What is a yoga in a kundli?
Yoga means union or joining, and in Jyotish it names a defined combination of placements that the texts treat as a single unit. Two grahas in one sign, a graha in a particular house counted from the Moon, the rulers of two houses linked to each other: each pattern the classical literature bothered to name is a yoga. There are hundreds of them, and the worth of a yoga calculator lies entirely in whether it states its rules. A yoga is a structural feature of the chart, not an outcome: it describes an arrangement, and how much that arrangement can do depends on the strength of the grahas forming it and on when their periods run. Two charts with the same yoga are not two charts with the same life.
Which yogas does this calculator detect?
Twenty, each shown with the conditions it met. The five Pancha Mahapurusha yogas (Ruchaka, Bhadra, Hamsa, Malavya and Sasa). Gajakesari in its full Parashari form, and the lighter Kesari. Amala and Lakshmi. The lunar yogas Sunapha, Anapha, Durudhara and Kemadruma, with Adhi and Dhana read from the Moon. The solar yogas Vesi, Vasi and Ubhayachari. Raja Yoga between the rulers of the pillar and luck houses, and Neechabhanga, the cancelling of a planet's debilitation. Budhaditya and Chandra-Mangala are not checked, because the oldest Parashari list does not name them and the Sun with Mercury is too common to single out. Viparita Raja yoga, the Nabhasa yogas and Lal Kitab combinations are not checked either.
What are the Pancha Mahapurusha yogas?
Five "great person" yogas, one for each graha that is neither luminary nor node. Each forms when its graha stands in its own sign or in exaltation, and in a kendra from the ascendant, meaning the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house. Ruchaka belongs to Mars, Bhadra to Mercury, Hamsa to Jupiter, Malavya to Venus and Sasa to Saturn. Both conditions have to hold at once, which keeps them uncommon: across randomised charts each of the five turns up in roughly one chart in ten to one in twenty. An exalted Venus in the 3rd house forms nothing, and neither does a Venus in Libra in the 6th.
Ruchaka: Mars in Aries, Scorpio or Capricorn
Mars owns Aries and Scorpio and is exalted in Capricorn, so Ruchaka asks for Mars in one of those three signs and for that sign to fall in a kendra from the ascendant. The tradition reads it for courage, physical vigour and command. Whether the combination has anything behind it is a separate question from whether it is present: a Mars short of its Shadbala minimum forms exactly the same yoga as a Mars well clear of it, and gives less.
Bhadra: Mercury in Gemini or Virgo
Mercury owns Gemini and Virgo, and Virgo is also its sign of exaltation, the only one of the five whose exaltation falls inside its own rulership, so Bhadra has two qualifying signs where the others have three. The placement must still sit in a kendra from the ascendant. Classical sources associate it with intelligence, speech and a command of detail, and it is the rarest of the five because Mercury has the fewest signs to choose from.
Hamsa: Jupiter in Sagittarius, Pisces or Cancer
Jupiter owns Sagittarius and Pisces and is exalted in Cancer. Hamsa asks for Jupiter in one of the three and in a kendra from the ascendant. It is often confused with Gajakesari, which also watches Jupiter but asks different questions: whether a benefic touches Jupiter and whether Jupiter is free of debilitation and combustion. The two can form together. The tradition reads Hamsa for learning, judgement and standing.
Malavya: Venus in Taurus, Libra or Pisces
Venus owns Taurus and Libra and is exalted in Pisces. Malavya asks for Venus in one of the three and in a kendra from the ascendant. It is the one claimed most loosely, because an exalted Venus is easy to spot and the kendra condition is easy to drop; this detection requires both, and the result names which route, ownership or exaltation, the yoga came by. The tradition reads it for refinement, comfort and the arts.
Sasa: Saturn in Capricorn, Aquarius or Libra
Saturn owns Capricorn and Aquarius and is exalted in Libra. Sasa asks for Saturn in one of the three and in a kendra from the ascendant. It is the combination readers are most likely to distrust, because Saturn is counted a malefic, but strength and gentleness are separate questions here as everywhere, and a strong Saturn is read as a Saturn able to act in its slow, exacting way. The tradition reads Sasa for discipline and authority.
