EYE ON ASTROLOGY: Â DIG BALA AND MARANA KARAKA STHANA OR BEST AND WORST HOUSE PLACEMENT FOR PLANETS
Sometimes people who study Vedic astrology learn rules but if we do not understand their psychological nature or how they function in a chart, we cannot help ourselves or our clients our understand what karma we have inherited. This article attempts to to turn difficult concepts into plain English so we can better understand it.
Certain planets do not do well in certain house  because their significations bring out their worse qualities and these placements can get ignored sometimes but they have a deep suffering quality and can bring out more karmic challenges than usual. This has a fancy name of Marana Kararka Sthana but it just means that planets do not well in those houses.  The opposite case is that planets that have Dig Bala gain strength from certain houses.  While Vedic astrologers learn these rules, it is important to find a language to explain to your clients so that they understand the lessons involved. Here is a quick guide for best house placement and worse house placement. Note these house places in the natal chart, moon chart or other divisional charts (vargas) will elicit results for those specific charts so these placements turn up more often and should be looked for carefully.
Sun in the 10th is best. Â Sun thrives in activity and in seeking status and being recognized so Sun in the 10th house has the highest energy. Â Sun in the 12th house is the most challenging placement because the Sun is hidden and unnoticed and feels abandoned, unsupported and secretive. Â This may have been a result of an unavailable father and leads to poor self-confidence, heart problems, health problems and breathing problems.
Moon in the 4th is the best placement for the moon where happiness reigns, mother is at home and in the heart.  Emotional support is full and one feel nurtured, affectionate content and with expanding full feelings.   Moon in the 8th house is most challenging as the emotions are stuck and repressed or dry or not experienced or stuck. This can lead to shyness, distance from mother, sexual extremes, jealous, intense desire to be loved and dangers from water accidents.
Mars does best in the  10th house  where it is innovative, smart cheerful, quick to get results, self-sufficient at work and where status and action and recognition occur.  Mars  is most difficultly placed in the 7th house  where sexual conquest and ego and force overtake duty and service.  This often leads to fights in relationship at work, selfish partners, aggression and disputes and reproductive problems.
Saturn does best  in the 7th house where it has Dig Bala and this is the natural 7th sign of the zodiac, Libra, where diplomacy and skill at the workplace bring rewards.  It produces practical business people who are loyal and dutiful in partnerships.   Saturn has Marana Karaka Sthana  (MKS) and is at its worse in the 1st house (connected to the 1st sign of the zodiac Aries) where fear in the head takes over grounded diplomacy.  This position creates selfishness, depression, isolation and slow physical development and low self-esteem.
Jupiter has dig bala and does best in the 1st house where wisdom, joy and generosity create great status and generosity and luck with children, wealthy and good coaches and teachers.  Jupiter does worse in the 3rd  house where wisdom is lost in a kama play of sexual pleasures and games.  It leads to low energy and poor attention, boredom, lack of resources and poor attention to detail. May not seriously understand the value of wisdom, spirituality and honor teachers.
Mercury does best  in the 1st house where intellectual prowess and reason lead to success and good cheer.  Mercury here is conscientious, principled, ethical, good at speech and math and writing.  Mercury does worse in the 7th house or the 4th house. In the 4th house the  intellect destroys the emotional contentment of happiness and prevents expression of feeling.  In the 7th house it  becomes the immature child/prince  having love affairs with no thought to the ethical consequences.  It also makes one too critical of partners and does not allow love to flow smoothly.
Venus does best in the 4th house of  house of happiness, home and contentment where it creates love of family, nurturing and love of elegant homes. It is  placed  the worst in  the 6th house (ie 6th sign like Virgo) where it creates conflicts with partners (partner as enemy) and has a perverse love of fighting. Sixth house is the house of celibacy and Venus is more at home in its sexual energy and this leads to problems.
Rahu does well in 10th house where it gains status at work but in the 9th house is considered worse placed or Marana Karaka Sthana where it usurps father and Guru and boss and  traditional religion in rebellious innovation.  It is a schemer here holding onto private bizarre philosophies rather than embracing the traditional.
Ketu does well in the 12th house where it has a natural placement for Moksha and may bring a mystical element to sexual expression.  Ketu dies in the 4th house where happiness and contentment take it off the path and early unhappiness from mother may lead to broken homes, problems with homes or vehicles or irregular heart beats.
Of course these rules are general and will be colored by sign, planetary aspects, nakshatra placements and other associations. Â A planet exalted or in its own sign in MKS (Marana Karaka Stana) may have a better chance at overcoming a poor placement like Sun in the 12th in Leo but still may lack poor judgment and not get through it as 12th house placements are often life-long journeys. Â Â If the owner of the house where the planet is places is afflicted, suffering may be more intense such as Sun in the 12th and aspected by Saturn and or Rahu may even create an almost deep curse.
The remedy for these poor placements of Marana Karaka Sthana is to workship the ruler of Karaka of the house that is involved. So if Mars is in the 7th house, then one needs to worship Venus, the karaka for the 7th house to overcome the relationship problems.
Special thanks to all my Jyotish Gurus including Bill Levacy, Sanjay Rath, Visti Larsen for all their insights.
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SECRETS OF THE HOUSES: PREDICTIVE TECHNIQUES, REMEDIES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DEPTH
