Yogas and Doshas
Yogas and doshas tests named combinations, their conditions and their cancellations. The exam penalizes naming a yoga without checking the required house, dignity, aspect or strength.
Major yoga families
Raja yoga arises from a kendra lord and a trikona lord in conjunction, mutual aspect or exchange. Dhana yoga links the 2nd, 5th, 9th and 11th houses and their lords. The Pancha Mahapurusha yogas are Ruchaka for Mars, Bhadra for Mercury, Hamsa for Jupiter, Malavya for Venus and Sasa for Saturn, each requiring the planet in a kendra in its own or exaltation sign. Vipareeta Raja Yoga places the 6th, 8th or 12th lord in a dusthana. Neecha bhanga is cancellation of debilitation under specified conditions.
Doshas
Mangal dosha concerns Mars placements counted from lagna, Moon or Venus; Kala Sarpa involves all planets between Rahu and Ketu; Sade Sati is Saturn’s transit over the 12th, 1st and 2nd from the Moon; Grahan dosha involves the luminaries with the nodes; Kemadruma is a Moon without support.
Worked example
With Aries lagna, the 9th lord Jupiter is in the 10th house Capricorn with the 10th lord Saturn. A kendra–trikona conjunction is a Raja yoga, but Jupiter is debilitated in Capricorn and is Saturn’s natural enemy. The answer should identify the yoga, then test neecha bhanga and strength before predicting elevation. Naming only the yoga would be incomplete.
Traps
- Counting any conjunction as a yoga.
- Ignoring cancellation, combustion or debilitation.
- Treating Mangal dosha as absolute despite classical exceptions.
- Confusing Kala Sarpa with Kala Amrita without stating the definition.
- Reading a dosha without the relevant divisional chart and dasha.