Sunapha Yoga

sanskrit: सुनफा योग (Sunaphā Yoga)

Definition

Sunapha Yoga is a Chandra (Moon) yoga: it forms when a planet other than the Sun sits in the 2nd house counting from the Moon. Saravali also leaves out the lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu, so only the five planets count — Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. Saravali groups it with Anapha (a planet in the 12th from the Moon) and Durudhura (planets in both the 2nd and the 12th) as the trio of lunar yogas; when none of them is present, you instead get Kemadruma.

In Tradition

Across the classical Jyotish sources, Sunapha is read as a wealth-conferring lunar yoga: the person is said to gain self-acquired property and to be a king or his equal, renowned for intelligence, wisdom and wealth. Brihat Jataka, Jataka Parijata and Saravali further agree that the exact result is shaped by which planet forms the yoga.

In Practice

To spot Sunapha, an astrologer looks at the 2nd house from the Moon for any planet other than the Sun (and, per Saravali, not a node either). Which planet forms it colours the result. Brihat Jataka reads Mars as an active fighter, Mercury a skilled artist, Jupiter a wealthy and virtuous man respected by the king, Venus a wealthy man of strong passion, and Saturn someone who enjoys others' wealth and servants. Jataka Parijata likewise has Jupiter excel in knowledge and Mercury learned in arts and music. Saravali adds that the result shifts again depending on whether the forming planet is exalted or in fall (its weakest sign), and credits the yoga with prowess, virtue, learning in the Sastras and fame.

Historical Origin

Sunapha runs through the classical Sanskrit corpus: Varahamihira's Brihat Jataka (Ch.XIII), Vaidyanatha Dikshita's Jataka Parijata (Ch.7), and Kalyana Varma's Saravali (Ch.13). Sastri, who comments on Jataka Parijata, counts 31 combinatorial varieties; Saravali lists thirty kinds by permuting the five eligible planets. The modern author Kannan treats it as well.

Further Reading

  • Varahamihira, Brihat Jataka
  • Vaidyanatha Dikshita, Jataka Parijata
  • Kalyana Varma, Saravali
  • Kannan, Fundamentals of Hindu Astrology