Virgo ascendant (Kanya Lagna): the twelve houses, their lords, and what the texts say

The twelve houses from Virgo and the lords that rule them

Each house takes the lord of its sign. Rahu and Ketu own none in this engine, so seven grahas share twelve houses, five of them ruling two each. BPHS Ch. 7 Sl. 33-36 sorts the houses into angles (kendras), trines, succedents (panapharas), cadents (apoklimas), dusthanas and upachayas; the Lagna counts as both angle and trine (Ch. 34 Sl. 2-7).

Three features organise what follows. Mercury rules the 1st and the 10th, so the lagna lord also holds a second angle. Venus rules the 9th, a trine, with the 2nd. And Mars, lord of the 8th, also owns the 3rd, the pairing Ch. 34 Sl. 2-7 calls "specifically harmful".

These lists feed the engine's yoga tests; Raj yoga for the Virgo ascendant and Dhana yoga for the Virgo ascendant take them lord by lord. They colour each period too; the Mahadasha pages for this ascendant are Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu.

What the texts say: BPHS Ch. 34 for Kanya Lagn

BPHS Ch. 34 is the chapter on yoga karakas. Its Sl. 31-32 is the verdict for Kanya Lagn, laid out house by house on the Virgo rashi page; the rules behind it are Sl. 2-14, and Sl. 8-10 names the natural benefics and malefics.

Two rows pull against the rules. For Mercury the verse settles it: the Lagna is specially auspicious, but Mercury owns a second angle and is neutral by nature, a benefic only in good company; Sl. 31-32 lists it as auspicious. For Saturn the trine and the 6th point opposite ways and this verse is silent, so nothing here settles it; the Virgo rashi page gives the later books' reading. In every other row the rules and the verse agree.

Is there a yogakaraka for Virgo rising?

No. Sl. 31-32 names none; it says Venus's yuti with Mercury "will produce Yog". The rule of Sl. 13, a graha owning an angle (4th, 7th, 10th) and a trine (5th, 9th), finds none either. The Kundali's full reading prints "No planet plays this specific role for Virgo Lagna." The verse's Yog belongs to a pair, not to one graha; the rashi page sets out the yoga and how the later books treat Venus.

The Bhrigu Sutras translator's comments on Virgo rising

The comments printed after the sutras are the translator's, not Bhrigu's. At least fifteen pages name Virgo as the ascendant; the table gives six, and those on Jupiter and Venus (pp. 77, 81, 84, 85, 87) are on the Virgo rashi page.

The Mercury, Venus and Mars rows agree with the verse; the Moon and Jupiter rows go the other way, since the verse calls both malefic. The verse classes a graha and the comments judge a placement; where they pull apart, the sources disagree, this page does not choose, and the engine follows BPHS. Saravali Ch. 3 Sl. 37-38 files Virgo among the four signs of long ascension, those that take longest to rise.

Exalted and debilitated signs, counted as houses from Virgo

BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 49-50 gives the exaltation signs of the Sun to Saturn as Aries, Taurus, Capricorn, Virgo, Cancer, Pisces and Libra, each with debilitation in the seventh sign from it; Saravali Ch. 3 Sl. 35-36 agrees. Counting from Virgo turns that into a house map.

Only Mercury and Venus have an angle among their strong and weak houses: Mercury is exalted in the Lagna and weak in the 7th, Venus the reverse. The app's "Friendly sign" and "Enemy sign" labels depend on the chart and cannot be tabulated by house. See exaltation and debilitation.

Mercury as lagna lord: BPHS Ch. 12 and Ch. 24

BPHS ties bodily comfort to the lagna lord: Ch. 12 Sl. 1-2 says it lessens when the lagna lord is joined to a malefic or sits in the 6th, 8th or 12th, and holds in an angle or trine. Its "malefic" is the natural class of Ch. 34 Sl. 8-10 (the Sun, Saturn, Mars, a weak Moon; Mercury by its company), not this lagna's label, and Mercury is neutral by nature. Ch. 24 Sl. 1-12 reads the lagna lord in each house: in the 1st physical happiness and prowess (Sl. 1); in the 9th good fortune, skill and eloquence (Sl. 9); in the 10th, which Mercury also rules, royal honour, fame and self-earned wealth (Sl. 10). In the 6th the verse turns on malefic company and a benefic's aspect (Sl. 6), and in the 12th on whether a benefic aspects or joins it (Sl. 12).

Mercury in each house has a page, from Mercury in the 1st house to Mercury in the 12th house; the Shad Bala calculator shows its strength in a given chart.

