There are certain terminologies used in Tamil Astrology which are bit peculiar and considered to be of slight variation when compared with the traditional usage. A few of these do find favor in general horoscopic analysis but in the Tamil equivalent, they are used a bit more widely than usual. Let us look at some of the concepts that add an extra flavour while interpreting a horoscope.
⇒ Badhaka Sthana - The Obstacle Houses
These are the houses that can cause hurdles and be a barrier in a horoscope. It differs for each sign based on whether it is a Movable, Fixed or Dual rasi. This concept has found much footing in recent times and used a lot when interpreting horoscopes. Based on the Kala Purusha, the 11th house is the default Badhaka sign but it differs for each sign based on the type. The planets situated in Badhak can create impediments and the lord of the sign also needs to be analyzed. Contrary to popular opinion that Badhak Lord placed in a negative bhava like 6,8,12 yields good result, the actuality is that as stated in Pulipani Jothidam, Badhak Lord being placed in a Trikona especially 5,9 houses only ends up being favorable. To explain this theory, the Sage specifically explains that for a Fixed Sign Ascendant, the 9th house Badhak lord being seated in own 9th house itself ends up actually being favorable to negate the ill effects of Badhak Bhava.
The Badhaka Sthana for different signs are as follows:
Movable Sign - 11th House
Fixed Sign - 9th House
Dual Sign - 7th House
⇒ Maraka Sthana - The Killer Houses
Maragathipathi or Maraka refers to those houses that can cause a killing effect to the native. In general parlance and as advocated by most texts, the 2nd and 7th houses always end up being the Maraka houses. This is based on the Bhavat Bhavam principle of 8th house being the house of longevity. The 3rd being the 8th from the 8th extends this logic. The 12th house from any house is said to be a negater and hence the 12th from the 3rd and 8th house yields the 2nd and 7th house thus forming the concept of Maraka houses. However in Tamil Astrology, similar to Badhak the concept operates differently based on the type of sign depending on whether it is movable, fixed or dual.
The Maraka Sthana for different signs are as follows:
Movable Sign - 2nd & 7th House
Fixed Sign - 3rd & 8th House
Dual Sign - 7th & 11th House
⇒ Maraivu Sthana - The Hidden Houses
Maraivu Sthana are known as the hidden houses where planets are said to generally lose their power and become ineffective. The 3rd, 6th, 8th and 12th houses form the crux of the Maraivu houses. In this it's said that the 3rd is only about 1/4th hidden and the 12th about 1/2 hidden and only 6th and 8th being the combative hidden houses with 8th being the most malicious. However though the general hidden houses happen to be 3rd, 6th, 8th and 12th it happens to differ for the planets in question. Since the natural malefics are said to be effective in Upachaya Sthana which are the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th houses and two of these houses namely the 3rd and 6th also come under list of Maraivu Bhava these places get eliminated. For Venus the 6th and 12th houses are eliminated on account of it forming Lakshmi Yoga.
Hence the Maraivu Sthana for different planets are as follows:
Sun - 8th House, 12th House
Moon - 3rd House, 6th House, 8th House, 12th House
Mars - 8th House, 12th House
Mercury - 3rd House, 6th House, 8th House, 12th House
Jupiter - 3rd House, 6th House, 8th House, 12th House
Venus - 3rd House, 8th House
Saturn - 8th House, 12th House
Rahu - 8th House, 12th House
Ketu - 8th House, 12th House
⇒ Poojya Pada - Zero Point
There are selective Nakshatra Padas in each of the 12 rasis where planets are said to lose their potency and become ineffective when seated in that designated spot of 3°20'. This is said to be called as zero point and hence if any of the planets falls in this area, it can attract negative vibrations. Out of the 12 rasis, 4 of them happen to be on the 1st pada, another 4 happen on the 5th pada and other 4 happen on the last 9th pada of the rasi.
