That

Great Parashara Exception

Debilitated Planets Giving Raja Yoga

By Marc Boney M.A.

2
Table of Contents
2
Dedication 3
Introduction 4
Debilitated Planets in the 3rd House 9
Supermodel Lauren Hutton 9
Author Stephen King 11
Artist Pablo Picasso 12
Non-Celebrity Examples 16
Debilitated Planets in the 6th House 21
Actress Demi Moore 21
TV Journalist Tom Brokaw 22
Discussion 24
A Future Prediction 28
Technical Summary: 31
About the Author 33

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 Dedicated to
Shri K.N. Rao

Who ignited in me the light of Jyotisha

“Jyotisha is the art of seeing light, of guiding, of counseling
based on the truth called the horoscope. Jyotisha is the
pathway to God through the mazes of intuitions and the
brilliance of an organized science, like any other science.
Jyotisha is the fusion of the divine with the mundane, the
metaphysical with the scientific methodology, a divine chorus
of the music of the heavens and the dance of the stars. It is
that divine ballet, Jyotisha, which is at once both a divinity
and science that we are presenting”K.N. Rao

3
Introduction

I’ve long been intrigued by the many instances that one
comes across in the charts of well known personalities
where debilitated planets gave a very favorable result in
their periods and sub-periods. The explanation from the
standpoint of Jyotisha is often the familiar neecha
bhanga and neecha bhanga raja yoga given in
Phaladeepika (chapter 7, verses 26-30). But other
instances can be found as well when these cannot be the
only principles applying.

Take, for example, the chart of former President of the

United States, Gerald Ford.
In the wake of the Watergate scandal President Richard
Nixon resigned and Ford was catapulted to the highest
office in the land. He was running the Vimshottari
dasha of the Moon.

4
Upon first examination, his debilitated Moon in Scorpio
in the 8 house hardly seems qualified to elevate him
th

into the most powerful political position in the country.

It is not involved in any trine-angle combination. It is
nine degrees from its lowest point of debilitation. It
falls in a dussthana. It receives the aspect of a benefic
in its own sign, but also the aspect of the two worst
malefics, Mars and Saturn. Yet this Moon did, in fact,
make him President of the United States. How is this to
be understood from the standpoint of the interpretive
principles of Jyotisha?

The Moon’s dispositor, Mars, does fall in an angle from

5
the lagna, and this Moon is also aspected by its
dispositor, both factors for cancellation of debility. But
can these factors alone explain his coming to such a
height in his Moon period—first Vice-President and
then, President? It does not seem probable to me. It
appears more likely that Gerald Ford’s Moon falls
under the purview of an unusual kind of raja yoga
given in the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra that my
teacher, K.N. Rao, always referred to as “that great
Parashara’s exception.” I was intrigued when I first
heard him use this phrase once in a class when
discussing a birth chart, and later while reading his
book “Astrology, Destiny, and the Wheel of Time,” I
came across a case study of a spectacular prediction he
made on the basis of debilitated planets either ruling or
placed in the 3 or 6 house giving raja yoga.
rd th

In verse 19 of the chapter entitled Raja Yogas in BPHS,

it states:

If a debilitated planet occupies the 6 , the 8 , or the 3rd,

th th

and the ascendant lord is exalted or in its own

sign/house or aspects the ascendant, there is raja yoga.

Note that Ford’s chart fulfills both conditions with the

Moon debilitated in the 8 and the lagna lord Mars, in
th

the lagna.

I will alert the reader that this translation is my own,

and deviates somewhat from what is given in the two

6
popular English translations by Girish Sharma and R
Santhanam.

Santhanam’s reads:

“If the 6 , 8 , and 3 are occupied by debilitated planets

th th rd

as the ascendant lord is exalted or in (his other) own

house and aspects the ascendant, there is raja yoga.”

Sharma’s reads:

“If the 6 , 8 , and 3 are occupied by debilitated planets

th th rd

and the ascendant lord in his own or exalted sign

aspects the ascendant, there is raja yoga.”

If taken very strictly and literally, these later two

translations imply that this raja yoga would only exist
in those charts in which all three of the houses, 3, 6, and
8 held a debilitated planet, and the lord of the ascendant
was either in its exaltation sign, or own sign, and
aspected the ascendant. Such a combination is likely to
be rather rare, and assuming that planetary aspects are
being referred to here, could only apply to a handful of
ascendants.

