Drekkana () is one of the sixteen main '' vargas'' (divisions of a sign) described by

Parasara Parashara (Sanskrit: पराशर; IAST: ) was a maharishi and the author of many ancient Hindu texts. He is accredited as the author of the first Purana, the Vishnu Purana, before his son Vyasa wrote it in its present form. He was the gran ...

to Maitreya who wanted to be explained about the different kinds of houses ( Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra (Sl. VI.1). Parasara states that relationship with co-borns is to be judged from the ''drekkanas'' occupied by planets. All standard ancient texts on Hindu astrology describe these ''vargas''. The actual disposition of a planet is properly known from its occupation of these sixteen ''vargas''. These sixteen sub-divisional charts which are one of the four dimensions of astrology are a basic ingredient of Hindu astrology, and each sub-divisional chart is firstly required to be studied independently and then collectively as one. M. Ramakrishna Bhat is of the opinion that ''drekkana'' is not a Sanskrit word but borrowed from the Greek. ''Drekkana'' is one third equal part of a

sign A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...

(''Rasi'') or 1/36 part of the

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

; the first part is ruled by the lord of the very sign that is referred to, the second part is ruled by the lord of the 5th sign from that sign and the third part is ruled by the lord of the 9th sign from the sign in question. However, Rudra states that some interpret the said Parasari rule as lords of the 5th and the 9th ''navamsas'' whereas the ''Kalpa Latha'' of Somanatha states that the twelve ''drekkanas'' from ''Mesha'' ('Aries') to ''Karaka'' ('Cancer') will have for their lords, the rulers of the twelve signs, in clock-wise symmetrical order from ''Mesha'' and similarly for the rest i.e. from ''Simha'' ('Leo') and from ''Dhaunus'' ('Sagittarius'). And, there is also the ''Parivritti Thrayapaksha'' method recommended in the ''Vriddha Karikas'' of

Jaimini Jaimini was an ancient Indian scholar who founded the Mīmāṃsā school of Hindu philosophy. He is the son of Parāśara and is considered to be a disciple of sage Vyasa. Traditionally attributed to be the author of the '' Mimamsa Sutras''Ja ...

which suggests the lordship as per the scheme followed while erecting the ''Navamsa Chart''. Varahamihira subscribes to the Parasari method and describes all thirty-six ''drekkanas'' (

Brihat Jataka ''Brihat Jataka'' or ''Brihat Jatakam'' or ''Brihajjatakam'' (Sanskrit: बृहज्जातकम्), is one of the five principal texts written by Varāhamihira, the other four being ''Panchasiddhantika'', ''Brihat Samhita'', ''Laghu Jataka ...

Ch.XXVII). A planet gains strength when it is in its own ''drekkana''. He recommends the use of the ''drekkana'' occupied by the Sun at the time of query for ascertaining the ''lagna'' when the time of birth is not known. Kalyanavarma in the 49th Chapter of his

Saravali Saravali () is an important village and community in the municipal unit of Messatida, Patras, Achaea, Greece. The community is located at the southeastern edge of the agglomeration of Patras. The community consists of the villages Saravali, Agio ...

explains the result of birth in individual ''drekkanas'' or 'decanates' which are applicable only if – द्रेक्काणभे वीर्यवति स्वद्रष्टे द्रेक्काणकल्पं तु फलं विदध्यात् - the ''drekkana'' and its lord are strong or the aspect of the lord of the ''drekkana'' falls on the ''drekkana'' (

(Sl. 49.37)). The ''Drekkana Chart'' or 'the third Harmonic Chart' indicates relationship with the co-borns; when the lord of the 3rd house is posited in a friendly ''drekkana'', it indicates good results. A planet occupying its own ''drekkana'' confers virtues; the Moon similarly situated endows one with best of qualities of body and mind, and the lord of the

lagna In Vedic Astrology Jyotiṣa, the Lagna (') or Hour Marker, is the first moment of contact between the soul and its new life on earth in Jyotiṣa.''The Essentials of Vedic and thantrik Astrology'', by Komilla Sutton, The Wessex Astrologer Lt ...

occupying the first, second or the third ''drekkana'' makes one a judge, a ruler of a ''

mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...

'' or head of a village i.e. attain high position respectively.

