4.

QUANTITIVE VEDIC ASTROLOGY: SHADBALA

This is an example lesson from the advanced course Applied Vedic Astrology. For more information
click here.
Questions? https://www.dirah.org/shadbala.htm
In Vedic astrology there are methods which especially in this age of computers can give a quick insight
in the state of planets and houses. One such method is treated here. This is the method of Shadbala. It
gives a value to each planet. The more points a planet gets in Shadbala the stronger it is.
It is important to have some insight in how the Shadbala value is calculated. Only if you know the
method followed by this system of calculation you can have an opinion about the value of it.
When you started the first course you were given a printout of your chart. In this printout you see an
overview of the Shadbala calculations. Now I will explain these. There are slight variances on how
Shadbala is calculated. In this course I will follow the method of the late B.V. Raman as explained in
his book graha and bhava balas. If you use Haydns Jyotish and you want to follow B.V. Ramans
method go to the options menu and select B.V.Raman under Shadbala style.
It is possible that other astrologers in the future will develop their own version of Shadbala. Personally
I welcome new and innovative approaches. However, before we can develop something new we should
exactly know how the traditional system works. I would suggest you have the printout of the Shadbala
calculation of your personal chart in front of you while I explain the calculations. This makes it much
easier to follow the explanations.
1. STHANA BALA
We start with calculating the sthana bala of a planet. This is the positional strength of a planet. Sthana
Bala consists of five components:
1. The first one is called Ocha Bala. In the first course you learned that in Vedic Astrology all
planets have exact degrees of exaltation. Like the Moon is exalted at 3 degrees Taurus. When a
planet occupies it exact degree of exaltation the planet gets 60 Shashtiamsas (Shashtiamsas are
points). When it occupies the opposite point, its exact point of fall, it does not get any
Shashtiamsas. Of course most of the time a planet will occupy a position somewhere in between
these points. In that case the points that it will get will be calculated according to its position
from the point of exaltation and fall. Example: The Moon at 3 degrees Scorpio will get 0
Shashtiamsas. The Moon at 3 degrees Leo will get 30 Shashtiamsas (this is exactly between 3
degrees Scorpio and 3 degrees Taurus).
2. The second one is called Saptavargaja Bala. To calculate this we will have to look at the
following seven harmonic charts: Rasi, Hora, Drekkana, Saptamsa, Navamsa, Dwadasamsa and
Trimsamsa. In all these charts we look at what kind of sign a certain planet is located. If a planet
occupies in the rashichart its Moolatrikona sign it gets 45 Shashtiamsas (this is a special rule for
the rashi chart only), if it is in its own sign (of whatever varga) it gets 30 Shashtiamsas, in the
sign of a great friend 22.5 Shashtiamsas, in the sign of a friend 15 Shashtiamsas, in a neutral
sign 7.5 Shashtiamsas, in the sign of an enemy 3.75 Shashtiamsas and in the sign of a great
enemy 1.875 Shashtiamsas. The concept of friends and enemies has been explained in the first
course. This is one of the most important parts of Shadbala because Saptavargaja bala can give a
lot of Shashtiamsas.
Drekkana
One third equal part of the Sign is called Drekkana. It means there are 3 Drekkana in each sign.
 Lord of 1st Drekkana (0 to 10) within each sign = Sign lord
Lord of 2nd Drekkana (10 to 20) within each sign= 5th trine
Lord of 3rd Drekkana(20 to 30) within each sign = 9th trine

