Sthana bala adds five scores. Uchcha: up to 60 virupas, by how far the planet is from its deepest debilitation. Saptavargaja: points for its dignity in each of seven vargas. Ojhayugma: 15 each for the right kind of sign in the rasi and navamsa. Kendradi: 60, 30 or 15 by the kind of house. Drekkana: 15 if it sits in the decanate that suits its gender.
☕ Where a planet stands
Uchcha bala measures the distance from the planet's point of deepest debilitation, folded so it never exceeds 180°, and divides it by 3 (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 27, v. 1, pp. 263–265). At deep exaltation it is the full 60; at deep debilitation, none.
Saptavargaja bala looks at the seven vargas: rasi, hora, drekkana, saptamsa, navamsa, dvadasamsa and trimsamsa. In each, the planet scores by its dignity (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 27, vv. 2–4, p. 265), on Sripati's scale (Sripati Paddhati (tr. V. Subrahmanya Sastri), ch. III, vv. 2–3, pp. 22–30): from 45 in its moolatrikona to 1.875 in a great enemy's sign. Moolatrikona counts in the rasi chart only: a varga that falls in the moolatrikona sign scores by that sign's lord. The points are in the card “Saptavargaja points” below; the seven are added.
Ojhayugma bala gives 15 virupas when the Moon or Venus is in an even sign, or any other planet in an odd sign (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 27, v. 4, pp. 265–266). The same test is made on the navamsa sign, for up to 30.
Kendradi bala scores the house: an angle earns 60, the house after an angle 30, the house before one 15 (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 27, v. 5, p. 266); the houses are listed in “Kendradi points by house” further down. Drekkana bala gives 15 when a male planet (Sun, Mars, Jupiter) is in the first decanate, a neuter one (Mercury, Saturn) in the second, or a female one (Moon, Venus) in the third (Sripati Paddhati (tr. V. Subrahmanya Sastri), ch. III, vv. 4–5, pp. 30–33). The five added make sthana bala (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 27, p. 267).
Three choices differ from the translation of Parashara's text. Its English gives a female planet the second decanate and a neuter one the third, and in the vargas gives a great friend 20, a neutral 10, an enemy 4 and a great enemy 2, with moolatrikona counted in any varga. Sripati's verses and worked tables give the order and the points above; for the decanate order, the Parashara Sanskrit as his translator prints it reads the same. And the book counts the house for kendradi bala by the bhava, from the cusps; Nava counts it by sign, the house the rasi chart draws. The reading, the yogas in your chart, the Planetary Positions table and Your Period count a house from the lagna by the Sripati bhava instead. What Nava follows: Sripati's decanates and points, with moolatrikona in the rasi chart only; and the sign house for kendradi bala.
Points by dignity
- Moolatrikona: 45 virupas
- Own varga: 30 virupas
- Great friend's: 22.5 virupas
- Friend's: 15 virupas
- Neutral's: 7.5 virupas
- Enemy's: 3.75 virupas
- Great enemy's: 1.875 virupas
- Mix-up: uchcha bala is all or nothing. It rises smoothly, a third of a virupa per degree, from the debilitation point to the exaltation point.
- Mix-up: saptavargaja counts exaltation. Its grades are moolatrikona, own sign and the five relations to the sign's lord.
- Mix-up: the relation in each varga is read in that varga. The temporary half of the relation is read from the rasi chart for all seven.
Frequently asked questions
Where is sthana bala in Nava?
It is the Position column of the shadbala table on the horoscope page, in rupas.
Why does the book read the house from the cusps?
Parashara's houses are bhavas measured from the ascendant degree. A planet near a sign's edge can sit in one bhava and another sign. Nava keeps one house system across the app, so the same planet is never in two houses on two screens.
What are the most points sthana bala can give?
Four parts have a plain ceiling: 60 for uchcha, 30 for ojhayugma, 60 for kendradi and 15 for drekkana. Saptavargaja adds seven vargas' points, so it can go far higher.
Deep dive: the house points and the dignities behind them
The table “Kendradi points by house”, then the relations and points of exaltation, and what this builds on.
🏠 Kendradi points by house
| Houses | Points |
|---|---|
| Kendra (1st, 4th, 7th and 10th) | 60 virupas |
| Panaphara (2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th) | 30 virupas |
| Apoklima (3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th) | 15 virupas |
⚖️ Exaltation points and relations
Each planet's points of deepest exaltation and debilitation are on exaltation and debilitation. The five relations used in every varga are on temporary and five-fold friendship.
🧭 What this builds on
This is the first of the six parts of shadbala.