Mars could be in its exaltation sign, Capricorn, and

aspect an Aries ascendant.
Mars could be in its own sign, Aries, and aspect a
Scorpio ascendant.
Jupiter could be in its exaltation sign, Cancer, and

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aspect a Pisces ascendant.

However, based on the practical experience of birth

charts like Gerald Ford’s, I believe this verse needs to
be interpreted in a more liberal sense. The condition of
the ascendant lord being in its exaltation sign, its own
sign, or aspecting the ascendant are all standard
conditions that make the ascendant “strong.” A more
liberal understanding of this verse could read:

If a debilitated planet falls in a dussthana house while

the ascendant/ascendant lord is strong, it can give raja
yoga in its major period.

Whereas I acknowledge that this amounts to some

speculation on my part, I have come across so many
instances of debilitated planets in dussthana houses
resulting in spectacular elevations during their periods
that I am convinced there is some principle applying
here beyond the familiar neecha bhanga raja yoga.

See now the six following examples involving Cancer
lagna and a debilitated Venus in the 3 house.
rd

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Debilitated Planets in the 3 House
rd

Supermodel Lauren Hutton

In 1974 Laura Hutton landed the first multi-million
contract with the cosmetic giant, Revlon, and ushered in
the era of the “super model.” She appeared on the
cover of Vogue magazine 25 times and was one of the
world’s most famous faces. She went on to star in
movies as well.

This all occurred in her Venus period, debilitated in her

3 house. Her lagna lord Moon is in the lagna Cancer.
rd

Whereas no obvious factors for cancellation of debility

exist in the birth chart, Venus does fall in its own sign
in both the navamsha and dashamsha divisional charts,
giving it an underlying strength.

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10

Author Stephen King

Best-selling author, Stephen King, first came to fame as
a writer of horror stories in his Venus period.

Venus is debilitated in his 3 house. His lagna lord

rd

Moon is also debilitated but in an exchange with the 5 th

lord Mars, giving rise to neecha bhanga raja yoga.

It should also be noted that his debilitated Venus is with

exalted Mercury (a factor for cancellation) and is
exalted in the navamsha.

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Artist Pablo Picasso

It might surprise beginning students of Jyotisha to learn

that the most famous artist of the 20 century was born
th

with the planet of artistry in its debilitation sign. Yet it

was exactly in his Venus period starting in 1909 that
Pablo Picasso first came to great fame as a painter and
sculptor.

In point of fact, his chart is a virtual cornucopia of

debilitated planets. If you take Scorpio and Taurus as
being the debilitation signs of Rahu and Ketu, six of
nine grahas are in this condition. As conscientious

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researchers we must ask ourselves, “what is going on
here?” How is it that these planets are giving such
spectacular levels of both fame and fortune? At age 25
he enters his 20 year Venus period, debilitated. This is
followed by the six years of the Sun, not only in its sign
of debilitation but at 10-28 of Libra it is within 25
minutes of its most extreme degree of debilitation. Then
he experiences his 10 year Moon period, debilitated.
Yet in these 36 years he just keeps getting more and
more famous, his works of art selling for more and
more millions. How can this be understood? How is it
predictable from the established, classical interpretive
principles of Jyotisha? Please note the following:

At 15-40 of Scorpio, his lagna lord, Moon is

vargottama.

It’s dispositor, Mars, is involved in an exchange with

Mercury

The Moon is involved in a 1-9 raja yoga with Jupiter

This Moon-Jupiter combination also gives Gajakesari

Yoga, where the addition of the natural benefic,
Mercury, fulfills the stipulation given in Parashara
Hora for this yoga to truly give its promised result of
lasting fame.

These yogas involving the lagna lord, Moon are

manifesting out of the 5 house of creativity and love
th

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affairs, for which Picasso will forever be remembered.

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What then of the previous period of the Sun, so
extremely debilitated? See that it is in a mutual glance
with another debilitated planet, Saturn.

And what of the previous dasha of Venus that first

brought him fame as an artist? Note that it is a
debilitated planet in the 3 house while the lagna lord is
rd

strong. Is it a case of “that great Parashara exception,”

just as we saw in the charts of Stephen King and Lauren
Hutton? It appears so to me.