The first Drekkana of any sign is ruled by the owning planet, second Drekkana by the 5th lord
and the third Drekkana by the 9th lord.
e.g., if Sun is in Leo, 18 14 , it is in 2nd Drekkana (10 to 20) which means 5th trine from Leo
which is Sagittarius. So, Drekkana of Sun in Leo, 18 14 is Sagittarius.
Saptamsa
Each sign of 30 degrees is divided into 7 equal parts of 4 degrees 17 minutes and 8.57 seconds
each. In odd signs the counting starts from the sign where the planet is posited and in even sign
counting starts from the 7th place from the planet.
Trimsamsa
see appendix.
3. Ojayyugma Bala The idea behind this concept is that a planet gains strength because it is in an
even or uneven sign or navamsa. The Moon and Venus get 15 Shashtiamsas when they are in an
even sign. These planets also get 15 Shastiamsas when they are in an even navamsa. In totality
the Moon or Venus may gain 30 Shashtiamsas if they are located in an even sign AND even
navamsa. The reason behind this is that the Moon and Venus are female planets and are strong
when they are in female (even) signs or navamsas. Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury and Saturn get
15 Shastiamsas when they are in an uneven sign. They also can get 15 Shashtiamsas when they
are in an uneven navamsa. These planets are male or neutral and are strong in male (uneven)
signs.
4. Kendra Bala A planet in a kendra house (1,4,7 and 10) gets 60 Shashtiamsas, a planet in the
house 2,5,8 or 11 gets 30 Shashtiamsas, a planet in the house 3,6,9 or 12 gets 15 Shashtiamsas.
The reasoning is that planets in kendrahouses can easily express themselves and are therefore
strong.
5. Drekkena Bala To calculate this the planets are divided into masculine planets (Sun, Jupiter and
Mars), neutral planets (Saturn and Mercury) and female planets (Venus and the Moon). If a
male planet is in the first drekkana (0-10 degrees) of whatever sign it gets 15 Shashtiamsas. If a
neutral planet is in the middle drekkana of whatever sign (that means it is located between 10-
20 degrees of whatever sign) it gets 15 Shashtiamsas. If a female planet is located in the last
drekkana (the last 10 degrees) of whatever sign it gets 15 Shashtiamsas. The reasoning is that
the first drekkana of each sign is good for male planets, the middle drekkana for neutral planets
and the last drekkana for female planets.
Now we have to add up all the Shashtiamsa values. The result is the total Sthana Bala. You are in the
priviliged position that you do not have to calculate all this by hand. You can see it on the computer
printout. When you know what the different strengths and weaknesses mean you can easily assess the
strengths and weaknesses of your chart just by looking at the Shadbala printout.
2. DIG BALA
This principle has similarities with the principle of Ocha Bala. Only now the decisive factor is not the
location of the planet in a certain sign, but in a certain house.
Each planet is powerful when it is located in a certain direction. Dig Bala means directional strength.
The Sun and Mars are powerful in the South. These are planets which function especially well in the
tenth house (the tenth house is the Southern part of the sky). Saturn is given maximum Dig Bala when
it is in the West, the seventh house. Moon and Venus get maximum Dig Bala when the are in the North
(fourth house). Mercury and Jupiter function well in the first house (the East).
A reason for this is that the morning is a great time for studying and learning. That is why Mercury and
Jupiter, planets which have to do with studying and learning, are strong during that time of day (at that
time the Sun is near the ascendant).
The Sun and Mars are energetic planets which need the energy that is available around noon (at that
time the Sun is in the tenth house).
Saturn is the planet of shades, which are at its maximum during the evening (when the Sun is opposite
the ascendant).
Moon and Venus are soft planets which function good during the time that is meaned for sleeping and
making love (at midnight the Sun is in the fourth house).
A planet gets maximum Dig Bala when it is in middle of the bhava (house) where it functions
especially well. If for example the Moon is located right in the middle of the fourth house he gets
maximum Dig Bala and is given 60 Shashtiamsas. If the Moon is in the middle of the tenth house it is
given 0 Shashtiamsas.
A slight complication is that for determining this BV Raman works with the bhava chart and not with
the rashi chart. The midpoint of the houses in the bhava chart may differ from the midpoint of the
houses in the rashi chart (which is always 15 degrees of a certain sign).
The Bhava Chart is a chart which has unequal houses. It is comparable to the way we work with houses
in Western Astrology (and in particular the Porphyry house system). The Bhava Chart is explained
later.
Dig bala gives a good indication for how strong a planet is in its house.

Calculation :
Each planet has directional strength in an angle of the chart. These points of strength are: the cusp of
1st house (Ascandant), 7th house (Descendant), 4th house (Nadir, Imum Coeli) or 10th house
(Meridian, Medium Coeli).
Sun and Mars are strong in the 10th, Jupiter and Mercury in the Ascendant, Moon and Venus in the 4th
and Saturn in the 7th.
Dig Bala of a planet is the distance between his position and the corresponding point of minimum
strength (in Virupas). Values greater than 180 or 60 Virupas must be deducted from 360 resp. 120
Virupas, so the Dig Bala of a planet must be between zero and 60 Virupas.
The table below shows the strongest and weakest points of Dig Bala for the planets.
Planets Strongest Weakest
Sun, Mars Meridian Nadir
Mercury, Jupiter Ascendant Descendant
Moon, Venus Nadir Meridian
Saturn Descendant Ascendant

According to Parasara, the father of Vedic Predictive Astrology, the longitude of the 4th house is to be
deducted from the longitudes of the Sun & Mars. The longitude of the 7th House is to be subtracted
from Jupiter's & Mercury's longitudes. The 10th House longitude is to be subtracted from the
longitudes of Venus & Moon & Ascendant's from Saturn's. If the difference exceeds 180 degrees,
subtract it from 360 degrees.
The result is Directional Arc ( Digbala Arc )
Directional Arc ( Digbala Arc ) = Planet's longitude - its Powerless Cardinal Point.
If difference is more than 180 degrees subtract it from 360 degrees.
So we find that Mathematical Astrology is not as easy as Predictive Astrology, as many suppose !