B V Raman Bangalore Venkata Raman (8 August 1912 – 20 December 1998) was an Indian astrologer in modern India and an author of numerous books and articles. He was instrumental in making Vedic Astrology (Saint Parashar System) or Hindu astrology known a ...

in his book, “How to Judge a Horoscope (Vol.1)” has explained the impact of planets in various ''drekkanas'' and their lords on the financial position of individuals. He states that the person will remain happy all his life if the lord of the ''lagna'' occupies a friendly ''drekkana''. The importance of ''drekkana-wise'' placement of planets and the ''bhava-lords'' is revealed by the ancient texts. Garga with regard to a sensitive issue states that if the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

is situated in

Sagittarius Sagittarius ( ) may refer to: *Sagittarius (constellation) *Sagittarius (astrology), a sign of the Zodiac * Sagittarius of Gap, a 6th century bishop *Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy Ships *'' S ...

Pisces Pisces may refer to: *Pisces (astrology), an astrological sign Astronomy *Pisces (constellation), a constellation ** Pisces Overdensity, an overdensity of stars in the Milky Way's halo that is situated in the Pisces constellation ** Pisces II, a ...

or in a ''drekkana'' or '' navamsa'' ruled by

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

or if it joins Jupiter in any sign, the person will not be born of adultery. And, Sarvartha Chintamani tells us that if the lord of the 5th house is aspected or conjunct by the lord of the drekkana in which lord of ''navamsa'' occupied by the lord of the 12th house, there will be sorrow on account of children. The bad manner of death of a native is indicated by the adverse situation and association of certain ''drekkana-lords''. Sarvartha Chintamani states - a) When the ''drekkana'' occupied by the lord of the 8th falls in ''Pasa'' (the first ''drekkana'' of Capricorn), ''Sarpa'' (the third ''drekkana'' of

Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

or joins

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

, Māndi or

Rahu Rāhu (Sanskrit: राहु, 16px, ☊) is one of the nine major celestial bodies ( navagraha) in Hindu texts and the king of meteors. It represents the ascension of the Moon in its precessional orbit around the Earth, also referred to as ...

, one dies by imprisonment or hanging. b) If the lord of the ''drekkana'' occupied by Saturn is in the sign or ''navamsa'' ruled by Mars and is aspected by Mars, one meets with death in battle. c) If

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

or the Moon is in debilitation sign in the 4th house and the lord of the 7th occupies a ''Pasa'' or ''Sarpa drekkana'', wife will die by hanging. Venkatesa further states that if the lord of the ''drekkana'' occupied by the lord of the 11th house is a benefic planet and is aspected by the lord of the 10th, there will be much money, and with regard to the state after death he states - If the lord of the ''drekkana'' occupied by the most powerful among the two planets, the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

and the

, happens to be

, the person gets into ''

Devaloka In Indian religions, a devaloka or deva loka is a plane of existence where deity, gods aka Deva (Hinduism), devas exist. The deva lokas are usually described as places of eternal light and goodness, similar to the concept of Heaven. Teachers ...

'', if that lord is the Moon or Venus, then one goes to ''Pitruloka'', and if that be the Sun,

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

or Mercury, he goes to

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

; if that lord also receives beneficial aspects the person attains an important position in the ''

loka Loka () is a concept in Hinduism and other Indian religions, that may be translated as a planet, the universe, a plane, or a realm of existence. In some philosophies, it may also be interpreted as a mental state that one can experience. A prima ...

'' he ascends, if it is exalted will have exalted ''loka'', if debilitated he will go to ''

Naraka Naraka () is the realm of hell in Indian religions. According to schools of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, ''Naraka'' is a place of torment. The word ''Neraka'' (modification of ''Naraka'') in Indonesian language, Indonesian and Malaysian langu ...

'' ''

''. Venus situated in a cruel ''drekkana'' gives fear from enemies, imprisonment and great misery, chains and troubles from robbers. In the

Tajik Tajik, Tajikistan or Tajikistani may refer to. Someone or something related to Tajikistan: Tajik * Tajiks, an ethnic group in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan * Tajik language, the official language of Tajikistan * Tajik alphabet, Alphabet u ...

system, the division of each sign into three parts or decanates is governed by the so-called

Chaldean Chaldean (also Chaldaean or Chaldee) may refer to: Language * an old name for the Aramaic language, particularly Biblical Aramaic. See Chaldean Catholic Church#Terminology, Chaldean misnomer * Suret, a modern Aramaic language spoken by Chaldean C ...

system which entered the art of Tajik by way of the Middle East.

References

{{Jyotish Vidya, state=collapsed Technical factors of Hindu astrology Sanskrit words and phrases

See also

References