Which lordship yogas the engine can test for Virgo rising

The five pairs are Mercury with Saturn and Venus, and Jupiter with Mercury, Saturn and Venus. The test follows BPHS Ch. 41 Sl. 28 (any relationship). Ch. 34 Sl. 11-12 counts lords joined together only in an angle or trine, and Sl. 15 sets the yoga aside for a lord who also owns a dusthana; Saturn (the 6th) does, which would leave three pairs. The engine has no rule of its own for the pair Sl. 31-32 names: it lists Venus and Mercury whenever they are joined or in mutual aspect, wherever they sit. Kendra-Kona Raj Yoga gives the general rule.

Worked example: Virgo rising at 28.04 degrees, New Delhi, 24 February 1985

This is not a real person's chart. It is a birth moment, 21:42 IST on 24 February 1985 in New Delhi, that a deterministic search (a check script virgo-ascendant) found because it rises in Virgo; re-enter it in the Birth Chart calculator. The engine puts the ascendant at 28.04 degrees. Each nakshatra takes 13 degrees 20 minutes (four padas of 3 degrees 20): Hasta ends 23.33 degrees into Virgo and Chitra fills the rest, so 28.04 is in Chitra, pada 2 (26.67 to 30.00). Libra is 1.96 degrees away.

• The lagna lord. Mercury is in Aquarius, the 6th, 4.58 degrees past the Sun (16.94 minus 12.36), which the engine marks combust. Ch. 12 Sl. 1-2 names the 6th, and a natural malefic's company, as cases where bodily comfort lessens; the Sun is a natural malefic by Sl. 8-10 and shares the sign. Ch. 24 Sl. 6 reads the lagna lord in the 6th with a malefic, and no benefic's aspect, as less physical happiness and trouble from enemies. No graha aspects Aquarius here (the Kundali's full reading lists the houses each graha aspects), so the chart meets that condition.
• Venus and Mercury. Venus, lord of the 2nd and 9th, is exalted in Pisces, the 7th, an angle: the engine lists Malavya Yoga. Mercury is a sign away, in the 6th, so the pair is neither joined nor in mutual aspect and shows no Kendra-Kona row; the 9th and 10th lords are in different houses, so no Dharma-Karmadhipati row either. The full reading's Yoga Karaka panel reads "No planet plays this specific role for Virgo Lagna."
• The rest. Mars, lord of the 3rd and 8th, shares Pisces with Venus, 0.69 of a degree behind it (23.45 minus 22.76). Jupiter, lord of the 4th and 7th, is debilitated in the 5th. Saturn, lord of the 5th and 6th, is in the 3rd, apart from Venus, so no Raja Yoga row. The Sun, lord of the 12th, sits in the 6th, so the engine lists Vimala Yoga. None of the Bhrigu Sutras translator's comments on Virgo rising covers a placement here.

The yoga list also carries Anapha, Ubhayachari and Pasa (placement patterns, not lordship), plus Argala Raj Yoga. The dosha list shows Kendradhipathya Dosha (Mild), Mangal Dosha (Moderate; Mars is in the 7th) and Kaal Sarp Dosha (Present); those are not lordship facts and have their own pages. Nothing here is a verdict on a person.

My birth time is only approximate. Is my ascendant still Virgo?

It may not be. Compute the chart at both ends of your time range with the Lagna calculator and see whether the sign changes; if it does, read when the birth time is unknown.

Does a late degree of Virgo rising, such as 28 degrees, change the houses?

No. With whole-sign houses the sign alone sets them: Virgo is the 1st at any degree. The degree matters for the nakshatra and pada (the worked chart's 28.04 degrees is Chitra pada 2) and for how near the next sign is.

In which houses does BPHS favour Mercury for a Virgo ascendant?

Ch. 12 Sl. 1-2 counts an angle or trine in the lagna lord's favour and the 6th, 8th and 12th against it. From Virgo the angles and trines are Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces, Gemini, Capricorn and Taurus; the 6th, 8th and 12th are Aquarius, Aries and Leo.

Which grahas rule the dusthanas for a Virgo ascendant?

BPHS Ch. 7 Sl. 33-36 names the 6th, 8th and 12th as the evil bhavas; from Virgo they are Aquarius (Saturn), Aries (Mars) and Leo (the Sun). When one of these lords sits in any of the three, the engine lists Harsha (the 6th lord), Sarala (the 8th) or Vimala (the 12th) Yoga.

How many Kendra-Kona pairs can a Virgo ascendant form, and would BPHS count them?

Five. The engine counts an angle lord and a trine lord together or in mutual aspect (Ch. 41 Sl. 28). A literal Sl. 15 would set aside the two that include Saturn, leaving three.