Examples
Let Moon be in 3 Taurus and Meridian in 17 Cancer. Dig Bala of the Moon is therefore
digbala = ( 97 - 33 ) / 3 = 64/3 = 21 Virupas
Let Sun be in 12 Capricorn and Ascendant in 23 Cancer. Dig Bala of the Sun must be calculated from
the Descendant i.e. 23 Capricorn
digbala = ( 293 - 272 ) / 3 = 21/3 = 7 Virupas

3. KALA BALA
This has to do with the strength which a planet has because of the time of the day. It is strength of time.
It consists of different factors:
1. Divaratri Bala According to this system the Moon, Saturn and Mars are powerful during
midnight. At noon they are powerless. These are the natural malefics + the Moon. The Sun,
Jupiter and Venus are powerful during noon and are powerless during midnight. These are the
natural benefics + the Sun. Adaptable Mercury is considered to be always powerful. This means
that in every chart Mercury gets the maximum of 60 Shashtiamsas which can be gained by this
factor. The Moon, Saturn and Mars are given 60 Shashtiamsas only if the person is born at
midnight and 0 if the person is born at noon. Sun, Jupiter and Venus get 60 Shastiamsas if the
person is born at noon and zero if he is born at midnight. Of course if the person is born at a
time somewhere in between the value is interpolated.
6. Paksha Bala A Paksha is equal to 15 lunar days. When the Moon is increasing it is Sukla
Paksha. When the Moon is decreasing it is Krishna Paksha .The benefics are Jupiter, Venus,
Moon (from the 8th day of the bright half of the lunar month to the 8th day of the dark half of
the lunar month) and good influenced Mercury. These beneficial planets are powerful during
Sukla Paksha. The malefics are Sun, Mars, Saturn, badly influenced Mercury and the Moon
(from the 8th day of the dark half of the lunar month to the 8th day of the bright half of the lunar
month). They are powerful during Krishna Paksha. The benefics get more Shastiamsas if a
person is born on Sukla Paksha and the malefics less. If a person is born during Krishna Paksha
the malefics get more points. The maximum amount of Shashtiamsas to be gained is 60. The
value of the Shastiamsas of the malefics + the value of the Shastiamsas of the benefics is always
60. The Shastiamsas of the Moon are always doubled.
2. Thribhaga Bala Sometimes in Shadbala you see things which look a bit curious. This is an
example. The day (that means the period of daylight) is divided into three equal parts and the
night (the period without daylight) is divided into three equal parts. In this system Jupiter is
always given 60 Shastiamsas. In addition, if someone is born during the first part of the day
Mercury gets 60 Shashtiamsas. If someone is born during the second part of the day the Sun
gets 60 Shashtiamsas. If born during the last part of the day Saturn gets 60 Shashtiamsas. If
 born during the first part of the night the Moon is given 60 Shashtiamsas. If born during the
second part of the night Venus gets 60 Shashtiamsas. If born during the last part of the night
Mars gets 60 Shashtiamsas. I see some connection between this system and the system of Dig
Bala. In the reasoning behind Dig Bala the first part of the day is seen as particularly good for
Mercurial activities. Noon is seen as good for activities which have to do with the Sun. Saturn is
strong when he is opposite the ascendant (at the place of the evening Sun). Also the Moon and
Venus are strong during nighttime. However, the value attached to the late night Mars is
something which cannot be found in Dig Bala.
3. Abda Bala The planet which is the lord of the year will get 15 Shahtiamsas. The lord of the year
is the planet which belongs to the first day of the year. For example if the first day of a certain
year is Sunday the year is ruled by the Sun, which receives 15 Shashtiamsas according to this
method. However, because Mr. Raman does not look at the calender but tries to find this planet
by making a calculation (in which he uses the 360 day year) it is very well possible that the year
began on another day then is seen on the Abda Bala printout.
