Baladi Avastha
sanskrit: बालादि (Bālādi Avasthā)
Definition
Baladi Avastha is one of the five systems of graha avasthas — the "states" a planet can be in — in Jyotish (Indian astrology). It divides each sign into five 6° bands, each named for a stage of a human life: Bala (infant), Kumara (youth), Yuva (young adult), Vriddha (aged) and Mrita (dead). In odd signs they run from infancy to old age; in even signs the order reverses. Where a planet falls tells you what fraction of its strength it can deliver.
In Tradition
Both classical and modern Jyotish literature read a planet's Baladi state as a gauge of how much of its strength it can deliver. Two independent sources treat Yuva Avastha — the prime-of-life state — as the strongest, with a planet in Bala or Mrita much diminished: deFouw and Svoboda give a Bala planet about one-fourth of its strength and a Mrita planet effectively none. The band boundaries are attributed to Parashara, though some authors follow an alternative scheme.
In Practice
To use it, an astrologer locates each planet within its sign's five 6° bands — counted forward in odd signs, reversed in even signs — to judge its vitality and weight what it can deliver. deFouw and Svoboda single this system out as especially useful in reading a chart: a planet in Yuva, the best state, is strengthened, while one in Mrita (the last 6° of an odd sign, or the first 6° of an even one) is severely weakened and, citing Parashara, undercuts the benefic results of its combinations — though it still ranks above a debilitated planet, and you may read its results figuratively rather than literally. In their example charts, a fifth lord and a seventh lord in Mrita are read as deadening the children and the marriage those houses govern.
Historical Origin
These authors trace the system's main degree boundaries to Parashara, the classical authority. The accounts drawn on here are modern: Hart deFouw and Robert Svoboda's "Light on Life: An Introduction to the Astrology of India" (Penguin / Arkana), and Cole's "Science of Light" (Vol. I), which records the Parashara boundaries alongside an alternative scheme that some other authors follow.
Further Reading
- deFouw & Svoboda, Light on Life: An Introduction to the Astrology of India
- Cole, Science of Light, Vol. I