What Shadbala is
Shadbala means six strengths. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra gives six ways in which a planet can be strong, and says that a planet’s total, counted in units called rupas, shows how well it can act in the matters it rules. The tool works out all six for the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. Rahu and Ketu are not included, because the classical scheme does not give them these strengths.
The six are:
- Sthana bala, strength of position. It has five parts: how close the planet is to its sign of exaltation (Uchcha), its dignity across seven divisional charts (Saptavargaja), whether it sits in an odd or even sign and navamsa (Ojhayugma), whether it is in a kendra, panaphara or apoklima house (Kendradi), and which third of its sign it occupies (Drekkana).
- Dig bala, strength of direction. Each planet is strongest in one angular house and weakest in the opposite one: Mercury and Jupiter in the 1st, the Sun and Mars in the 10th, Saturn in the 7th, the Moon and Venus in the 4th.
- Kala bala, strength of time. It looks at the hour of birth (day or night, the part of the day), the Moon’s phase, the lords of the year, month, weekday and hora, the Sun’s declination (Ayana) and planetary war (Yuddha).
- Cheshta bala, strength of motion. For Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn it measures how the planet’s true position stands against its mean position, which is why a planet that is retrograde scores high. The Sun and Moon use simple angle rules of their own.
- Naisargika bala, natural strength. A fixed number for each planet, highest for the Sun and lowest for Saturn.
- Drik bala, strength from aspects. A quarter of the aspect strength a planet receives from benefics, less a quarter of what it receives from malefics, so it can be negative.
How the total is read
Each strength is counted in virupas, and 60 virupas make one rupa. The tradition sets a minimum for each planet: Sun 5 rupas, Moon 6, Mars 5, Mercury 7, Jupiter 6.5, Venus 5.5 and Saturn 5. The tool shows the total, the minimum and the ratio between them, so a ratio of 1.00 is exactly the minimum, and also splits every total into its six parts so you can see where the strength comes from.
A planet below its minimum is not a defect in the chart. The usual reading is that such a planet needs more help from the houses, aspects and dasha around it. A planet above its minimum is read as better able to deliver the results of its house. The numbers compare one planet with its own standard; they do not rank one person against another, and they do not promise outcomes.
Where the readings differ
Shadbala is a long calculation, and the books and programs do not agree on every step. The page lists, under the result, the reading used for each ambiguous step. The main ones are these. Moolatrikona is counted only within the degrees Parashara gives. The Moon counts as benefic for Paksha bala at every phase. The lords of the year and month come from the day count of B. V. Raman’s tables, and not from the weekday on which the year or month actually began. Hora is a clock hour from sunrise. These choices can move a total by a few tenths of a rupa, and a different program may print slightly different numbers for the same birth.
How we checked it
We compared the results with the Python library PyJHora on fourteen charts from 1950 to 2040, in India and abroad. Where the rules are the same, the two agree to within a hundredth of a virupa: Uchcha, Saptavargaja, Ojhayugma, Kendradi, Drekkana, Dig, Tribhaga, the weekday lord, the year and month lords and Drik bala. Drik bala also matches the worked example printed in B. V. Raman’s book. Declinations match the Swiss Ephemeris to under a tenth of a degree. We found places where PyJHora departs from the classical text, such as leaving out the Cheshta bala of the Sun and Moon and not folding angles above 180 degrees, so we followed the text there and say so. You can read more about the strength measures on the Ashtakavarga calculator page and see the chart itself with the printable kundali. The Mahadasha calculator shows which planet’s period you are in, and the divisional charts calculator shows the charts used for Saptavargaja.
The birth time matters. Dig, Kendradi, Hora and Tribhaga change within hours, so a result for an uncertain time is only as good as the time.
Frequently asked questions
↳ What is a good Shadbala score?
A planet meets the classical minimum when its total in rupas reaches the figure for that planet: Sun 5, Moon 6, Mars 5, Mercury 7, Jupiter 6.5, Venus 5.5 and Saturn 5. A ratio above 1.00 means it is above its minimum. It is a measure of capacity, not a promise of results.
↳ Why is my Shadbala different from another website's?
Several steps have more than one accepted reading, such as the lords of the year and month, the moolatrikona degrees, and how the Moon is treated in Paksha bala. Programs also differ on house cusps and on how they count the angles. The page lists the reading it uses for each of them.
↳ Does a planet below its minimum mean trouble?
No. It means the planet has less of its own strength to draw on, and the tradition looks to the rest of the chart for support. Many charts have one or two planets below the line.
↳ Why does the Sun's Cheshta bala not depend on retrograde motion?
The Sun and Moon never turn retrograde, so the classical text gives them simple angle rules instead. The Sun's is based on its longitude and the Moon's on its distance from the Sun.
↳ Do I need an exact birth time?
Yes, as exactly as you know it. The Ascendant, the angular houses, the hora and the part of the day all depend on the minute of birth, and they feed several of the six strengths.