4. Masa Bala The planet which is the lord of the first day of the month in which a person is born
receives 30 Shashtiamsas. In finding this planet more or less the same problems appear as when
calculating Abda Bala. Mr. Raman uses a duration of the month of 30 days.
7. Vara Bala The planet which rules the day at which the person is born receives 45 Shashtiamsas.
This planet is found without calculations.
5. Hora Bala A day is divided into 24 hours or horas. Each hora is ruled by a planet. The first hora
is ruled by the planet which rules the day. For example at Monday the first hora is ruled by the
Moon. Then the order is according to the days of the week (next hora will be of Mars then of
Mercury and so on). If you are born at some distance from the equator the horas are not of equal
length. The period of daylight contains 12 horas and the period without daylight contains 12
horas. The ruler of the hora when you were born gets 60 Shashtiamsas.
8. Ayana Bala This is a somewhat exotic concept in Shadbala. To really explain it would take a lot
of space. The value a planet gets according to Ayana Bala has to do with the declination it has
from the equator. If a planet has 0 declination the ayana bala is 30. For Venus, the Sun, Mars
and Jupiter the Northern declinations are added to his value and the Southern declinations
subtracted (the consequence of this is that a planet has a low ayana bala if the planet has a
Southern declination and a high ayana bala if the planet has a Northern declination). For Saturn
and the Moon it is the other way around. For Mercury declinations are always added. The
maximum amount of Shashtiamsas to be gained is 60. The ayana bala of the Sun is always
doubled. I have not succeeded in finding an explanation why these rules are the way they are.
9. Yuddha Bala This concept has to do with planets which are in war. Therefore we only encounter
Yuddha bala values if there are planets at war in the chart. First we have to calculate the total
Sthana bala value + Dig Bala + Kala Bala till Hora Bala of the two fighting planets. Then we
must calculate the difference between these two values. This difference must be divided by the
difference between the diameters of the two planets as seen in the sky. The result of this
calculation is the Yuddhabala. This must be added to the Kala Bala total of the winning planet
and subtracted to the Kala Bala of the loosing planet. Maybe you experience this to be a
difficult concept. You can also look at it simply from the point of view that a planet which wins
a war gets some bonus Shashtiamsas, while the planet which looses the war looses some
Shashtiamsas.
Two planets are said to be at war or Yudha when their longitudes are less than one degree
apart. If so, their yudh bala is calculated and added or deducted while computing the kala bala.
When two planets are at war, the planet with lesser longitude is said to be the winner and said
to gain strength, while the other is said to lose strength.
 Sun and Moon and any other planet with sun and moon does not enter into a yudh. Rahu and
ketu are also not considered.Calculation of Yudh bala:
It is done for both the planets at war. It is a bit complicated. You have to understand and
compute all other components of Kalabala for this.9 strengths of kala bala are:
1. Positional strength2. Directional Strength3. Temporal Strength4. Nathonmath Strength5.
Paksha bala6. Tribhaga Bala7. Hora Bala
8. Ayana Bala9. Yudha BalaThese are the steps to calculate:
Add the first seven balas for both the warring planets separately. You will get a total for each
planet. Find the difference in these values for the two planets. ------------AFind the difference
between the Bimb parimaan (disc diameter) of the two planets................................B.
(standard disc pariman for mars 9.4, mer 6.6, jup 190.4, Venus 16.6, and sat 158.0)The
difference in Balas (A) is divided by difference in bimb parimans (B).
You will get one value as yudha bala. The winning planet (with lesser longitude) is allotted the
positive value and the losing planet gets the same negative value.