What is Gajakesari Yoga?
In its full Parashari form, Gajakesari asks for three things at once: Jupiter in a kendra from the ascendant or from the Moon, Jupiter joined or aspected by another benefic, and Jupiter not debilitated, combust or in an enemy's sign. Most calculators keep only the first half of the first condition, Jupiter in a kendra from the Moon, which is why the yoga seems to appear everywhere. The texts call that bare form Kesari and rate it lighter, so this calculator reports the two separately.
Gajakesari: Jupiter placed, supported and unafflicted
When all three conditions hold, the calculator reports Gajakesari and lists each one it found: which reference point put Jupiter in a kendra, which benefic touches it, and that Jupiter is free of the three afflictions. Across randomised charts it forms in roughly one chart in eight, which makes it a real distinction rather than the commonplace the popular version suggests. The tradition reads it for good judgement, a respected name and goodwill from others.
Kesari: the lighter Moon and Jupiter form
When Jupiter sits in a kendra from the Moon but the fuller conditions are not all met, the calculator reports Kesari instead and says which condition was missing, for example that no benefic touches Jupiter. It turns up in about one chart in four. The texts read it as Jupiter steadying the mind, lending composure and good counsel, without the weight they give the complete yoga.
What is Raj Yoga in a kundli?
A Raja Yoga links a ruler of a pillar house (the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th) with a ruler of a luck house (the 1st, 5th or 9th). This calculator accepts four links: the two rulers exchanging signs, sitting together in a good house, facing each other across the chart, or each sitting in the other's kind of house. The first three are graded strong, the last weaker. A pair is set aside when either ruler also rules the 3rd, 6th, 8th or 11th, as the Parashari rules require. Even so, some Raja Yoga forms in nearly half of all charts, so its strength and the timing of its planets' periods matter far more than its presence.
What are Sunapha, Anapha, Durudhara and Kemadruma yoga?
The lunar yogas are read from the 2nd and 12th signs from the Moon, counting only the five grahas from Mars to Saturn; the Sun, Rahu and Ketu take no part. A chart carries at most one of the four, and about two charts in five carry none, because Kemadruma, the empty-sided case, needs more than empty sides before the texts will name it.
Sunapha: a graha in the 2nd from the Moon
One or more of the five grahas stands in the sign after the Moon's, and the sign before it is empty. It appears in about one chart in five. The tradition reads it for self-earned means and a planning mind. Which graha does the flanking carries more of the reading than the label does: a Sunapha formed by Saturn and one formed by Jupiter share a name and are not read the same way.
Anapha: a graha in the 12th from the Moon
The mirror case: the sign before the Moon's is occupied and the sign after it is empty. It appears in roughly one chart in four. Classical sources read it for poise and an easy manner. As with Sunapha, the identity of the flanking graha carries the reading, and the running dasha decides when any of it is in play; a yoga names an arrangement, never a date.
Durudhara: grahas on both sides of the Moon
Both the 2nd and the 12th from the Moon are occupied, so the Moon is flanked on either side. It is the least common of the three flanking yogas, at about one chart in ten, because five grahas spread over twelve signs more often fill one side than both. The tradition reads it as support arriving from more than one direction, and as comfort and generosity.
Kemadruma: the Moon left alone
The texts name Kemadruma only when three things hold: no graha beside the Moon in its own sign, none in the 2nd or 12th from it, and none in a kendra from the ascendant. Many calculators test only the middle condition and report it in about two charts in five; under the full rule it appears in about one in twenty. It is read as a call to self-reliance rather than a sentence.
What are Vesi, Vasi and Ubhayachari yoga?
The solar yogas mirror the lunar ones around the Sun: a graha from Mars to Saturn in the 2nd from the Sun forms Vesi, one in the 12th from the Sun forms Vasi, and grahas on both sides form Ubhayachari. The Moon, Rahu and Ketu take no part. Unlike the lunar set, the texts make the result depend on who forms it: benefics give the stated result and malefics are read as tempering it, so the calculator reports each one as favourable, mixed or tempered.
