The word Prashna literally means a question. The Prashna Astrology chart or Prashna Kundali answers a query without using or in addition to the natal birth chart of a person. The basic rules of Vedic astrology to read a chart apply to Prashna charts as well. There are also additional rules to interpret the Prashna Chart. It is one of the branches of astrology called Horary astrology.
Casting The Prashna Chart
The Prashna chart is cast for the time of the query. If the astrologer is in a different place from the person asking the question, the time and place of the astrologer is usually considered for the chart. The idea to ask the question, or the very question is born at the moment the person asks it. So, the birth chart of the question (Prashna Nirman) can answer the query.
Basic Concepts
To interpret a Prashna chart correctly one must revisit the basics of astrology rules. These basic factors and aspects of a chart can help give more details to the Prashna answer.
Characteristics of Planets
Gender
The male planets are Sun, Mars and Jupiter. The female planets are Moon, Venus and Rahu. The neutral gender planets are Mercury, Saturn and Ketu. Additionally, Jupiter and Venus are also human planets.
Colours
- Sun – Red (dark)
- Moon – White
- Mars – Red (light)
- Mercury – Green
- Jupiter – Golden
- Venus – Blue
- Saturn – Black
- Rahu and Ketu – Smoky and/or Variegated.
Directions
- Sun – East
- Moon – North West
- Mars – South
- Mercury – North
- Jupiter – North East
- Venus – South East
- Saturn – West
- Rahu – South West
Age
Sun is 50 years, Moon is 70 years, Mars is 16 years, Mercury is 20 years, Jupiter is 30 years, Venus is 7 years, Saturn and Rahu are 100 years.
Characteristics Of The Rashis
Rashis have many characteristics that add more flavour to the answers of Prashna. The Movable Rashis are Aries (Mesha), Cancer (Kartaka), Libra (Tula) and Capricorn (Makara). The fixed signs are Taurus (Rishaba), Leo (Simha), Scorpio (Vrishik)and Aquarius (Kumbha). The dual signs are Gemini (Mithuna), Virgo (Kanya), Sagittarius (Dhanus) as well as Pisces (Meena).
Rashis are also classified by their mode of rising. Sheershodaya signs rise head first. They are Gemini (Mithuna), Leo (Simha), Virgo (Kanya), Libra (Tula), Scorpio (Vriscihik) as well as Aquarius (Kumbha).
Prishtodaya signs rise with the hind parts first. They are Aries (Mesha), Taurus (Rishaba), Cancer (Kartaka), Sagittarius (Dhanus) as well as Capricorn (Makara). Ubodhaya sign of Pisces (Meena) rises in both directions.
The East direction signs are Aries, Leo and Saggitarius. The West are Gemini (Mithuna), Libra (Tula) as well as Aquarius (Kumbha). The North Rashis are Cancer (Kartaka), Scorpio (Vrischik) as well as Pisces (Meena). The South are Taurus (Rishaba), Virgo (Kanya) as well as Capricorn (Makara).
The 4th, 8th, as well as 12th from the Sun, are upward-looking or Udhavmukhi. The signs that the Sun is in, as well as 5th and 9th from the Sun, are Adhomukhi or downward-looking. The signs that are 2nd, 6th and 10th from the Sun are sideways looking or Tiryanmukhi.
Aries, Gemini, Leo and Virgo are barren signs. The water signs of Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are fruitful and mute. Taurus, Libra, Sagittarius, Capricorn and Aquarius are semi-fruitful. Virgo, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius are human signs.
Judging The Houses Of A Prashna Chart
First House: The first house is the house of the querent/questioner.
Second House: The second house indicates the monetary aspect of the question. It indicates money lent or borrowed, cash, assets, trade as well as investments. It is also the house for the longevity of spouse, legacies, family money etc.
Third House: This house answer questions about the neighbour, sibling, short travel, correspondence, right ear, communications, negotiation, contracts and losing the home or womb.
Fourth House: This indicates home, mother vehicles, real estate, heart, children’s health, state of a missing person, missing property and where they are.
Fifth House: This house indicates children, speculation, shares, love affairs, pregnancy, sterility, sports, taxes, gambling etc.
Sixth House: This indicates pets, debts, diseases, servants, tenants, enemies, a threat to life, service, jobs and subordinates.
Seventh House: this is the house that indicates answers regarding spouse, partner, business, foreign travels, diseases, return from a journey, the return of a missing person etc.
Eighth House: The eighth house indicates dowry, death, will, accidents, income through spouse or partner, termination from service, injury, danger, sex, grief, insurance and longevity of spouse.
Ninth House: This is the house that is studied for foreign travels, long-distance travels, pilgrimage, Guru, science, places of worship.
Tenth House: This is the house that answers questions related to profession, authority, judge, status, position, rent, patient and honour.
Eleventh House: This is the house of gains, realisation of goals, income, acquisition, friends, colleagues, documents and certificates.
Twelfth House: Secret enemies, expenses, loss, foreign stay, kidnapping, hospitalisation, confinement and Moksha.
Significations Of The Planets
The Sun is government, father, boss, authority, heart, good health, king, minister, wheat, gold, head of the family, Guru as well as a respectable person. The Moon is mother, silver, rice, milk, water, water-related things and living creatures as well as foreign travels. Mars is an athlete, brother, accident, surgery, land, war, thief, virility, government officer, soldiers, courage and coercion.
Mercury is speech, communication, business, trade, mathematics, arts, education, books. Jupiter Jupiter is all things that are yellow or gold, husband, Guru, grand houses, astrology, wealth, children, religion, generosity and Dharma. Venus is women, vehicles, clothes, while clothes, dance, music, sensuality, cinema, sports, hotels, ornaments as well as silver. Saturn is servants, hard work, iron, bricks, petroleum products, poverty and oil.
Rahu is IT, electronics, research, mysterious hard to diagnose illnesses, electromagnetic waves and the significations of Saturn. Ketu is Tantra, Moksha, occult as well as the significations of Mars.
Horary Astrology: Judgement Of The Person Asking The Question
The intentions of the person asking the question are also analysed before answering. If the question is not sincere the question should not be answered. Indications of an insincere question are: Moon placed in the Lagna while at the same time Saturn is in Kendra and Mercury is combust. Moon in Lagna receiving aspect of Mercury as well as Mars. Jupiter, Mercury or an enemy planet aspecting lord of the 7th house.
On the other hand if the natal and the Prashna Lagna are the same the question is sincere.
Prashna Kundali: Multiple Questions From One Chart
Regional systems of Horary, Prashna Nirman or Prashna astrology have different methods to determine the Lagna for each question. This temporary Lagna is the Arudha. We can determine the Arudha Lagna for subsequent questions in other ways as well. Some people use traditional texts of Prashnavali or Prashna Upanishad to interpret the Prashna Kundali.
The simplest method is to use the Lagna of the Prashna Kundali and investigate the queries from the house and planet that signifies the question (as described above). An alternative method is to change the Lagna of the Prashna Kundali for each subsequent question. The second question can be seen with Moon as Lagna, 3rd from Sun, 4th from Jupiter, 5th from either Venus or Mercury whichever is stronger and the 6th from the weaker or Venus or Mercury. Some astrologers ask the person to choose a number from 1 to 108 and use it to fix the Lagna for each question. Else, the person is asked to touch the chart to choose a Lagna.
Judgement Of A House
We judge a house by its condition and the condition of its lord in much the same way as it is in a basic chart reading. If the lord of a house aspects the house, is in the house, contains benefics or receives benefic aspect, the house is strong. The house is also strong if the lord of the house is with benefics, aspected by benefics, is in own, friendly, exalted or Moolatrikona sign. The lord is strong also if it is in Kendra or Kona and is also strong.
A house is weak if it contains malefics or receives a malefic aspect. If the house lord is in a Dusthana (6th, 8th or 12th house) or debilitated, in enemy Rashi, hemmed by malefics or weak in any way the house is weak.
Interpretation Of The Prashna Chart
If the Rashi of the Prashna Lagna chart is fixed the subject of the query will not change. A movable sign indicates that there will be the desired change. If it is a dual sign there will be effort required to make it happen. Also if the Lagna degree is nearer to the beginning of the sign it is more fixed and towards the later degrees more movable.
If the Lagna Rashi is Sheershodaya the desire will be fulfilled. Prishtodaya shows problems while Ubhodaya indicates more effort to fulfil the desire.
The different aspects of the answer to the query can be studied by examining the relevant houses. The Karyesha is the lord of the house that the question relates to. For example, the Karyesha for a spouse related question is the lord of the 7th house.
One can determine the gender, direction, colour and other aspects of the answer by using the significations of the planets as well as houses as described above.
Disputes
In the case of a question with regard to an opponent, the person asking the question is the 1st house and the opponent the 7th house. So, if the question regards a fight or battle with someone, a malefic in the first house aspecting the 7th house if very good. A benefic in the 6th house shows that one will have victory over the enemy.
Generally, having benefics in the Kendras (1, 4, 7 and 10) and the Trikonas (1, 5 and 9) are good and having malefics in the 3rd, 6th and 11th houses are good. As in the normal reading of a chart, Saturn will delay but not deny and Rahu and Ketu will give unexpected or unconventional results. Saturn keeps the house that he is placed in strong and destroys the house that he aspects. A malefic planet in the 8th house can create unexpected obstacles.
If the Lagna lord is in a Dusthana (6, 8 and 12) and is also weak there will be a delay. If in a Dusthana but in good strength otherwise there will be a success but with a delay.
Lagna and 10th lord in mutual exchange with each other indicate success while Moon aspected by Lagna lord gives quick results. Tiryanmukhi and Adhomukh Rashi in the Lagna is unfavourable unless there is a benefic in it or aspecting it.
Relationship Between Lagnesh and Karyesha
The Lagnesha is the lord of the Lagna and the Karyesha is the lord of the house that relates to the Prashna question (Karyabhava)
The desire of the questioner will also be fulfilled if:
- Lagnesh aspects Lagna and Karyesha aspects the Karyabhava or of the Lagnesha aspects the Karyabhava and the Karyesha aspect each other.
- Parivartan or mutual exchange between the Lagnesha and Karyesha or both are placed together in Lagna.
- Karyesha is in the Lagna and aspects the Lagnesh.
- If the Lagnesh and the 11th lord are both part of good Yogas in the chart.
The desire will fail if:
- A Prishtodaya Rashi is the Lagna and receives malefic aspect or if the Lagna, Lagnesha and the Moon lords are without strength.
- In the case of disputes, malefic in the Lagna is good to defeat the opponent but in other cases it is not favourable.
- Moon in Lagna is unfavourable unless it a Poornima.
- When the Lagnesha is in Dusthana (6, 8 or 12) there will be failure.
Other Factors
When the Lagnesha or the Karyesha are close to a retrograde planet the results will be unfavourable. If a planet in the Prashna chart that answers the question has just started retrogression it will prevent the fulfilment of the desire for its entire period of retrogression. A benefic retrograde planet will give good results at the end of its retrogression period. A retrograde malefic is extremely bad. If the Karyesha is retrograde and in a Dusthana there will be failure. If the Lagnesha and the Karyesha are debilitated, weak, retrograde or even combust the answer is a very strong indication of failure.
Regional practices of Prashna, as well as the Tajik systems of Prashna, have their own different practices and unique rules by which the answers are determined.