After everything has been calculated we add it all up and get the total Kala Bala.
4. CHESTA BALA
Again we encounter a concept which is not easy to explain without a lengthy introduction about
astronomy. I suggest we take a shortcut. Planets which are relatively slow (among them retrograde
planets) get a high Chesta Bala value. Planets which are relatively fast get a low chesta bala value. The
reasoning is that slow moving planets are able to focus their energy more because they stay in one
place. The maximum amount of Shashtiamsas to be earned is 60. I would like to stress that it is the
relative speed I am talking about here: relative to the average speed of a planet. Therefore it is possible
that a relatively fast moving Saturn gets a low Chesta Bala, while a relatively slow moving Mercury
gets a high Chesta Bala. On the computer outprint of Haydns Jyotish you see the average speed (at the
top of the printout). When you see a 1 behind a planet it is moving at its average speed. When you see a
value higher than 1 it moves faster than its average speed, when you see a value lower than 1 it moves
slower.

The Sun and Moon do not get Chesta Bala values. They move in a fairly regular pattern and do not go
retrograde ever.

5. NAISARGIKA BALA
Each planet gets a certain amount of Shashtiamsas according to the luminosity it has. Because the Sun
is the brightest planet it is given 60 Shashtiamsas. Saturn is the faintest and gets 8.57 Shashtiamsas.
This means that the amount of Shashtiamsas a planet receives according to Naisargika Bala is in every
chart the same.
The seven bodies are ordered by their luminosity and get relative strength according to their position in
that order. Sun has the highest luminosity, Saturn is the darkest planet; other planets get portions of 1/7
Rupa according to their position in that order.
Position Body Strength (Rupas) Virupas
1 Sun 7/7 60
2 Moon 6/7 51.4
3 Venus 5/7 42.9
4 Jupiter 4/7 34.3
5 Mercury 3/7 25.7
6 Mars 2/7 17.1
7 Saturn 1/7 8.6

6. DRIK BALA
Drik Bala is called aspect strength. If a planet is aspected by benefics the planet receives a positive
Shashtiamsa value. If a planet is aspected by malefics than it gets negative Drik Bala points. See
paragraph 3.2 for which planets are considered benefics and malefics.
The calculation of the Drik Bala value is a bit complicated because we also take partial aspects in
account.
I will give one example of this. We know that the Sun, Moon, Venus and Mercury aspect the planet in
the seventh sign from it. Now for this purpose we say that these planet aspect the zodiacal degree in
opposition (180 degrees from it). The point which is 120 degrees from these planets get a partial aspect
of 50%, the point which is 90 degrees from the planet gets a 75% aspect, the point which is 60 degrees
gets a 25% aspect and the point which is 30 or 150 degrees from the planet gets no aspect at all.
Most Jyotishis only work with full (100%) aspects, but for this purpose we work with partial aspects
(that means aspects which are weaker than full aspects). This makes the calculation of Drik Bala quite
cumbersome. Thank God we have computers.
What is important to know is that if a certain planet has a negative Drig Bala value than it is mainly
under the influence of malefics and if it has a positive Drig Bala value it is under the influence of
benefics. Therefore I think the Drig Bala value is very interesting. By looking at the Shadbala printout
we can immediately see if a planet is mainly under the influence of benefics or malefics and how strong
this influence is.
7. TOTAL SHADBALA
Finally, the Shashtiamsas are added up. We get the Shadbala value in Shashtiamsas. Next they are
divided by 60. Then we get the Shadbala values in Rupas. At the printout you can see the Shadbala
value in Rupas.
It is important to realize that the influence of certain Shadbala factors is much greater than others.
Simply because the amount of Shashtiamsas to be gained by certain Shadbala factors is much greater
than by others. As an example: the amount of Shashtiamsas which can be gained by the factor Sthana
Bala is a lot more than what can be gained by Dig Bala. Therefore the six Shadbala factors are not
equally important.
Something else happens. According to the Shadbala rules every planet needs a certain amount of Rupas
to be strong. According to these rules Mercury needs 7 Rupas, Jupiter needs 6 Rupas, The Moon
needs 6 Rupas, Venus needs 5 Rupas, Saturn, the Sun and Mars need 5 Rupas. These values are
seen as the minimum requirement for a certain planet to be strong. I have never seen an explanation of
why this is so.
The total Shad Bala in Rupas is divided by this minimum requirement and then we get the Shad Bala
ratio. The most interesting about this Shad Bala ratio is to see whether a planet has more or less than
the minimum requirement and how much that is.
In general most astrologers attach more value to the total Shad Bala. Because I have some difficulties
in seeing the logic behind the minimum requirements I also attach more value to the total Shadbala.
8. EXAMPLE: BILL CLINTON
As an example let us take a quick look at the Shadbala printout of Bill Clinton (chart is shown in the
section about the Nakshatras). The strongest planet according to Shadbala is the Sun, which has a total
Shadbala of 8.66. This is something to be expected from a person who is president of the USA. Next
comes Mercury, which is also fairly strong and indeed he always seems to talk his way out of problems.
If we look at the planets which have a low Shadbala value we see Venus and especially Saturn. Indeed,
a lot of his problems have to do with sexuality, lovemaking and financial deals (Venus). It also seems
that he has a difficulty in keeping limits (Saturn).

