Kārakas in Vedic Astrology - a different perspective

5th Bhāva

In this series of articles on kārakas for different bhāvas we shall now try to understand the
different kārakas for the 5th bhāvas. Some of the kārakas are mentioned specifically in Jyotish
texts, and some need to be understood by implication. As usual we shall begin by looking at
what the Sage Pārāshara says about the kārakatwas of the fifth bhāva.

्
सतेु सतंु विजानीयात पत्नीं सप्तमभाितः।
ु
सतभािे ग्रहो यः स्यात सोऽवप कारक उच्यते॥३३।३३॥
sute sutaṁ vijānīyāt patnīṁ saptamabhāvataḥ|
sutabhāve graho yaḥ syāta so'pi kāraka ucyate||33|33||

Meaning: Know that 5th bhāva is kāraka for son (progeny), 7th bhāva for wife (spouse). The
planet placed in the 5th bhāva is also called the kāraka (for 5th bhāva).

It might interest the astrologers to know that Parāshara has allotted kārakatwa of progeny to
Saturn, amongst grahas and that might have to do with his giving kārakatwa of father to Sun,
whose son is supposed to be Saturn. The sage says:

बधु ान्मातृसजातीया मातल

ु ाद्याश्च बान्धिाः।
ु ातः् पवतः पत्रः
ु वपतामहः शक्र
गरोः ्
ु शन ैश्चरात॥३३।२०॥
budhānmātṛsajātīyā mātulādyāśca bāndhavāḥ|
guroḥ pitāmahaḥ śukrātḥ patiḥ putraḥ śanaiścarāt||33|20||

Meaning: Mercury is kāraka for maternal relatives, maternal uncle and relatives in general.
Jupiter is kāraka for paternal grandfather, Venus for husband and Saturn is the kāraka for son
(progeny).

The sage also goes on to say that Jupiter is the kāraka for the 5th bhāva when he tells:

ु कुजः सोमो गरभौमः

सूयो गरः ु वसतः शवनः।
ु
गरश्चन्द्रस ु जीिो मन्दश्च भािकारकाः॥३३।३४॥
तो
sūryo guruḥ kujaḥ somo gururbhaumaḥ sitaḥ śaniḥ|
guruścandrasuto jīvo mandaśca bhāvakārakāḥ ||33|34||

Meaning: Sun, Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, Jupiter
and Saturn are the kārakas of bhāvas (from 1 to 12).

Thus Sun is Kāraka for the 1st bhāva, Jupiter for the 2nd bhāva, Mars for the 3rd, Moon for the
4th and Jupiter is (again) kāraka for the 5th bhāva. Mars is the kāraka for the 6th bhāva, Venus
for the 7th, Saturn for the 8th and Jupiter for the 9th bhāva. Mercury is the kāraka for the 10th
bhāva, Jupiter for the 11th and finally Saturn is the kāraka for the 12th bhāva, according to Sage
Pārāshara.

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 Kārakas in Vedic Astrology - a different perspective
5th Bhāva

So, we know that Jupiter is the kāraka for the 5th bhāva. This is the reason that Jupiter, and not
Saturn, is generally considered as the kāraka for progeny by astrologers. We can however see
the role of Saturn as kāraka for son when he aspects Sun or the 9th bhāva (whose kāraka happens
to be Sun, in connection with father) when we find some lack of happiness from father or even
difference of opinion with father, sometimes even extending to enmity, in case of the jātaka.
We also find here that though the Sage has not directly said Jupiter is kāraka for progeny, he
indicated Jupiter has primacy over Saturn, as the kāraka for progeny, when he says that:

् तीयतो भ्राता बधु ात षष्ठे

कुजात तृ ् च मातल
ु ः।
्
े ात पञ्चमात
देिज्य प् त्रो
ु दाराः शक्र
ु ाच्च सप्तमे॥३३।२३॥
kujāt tṛtīyato bhrātā budhāt ṣaṣṭhe ca mātulaḥ |
devejyāt pañcamāt putro dārāḥ śukrācca saptame||33|23||

Meaning: One should analyze sibling from the 3rd bhāva from Mars and the 6th bhāva from
Mercury should be analyzed for the maternal uncle. One should analyze son (progeny) from
the 5th bhāva from Jupiter while 7th bhāva from Venus should be analyzed to know about spouse
of the jātaka.

