Baladi Avasthas The Five States of Planets

Two charts can have Jupiter in the same sign and the same house, and yet Jupiter behaves differently in each. One reason is the planet's avastha, its "state". Sage Parashara describes several sets of avasthas. The simplest and most widely used is the Baladi set, named after its first member, Bala. It compares a planet to a person at five ages of life and depends on one thing only: the planet's degree within its sign.

The five states

Each sign of 30 degrees is divided into five bands of 6 degrees.

• Bala (infant): the planet is still growing into its power.
• Kumara (youth): the planet is active but not yet mature.
• Yuva (adult): the planet is in its prime.
• Vriddha (old): the planet is experienced but slow.
• Mrita (dormant): the planet is at rest.

The order of the bands depends on whether the sign is odd or even.

Degrees	Odd signs	Even signs
0° to 6°	Bala	Mrita
6° to 12°	Kumara	Vriddha
12° to 18°	Yuva	Yuva
18° to 24°	Vriddha	Kumara
24° to 30°	Mrita	Bala

Odd signs are Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquarius. Even signs are Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces.

Notice that the middle band, 12° to 18°, is Yuva in every sign. Notice also that the bands join smoothly across the signs. The end of an odd sign is Mrita and so is the beginning of the even sign that follows; the end of an even sign is Bala and so is the beginning of the next odd sign. A planet moving through the zodiac therefore passes through a continuous rise and fall, like a slow wave.

How much each state gives

Parashara puts it in fractions:

• Bala: one quarter of the planet's results.
• Kumara: one half.
• Yuva: the full results.
• Vriddha: very little.
• Mrita: almost nothing on its own.

These fractions are a way of ranking, not exact measurements. A fair modern reading is this: a planet in Yuva acts promptly and plainly; in Kumara and Bala it gives results that grow with time and effort; in Vriddha and Mrita its results arrive late, quietly, or through other planets that support it.

Worked examples

Mars at 15° Aries. Aries is odd; 15° is in the 12° to 18° band. Mars is in Yuva, at full power, and in its own sign as well.

Jupiter at 26° Cancer. Cancer is even; 26° is in the 24° to 30° band, which in an even sign is Bala. Jupiter is exalted here, but its exaltation unfolds gradually, with a quarter of the immediate effect.

Venus at 3° Taurus. Taurus is even; 3° is in the first band, which in an even sign is Mrita. Venus is in its own sign yet dormant by avastha. The comforts Venus promises are present in the chart, but they tend to come without much fuss or later than expected.

Saturn at 27° Libra. Libra is odd; 27° is in the last band, Mrita. Saturn is exalted in Libra, so here we have an exalted planet in the weakest avastha. This kind of mixed case is common and is discussed below.

Mrita does not mean what it sounds like

The word mrita literally means "dead", and that causes needless worry. In this context it describes the planet's activity, not the person's life. A planet in Mrita avastha is like a lamp turned low. Nothing in this scheme points to death, illness or loss, and no classical author uses it that way. Nearly every chart has one or more planets in Vriddha or Mrita, simply because those two bands cover 40 percent of every sign.

Weighing avastha against other strengths

The avastha is one factor among several. When it disagrees with the others, use this order of thought.

1. Sign dignity comes first. An exalted or own-sign planet in Mrita is still a dignified planet. It gives good results, with less speed and display. A debilitated planet in Yuva is energetic but awkwardly placed; it acts strongly, and the person has to guide that energy well.

2. Check the Navamsa. A planet in a weak avastha that is in its own sign in the Navamsa recovers much of its power. The broader method for this is Vimsopaka Bala, which totals dignity across the divisional charts.

3. Check the measured strength. Shadbala gives the planet's overall strength from position, direction, time and motion. Baladi avastha is not part of Shadbala, so the two are independent views.

4. Look for help. A planet in Vriddha or Mrita that is joined or aspected by a strong benefic, or whose sign lord is strong, works through that support.

A simple way to put it: dignity shows the quality of what a planet gives, and avastha shows how readily it gives it.

Avastha and the dasha

The avastha is most noticeable in the planet's own dasha and sub-periods.

• A Yuva planet's dasha usually begins to show its results early in the period.
• A Bala or Kumara planet's dasha tends to build, with the better results in the later part.
• A Vriddha or Mrita planet's dasha is often quieter than the rest of the chart would suggest. These are good periods for steady preparation, study and consolidation.

Other avastha schemes

Parashara gives other sets, each answering a different question. Two are worth knowing by name.

Jagradadi (three states) depends on the sign:

• Jagrat (awake): the planet is in its own or exaltation sign and gives full results.
• Swapna (dreaming): it is in a friendly or neutral sign and gives medium results.
• Sushupti (asleep): it is in an enemy's or its debilitation sign and gives little.

Lajjitadi (six states) depends on house and company, for example a planet in the 5th house with a node or a malefic, or a planet too close to the Sun. These describe the planet's mood and are used for finer judgement of the house it occupies.

The Baladi set is the quickest of all. It needs only the degree of the planet and can be read at a glance from any chart.

A quick routine

1. Write down each planet's degree within its sign.
2. Mark the sign as odd or even.
3. Read the avastha from the table.
4. Note the planets in Yuva; they act most directly.
5. For planets in Vriddha or Mrita, check dignity, Navamsa and supporting aspects before drawing any conclusion.

Summary

The Baladi Avasthas divide every sign into five bands of 6 degrees: Bala, Kumara, Yuva, Vriddha and Mrita in odd signs, and the reverse in even signs. The middle band, 12° to 18°, is Yuva everywhere and is the strongest. The avastha shows how readily a planet gives its results, while dignity shows their quality. Read the two together, and treat Mrita simply as a planet at rest.

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