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Non-Celebrity Examples

Students of mine have complained at times that Jyotisha

only seems to “work” in the charts of world famous
people. I laughed upon first hearing this since it is true
that such charts are oftentimes used exclusively by
teachers to illustrate learning points. Of course nothing
could be further from the truth. See the chart given
below of Deepak Bisaria, senior faculty member of the
Institute of Astrology, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and a
sectional editor the Journal of Astrology published by
this institution. I had the pleasure recently of co-
teaching with him at a program in Sochi, Russia. He
was gracious enough to permit me use his chart in this
article when I discovered that he also has a Cancer
lagna with Venus in its debilitation sign in the 3 rd

house.

Here the lagna lord, Moon falls in the 4 angle where it

th

gets dik bala or directional strength. Venus is not only a

debilitated planet in the 3 , but is involved in an
rd

exchange with its dispositor, Mercury, and at 9-1

degrees of Virgo it goes into its exaltation sign in the
navmasha. It also forms an angle-trine combination
with the 9 lord Jupiter. He has not run the Venus major
th

period but acknowledged to me that Venus sub-periods

have been quite fortunate. He is currently running his
Ketu major period, which gives partially the results of
Venus as it is in Taurus in the birth chart, and the
current sub-period is that of Venus itself. By all

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appearances this is giving him raja yoga, which is to
say good success in his endeavors and a certain status in
his sphere.

Now see the chart of an individual who has been quite a

successful entrepreneur during 18 years of his Venus
dasha, which is now winding down.

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18

Like we saw in the chart of Pablo Picasso, his lagna
lord, Moon, is involved in a 1-9 raja yoga as well as
Gajakesari Yoga with Jupiter, only this time in the 9 th

house with the later in own sign. Here Venus now

plays the role of the additional influence of a natural
benefic necessary for this yoga to bring its real fruit.
Note also that the Moon is within just a few degrees of
perfect fullness (purnima). As in the chart of Deepak
Bisaria, Venus also forms an angle-trine combination
with Jupiter, only this time through a mutual glance.
Shortly after moving into his Venus period he acquired
property on which he developed a hotel and a
convenience store, as Venus is the 4 lord. Without
th

going into details, through the whole of this period thus

far, he has been quite successful and prosperous in this
multiple business ventures, while dealing with the
normal ups and downs that any entrepreneur
experiences.

Look at one more chart with Cancer lagna and again

see Venus is in its debilitation sign, Virgo. Note some
striking similarities to the two previous charts. Like
with the successful entrepreneur, her lagna lord, Moon,
goes to the 9 and is involved in the same yogas along
th

the 3-9 axis, only with Jupiter joining Venus as with

Deepak Bisaria. She also has the exchange between
Venus and its dispositor, Mercury.

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I am not acquainted with her, but according to her sister
she is married to a very wealthy man. They own
multiple properties including a “palace” in Bombay and
home in London, and she lives “like a queen.” This has
been particularly so since she moved into her Venus
major period beginning in 2000. As a 4 lord of
th

property, her Venus could hardly be giving better

results.

Thus it can be seen that in all six of these Cancer lagna

charts a debilitated Venus in the 3 house is not giving
rd

debilitated results at all, but rather is giving raja yoga

anywhere from modestly to spectacularly.

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Debilitated Planets in the 6 House
th

Actress Demi Moore

Actress Demi Moore first came to fame as a movie star
and as a member of Hollywood’s “Brat Pack” of the
1980’s in her Mars period. Mars is debilitated in the 6 th

house of her chart, while the lagna lord Saturn is in its

own sign Capricorn. It should also be noted that her
Mars is involved in an exchange with its dispositor the
Moon (a factor for cancellation) and gets exalted in the
navamsha.

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TV Journalist Tom Brokaw

In his day Tom Brokaw was one of the most famous

and respected names in TV journalism in the U.S. He
was also a best-selling author. Whereas his initial
success and great fame came in his Rahu and Jupiter
periods, the peak came in his Saturn mahadasha, a
debilitated planet in the 6 house of his birth chart,
th

though vargottama.

