Viparita Raja Yoga Explained

Most yogas are formed by good houses joining together. Viparita Raja Yoga is the exception: it is formed entirely by the three difficult houses. Viparita means reversed or contrary. The idea is the old one that two negatives make a positive: when the lord of a difficult house sits in another difficult house, its ability to cause trouble is spent, and the person rises through adversity.

The three houses involved

The 6th, 8th and 12th houses are called the dusthanas. They stand for obstacles and competition (6th), sudden change and hidden matters (8th), and expense, loss and withdrawal (12th). The house groups are explained in Kendra Trikona and Dusthana Houses.

Normally the lords of these houses are treated with care. Viparita Raja Yoga is what happens when they are placed among themselves.

The rule

> The lord of the 6th, 8th or 12th house is placed in the 6th, 8th or 12th house.

The classical text Phaladeepika names three yogas, one for each lord:

Yoga	Formed by	Placed in	Traditional result
Harsha	6th lord	6th, 8th or 12th	Good health, happiness, courage, getting the better of competition
Sarala	8th lord	6th, 8th or 12th	Steadiness, learning, fearlessness, lasting success after crises
Vimala	12th lord	6th, 8th or 12th	Independence, careful spending, good conduct, a contented mind

A note on counting. The classical definition includes a lord in its own dusthana (for example the 6th lord in the 6th). Some astrologers accept only a lord placed in a different dusthana (the 6th lord in the 8th or 12th), on the grounds that a planet in its own house simply strengthens that house. Our software follows the stricter view when it flags this yoga. If your chart qualifies only by the wider definition, treat the yoga as milder.

The 6th, 8th and 12th lords for each Lagna

Lagna	6th lord	8th lord	12th lord
Aries	Mercury	Mars	Jupiter
Taurus	Venus	Jupiter	Mars
Gemini	Mars	Saturn	Venus
Cancer	Jupiter	Saturn	Mercury
Leo	Saturn	Jupiter	Moon
Virgo	Saturn	Mars	Sun
Libra	Jupiter	Venus	Mercury
Scorpio	Mars	Mercury	Venus
Sagittarius	Venus	Moon	Mars
Capricorn	Mercury	Sun	Jupiter
Aquarius	Moon	Mercury	Saturn
Pisces	Sun	Venus	Saturn

To check your chart, find your Lagna in the table and see whether any of the three planets sits in your 6th, 8th or 12th house.

Worked examples

Leo Lagna, Saturn in Pisces. Saturn rules the 6th (Capricorn). Pisces is the 8th house from Leo. The 6th lord is in the 8th: Harsha yoga.

Gemini Lagna, Saturn in Taurus. Saturn rules the 8th (Capricorn). Taurus is the 12th house. The 8th lord is in the 12th: Sarala yoga.

Capricorn Lagna, Jupiter in Gemini. Jupiter rules the 12th (Sagittarius). Gemini is the 6th house. The 12th lord is in the 6th: Vimala yoga.

The second lordship matters

Look again at the table. Only the Sun and the Moon rule a single house. Every other planet rules a second house as well, and that house is carried into the dusthana too.

• For Gemini Lagna, Saturn rules the 8th but also the 9th, the house of fortune. Saturn in the 12th forms Sarala yoga, yet the 9th lord in the 12th is a cost.
• For Aries Lagna, Mars rules the 8th and also the Lagna. For Libra Lagna the same is true of Venus. The Lagna lord in a dusthana needs separate judgement.
• For Leo Lagna, the Moon rules only the 12th, and for Capricorn Lagna the Sun rules only the 8th. These are the cleanest cases.

This is why two charts with the "same" Viparita Raja Yoga can feel very different. Where the planet rules a good house as well, weigh both. The effects of each lord in each house are collected in Effects of House Lords in the 12 Houses.

Conditions that strengthen the yoga

Classical commentators add conditions. The yoga works best when:

1. The planet is not joined or aspected by lords of other houses. The traditional wording is that the dusthana lords should be connected only with each other. A dusthana lord that sits with the 10th lord, for example, pulls that planet into its difficulties.
2. Two or all three dusthana lords are involved. The 6th lord in the 8th together with the 8th lord in the 6th is an exchange, a special kind of Parivartana yoga, and is read as a stronger Viparita Raja Yoga.
3. The Lagna and its lord are strong. The yoga describes rising after a setback. A strong Lagna gives the stamina to come through it.
4. The planet is not too strong in the wrong way. Many teachers hold that a dusthana lord that is weak or modest by sign does this job better than one that is exalted, because the house it rules is kept quiet.

How it shows up in life

"Raja yoga" here should not be read as a throne. The pattern is usually this: a difficulty arrives first, and the gain comes out of it. Typical forms are a promotion after a rival leaves, a business that grows out of a crisis others could not handle, relief from a debt or dispute, or skill in fields that deal with other people's problems, such as medicine, law, insurance, audit, research and emergency services.

The results come mostly in the dasha or bhukti of the planet forming the yoga. Before that period the person may see more of the struggle than the reward.

Compared with ordinary Raja yoga

An ordinary Raja yoga joins a kendra lord and a trikona lord; the strongest form is a single yogakaraka planet. It promises rise through merit and opportunity. Viparita Raja Yoga promises rise through resilience. Many successful charts have both; a chart with only Viparita Raja Yoga and a weak Lagna will feel the struggle more than the success.

A word of balance

Having dusthana lords in dusthanas is common, so this yoga appears in a great many charts. It is neither a lottery ticket nor a warning. Read it as a sign of where a person is able to turn difficulty to advantage, and judge its strength from the conditions above.

Summary

Viparita Raja Yoga is formed when the lord of the 6th, 8th or 12th house is placed in one of those three houses: Harsha for the 6th lord, Sarala for the 8th lord and Vimala for the 12th lord. It works best when the planet is free from other house lords and the Lagna is strong, and it gives its results after effort, mainly in that planet's dasha. Always check the planet's other house before judging how much the yoga gives.

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See Also:viparita raja yoga harsha yoga sarala yoga vimala yoga dusthana raja yoga vedic astrology basics