So is there any deeper reason that sage has granted kārakatwa of son (progeny) to Saturn? In
my opinion the sage is indicating that the progeny can play two directly opposite roles for a
jātaka, depending on other factors like strength of 5th bhāva, its lord, Jupiter and Saturn and
their placement. If we look at mythology, some concepts can be clearer. There is a story that
when Saturn was born, Sun the father went to see him. When Saturn opened his eyes to gaze
at his father, Sun, the charioteer of Sun became lane, his horses became blind, and Sun got
multiple spots/holes on his body. Thus when Saturn, as son, aspects Sun the father, he causes
much pain for the father. On the other hand, Jupiter is one who protects those who seek his
protection and, thus Jupiter representing the son will always try to protect and take care of his
father. The later action being in line with Hindu dharma, it is Jupiter that is generally considered
as the kāraka for son (progeny) and Saturn as son is only considered when it aspects Sun
causing harm to, or arguments with, father to occur.

Thus we have the 5th bhāva, planet occupying the 5th bhāva, Saturn, and Jupiter as the kārakas
for the 5th bhāva in different fields. This is besides the influence that will be yielded by the 5th
lord through its strength or weakness. We also know that the 5th bhāva is the bhāva representing
the intellect, acquired knowledge, higher form of education, progeny, logic and (when harmed)
sentiments of the jātaka. So now let us look at how these kārakas played out in case of Arnold
Schwarzenegger, our standard chart.

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 Kārakas in Vedic Astrology - a different perspective
5th Bhāva

We find that in Arnold’s chart the 5th bhāva is occupied by Jupiter in Libra rāshi and occupies
the lagna bhāva in the navāmsha chart giving strength to Jupiter due to its placement though it
occupies rāshi of its enemy Venus. Jupiter being the karaka for progeny, too, it follows that he
did have many children namely Katherine (b. 1989), Christina (b. 1991), Patrick (b. 1993),
Christopher (b. 1997) from his wife Maria Shriver and Joseph Baena (b. 1997) from his
employee Mildred Baena, though the last one was only known by the public at large in as late
as 2011. We can see that Saturn the other Putrakāraka is blemished through occupation of its
rāshi by Rāhu in navāmsha chart and Saturn does not receive any beneficial aspect plus it
occupies the 2nd bhāva of family in rāshi of its enemy Moon and is within about 6 degrees of
Sun causing its presence being hidden by Arnold himself.

However as Saturn does not aspect either Jupiter or Mercury (representing Arnold as lagna
lord), Arnold did not disown Joseph, and accepted his paternity, besides looking after his well-

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 Kārakas in Vedic Astrology - a different perspective
5th Bhāva

being. Saturn and Sun, along with the lord of the 5th, Venus, do aspect rāshi of Saturn and that
perhaps the reason Joseph was recognized as a son late as Saturn does have a tendency to delay
things. House of Jupiter being occupied by Moon and aspected by hermaphrodite Mercury,
gave him children of both sex in almost equal proportion, though Jupiter being a male planet
he would only indicate male progeny. We also see that Jupiter as the planet occupying the 5 th
bhāva and thus also becoming a karaka for its other matters like acquired knowledge, higher
education, emotions etc., did lead to Arnold benefitted most from his knowledge of developing
his body through what he learnt in gymnasium rather than through his school or formal
education.
Saturn as the other karaka for progeny, occupying the 2nd bhāva of family but with Sun perhaps
indicated his being close to his progeny, though it is the discovery of his having a son out of
his relations with his employee Mildred Baena, which led to disturbance in his family, finally
leading to his separation from his wife Maria Shriver. We also see that Rāhu occupies the
navāmsha of Saturn in his navāmsha chart and that perhaps led to the fact of his having a son
out of wedlock being hidden for so long. It is interesting to see that during the period when
Arnold admitted this fact, he was running Jupiter-Saturn Mahādashā -Antardashā period. The
readers will also find that at this point of time transit Saturn was aspecting his 10th house which
was, at that time occupying the 10th bhāva of reputation. Thus the role of Saturn and Jupiter as
karakas for son but in different area and its effect can be seen in this chart, clearly.
In the next article, we shall look at the different kārakas for the 6th bhāva and how they manifest,
in our standard horoscope of Arnold.

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