Dig Bala

Definition

Dig Bala (dik means direction, bala means strength) is directional strength — one of the six parts of Shadbala. A planet gains it from the house, and so the cardinal direction, it sits in: each planet is strongest on one particular angle and powerless on the opposite cusp. Jupiter and Mercury gain Dig Bala in the 1st house (east), the Sun and Mars in the 10th, Saturn in the 7th, and the Moon and Venus in the 4th. You'll also see the name written Dik Bala or Digbala.

In Tradition

The sources treat Dig Bala as a genuine contributor to a planet's strength and to a person's fortune. Independently, Phaladeepika (Mantreswara) and Raman hold that when several planets carry Dig Bala, the combination can lift even someone of humble birth to rulership — a Raja Yoga effect. Raman adds that directional strength is only one strength among several, so a planet may hold Dig Bala yet still do little if it is otherwise weak or debilitated.

In Practice

A jyotishi (Vedic astrologer) reads each planet against its strong angle (kendra). A planet on or near its Dig Bala house is reinforced; one on the opposite cusp loses this strength — so a planet can be strong by house yet weak by sign, leaving a mixed judgement. Several sources tie Dig Bala to Raja Yoga: Raman and Phaladeepika hold that two to four planets endowed with Dig Bala can raise even someone of low birth to rulership, though Raman cautions the planets must also be generally strong, since a planet with Dig Bala may still be powerless if debilitated. To get the number, you deduct the opposite nil-strength cusp from the planet's longitude and divide by 3, giving up to 60 Virupas. Charak gives a separate rule, assigning each rashi-type a cusp to subtract for a house Dig Bala.

Historical Origin

Dig Bala is classical. Parashara teaches it in the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Ch.3 and Ch.27, Santhanam translation), and Mantreswara in Phaladeepika (Sastri translation). Modern handbooks restate it: Charak's Elements of Vedic Astrology; Raman's Hindu Predictive Astrology, How to Judge a Horoscope, and Three Hundred Important Combinations; Frawley's Astrology of the Seers; Sutton's Essentials of Vedic Astrology; and deFouw and Svoboda's Light on Life.

Further Reading

• Maharshi Parasara, Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra
• Mantreswara, Phaladeepika
• K.S. Charak, Elements of Vedic Astrology
• Frawley, The Astrology of the Seers
• Komilla Sutton, The Essentials of Vedic Astrology
• Kannan, Fundamentals of Hindu Astrology
• Raman, Hindu Predictive Astrology
• B.V. Raman & Gayatri Devi Vasudev, How to Judge a Horoscope, Volume Two
• deFouw & Svoboda, Light on Life
• Raman, Notable Horoscopes
• Raman, Three Hundred Important Combinations