The lagna lord Mars is not exalted, in its own sign, or

aspecting the lagna. However, it is “strong,” being
vargottama, and it falls in a good trine house while

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configured in a Maharaja Yoga with Jupiter (the 1 and
st

5 lords together in the 5 house in strength.)

th th

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Discussion

In the nine examples shown thus far debilitated planets
in the dussthana houses, 3, 6, and 8, all gave significant
raja yoga in their major periods, or in the case of
Deepak Bisaria, in a sub-period. In three instances, the
lagna lord is placed in its own sign. In the other six
charts, the lagna lord does not meet the conditions
stipulated in the original shloka from the BPHS, but
gains strength in other ways.

Frequently we saw that the debilitated planets that gave

great success gained strength by virtue of a good
placement in the navamsha:

Stephen King and Deepak Bisaria’s debilitated Venuses

are in their exaltation sign, Pisces, in D-9, while Lauren
Hutton’s Venus is in its own sign.

Demi Moore’s debilitated Mars gets exalted in the

navamsha, while Tom Brokaw’s debilitated Saturn is
vargottama.

In some of the examples, strong conditions for

cancellation of debility existed like the exchange of
signs (parivarthana yoga) seen in the case of Demi
Moore’s Mars, Deepak Bisaria’s Venus, and that of the
wealthy property owner.

What then are we to make of all this? Does it mean that

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the neecha placements of these planets have no
meaning when “Parashara’s exception” applies? Will
they give no “debilitated” effect at all? Frankly, this is
not my observation. Rather, as with neecha banga raja
yoga, it appears that something of a reversal occurs
such that from what would normally be a “down” or
unlikely position, one rises up.
Gerald Ford obtained the highest office of the land in
the most improbable of ways. No president in U.S. had
ever resigned. But amid the growing evidence of his
direct involvement in the Watergate scandal and
possible impeachment proceedings, Richard Nixon
succumbed to pressure and left office. Vice-President
Gerald Ford became President Ford. It happened in his
Moon period, debilitated in the 8 house of scandal
th

intrigue, and sudden reversals. In order for him to rise

up, his predecessor first had to fall.

Lauren Hutton was anything but a classical beauty. As

a profile in Harper’s Bazaar magazine stated in 1973,
“Her nose flies west, her mouth flies north, she can
cross her left eye at will, and she has a gap between her
teeth. She made herself beautiful by learning,
watching, willing—not by surgically altering her
defects.” As stated earlier, her rise came in the period of
her debilitated Venus, where despite her decidedly
unconventional look she became the leading
“professional beauty” of her day.

Stephen King after writing his first novel, “Carrie” was

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so displeased with it that he threw it in the trash. His
wife retrieved it, and against his protests, insisted that it
be submitted for publication. It became a bestseller and
was later made into a movie. The paperback rights
alone netted him nearly a half a million dollars. This
rather dramatic reversal from the trash bin to the top of
the literary heap occurred in the period of his debilitated
Venus.

Pablo Picasso is said to have demonstrated

extraordinary artistic talent in his early years, painting
in a realistic manner through his childhood and
adolescence, much in keeping with the great
renaissance masters of old. However, as soon he
moved into the period of his debilitated Venus in his
mid-twenties, his style changed completely as he
experimented with different theories, techniques and
ideas. His works during this period are not
conventionally “beautiful” at all, but rather symbolic
and thought-provoking. He completely moved away
from “realism.” It was a very different form of art that
ultimately made him the most successful and famous
artist of the 20 century.
th

Actress Demi Moore beat incredible odds to become a

hugely successful movie star. Her biological father
deserted the family two months after her birth. Her
mother was an alcoholic with a long record for arrest
for crimes, including arson. She re-married a man who
frequently changed jobs such that the family moved 30

26
times before Moore was even a teen-ager. At age 12,
she developed a crossed right eye that required two
operations, and she suffered from a kidney dysfunction.
Despite all this and without any prior experience as an
actress, after entering the major period of her debilitated
Mars, she beat out 1000 applicants for a coveted part in
a long-running TV soap opera. Major movie roles soon
followed and her career was launched. By 1996, the
former “trailer trash” as she was once cruelly called in
her childhood had become the highest paid actress in
Hollywood, commanding a then unprecedented salary
of $12.5 million for one picture.