+---------------------------------------------------- Shad Bala --------------------------------------------+

FULL SHADBALA PRINTOUT IS GIVEN IN THE COURSE MATERIAL

Sun MOON MERC. VENUS MARS JUPITER SATURN

Total Shad Bala : 8.66 6.17 7.47 5.62 6.51 6.53 3.25
Shad Bala Ratios : 1.73 1.03 1.07 1.02 1.3 1 0.65

9. ISHTA PHALA AND KASHTA PHALA

On the printout you see some other factors mentioned. It is good to know what they mean.
The Ishta Phala value of a certain planet is calculated as follows: the Ocha Bala (see paragraph 1.1) is
multiplied by the Chesta Bala (see paragraph 4). Then the square root of the product is extracted. We
get a value between 0 and 60.
The Sun and the Moon do not have a Chesta Bala. Yet we need to have a Chesta Bala value for these
planets otherwise we cannot calculate the Ishta Phala. To get a Chesta Bala value for the Sun and Moon
we make the following calculation: we add 90 degrees to the Suns longitude. If the value we get is
more than 180 degrees it will be subtracted from 360. The result is the Suns Chesta Bala value (at least
the Chesta Bala value for this purpose). This value is divided by three. Then we get the Chesta Bala
value in Shashtiamsas.
To calculate the Chesta Bala value of the Moon we make another calculation. The Suns longitude is
subtracted from that of the Moon. Again if the value we get is more than 180 degrees it will be
subtracted from 360. The result is the Moons Chesta Bala value for this purpose. Again to get the value
in Shastiamsas the value is divided by three.
I hope by this time you are not overwhelmed by calculations. Personally I feel Ishta Phala/Kashta Phala
is perhaps not one of the most interesting points of Shadbala but you should have some idea of way it is
calculated.
Anyway, we have to explain the Kashta Phala. We calculate 60-Ocha bala and 60-Chesta Bala. Next we
calculate the product of this and then the square root of this product will be the Kashta Phala value.
The idea is that if a planet has a higher Ishta Phala than Kashta Phala value it is inclined to do good in
its dasa and bhukti and if it has a higher Kashta Phala than Ishta Phala value it is inclined to do evil in
its dasa and bhukti. The logic of this may be clear. Of course it is good if a planet has a big Ocha Bala
and Chesta Bala value. Then the value of Ishta Phala will also be large and the amount of Kashta Phala
value will be small.
However, as the Shadbala system shows there are more factors to be considered how a planet performs.
It may be wiser to evaluate the functioning of the planet in its dasa and bhukti by looking at the Total
Shadbala value.
10. RESIDENTIAL STRENGTH
This is the last factor we have to consider. For this we have to calculate the Bhava Chakra (House
Chart) which is dealt with in another tutorial.
The Bhava Chart is a Chart which works with unequal houses which are comparable to the
housesystem of Porphyry.
The reasoning is that if a planet is close to the midpoint of a certain Bhava (house) it is given a high
Residential Strength and if it is located at the edge of a Bhava (house) it gets a low Residential
Strength. A planet with a high Residential Strength is powerful while a planet with a low Residential
Strength is weak.
Ishta/Kashta Phala values and Residential Strength are values which stand on their own and are not
used to calculate the total Shadbala.
11. CONCLUSION
It is my opinion that Shadbala is a useful and interesting system. All kinds of different strenghts are
summarized in a single figure. We can look at the total strength of a planet and analyze from which
factors this strength comes from.
However I consider some factors of Shadbala to be more useful than others. Factors which I consider to
be especially interesting are Ocha Bala (1.1.), Saptavargaja Bala (1.2), Kendra Bala (1.4), Dig Bala (2),
Chesta Bala (4), Drik Bala (6).
If I would be so bold as to redesign the system I would skip some factors (like Naisargika Bala, which
is the same in all charts and probably Thribhaga Bala) and probably add one or two new factors. For
example: there is no Shadbala factor which considers whether a planet is in a dushtana house (houses
6,8 or 12) or not, while it is generally known that this is important for a planet. I would also like to
modernize the way factors like Abda Bala and Masa Bala are calculated. As far as Ishta/Kashta Phala
and Residential Strength is concerned I would skip Ishta/Kashta Phala and integrate Residential
Strength in the calculations of the Shadbala ratio.
Vedic Astrology is traditional. Of course this has its advantages, but we should always evaluate whether
a system could be improved. Indeed I am aware of some astrologers (like Ranjan Bose) who have come
up with other systems to measure the strength of planets. These other systems can also be found in
Tajika Astrology (which will be dealt with later in this course). In that system of Indian astrology we
find systems which have the same goal that Shadbala has (to measure the strength of planets) but are
quite different. Also there are authors which have developed slight variances of Shadbala.
However, the alternatives are not necessarily better. Most systems that can be an alternative to Shadbala
are simpler, therefore easier to calculate, but also have characteristics, which can be criticized.
In fact, untill this day Shadbala is the most complete and sophisticated system to measure the strength
of planets and therefore highly useful.
12. EXERCISE
1. Look at the Total Shadbala values of the planets in your chart. Put them in an order of strength.
The weakest planet first and the strongest planet last and the others in between. Are the results
surprising or do you recognize the results in the way you experience the planets.
2. Look at the Shadbala ratios and again put them in order of strength. Look especially at which
planets have a value bigger than one and which planets have a value which is less than one.
3. We are going to look at some particular interesting factors of the Shadbala factors. Look at the
following factors: ocha bala (1.1.), Saptavargaja Bala (1.2), Kendra Bala (1.4), Dig Bala (2),
Chesta Bala (4), Drik Bala (6). For each of these factors look at which planet has the strongest
value and which planet has the weakest value. Do not do this exercise by automatic pilot, but
when you analyze a certain factor try to realize what this factor means.
4. Take a look a the total Kala Bala value (3) of the planets. Sometimes I wonder whether this
factor does not weigh to heavily in the system as the amount of Shashtiamsas to be gained by
this factor are sometimes very high indeed. Again make an overview which planet has the
highest Kala Bala and which planet has the least. Try to realize that if the differences are
extreme this may have a big influence on the endresult (the total Shadbala ratio).
5. Look also at the Residential Strength. Put the planets in order of Residential Strength (9). We
will deal with the Bhava Chart later, but untill now you have to realize that planets which have a
high Residential Strength can disperse their energy better in the houses then planets which do
not have much Residential Strength (it is possible that planets are located in a different house in
the Bhava Chart than in the Rashi, this will be explained in a later tutorial).

