Karakamsa and Natural Zodiac

Kārakāṁśa

One of the important principles of our tradition is to treat the Kārakāṁśa as Aries and examine the planets in the houses from it. Reason being that the ātmakāraka is akin to the jīvātmā (or jaḍātmā in the case of inanimate beings) which is similar to the Paramātma in its basic nature but lacks the purity and energy of the latter. In a sense, the creature is like the creator, in almost every respect. The ātmā is a spark of light symbolized by agni tattva and the Sun as the naisargika ātmakāraka. It behaves as if in exaltation in Aries and in mūlatrikoṇa in Leo. It sees itself as a replica of the Kālapuruṣa and hence its body parts get defined from Aries/Lagna the first house which is also the sva or self, whereas it sees the paramātma in the fifth house which is the mūlatrikoṇa of the Sun which also symbolizes sarvātmā and paramātma-like symbolizing the macrocosmic soul and the universal soul or super-soul which the individual soul sees as God. That is why the lagna is treated as the head akin to Aries and the fifth house is seen for bhakti (worship/prayer) and mantra.

Table: Pañca devatā

Tattva Devatā Upacāra (offering) Graha Bhāva
Agni Sūrya, Āditya, Prajāpati Dīpa(Light) Sun, Mars 1st, 8th (Mars) & 5th (Sun)
Jala Devī Naivedya (food & water) Moon, Venus 4th (Moon), 2nd & 7th (Venus)
Pṛthvi Gaṇeśa Gandha (sandal paste) Mercury 3rd & 6th houses
Vāyu Śiva Dhūpa (incense) Saturn 10th & 11th houses
Ākāśa Viṣṇu Puśpa (Flower) Jupiter 9th & 12th houses
HouseBhavaExample

Houses from kārakāṁśa

Karakamsa View

The ninth and twelfth houses of natural zodiac are ruled by Jupiter indicating ākāśa tattva and Viṣṇu as the devatā. These houses from kārakāṁśa indicate the dharma devatā and iṣṭa devatā as they are the vijñānāṁśa and jīvanamuktāṁśa respectively.

The lagna and eighth houses of the natural zodiac are ruled by Mars indicating agni tattva and Āditya as the devatā. Recitation of the Brahma Gāyatrī pleases agni devatā and grants good health, intelligence and longevity. Sun ruling the fifth house of the natural zodiac also shows agni tattva but Sūrya devatā and Savitur Gāyatrī mantra for all knowledge.

The second and seventh houses of the natural zodiac are ruled by Venus indicating jala tattva and Śakti devī. These houses from kārakāṁśa indicate the fulfilment of desires and apara vidyā. The fourth house of the natural zodiac is ruled by the Moon and also indicates jala tattva but shows the mana instead and para vidyā.

The third and sixth houses of the natural zodiac are ruled by Mercury indicating pṛthvi tattva and Gaṇeśa as the devatā. These houses from kārakāṁśa indicated dhimantaḥ yoga shows success in the material world and intelligence to learn and grow.

The tenth and eleventh houses of the natural zodiac are ruled by Saturn indicating vāyu tattva and Śiva as the devatā. These houses from kārakāṁśa indicate the root cause of rebirth or the sins that can only be forgiven by Nīlakaṇṭha Śiva when He drinks the poison of our sins and forgives our undoing. Maharṣi Jaimini teaches that these houses have a direct impact on the kārakāṁśa by the principle of the ‘vāra’ or weekdays. He gives the example of Mercury in the tenth house from kārakāṁśa giving results as if Saturn is placed in kārakāṁśa. Count from the 10th house to kārakāṁśa- we get 4 signs. Now count as many days, in the order of weekdays from the planet in the 10th house. If Mercury is in the 10th house (Mercury is the ruler of Wednesday), then counting 4-days we arrive at Saturday which is ruled by Saturn. Similarly for planet in the 11th house we can count 3-days. We do not have any dictum or reason to extend this to other houses of the natural zodiac as they are not ruled by Saturn and do not show the sins causing rebirth.

Bhāva-attitude in prayer

The point being made here is not about the deity but how you approach the deity- the ‘bhāva’ or attitude in prayer. For example if a person approaches Durgā Devī in repentance for sins then the bhāva is that of Śiva bhakti or if a person says that he sees Śiva everywhere then the bhakti bhāva is that of Viṣṇu means sarva-vyapakeśa or present everywhere.

Planets in the ninth and twelfth houses from kārakāṁśa show the dharma and iṣṭa devatā and should be approached with Viṣṇu bhāva i.e. omnipresence. The prayer should be with faith to Viṣṇu avatāra (deal as   this comes naturally) or any other deity, but the approach should be to an all pervading protector God so that the native is ever conscious of the presence of the God in all creatures and all things. Like Bhakta Prahalada the native should really believe that his iṣṭa devatā is present everywhere. This way he will stick to the path of dharma. We have been taught to believe ଚକା ଆଖି ସବୁ ଦେଖୁଛି ‘chakā ākhi sabu dekhuchi’ i.e. the round eyes of Jagannāth are seeing all the time, everywhere and He does not sleep!

Planets in the lagna, fifth and eighth houses from kārakāṁśa should be approached with Brahma bhāva i.e. omniscience. The prayer should be with faith to Āditya or any other deity, but the approach should be to an all knowing and all seeing spiritual creator God. Brahma is not worshipped per se, as our creation which is due to sins that could not be forgiven, is not something worth thanking God for as we don’t want it repeated. Instead, we approach Āditya for giving us our daily needs and for longevity and Sūrya specifically for spiritual knowledge and the ability to see and know the truth. The Sun God Sūrya is acknowledged as the father of all souls and also as the creator.

Planets in the second and seventh houses from kārakāṁśa should be approached with Devi bhāva i.e. omnivorous enjoyer. The prayer should be with blind faith to an all giving Devī from (ideally Śrī) or any other deity but the approach should be to an all giving benefactor deity so that the native fulfils all this desires and becomes a śrīmantaḥ as these houses relate to śrīmantaḥ yoga. Planets in the fourth house from kārakāṁśa show learning coming from the Devī and consciousness of anything and everything. It brings awareness and unless we have awareness about something, how can we ever learn about it, or know it or even pray to it? Thus the Devī gives the gati or direction which comes from awareness. You did not know who Jesus was when you were born but know now, and this knowing has come due to awareness that comes from various sources of knowledge called vidyā. Everything that brings awareness about something is in truth, a form of Mother Nature or prākṛti, and we approach deities in the fourth house with this śaktī bhāva – as an omnivorous hungry learner desirous of having all para and apara vidyā.

Planets in the 3rd and 6th houses from kārakāṁśa should be approached with Gaṇeśa form (ideal) or any other deity but the approach should be to an all knowing teacher God so that the native learns and becomes a dhimantaḥ as these houses relate to dhimantaḥ yoga. We need to realize that all material knowledge must be due to the body manifesting or pṛthvi tattva and here we talk of material knowledge related to ‘growth’ that helps us to live in this world.

Planets in the 10th and 11th houses from kārakāṁśa should be approached with Śiva bhāva i.e. omnipotence. The prayer should be with faith to the all-powerful lord Śiva (10th house) or Rudra (11th house) or any other deity, but the approach should be to an omnipotent and kind king (as tenth house is the throne) like Śiva so that the native cleanses his sins and emerges purified and protected.

It is important to understand how the Soul looks at the various houses reckoned from the Karakamsha (in the Navamsha). Now it is easy to understand why the Navamsha lagna lord associted with the ātmakāraka gives Rājayoga. Why the Navamsha lagna in the 12th house from Karakamsha makes one very spiritual or why the same in 9th house from karakamsha makes one follow dharma very strictly…go ahead and draw your views.

karakamsa_sr

My question has always been – If Navamsha Lagna is YOUR BRAIN, then reckoned from Karakamsha can we say that the devatā guiding the brain, head and health is seen from the house number counted from Karakamsha to Navamsha Lagna. For example, if my chart Karakamsha is Virgo and Navamsha Lagna is Scorpio = 3rd house from Karakamsha, can we say that Ganesha guides me? Maybe its true as during my childhood I never missed even one celebration of Ganesha puja and did this in a very elaborate manner. Shakti Ganesha Mantra was my foundation ….there are other arguments for this as well. Could you check your charts and see if this thinking is correct.

Dearest Guru ji,  Namaste! In my chart this seems to make absolute sense if one were to analyze my affinity to the Devata concerned. My Navamsa lagna is in the 12th from my Karakamsha, which should signify Lord Vishnu. (And my Navamsa lagna lord is my Atmakaraka) From my childhood my affinity to Lord Vishnu has been unmistakable.  I spent the 1st ten years of my life in Bhadrachalam (Andhra Pradesh), where Lord Rama is said to have spent some part of his life. There is a beautiful and famous Lord Rama temple and we used to visit the temple with my father every weekend. There used to be religious events/singing/etc conducted sometimes at night and we used to get ourselves all ready to spend the better part of the night in the temple!  Then ofcourse, our visits to Tirupati Balaji were so very frequent; atleast twice a year and the greatest attraction being walking up from Tirupati to Tirumala which we have done innumerable times. What is more Guru ji, I do not fail to recite the Visnu Sahasranamam everyday now..it has been about 40 days now; as the process of purification intensifies; I can feel the affinity/love/attraction increase..!  I have not consciously realized it but Lord Vishnu has been guiding me throughout and finally it was he who led me to Diksha as well as I prayed fervently to him.Yamini Durvasula yaminirao@

Her deep devotion and power of the nama tattva “Rama” and “Krishna” has led her to Sri Ramakrishna …

4 thoughts on “Karakamsa and Natural Zodiac

  1. you have recommended worshiping Shri Ganesha for planets positioned 3rd from karakamsha.can we chose Vedamurty related to the planet like Hanuman ji for mars placed in such a position ?

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