Determining the Stronger Rasi

When Do We Need to Determine the Stronger Rasi?

Identifying the stronger rasi is essential in several astrological contexts:

• When computing rasi dashas, especially Narayana dasha, which often starts from the stronger of lagna (ascendant) and the 7th house
• When finding the stronger rasi owned by a planet for calculating its graha arudha
• When determining which of several rasis will have a dominant influence in a particular area of life

Step-by-Step Process for Determining the Stronger Rasi

The following rules are applied in sequence. We stop as soon as one rule identifies a stronger rasi:

1. Planetary Occupancy: If one rasi contains more planets than the other, it is stronger.
   Example: If Aries contains Saturn and Jupiter while Libra contains only Venus, Aries is stronger because it contains more planets.
2. Special Planetary Influences: Count how many of these three planets occupy or aspect each rasi:
   • Jupiter
   • Mercury
   • The lord of the rasi being evaluated

   The rasi influenced by more of these three planets is stronger. Use rasi aspects (sign-to-sign) for this rule.

   Example: When comparing Aries and Libra, if Jupiter is in Aries, Mercury and Venus are in Taurus, and Mars is in Virgo, then:

   • Aries is occupied by Jupiter but not by Mercury or its lord Mars. Count: 1
   • Libra is aspected by Mercury and its lord Venus (from Taurus), but not by Jupiter. Count: 2
   • Therefore, Libra is stronger than Aries.
3. Exalted Occupancy: If one rasi contains an exalted planet and the other does not, the rasi with the exalted planet is stronger.
   Example: If Saturn (exalted in Libra) and Mercury are in Libra, while Jupiter and Venus are in Aries, Libra is stronger because it contains an exalted planet.
4. Lord's Placement Oddity: A rasi whose lord is in a rasi with a different oddity (odd/even) is stronger than a rasi whose lord is in a rasi with the same oddity.
   Example: When comparing Aries and Libra (both odd signs):

   • If Venus (lord of Libra) is in Cancer (an even sign)
   • And Mars (lord of Aries) is in Leo (an odd sign)
   • Then Libra is stronger because its lord is in a sign with different oddity (even)
   • While Aries's lord is in a sign with the same oddity (odd)

   Note: This rule is particularly useful when finding the stronger rasi owned by a planet for graha arudha calculations, as the two rasis owned by each planet always have different oddity.

5. Natural Sign Strength: Consider the natural strength of the rasis:
   • Dual signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) are strongest
   • Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) are of medium strength
   • Movable signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) are weakest

   Note: This rule is not useful in Narayana dasha when comparing a rasi and the 7th from it, as they will always be of the same type (movable, fixed, or dual).

6. Lord's Advancement: If all previous rules result in a tie, compare the advancement of the lords of the two rasis in their respective signs.
   Example: When comparing Aries and Libra:

   • If Mars (lord of Aries) is at 23°17' in Gemini
   • And Venus (lord of Libra) is at 19°51' in Leo
   • Mars's advancement (23°17') is greater than Venus's (19°51')
   • Therefore, Aries is stronger than Libra

   Note: For Rahu and Ketu, measure advancement from the end of the rasi. If Rahu is at 9°34' in Scorpio, its advancement is 20°26' (30° - 9°34').

Special Considerations for Different Contexts

The rules for determining the stronger rasi may need to be adapted based on the specific astrological context:

Practical Example

Let's work through a complete example to determine the stronger of two rasis: