Darakaraka

The darakaraka is the planet with the lowest degree in its sign among Jaimini’s eight chara karakas. It describes the spouse and close partners: what kind of people a person attracts, what they seek in a union and what lessons they receive through relationships.

Last in line, but not least in importance

The chara karakas are distributed in descending order of the planet’s degree within the sign; for Rahu the degree is counted backwards from the end of the sign. The most “junior” planet receives the role of darakaraka. If the atmakaraka is the soul itself, the darakaraka is the one who walks beside it, its mirror in relationships. The natural indicator of the spouse in Jyotish is Venus (in tradition Jupiter is also taken into account for a woman’s chart), and the main house of marriage is the 7th; the darakaraka is always compared with them.

What it shows

• the character, appearance and aspirations of the spouse or long-term partner;
• what the person seeks in a union and the qualities that attract them;
• business partners and everyone with whom they enter into equal, contractual relations;
• the lessons that come through intimacy and compromise.

How to read the sign, house and navamsha

The sign of the darakaraka describes the partner’s temperament: a fire sign gives an enterprising and direct partner, an earth sign a practical and reliable one, an air sign a sociable and intellectual one, a water sign a sensitive and caring one. The planet’s dignity tells how easily the union comes together: its own sign or exaltation usually supports the relationship, while debilitation calls for more work from both sides.

The house from the lagna shows where the meeting will take place and which area of life colours the marriage: in the 10th work and shared status, in the 9th travel, study and shared beliefs, in the 4th home and family. The position of the darakaraka relative to the atmakaraka matters too: a conjunction or a mutual placement in angles and trines is usually considered a sign of harmony, while a mutual 6/8 is a sign of friction that calls for patience.

By tradition the navamsha is the chart of marriage, so the sign of the darakaraka in D9, its lord and the neighbouring planets are especially informative. Many astrologers use the darakaraka’s navamsha sign as an indication of the spouse’s appearance and character. The periods of the darakaraka in the dasha often coincide with important events in relationships. Another indicator of marriage in the Jaimini system is the upapada lagna; it is examined together with the darakaraka.

The darakaraka and the planets

A description of each planet in this role: the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu. On how the system works, see the overview of chara karakas; for a couple, nakshatra compatibility is also useful.

Your darakaraka is listed in the karaka table after the birth chart calculation.