Ghati Lagna and Bhava Lagna Explained

The Lagna, the sign rising in the east at birth, is the best known starting point of a horoscope. Sage Parashara also describes several special lagnas (vishesha lagna): mathematical points that move at a steady rate from sunrise. Three of them are used together, mainly in the Jaimini tradition:

• Bhava Lagna (BL), for the self and vitality
• Hora Lagna (HL), for wealth
• Ghati Lagna (GL), for power and authority

They are easy to calculate, and they add something the ordinary Lagna cannot give on its own: a separate reading for money and for status.

One idea, three speeds

All three begin at the same place: the longitude of the Sun at the moment of sunrise on the day of birth. From there each one moves forward through the zodiac at its own constant speed.

The old unit of time is the ghati. A day and night together have 60 ghatis, so one ghati is 24 minutes and two and a half ghatis make one hour.

Special lagna	Moves one sign in	Speed
Bhava Lagna	5 ghatis (2 hours)	15° per hour
Hora Lagna	2½ ghatis (1 hour)	30° per hour
Ghati Lagna	1 ghati (24 minutes)	30° in 24 minutes, or 1°15' per minute

So in one day the Bhava Lagna goes once round the zodiac, the Hora Lagna twice and the Ghati Lagna five times.

The true Lagna also goes round once a day, but unevenly: some signs take longer to rise than others, depending on the place and the season. The Bhava Lagna is the same journey at an even pace. That is why it usually falls close to the real Lagna but seldom exactly on it.

The calculation

You need three things:

1. the time of sunrise at the birthplace on the day of birth,
2. the Sun's sidereal longitude at sunrise,
3. the time of birth.

Then:

1. Find the time elapsed from sunrise to birth, in hours.
2. Bhava Lagna = Sun at sunrise + (hours × 15°)
3. Hora Lagna = Sun at sunrise + (hours × 30°)
4. Ghati Lagna = Sun at sunrise + (hours × 75°)
5. If any result is more than 360°, subtract 360° until it is not.

For a birth before sunrise, use the previous day's sunrise, because the Indian day runs from sunrise to sunrise.

A worked example

• Sunrise: 6:00 a.m.
• Sun at sunrise: 10° Leo, which is 130° from the start of Aries
• Birth: 9:36 a.m.

Time since sunrise is 3 hours 36 minutes, which is 3.6 hours, or 9 ghatis.

Lagna	Working	Result
Bhava Lagna	130° + (3.6 × 15°) = 130° + 54° = 184°	4° Libra
Hora Lagna	130° + (3.6 × 30°) = 130° + 108° = 238°	28° Scorpio
Ghati Lagna	130° + (3.6 × 75°) = 130° + 270° = 400°, less 360° = 40°	10° Taurus

You can check the Ghati Lagna another way. Nine ghatis have passed, so it has moved nine signs from 10° Leo. Nine signs on from Leo is Taurus: 10° Taurus.

What each one shows

Bhava Lagna

The Bhava Lagna stands for the self: body, vitality and the basic direction of life. It works as a second Lagna. Astrologers look at it:

• to confirm the reading from the natal Lagna;
• when the true Lagna is close to the border of two signs and the birth time is in doubt, as supporting evidence. Guidance on the rising sign itself is in How to Find Your Lagna;
• in longevity and health methods of the classical texts, which students should approach only with a teacher.

Hora Lagna

The Hora Lagna stands for wealth and sustenance. Planets in it or aspecting it, its lord, and the 2nd and 11th houses counted from it describe how money comes and how well it is held. There is a short separate article on it: Hora Lagna in Vedic Astrology.

Ghati Lagna

The Ghati Lagna stands for power, authority and status: the capacity to command, to hold office and to be obeyed. Astrologers read:

• the sign and its lord. A strong lord of the Ghati Lagna supports a position of responsibility;
• planets in or aspecting it. Benefics give respected, lawful authority. The Sun, Mars or Saturn give a more commanding, hard-earned kind;
• the 10th house from it, for the work through which authority comes.

A simple way to remember the three: Bhava Lagna is the person, Hora Lagna is the purse, Ghati Lagna is the post.

The raja yoga of the three lagnas

The best known use of these points is a rule from Jaimini:

> When one planet aspects or occupies the Lagna, the Hora Lagna and the Ghati Lagna, it produces a raja yoga.

The reasoning is neat. The Lagna is the person, the Hora Lagna is wealth and the Ghati Lagna is power. A single planet that connects all three ties the person to both money and authority. If it connects only two of the three, the result is good but smaller.

Some further points from the tradition:

• The link may be by occupation or by aspect. In the Jaimini system the aspect meant here is the sign aspect, explained in Jaimini Rasi Drishti Sign Aspects Explained.
• The same test is applied in the Navamsa and the Drekkana. A planet that links the three in the rasi chart and again in these divisional charts gives a much stronger yoga.
• The planet should itself be strong. A debilitated or badly afflicted planet may give position without ease.
• The yoga tends to show in the periods of that planet or of the signs involved.

These lagnas are often read together with the Arudha Lagna, which shows the image a person has in the world. The Ghati Lagna shows real power; the Arudha Lagna shows perceived standing. The two do not always match.

A caution about birth time

These points are sensitive to time, and each more than the last.

Lagna	Change for a 4-minute error in birth time
Bhava Lagna	1°
Hora Lagna	2°
Ghati Lagna	5°

A birth time that is wrong by 12 minutes moves the Ghati Lagna by 15°, half a sign. They also depend on the sunrise time used. Some calculate sunrise from the moment the centre of the Sun's disc is on the horizon, others from the first appearance of its upper edge, and the two differ by a few minutes. So:

• use these lagnas with confidence only when the birth time is reliable;
• if the Ghati Lagna is near the end or the beginning of a sign, consider both signs;
• give more weight to the sign than to the exact degree.

Summary

The Bhava Lagna, Hora Lagna and Ghati Lagna all start from the Sun's position at sunrise and move forward at 15°, 30° and 75° an hour. The first shows the self, the second wealth and the third power and authority. A planet that occupies or aspects the Lagna, the Hora Lagna and the Ghati Lagna together forms a raja yoga in the Jaimini system. Because they move quickly, they need an accurate birth time, and they are best used to confirm and enrich what the main chart already shows.

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See Also:ghati lagna bhava lagna hora lagna special lagnas jaimini astrology raja yoga vedic astrology