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In short
Dignity is a graha's standing in the sign it occupies, from exaltation at the top, through Moolatrikona, own sign, a friend's sign and a neutral sign, to an enemy's sign and debilitation. This app gives each of the seven visible grahas one of seven labels and turns it into a 0 to 10 position strength.
What the term means
A graha's dignity is its rank in the sign it occupies. The sign might be its exaltation, its Moolatrikona, one of its own signs, a sign ruled by a friend, a neutral or an enemy, or its debilitation. This is sign dignity only. A planet's house, aspects and motion are separate factors, read alongside it.
Where the term comes from
BPHS Ch. 3 builds the whole ladder in a few slokas. Sl. 49-54 fix exaltation, debilitation, Moolatrikona and own sign. Sl. 55-58 define friendship three ways, natural, temporary and compound, which decide whether the lord of any other sign is a friend. Sl. 59-60 then give a ratio of good effects: full in exaltation, three-quarters in Moolatrikona, half in own sign, a quarter in a friend's sign, an eighth in a neutral's, nil in an enemy's sign or debilitation.
How this app uses it
| Label (tested in this order) | Position strength, of 10 |
|---|---|
| Exalted | 10 |
| Moolatrikona | 10 |
| Debilitated | 0 |
| Own sign | 7.5 |
| Friendly sign | 6.25 |
| Enemy sign | 0 |
| Neutral | 5 |
- The values are the engine's Shad Bala ladder, which its notes attribute to Kannan. They do not follow the BPHS ratio above: Moolatrikona scores the same as exaltation, and a neutral sign scores 5, not an eighth.
- A friend or enemy is judged with the chart. The engine combines the natural and temporary relations into the fivefold one, so the same planet in the same sign can be a friend in one chart and neutral in another.
- Only the seven visible grahas are graded. Rahu and Ketu get no dignity label.
- The label feeds the house list (a lord's dignity sets a house's tone), the Mahadasha grading, the strongest and weakest planet in the Kundali's quick insights, and the Prashna avasthas, from Diptha for exalted to Dina for debilitated.
- In a 1985-06-05, 02:29 IST New Delhi chart, Saturn is Exalted (10), Venus in a Friendly sign (6.25), the Sun Neutral (5) and Jupiter Debilitated (0).
Pages that use this term
- The 7th lord in the 10th house - a lord's dignity in every rising sign.
- Leo (Simha) rashi - Moolatrikona and own sign in one sign.
- Jupiter in Vedic astrology - one graha's full dignity table.
- When the birth time is unknown - which dignities survive without a time.
- Shad Bala calculator - your planets' labels and position strength.
- Prashna calculator - where dignity becomes an avastha.
Related terms
- Panchadha maitri - the fivefold relation behind the middle steps.
- Shadbala - where the position strength is used.
- Combustion - which sets a planet's position strength to 0 whatever its dignity.
- Vargottama - a different measure of sign consistency.
Shad Bala calculator
Six components, one simplified score out of 20 for each of the seven grahas.
What it needs
Date, time and place
That is more than this article asks for - it only ever takes a date, and sometimes a time, and never a name or a birth place. So this one runs on its own page, which asks for exactly what it needs and stores none of it.
Run it on its own page