Badhaka means obstruction. Sthana means place. The badhaka sthana is one house, counted from the lagna by the lagna's sign type. For a movable sign it is the 11th. For a fixed sign it is the 9th. For a dual sign it is the 7th. The lord of that house is called the badhakesh, the lord of obstruction. The Nava app does not compute this. This page explains the rule only.
☕ One house, counted three ways
Every sign is movable, fixed or dual. From Mesha they run in that order, three times round. So Mesha, Kataka, Tula and Makara are movable. Vrishabha, Simha, Vrischika and Kumbha are fixed. Mithuna, Kanya, Dhanu and Meena are dual.
Find the type of your lagna sign. Count your lagna as the 1st house. If the sign is movable, count to the 11th. If fixed, to the 9th. If dual, to the 7th. That house is the badhaka sthana, and its lord is the badhakesh.
Jataka Parijata states the rule (Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. II, v. 48, p. 74). Its translator repeats it in a note, counting from the lagna of birth or of a question (Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. XVIII, v. 30, p. 1019). Sanjay Rath gives the same rule and a twelve-row table that follows it on every row (Sanjay Rath, Crux of Vedic Astrology, p. 23). He writes from a different school, the Puri and Jaimini line.
Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra names the badhaka only for the four movable signs (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 50, vv. 20–21, pp. 605–606). Its four pairs match the 11th-house rule. It says nothing there of the fixed and dual signs.
The Nava app does not compute this. This page explains the rule only.
At a glance
- Mesha (Aries), movable → the 11th: Kumbha (Aquarius), lord Saturn
- Vrishabha (Taurus), fixed → the 9th: Makara (Capricorn), lord Saturn
- Mithuna (Gemini), dual → the 7th: Dhanu (Sagittarius), lord Jupiter
- Kataka (Cancer), movable → the 11th: Vrishabha (Taurus), lord Venus
- Simha (Leo), fixed → the 9th: Mesha (Aries), lord Mars
- Kanya (Virgo), dual → the 7th: Meena (Pisces), lord Jupiter
- Tula (Libra), movable → the 11th: Simha (Leo), lord Sun
- Vrischika (Scorpio), fixed → the 9th: Kataka (Cancer), lord Moon
- Dhanu (Sagittarius), dual → the 7th: Mithuna (Gemini), lord Mercury
- Makara (Capricorn), movable → the 11th: Vrischika (Scorpio), lord Mars
- Kumbha (Aquarius), fixed → the 9th: Tula (Libra), lord Venus
- Meena (Pisces), dual → the 7th: Kanya (Virgo), lord Mercury
- Badhaka is not one fixed house for everyone. It moves with the type of the lagna sign.
- It is counted from the lagna, not from the Moon sign.
- It is not the same as the dusthanas (6th, 8th, 12th). For a dual lagna it is the 7th, an angle.
- This page gives the definition. The books' readings of what a badhaka lord does are left out.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find the badhaka house?
Find your lagna sign and its type. Movable: count 11 houses. Fixed: count 9. Dual: count 7. Count the lagna as the first. For example, Mesha (Aries) is movable, so its badhaka is the 11th, Kumbha (Aquarius).
Who is the badhakesh?
The lord of the badhaka sign. For Vrishabha (Taurus) lagna the badhaka is Makara (Capricorn), so the badhakesh is Saturn.
Do all the books agree?
Jataka Parijata and Sanjay Rath give all three counts. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra gives only the movable signs, and those agree. These books follow one line of tradition, so their agreement is not separate proof.
Does Nava show the badhaka in my chart?
No. The Nava app does not compute this. This page explains the rule only. You can count it by hand from your lagna with the list on this page.
Deep dive: counting it yourself
A formula. What to read first.
🧮 The count as a formula
Number the signs from Mesha = 1 to Meena = 12. A sign's type is its number divided by 3: remainder 1 is movable, remainder 2 is fixed, remainder 0 is dual.
Then the badhaka sign is your lagna sign plus 10 for a movable sign, plus 8 for a fixed sign, plus 6 for a dual sign, going round past 12.
📚 Read first
The sign types come from the twelve rashis and their classifications. House counting is in house families: kendra, trikona and dusthana.