The Poojya Pada for each rasi is as follows:
Mesha - Ashwini 1 - 0°0' - 3°20' - 1st Pada of 9 Padas
Rishaba - Krithika 2 - 0°0' - 3°20' - 1st Pada of 9 Padas
Mithuna - Arudra 3 - 13°20' - 16°40' - 5th Pada of 9 Padas
Karka - Ashlesha 4 - 26°40' - 30°0' - 9th Pada of 9 Padas
Simha - Poorva Phalguni 1 - 13°20' - 16°40' - 5th Pada of 9 Padas
Kanya - Uttara Phalguni 2 - 0°0' - 3°20' - 1st Pada of 9 Padas
Thula - Swati 3 - 13°20' - 16°40' - 5th Pada of 9 Padas
Vrischika - Jyeshta 4 - 26°40' - 30°0' - 9th Pada of 9 Padas
Dhanu - Moola 1 - 0°0' - 3°20' - 1st Pada of 9 Padas
Makara - Dhanishta 2 - 26°40' - 30°0' - 9th Pada of 9 Padas
Kumbha - Satabisha 3 - 13°20' - 16°40' - 5th Pada of 9 Padas
Meena - 26°40' - 30°0' - 9th Pada of 9 Padas
⇒ Graha Natpu, Pagai and Samam - Planetary Friendship, Enmity and Neutrality
This concept works largely on the traditional Parashara methodology of finding out if a planet is friendly or not to another taking the Moola Trikona sign into question and evaluating the same. However additionally in most of the Panchangas, Rahu and Ketu are also assigned friendship levels with other planets. In Tamil astrological parlance, Rahu & Ketu do not own any sign of their own but they have their own treatment with respect to other planets,
The planetary relationship for the 9 planets work in the following manner:
Sun:
Friends - Moon, Mars, Jupiter
Enemies - Venus, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu
Neutral - Mercury
Moon:
Friends - Sun, Mercury
Enemies - Rahu, Ketu
Neutral - Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn
Mars:
Friends - Sun, Moon, Jupiter
Enemies - Mercury, Rahu, Ketu,
Neutral - Venus, Saturn
Mercury:
Friends - Sun, Venus
Enemies - Moon
Neutral - Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu
Jupiter:
Friends - Sun, Moon, Mars
Enemies - Mercury, Venus
Neutral - Saturn, Rahu, Ketu
Venus:
Friends - Mercury, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu
Enemies - Sun, Moon,
Neutral - Mars, Jupiter
Saturn:
Friends - Mercury, Venus, Rahu, Ketu
Enemies - Sun, Moon, Mars
Neutral - Jupiter
Rahu:
Friends - Venus, Saturn, Ketu
Enemies - Sun, Moon, Mars
Neutral - Mercury, Jupiter
Ketu:
Friends - Venus, Saturn, Rahu
Enemies - Sun, Moon, Mars
Neutral - Mercury, Jupiter
⇒ Graha Rasi Thanmai - Planetary Relationship in Different Rasis
This is with respect to according the different relationship assigned to planets when they are placed in different signs. With respect to Rahu & Ketu, here again there are plenty of confusions at play. There is no clear cut basis as to which of the signs they happen to be exalted. One of the most popular views is that Rahu gets exalted in Taurus and Ketu in Scorpio. However there are certain Tamil Panchangams which advocate that both Rahu & Ketu being one and the same get exalted in the sign in which Moon gets debilitated which is Scorpio and get debilitated in the exalted sign of Moon which happens to be Taurus. This has a validity as in effect the nodes are derived based on the Moons orbital path and is also said to maintain an inimical relationship with it. Rahu & Ketu are said to be friends with Venus & Saturn whereas maintain a neutral relationship with Mercury & Jupiter but strangely they are said to be friendly in both the signs of Mercury & Jupiter respectively. There is also a generic contrarian view which says that Rahu is favorable when placed in the signs of Aries, Taurus, Cancer, Virgo and Capricorn whereas Ketu is beneficial in the signs of Virgo, Scorpio and Aquarius. There is no real consensus at all whenever it comes to the nodes but however listed below is the most well known relationships that planets exhibit when placed in various rasis.
The relationship exhibited by the 9 planets when placed in different rasis work in the following way:
⇒ Pasagan, Bodhakan, Karakan, Vedhagan - Digestor, Informer, Doer, Obstructor
This concept is largely used when analyzing Dasha result. It is believed that the Antar Dasa Lord gives its result to the Dasha Lord based on any of the 4 portfolio that it obtains. The results of these are given in the Tamil texts "Jathaka Alankaram" and "Chandra Kaviyam". Explained below briefly is about the meaning of the 4 different terms.