Appendix
How to study Hora-chart in Vedic Astrology?
Hora, which stands for 'Hour', is a quite an important part of Vedic
Astrology. When you get your full horoscope in a PDF form by a website or
astrologer, you'll see something called 'Hora Chart', and that Hora chart is
quite important to determine which areas of your life needs work and which
areas of your life give you the best result without asking.

All people are either born in the Hora of the Sun or Hora of the Moon. You
need to just learn which Hora you were born into. Hora of the Sun is about
daytime and Hora of the moon is about night time. Planets that are strong
in Hora of the Sun are (Sun, Venus, Jupiter). Planets that are strong in hora
of the moon are (Moon, Mars, Saturn), while Mercury is strong depending
upon the time you were born. If the birth took palce during sunrise or
sunset, then Mercury will be strong for both horas, otherwise it's ususally
neutral.

The way to find out which hora you were born into, remember a simple
concept. Look at your ascendant or 1st house and look at the degrees of
your rising sign. All PDF horoscope show the degree table of your
ascendant and planets. All people are born between 0-30 degrees, nothing
below and nothing above. It will always be between 0-30 degree. Now, the
hora are divided into 2 parts as in the first 15 degree and the second 15
degree. People born in the first 15 degree of the rising sign will be part of 1
hora while people born in the second half of the degree from 16-30 will be
in the other hora.

How do you find out which Hora? as in Hora of the Moon or Hora of the Sun?

If you born with even rising signs like Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio,
Capricorn and Pisces then your first 15 degree will be ruled by the Moon.
This means that planets Moon, Mars and Saturn are strong for you and the
original houses they rule, meaning for all the even rising signs the 1st, 4th,
8th, 10th and 11th house will be strong since they are originally ruled by
Mars, Moon and Saturn.

If you were born the odd rising signs like Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra,
Sagittarius, Aquarius, then if you were born in the first 15 degrees of the
rising sign you are ruled by the Hora of the Sun, if you were born in the
second half of the degrees then you were born in the hora of the Moon.

i.e. 1

For an Aries ascendant person, if they were born in the hora of the Moon, as
in they were born in the second half degrees, they would run into problems
related to planets which are controlled by hora of the Sun like 2nd, 5th, 7th,
9th and 12th house which are ruled by Sun, Venus and Jupiter. 3rd and 6th
house you can judge by seeing the time of birth and if the native was born
during sunrise or sunset. Otherwise these houses will be neutral for the
native.

i.e. 2

Again for an Aries ascendant person, if they were born in the first have of
the degrees, like 10 degrees Aries rising, then they were born in the hora of
the sun so they there problem houses would be hora of the moon like 1st,
4th, 8th, 10th and 11th house, which are houses ruled by the planets in
Moon Hora like (Moon, Mars and Saturn).

i.e. 3

If you are born under the Aries ascendant yet Moon hora, then 2nd, 5th, 7th,
9th and 12th house becoming a source of struggle and problem, while the
1st, 4th, 8th, 10th and 11th house are becoming the source which provide
help, but, if your Jupiter who is the original lord of 9th and 12th house is
sitting in the 4th house, that means it's now helping those 9th and 12th
house and not becoming so problematic since it's sitting the 4th house
which is a good house for hora of the moon, but if this was hora of the sun
and Jupiter was in the 4th house then it would become problematic.

