahma Dasa:
in the dasa and hence is unable to kill. That’s why it happens in the Brahma dasa begins from Leo, the Brahma sign and commences in a
following dasa of Capricorn. zodiacal direction. Maheswara Mars is placed in Taurus and death
can happen in Taurus, Virgo or Capricorn. He died in Virgo dasa.
Dasa Sign Period Years
Cancer 10 1836-1846 Dasa Sign Period Years
Gemini 8 1846-1854 Leo 3 1896-1899
Taurus 11 1854-1865 Virgo 4 1899-1903
Aries 10 1865-1875 Libra 11 1903-1914
Pisces 1 1875-1876 Scorpio 3 1914-1917
Aquarius 0 1876-1876 Sagittarius 8 1917-1925
Capricorn 11 1876-1887 Capricorn 5 1925-1930
Sagittarius 4 1887-1890 Aquarius 4 1930-1934
Scorpio 9 1891-1900 Pisces 5 1934-1939
Libra 8 1900-1908 Aries 6 1939-1945
Virgo 9 1908-1917 Taurus 9 1945-1954
Leo 3 1917-1920 Gemini 2 1954-1954
Cancer 10 1954-1964
Leo 9 1964-1973
Virgo 8 1973-1981

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References:
1. Rath, Sanjay. Upadesha Sutra of Maharishi Jaimini. Sagar
Publication; 1997.

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