Vimsopaka Bala Explained

Astrologers often say that a planet is "strong in the vargas". Vimsopaka Bala is the way Sage Parashara turns that remark into a number. Vimsopaka means "of twenty": every planet receives a score out of 20 points, based on the sign it occupies in each of the divisional charts.

The logic is easy to follow. A planet in its own sign in one chart is comfortable there. If it is also in its own or a friendly sign in the Navamsa, the Drekkana and the rest, its comfort is deep and its results are dependable. Vimsopaka Bala adds this up, giving the important charts a larger share.

The four schemes and their weights

Parashara names four sets of divisional charts. In each set the weights add up to 20.

Shadvarga (six charts)

Chart	Weight
D1 Rasi	6
D2 Hora	2
D3 Drekkana	4
D9 Navamsa	5
D12 Dwadasamsa	2
D30 Trimsamsa	1

Saptavarga (seven charts)

Chart	Weight
D1 Rasi	5
D2 Hora	2
D3 Drekkana	3
D7 Saptamsa	2.5
D9 Navamsa	4.5
D12 Dwadasamsa	2
D30 Trimsamsa	1

Dasavarga (ten charts)

Chart	Weight
D1 Rasi	3
D60 Shashtiamsa	5
D2, D3, D7, D9, D10, D12, D16, D30	1.5 each

Shodasavarga (all sixteen charts)

Chart	Weight
D1 Rasi	3.5
D9 Navamsa	3
D60 Shashtiamsa	4
D16 Shodasamsa	2
D2 Hora, D3 Drekkana, D30 Trimsamsa	1 each
D4, D7, D10, D12, D20, D24, D27, D40, D45	0.5 each

Two things stand out. The rasi chart and the Navamsa are heavy in every scheme. And where the Shashtiamsa D60 is included, it carries the largest share of all, which is the reason the ten and sixteen chart schemes should be used only when the birth time is accurate.

Scoring the dignity

In each chart, the planet earns points according to the sign it is in:

Sign the planet occupies	Points
Its own sign	20
Sign of a great friend	18
Sign of a friend	15
Sign of a neutral	10
Sign of an enemy	7
Sign of a great enemy	5

"Great friend" and "great enemy" come from the five-fold relationship. Each planet has natural friends, neutrals and enemies. In a given chart it also has temporary friends, the planets in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th and 12th signs from it, while the rest are temporary enemies. Combine the two:

• natural friend + temporary friend = great friend
• natural friend + temporary enemy = neutral
• natural neutral + temporary friend = friend
• natural neutral + temporary enemy = enemy
• natural enemy + temporary friend = neutral
• natural enemy + temporary enemy = great enemy

Parashara's list does not give separate values for exaltation or debilitation. Many astrologers and most software treat an exalted or moolatrikona planet like one in its own sign, and score a debilitated planet at the lowest level. Because of this, scores from two sources can differ a little. What matters is to compare planets within one chart using one method.

The formula

For each chart in the scheme:

chart weight × dignity points

Add the results for all the charts and divide by 20. The answer lies between 5 and 20.

Worked example (Shadvarga)

Take Jupiter in a chart with these placements:

Chart	Jupiter is in	Points	Weight	Product
D1	Own sign	20	6	120
D2	A friend's sign	15	2	30
D3	A neutral's sign	10	4	40
D9	Own sign	20	5	100
D12	An enemy's sign	7	2	14
D30	A friend's sign	15	1	15
			Total	319

319 / 20 = 15.95. Jupiter's Shadvarga Vimsopaka Bala is about 16 out of 20, a strong score. The own-sign placements in the two heaviest charts, D1 and D9, account for most of it.

Now suppose the same Jupiter were in an enemy's sign in the Navamsa. The D9 line drops from 100 to 35 and the total to 254, giving 12.7. One change in the Navamsa moves the planet from strong to medium, which shows how much the Navamsa matters.

Reading the score

Parashara's guidance, in round terms:

• 15 to 20: the planet gives the full results of its dasha and of the houses it rules.
• 10 to 15: medium results.
• 5 to 10: modest results.
• About 5: the planet struggles to deliver in its own period.

Some cautions keep the number in its place.

It measures one thing. Vimsopaka Bala looks only at sign dignity across the vargas. It says nothing about house placement, aspects, combustion or retrogression. Shadbala covers those other kinds of strength, and the two are best read side by side.

Strength is not kindness. A high score means the planet can deliver what it signifies in the chart. Whether that is pleasant depends on the houses the planet rules for the Lagna.

A low score is not a verdict. It means the planet's results come with more effort or later in life. Many people with a low-scoring planet do well in that planet's field through steady work.

Choose the scheme to suit the birth time. With an ordinary birth record, use the Shadvarga or Saptavarga. Their finest chart is the Trimsamsa, which is not time-sensitive for planets. Keep the Dasavarga and Shodasavarga for rectified charts.

Where it is used

• Dasha judgement. Before reading a mahadasha, check the dasha lord's Vimsopaka Bala. A strong lord gives the period substance.
• Comparing planets. When two planets both promise something, such as two candidates for career significator, the one with the higher score usually leads.
• Vargottama and beyond. A planet in its own sign in several vargas earns the classical titles: in the ten-chart scheme two own-sign placements make Parijata, three Uttama, four Gopura, five Simhasana, and so on upward. Vimsopaka Bala gives the same idea a continuous scale.

Summary

Vimsopaka Bala scores a planet out of 20 from its dignity in a set of divisional charts. Choose one of Parashara's four schemes, multiply each chart's weight by the planet's dignity points from 20 for its own sign down to 5 for a great enemy's sign, add and divide by 20. Above 15 is strong, 10 to 15 medium, below that modest. Read it together with the rasi chart and Shadbala, and use the six or seven chart schemes unless the birth time is exact.

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