Dharma-karma-adhipati yoga

Dharma-karma-adhipati yoga is a specific case of Raja yoga, which promises success, prosperity, influence, and fame. A strong dharma-karma-adhipati yoga allows a person to hold a high position in society.

This yoga is formed when the rulers of the houses of dharma (trine) and karma (quadrant) interact in the horoscope through aspect or conjunction. "Karma" means action, and "dharma" means fortune in the sense that people who selflessly follow their personal dharma find that fortune starts accompanying them everywhere. Real success in life comes when the effort made resonates with good fortune. Effort alone may not lead to success, but relying solely on luck is also not advisable. However, when they come together, they form a whole that is truly greater than the sum of its parts.

The source of the blessings bestowed by destiny is the Law of Karma: the accumulation of your past karmas determines what kind of support the world will provide you. Kendras, in a sense, represent your actions in the present, your kriyamana and agama karmas, while trines, in general, signify your past actions, with positive or negative consequences, your prarabdha and sanchita karmas. Parashara explains (Brihat Parashara Hora 41:28) that kendras are the bhavas of Vishnu, the Overcomer of Difficulties, while trines are the bhavas of Lakshmi, His wife, the Goddess of Prosperity. Lagna is particularly important as it is both a trine and a quadrant. Whenever the lord of the quadrant (husband) and the lady of the trine (wife) combine, fortunate coincidences align with luck, which is the key to long-lasting, enduring happiness - raja yoga.

This combination can also be viewed from another perspective - kendras are sometimes called houses of environment (the external circumstances surrounding you), and trines are houses of abilities (your internal qualities). If the external, objective, and internal, subjective factors of the horoscope harmoniously combine, they create a powerful support, as conscious (subjective) aspirations align with unconscious moods in the social environment (objective level). If, on the subjective level, you are intellectually gifted and love to learn, and objectively you happen to live two steps away from Harvard, then voila! External and internal circumstances have resonated, and success, so to speak, is guaranteed.

The dharma-karma-adhipati yoga formed by the rulers of the 9th and 10th houses or the 4th and 5th houses is especially valuable. The combination of the rulers of the 9th and 10th houses is the best dharma-karma-adhipati yoga, as the 9th house is the strongest trine and the 10th house is the strongest quadrant. Although the dharma-karma-adhipati yoga is defined as a combination formed by the conjunction or mutual aspect of the rulers of the trine and the quadrant, it is also considered to occur if: (a) the lord of the 9th house is located in the 9th house and the lord of the 10th house is in the 10th house; or the lord of the 4th house is in the 4th house and the lord of the 5th house is in the 5th house. (In these cases, two pancha mahapurusha yogas often form), (b) the lord of the 9th house occupies the 10th house and the lord of the 10th house occupies the 9th house; or the lord of the 4th house is in the 5th house and the lord of the 5th house is in the 4th house (this is a case of parivartana yoga).

In some Lagnas, the same graha rules both the quadrant and the trine. Such a graha becomes a rajayoga-karaka (indicator of rajayoga) - a graha that forms the dharma-karma-adhipati yoga on its own. If it is strongly placed, it will bring exceptionally good results. Note that the rajayoga-karakas are always friendly to the lord of the Lagna, under which they become rulers of the quadrant and the trine:

• Mars is the rajayoga-karaka for Leo ascendants (ruler of the 4th and 9th houses) and Cancer ascendants (ruler of the 5th and 10th houses)
• Venus is the rajayoga-karaka for Capricorn ascendants (ruler of the 5th and 10th houses) and Aquarius ascendants (ruler of the 4th and 9th houses)
• Saturn is the rajayoga-karaka for Taurus ascendants (ruler of the 9th and 10th houses) and Libra ascendants (ruler of the 4th and 5th houses).

Although rajayoga-karakas can form rajayoga on their own with a favorable placement, ideally they should be supported by benefic planets or rulers of good houses. This is especially true for Cancer ascendants, as Mars, the rajayoga-karaka, experiences debilitation in the 1st house. It is sometimes said that Mars in Cancer forms rajayoga only if it is supported by benefics. Saturn acts as a rajayoga-karaka for ascendants of Venus, and Venus corresponds to Saturn in the same way. Similarly, the Moon and the Sun, rulers of Cancer and Leo respectively, when in conjunction, form rajayoga in Martian ascendants (in Aries, where the luminaries rule the 4th and 5th houses, respectively, and in Scorpio, where they rule the 9th and 10th houses, respectively). Since whenever the Sun and the Moon are in the same house, the Moon is exceptionally dark, the rajayoga formed by the mutual aspect of the Sun and the Moon (which occurs during a full moon or close to a full moon) is much stronger than the yoga formed by their conjunction during a new moon.

Like any other beneficial yoga, rajayoga gives good results if it is placed in a good house and free from afflictions.

These and other yogas occur quite frequently, but they all have different strengths. Stick to the axiom of Mantreshwara, which states that good yogas will bring promised results if the participating grahas are strong and if there is a convergence of positive factors related to them.

We should also look at whether the dharma-karma-adhipati yogas repeat from the Moon and the Sun ascendants. Remember the five levels of human existence: physical body, etheric body, subtle body, causal body, and super-causal body. Lagna (birth ascendant) represents the physical body, the Moon ascendant represents the subtle body (and thus the embodiment of desires), and the Sun ascendant represents the causal body (and thus the embodiment of thoughts). The alignment of thoughts and desires with actions, which makes the latter meaningful, occurs when yogas and planetary combinations repeat from all three ascendants. This can also be seen as a special type of convergence of factors.