Introduction
The 6th, 8th and 12th houses are called dusthanas: they are associated with struggle, sudden change and expense. Usually, when the lords of these houses sit elsewhere, the texts speak of some difficulty for that other house.
One interesting rule says the opposite: if a dusthana lord goes into a dusthana itself, the difficulty works differently. Hence the name "vipareeta" (reversed) raja yoga.
The three yogas
Phaladeepika (6.57) names twelve yogas for the twelve houses; for the 6th, 8th and 12th they are Harsha, Sarala and Vimala. Raman (Three Hundred Important Combinations, nos. 109-111) defines them like this:
| Yoga | Rule |
|---|---|
| Harsha | Lord of the 6th in the 6th, 8th or 12th |
| Sarala | Lord of the 8th in the 6th, 8th or 12th |
| Vimala | Lord of the 12th in the 6th, 8th or 12th |
We found the umbrella name "vipareeta raja yoga" in Raman's How to Judge a Horoscope, where he uses it in example charts. Phaladeepika gives the three yogas under their separate names.
What tradition associates with them
Phaladeepika and Raman describe the results like this:
- Harsha: happiness, a sound constitution, overcoming difficulties, a disposition to avoid wrongdoing, friendship with eminent people.
- Sarala: fearlessness, resolve, learning, success in undertakings, purity and renown.
- Vimala: spending little and saving more, good conduct towards everyone, an independent nature, being known for good qualities.
Read these as leanings, not fixed outcomes.
Raman's caution
Raman adds an important point right here. He writes that the author of these yogas gave very pleasant results, but that Parashara and Lomasa do not hold that the sting of owning a dusthana disappears entirely when its lord goes to another dusthana; in their view the intensity is somewhat modified, not removed.
So ePandit always shows this note with these yogas: read the whole chart. If the same planet also rules the lagna (for example the 8th lord for a Mesha or Tula lagna), that is stated separately, because the picture changes again.
A related rule in BPHS
BPHS (39.20) has a raja yoga along similar lines: the lords of the 6th, 8th and 12th are debilitated, in inimical signs or combust, while the lagna lord, in its own or exaltation sign, aspects the lagna. This is a different rule from Harsha-Sarala-Vimala, but it shares the idea that subdued lords of difficult houses can support a chart. For now ePandit counts only Harsha, Sarala and Vimala.
An example, and how ePandit shows it
Take a Vrishabha lagna. The lord of the 6th (Tula) is Venus, which also rules the lagna; the lord of the 8th (Dhanu) is Jupiter; and the lord of the 12th (Mesha) is Mars.
If Jupiter sits in the 12th house (Mesha), the lord of the 8th is in the 12th: that is Sarala yoga. ePandit shows it as: "lord of the 8th (Jupiter) in the 12th house: Sarala yoga (Phaladeepika 6.57; Raman 109-111)", together with the note carrying Raman's caution. It also states that Jupiter rules the 11th (Meena) here, so that the whole picture stays in view.