If you are born at night while in the hora of the Moon, then this is like
cherry on the cake, as all throughout your life you'll have support of your
mother, inlaws, bosses and network. Sames goes for being born in the day
time while in the hora of the sun, you'll ge support from family, ability to
save money, children, help from spouce, father and teachers.

Also, Rahu and Ketu give results according to the same concept, for moon
hora house 1, 4, 7, 8, 10 and 11 are good, 3 and 6 depends upon Mercury.
The same goes for Sun hora, this is why half the population will get good
results of Rahu in 5th house while other half will get bad results.
The name Trimsamsa is used to indicate thirty amsas i.e degrees of
a sign and not 1/30 part of a sign. For making Trimsamsa chart the
zodiac sign of 30 degree is devided into five unequal parts. In this
division Sun and moon do not rule any part while the remaining five
planets are given the ruleship.

For making the Trimsamsa the following rules are to be applied........

(1)- For all odd signs Nos 1,3,5,7,9,11 the order of the five parts in sequence
is 0-5 degree,5-10 degree,10-18degree,18-25 degree and 25-30 degree i.e the 1st
to 5th parts are respectvely of 5th degree,5 degree,8 degree, 7degree and 5th
degree sequence.Each planet is ruled in sequence by Mars/saturn/jupiter/mercury
and venus in that order....
(2) For all even sign nos 2,4,6,8,10 and 12 the order of the five parts in
sequence is reverse of the above viz 0-5 degree, 5-12 degree, 12-20
degree,20-25 degree and 25-30 degree. The first to five parts are of 5
degree,7degree,8degree,5th degree and 5th degree extent respectively in
sequence by venus/mercury/jupiter/saturn and mars in that order..
(3) THE FIVE PLANETS WHICH ARE LORDS OF TRIMSAMSAS EACH RULE TWO SIGNS VIZ
ONE
ODD SIGN AND ONE EVEN SIGN. Therefore the planet in an odd sign should be in
the odd sign trimsamsa ruling planet and the planet in even sign should be the
horoscope should be placed in the even sign of its trimsamsa ruling planet. The
ascendant lagna if it is an odd sign should be placed in the odd sign of its
trimsamsa ruling planet and if it is in an even sign it should be placed in the
even sign of its trimsamsa ruling planet........................
The followin table shows the trimsamsa division of the signs and their rulers.......
sign Ruling planets of trimsamsa parts...
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th odd sign 0-5 10 17 25 30
Mars saturn Jupiter mercury venus

even sign 0-5 12 20 25 30

venus mercury jupiter saturn mars

Ascendant calculation

In degrees and minutes of the arc, Sun can only be anywhere from 00:00:00
to 359:59:59
Let us say the Sun is in 281:18:00
Since 30 degrees make a sign, we know that the Sun has crossed 9 signs.
9 x 30 = 270
The 10th sign is Capricorn. So Sun is in Capricorn 11 Degrees and 18 minutes which is represented as
281:18:00
Suppose the person is born at 7:25 am. Let us find the Ascendant degree using the better method.
To continue we need to know what time the Sunrises on that day.
This person was born on Jan 25, 1962 at Thalaserry, Kerala.
So the Sunrises at: 6: 56 am
Time elapsed from Sunrise to Time of Birth is:
Time of Birth : 7:25 am
Sunrise : 6:56 am

: 29 minutes

Every day there are 1440 minutes

Every day 360 degrees has to rise.
So every degree takes 4 minutes
In 29 minutes how many degrees will rise? 29/ divided by 4 = 7 degrees.
We know that the Sun was on Capricorn 11 degrees.
Add 7 degrees

18 degrees

The Astrology software I am referring to also gives the degree as 18 degrees. So this method is great.
The problem with this method is that it assumes all signs rise in equal 2 hour junction whereas in
reality it is not. The reason is though each sign is 30 degrees, the length of each sign varies. We have
short and long signs. That means each sign will not actually rise in the next 2 hours. Some signs rise in
less than 2 hours and some sign rise over 2 hours.
So the last thing is. use a computer to calculate the Lagna or Ascendant.
But in case you do not have a computer with you at the time the question comes up, you can use the
first method the rough method. Since it works mostly than not use it when you have no other choice.