Pasagan - The Pasagan is the one that instructs to give results in abundance and in a complete manner
Bodhakan - The Bodhakan is the one that intends to give results in a quick fashion and in proper way
Karakan - The Karakan is the one that acts as helper and providing assistance in completing a task
Vedhagan - The Vedhagan is the one that acts as a hurdle and obstructs the path in giving the fulfilled results
Listed below are the Pasagan, Bodhakan, Karakan and Vedhagan for all the 9 planets
Sun : Pasagan - Saturn, Bodhakan - Mars, Karakan - Jupiter, Vedhagan - Venus
Moon : Pasagan - Venus, Bodhakan - Mars, Karakan - Saturn, Vedhagan - Sun
Mars : Pasagan - Sun, Bodhakan - Moon, Karakan - Saturn, Vedhagan - Mercury
Mercury : Pasagan - Moon, Bodhakan - Jupiter, Karakan - Venus, Vedhagan - Mars
Jupiter : Pasagan - Saturn, Bodhakan - Mars, Karakan - Moon, Vedhagan - Sun
Venus : Pasagan - Mercury, Bodhakan - Jupiter, Karakan - Sun, Vedhagan - Saturn
Saturn : Pasagan - Venus, Bodhakan - Moon, Karakan - Jupiter, Vedhagan - Mars
Rahu : Pasagan - Mercury, Bodhakan - Jupiter, Karakan - Mars, Vedhagan - Sun
Ketu : Pasagan - Venus, Bodhakan - Mercury, Karakan - Saturn, Vedhagan - Moon
Notes: The classics largely advocate the results only for the 7 planets and not the nodes Rahu / Ketu. However in a few rare places they have been mentioned indirectly and hence been added in the list. Apart from Dasa results, these are sometimes also used as general placement results within a horoscope. For instance taking Sun, it's Pasagan is said to be Saturn which is said to be it's enemy but Sun sitting in the rasi of Saturn which could be Capricorn or Aquarius can enable Sun to get results in abundance on account of Saturn being it's Pasagan. Likewise Moon sitting in a rasi of Mars that could be Aries or Scorpio can help Moon to get it's desired results in quick time due to Mars being it's Bodhakan. Similar way Jupiter acts as the Karaka for Saturn. Hence Saturn being placed in a rasi of Jupiter which is either of Sagittarius or Pisces will help Saturn get the required assistance in completing it's work. Vedhagan on the other hand obstructs proceedings and as an illustration Jupiter sitting in the rasi of Sun which is Leo can act as a hurdle and prevent Jupiter from getting it's results fulfilled.
⇒ Graha Bala - Planetary Strength
As per this concept, Ketu is said to be the strongest planet of all followed by its opposite nodal point Rahu. Then follows the luminaries Sun, Moon followed by the 5 planets Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn
The planetary strength for the 9 planets work in the following order:
Ketu -> Rahu -> Sun -> Moon -> Venus -> Jupiter -> Mercury -> Mars -> Saturn
⇒ Graha Paarvai - Planetary Aspect
In common parlance, the outer planets Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are said to possess extra aspects apart from the default 7th aspect whereas the inner planets namely Venus, Mercury, Moon and Sun are said to obtain only the 7th aspect. With regard to Rahu & Ketu however there is a major consensual debate with Tamil Astrology alone adopting 3rd & 11th aspect whereas significant mention of aspects for the nodes have been said that they either possess no aspect or hold aspect similar to Jupiter in the sense of owning the 5th and 9th view. There is also a mention in an old Tamil classic called "Jothida Arichuvadai" translated as System of Jyotish that exhibits a sloka interpreting Grahas to have special (Vichitra) aspects for certain planets apart from the default 7th aspect. Here even Mandi the son of Saturn is said to be possessing a forward and backward sight viz 2nd and 12th aspect.
The planetary aspects for the 9 planets work in the following way:
Sun - 3rd, 7th and 10th Aspect
Moon - 7th Aspect
Mars - 4th, 7th and 8th Aspect
Mercury - 7th Aspect
Jupiter - 5th, 7th and 9th Aspect
Venus - 6th, 7th and 8th Aspect
Saturn - 3rd, 7th and 10th Aspect
Rahu - 3rd, 7th and 11th Aspect
Ketu - 3rd, 7th and 11th Aspect