However, the story of this kind that I like the best

among my examples is that of the successful
entrepreneur. I mentioned earlier that upon moving into
the period of his debilitated Venus, he purchased and
developed property that included a convenience store.
However, at one point the high winds of a storm blew
the roof off and rain ruined the interior. His first
reaction to this disaster was that he was ruined
financially. But then he soon discovered that insurance
he wasn’t even aware that he had not only completely
covered the restoration of his store, but required that he
be paid the lost revenue in the interim. He shared with
me that he so benefited from this “disaster” financially
that he became debt free. Not only that, but that this
happen twice in his Venus period! Each time he came
out “smelling like a rose” as the expression goes.

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From these case studies and others that I’ve come
across, I’ve formulated the hypotheses that debilitated
planets falling under the purview of “that great
Parashara exception” can and do give raja yoga under
certain conditions just as the shlokas in Parashara Hora
suggest and Shri Rao teaches, but that the neecha
quality of the planet will also be evident in some form at
some stage, at least initially.

A Future Prediction

Retrospective analysis is all well and good, but Jyotisha
is first and foremost a predictive science. If an
interpretive principle is valid, we shouldn’t just be able
to see it operating in hindsight but should also be able
to use it to predict.

Given below is the chart of a woman well known to me

who participated for many years in weekly satsangas
that I host in my home on Thursday evenings. Some
predictions given to her have clicked, while another
regarding a marriage failed. A major one though is still
outstanding.

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It will not have escaped the reader’s notice that this is
yet another chart with Cancer lagna where Venus is in
its debilitation sign in the 3 house. In December of this
rd

year, 2013, she will move into the major period of this
planet in the Vimshottari dasha. In the light of all of
what has been shown previously, the question to be
asked and answer is…will it give raja yoga? Is it a
clear instance of “that great Parashara exception?”

The lagna lord Moon goes to a trine house but at 2-23

of Scorpio is approaching its most extreme degree of
debilitation with no apparent cancellation.
Paradoxically, this places it in its own sign, Cancer, in

29
the navamsha. As in the case of Stephen King, her
Venus is with an exalted planet, Mercury, a factor for
cancellation of debility, but unlike his chart, her Venus
does not obtain a good dignity in the navamsha.

In the final analysis, I did tell her that I thought her

Venus period would give her a substantial rise in life,
partly because this trend could also be seen in Chara
dasha. Beginning in 2017 and continuing for a period
nine years, she will run her Sagittarius period. As Shri
Rao has mentioned many times in his books and articles
it can be a period for both rise and fall. In her case,
from Sagittarius, the 10 house Virgo has four planets,
th

including her Amk Jupiter, AK Sun, PK Mercury, and

DK Venus, forming multiple Jaimini raja yogas. This
time period overlaps with five sub-periods within her
major period of Venus, that of the Sun through Jupiter.
The conclusion seemed obvious to me. Does it to you?

Now only time will tell if her debilitated Venus will

indeed give her raja yoga courtesy of…“that great
Parashara exception.”

All Praise to the Rishis and Divine Science of Jyotisha

Marc Boney
June 2013
Cardiff by the Sea, CA

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Technical Summary:

The effect ascribed to a debilitated planet in the

classical text of Jyotisha is that it is “weak” and
therefore cannot give good and favorable results.
This condition is said to “harm” all the
significations of that planet. For example, if
Venus is debilitated this would not be considered
good for love relationships or the acquisition of
luxuries, both of which are signified by Venus.

Also, the houses ruled by a debilitated planet

would not be able to give good results. In the
example given above, should this debilitated
Venus also rule the 5 house of children one might
th

have difficulties having children or relationships

with your children could be problematic.

However, beginning students must understand that

many conditions are also given in the ancient texts
that modify and even reverse this indication. In
some instances the debility is “cancelled” and even
other instances, not only is the debility cancelled,
but the debilitated planet will actually give raja
yoga, or will raise a person up in life.

This article deals with one such condition in which

the debilitated planet goes into the 3 , 6 , or 8
rd th th

house while the lagna/lagna lord is strong. Seven

examples are given here where in the major period

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of a debilitated planet in which such conditions
apply, the person rose high. I have come across
many more such examples and consider this a very
reliable interpretive principle.

I will also acknowledge that in one instance I’ve

come across in which these conditions applied, the
person was on the verge of good success but it did
not happen to any great degree. I am therefore
cautious about making predictions based on this
principle alone, and always look to cross check
indications in the Jaimini system as shown here at
the end of the article.

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