In Vedic astrology there are methods which can give a quick insight in the state of planets and houses. In this article it has been tried to describe One such method . This is the method of Shadbala. It gives a value to each planet. The more points a planet gets in Shadbala the stronger it is.
It is important to have some insight in how the Shadbala value is calculated. Only if you know the method followed by this system of calculation you can have an opinion about the value of it.
At first we will learn the sthana bala of a planet. This is the positional strength of a planet. Sthana Bala consists of five components:
1. The first one is called Ocha Bala. All planets have exact degrees of exaltation. Like the Moon is exalted at 3 degrees Taurus. When a planet occupies it exact degree of exaltation the planet gets 60 Shashtiamsas (Shashtiamsas are points). When it occupies the opposite point, its exact point of fall, it does not get any Shashtiamsas. Of course most of the time a planet will occupy a position somewhere in between these points. In that case the points that it will get will be calculated according to its position from the point of exaltation and fall. Example: The Moon at 3 degrees Scorpio will get 0 Shashtiamsas. The Moon at 3 degrees Leo will get 30 Shashtiamsas (this is exactly between 3 degrees Scorpio and 3 degrees Taurus).
2. The second one is called Saptavargaja Bala. To calculate this we will have to look at the following seven harmonic charts: Rasi, Hora, Drekkana, Saptamsa, Navamsa, Dwadasamsa and Trimsamsa. In all these charts we look at what kind of sign a certain planet is located. If a planet occupies in the rashichart its Moolatrikona sign it gets 45 Shashtiamsas (this is a special rule for the rashi chart only), if it is in its own sign (of whatever varga) it gets 30 Shashtiamsas, in the sign of a great friend 22.5 Shashtiamsas, in the sign of a friend 15 Shashtiamsas, in a neutral sign 7.5 Shashtiamsas, in the sign of an enemy 3.75 Shashtiamsas and in the sign of a great enemy 1.875 Shashtiamsas. The concept of friends and enemies has been explained in the first course. This is one of the most important parts of Shadbala because Saptavargaja bala can give a lot of Shashtiamsas.