Vesi: a graha in the 2nd from the Sun
Mercury and Venus never stray far from the Sun, so one of them often stands just after it, and Vesi appears in a little over a quarter of charts. With a benefic forming it the tradition reads a balanced outlook, truthfulness and steady effort. With a malefic forming it, the same balance is read as harder to keep, and the result names which planet stands there.
Vasi: a graha in the 12th from the Sun
The mirror case, with the planet standing just before the Sun. It appears about as often as Vesi. Formed by a benefic it is read for skill, learning and generosity; formed by a malefic the same gifts are read as harder won. Like every yoga here it describes the chart's arrangement and says nothing about dates, which belong to the dasha.
Ubhayachari: grahas on both sides of the Sun
Grahas on both sides of the Sun form Ubhayachari, which turns up in about a third of charts. The tradition reads it for confidence, steadiness and the bearing of someone others follow. When the two sides hold a mix of benefics and malefics the result is reported as mixed, and the planets on each side are named so the reading can be weighed rather than taken whole.
Which other yogas does the calculator check?
Five more, each with a clear rule. Amala and Lakshmi are read from the houses of reputation and fortune, Adhi and Dhana from the Moon, and Neechabhanga from any debilitated planet. Two of them are rare enough that most charts will never show them, and one is common enough to need careful reading; each H3 below says which. As with every yoga on this page, the conditions it met are listed with the result, so you can see exactly why it was reported and check it against your own chart.
Amala: only benefics in the 10th
Amala forms when the 10th house from the ascendant, or from the Moon, holds benefics and no malefic. A single malefic in that house voids it. It appears in about one chart in five. The tradition reads it for a reputation that lasts and work people trust, which is why it is often read alongside the career area of a full chart.
Lakshmi: a strong ruler of fortune in a pillar house
Lakshmi asks for the ruler of the 9th house to sit in a pillar house in its own sign, its moolatrikona or exaltation, with the ruler of the ascendant itself strong. All three conditions together are rare: in randomised charts it formed in only a handful of cases in a thousand. The tradition reads it for prosperity, grace and a good name.
Adhi: benefics guarding the Moon
Adhi forms when benefics occupy the 6th, 7th and 8th signs from the Moon, at least two of them, with no malefic there. It is uncommon, at under one chart in fifty. The texts grade its result by the strength of the planets forming it, reading it for leadership and positions of trust when they are strong.
Dhana: benefics in the houses of growth from the Moon
This Dhana yoga counts Mercury, Jupiter and Venus in the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th signs from the Moon, the houses of growth. Two of the three are needed before it is reported, and all three count for more. It appears in a little over a quarter of charts and is read for resources that build steadily rather than arrive at once.
Neechabhanga: a debilitation cancelled
A debilitated planet's weakness is read as cancelled when the ruler of the sign it falls in, or the ruler of its exaltation sign, sits in a pillar house from the ascendant or the Moon. With seven planets and several routes to cancellation it is common, at nearly two charts in five. The texts read such a planet as starting weak and gaining strength, often doing better in the second half of its period.
What does a yoga promise, and when does it act?
A yoga names an arrangement; it does not name an event, and nothing on this page should be read as a forecast of one. The tradition puts three further questions to any yoga it finds. How strong are the grahas forming it? A Raja Yoga built from two weak grahas is read as a promise with little behind it, which is what the Shadbala calculator measures. When do their periods run? A combination is generally said to express itself during the dashas of the grahas that form it, so the Vimshottari dasha table is where a yoga meets a calendar. And what else the chart says, which your full kundli explains area by area. A yoga read without strength or timing is a headline with no article under it.
How this is calculated
Nirayana rashis with the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsha and whole-sign bhavas, computed to arc-second accuracy. Sunrise and sunset are the ones almanacs show, the Sun's upper edge with refraction, so the daily windows agree with the calendars you compare them with. More on our method.