Bhava Phala (House Results)

Definition

Bhava Phala is the results-focused (phala) side of Jyotish that reads what the planets in your twelve bhavas — the houses — are held to bring. A house's results are judged from the bhava itself, its lord, and its karaka (the planet signifying its affairs). Murthy treats it as its own branch, covering the Sun through Ketu in each bhava, the twelve house-lords placed across the bhavas, and special graha (planet) combinations called yogas; he notes it asks more than reading the rasis (signs), since a planet's house shifts with the ascendant.

In Tradition

Across classical and modern Jyotish, a house's results are never read alone. They turn on the condition of the bhava, its lord, and its karaka, and on the benefic or malefic planets joining or aspecting them. Strong, benefic influence is held to bring good results; weakness paired with malefic affliction undermines or destroys the matters of that house. The strength of both the bhavas and the grahas (planets) is weighed before any result is pronounced.

In Practice

Mantreshwara's Phaladipika sets the working rules in two paired verses. By the first, a bhava gives wholly good results when occupied or aspected by benefics, by its own lord, or by planets owning benefic houses, and is free of the aspect or company of malefics — true even if malefics own the houses concerned. That good effect is certain when the planets involved are strong: not in their debilitation constellation, not combust, not in an enemy's constellation. By the sixth verse, a bhava suffers destruction when the bhava, its lord, and its karaka lack strength and are hemmed between malefics; or are aspected or joined by malefics or unfriendly planets and by no others; or when the 4th, 8th, and 12th, or the 5th and 9th houses from them hold malefics — most plainly when several of these coincide. Murthy adds that you assess the strength of the bhavas (bhava bala) and grahas first.

Historical Origin

The two governing verses come from Mantreshwara's Phaladipika, Chapter 15 (the method for studying the effects of the bhavas), verses 1 and 6, rendered into English by Hart deFouw and Robert Svoboda in Light on Life; the first verse is called the golden key to horoscope interpretation. Murthy sets out the modern treatment of bhava-phala as a full branch in Phala Jyoutisha (Interpretative Astrology), Section III, pp.114-159. The bundle gives no date for the Phaladipika.

Further Reading

• Mantreshwara, Phaladipika Ch.15 v.1
• Mantreshwara, Phaladipika Ch.15 v.6
• Murthy, Phala Jyoutisha (Interpretative Astrology)