Shadbala: The Six Distinct Strengths of Planets - Ayana Bala

This is part two of an article on Shadbala: The Six Fold Strengths of Planets. Specifically Ayana Bala is discussed and the Mythology behind it.
Looking at the strengths of planets as found in the balas, one can read the character with precise insight. Calculations for arriving at the mathematical
value of Ayana Bala are not given as most astrological softwares calculate the Ayana Bala. Ayana Bala specifically measures how a person deals
with conflict and adversity.

Ayana Bala
Ayana means course and more specifically, the course of the Sun. There are two courses of the Sun which are Uttara ayana , when the Sun moves
north and the Southern course, Dakshinayana, when the Sun moves South. There is also a distinction pertaining to whether the Sun is in the Northern
Hemisphere or in the Southern Hemisphere. According to Hindu mythology and the Surya Siddhanta, the Northern Hemisphere is the realm of the
gods and the Southern Hemisphere is the realm of the Asuras which translates roughly as demon, but is not the demons we think of in Christianity
holding pitchforks and burning in hell. The Asuras are rather like the Titans of Greek mythology for a more accurate comparison. Some planets,
namely, the Sun, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter are happier in the realm of the devas or gods and other planets, namely the Moon and Saturn are happier
in the realm of the Asuras or demons. Mercury is happy in both. The reason for these preferences will be explained shortly.

Ayana bala is the strength that measures the personality trait of how one navigates through conflict and adversity.

Two different methods exist to calculate Ayana bala, the way of Parasara and the way of Sri Pati. The Sri Pati method is the most commonly used
method. In this method, the declination of the planet is taken, meaning how far north or south a planet is from the celestial equator. Parasara tells us
to pay more attention to the Rasi or Sign placement of the planet. This will give a different value. Ayana bala can only be calculated with the tropical
Zodiac. Most Vedic astrological softwares calculate ayana bala with one or two calculating this bala in the Parasara method.

Due to the fact that Ayana bala distinguishes how a person deals with conflict, the planetary ruler of Ayana bala is Mars. In addition, Vedic myth
states that Mars was born of the Earth and Mars rules over all minerals that come from the Earth. Since Ayana bala is the strength that has to do with
each planet’s longitudinal relationship to the Earth, it makes perfect sense that Mars would rule this bala.

The minimum requirements for each planet in Ayana Bala are as follows:

Sun: 30 points
Moon: 40 points
Mars: 20 points
Mercury: 30 points
Jupiter: 30 points
Venus: 40 points
Saturn: 20 points

The Sun is the king and has to do with our ability to lead and be steadfast and honorable. In conflict, the Sun does well when he acts honorably, just
like when the king acts dishonorably he loses the esteem of the people. Being honorable means being steadfast and committed to something even
though it does not give us what we want. The Sun has to be virtuous and noble all the time. If the Sun is in the Southern hemisphere, in the realm of
the Asuras or demons, it is easy in times of conflict and adversity for a person to act dishonorably. When difficult things come, it is easier for the
person to follow the path of the Asuras. When the Sun is in the Northern hemisphere, in the realm of the devas, and faced with obstacles, the person
can more easily be steadfast in their course of action and stick to their guns. This is the reason why the Sun prefers to be Northern hemisphere in the
realm of the devas.

One would think that Mars would enjoy frolicking with the demons in the Southern Hemisphere. But no, he prefers to remain in the realm of the devas
as well, so what gives? Mars rules logic and what is logical and the ultimate goal of logic is the search for truth. When Mars is too far South, he can
get too wrapped up in bloodlust and the thrill of the fight. We must not forget that only when Mars is afflicted does he rule rage. In his pure form, he is
righteous anger. In the realm of the devas, he can use logic to see if a fight is necessary. In the realm of the Asuras, he can only see the fight and will
fight for no other reason than to destroy. If Mars is in the North in the land of the Devas, then his logical approach can kick in and lead him to the truth.
Mars can move South just a little as long as he sees the noble goal. In effect, Mars can somewhat allow that the end justifies the means.

How does Jupiter deal with conflict? By turning towards the higher purpose. When Jupiter has enough ayana bala, the person is able to gain in

understanding and see the higher purpose of the conflict. They can see the greater good. If Jupiter is in the Southern hemisphere, the person cannot
see how and why they got into the conflict and very often the conflict can overcome them because they don’t have the understanding to see
the greater good. Jupiter is the planet of forgiveness and acceptance, and in conflict, forgiveness is very important. Jupiter with low ayana bala will
find it difficult to forgive. They won’t be forgiving in times of conflict and will find it very difficult to wish a person well after the adversity has
worked itself out.

Venus needs to be in the North as well. This is odd because Venus is the guru of the Asuras. Venus’ goal is to teach us that every
opportunity has a price and that price needs to be worth the opportunity. And only the good things in life are worth the price we have to pay. In the
context of conflict, Venus in the North can understand that the price that needs to be paid is way too high. When Venus is in the Southern
hemisphere, Venus cannot see that the price is too high and will end up regretting the decision, whatever that may be. Venus’ job in conflict is
too smooth conflict over, this being attributed to Venus’ role as the great diplomat and comforter. His job is to negotiate a peace treaty. His
job is to evaluate what is worth fighting for and what can be let go. If the peace treaty is so bad, it may be worth it to continue fighting. When Venus is
in the South, he cannot see if it is worth fighting for or keeping peace. This is in the context of all conflictual things. Venus is always the 2nd most
important planet in resolving conflict as Venus always works closely with Mars. It’s important for Venus to have enough Ayana Bala so that he
knows when its more auspicious to fight and when its more auspicious to make peace. If he is stuck in the world of nastiness, then he cannot properly
evaluate the worth of a fight or making peace. Venus being desire is also our decisions that bring those desires closer. If we desire to smoke
cigarettes because it feels good, then we cannot see that farther down the line we will end up paying a huge price for this action, a bigger price than
the worth of the comforting feeling of smoking. This is just one example of how Venus works.

Saturn is a servant. Understandably, he feels comfortable in the realm of the Demons because Saturn is our ability to bear suffering. No one can win
every conflict, so throughout the course of life, we must periodically endure loss. If Saturn has a strong ayana bala or the farther south he is, the more
he is able to see the concepts of “I can handle losing” and “I can handle the harsh reality”. If Saturn does not have
sufficient ayana bala or is too far North, the person cannot handle the harsh realities of life and will lament, “It’s just not fair that
I’m suffering”. The person gets frustrated because they do not want to pay their dues. When we have to lose, when we have to pay
our dues, then Saturn helps us realize that that is just a part of life. If Saturn has low ayana bala and is in the Northern Hemisphere with the devas, he
is a slave that wants to be the king. Saturn with the Devas gets very frustrated and impatient in getting to where he needs to go in life.

Moon wants to be far South. Moon needs to be in the realm of the Demons to be happy. One would not think that the Moon would want to associate
with demons as the Moon represents the Mind. But we must look at this in terms of how a person handles conflict. The Moon is a receptive planet, it
is not a doer, so when adversity and conflict presents itself to the consciousness which is the Moon, the consciousness must absorb the adversity
because it cannot do anything to make it better. The consciousness is happier to become one with the conflict and then the conflict disappears. This
concept of becoming one with something is talked about in the Tao Te Ching. When the Moon is in the North, then the Moon drowns in
“shoulds”. Things should be this way and I must do something to change them. The Moon is not a doing planet, it is receptive and is
most effective at doing nothing. People with the moon in the South do much better with children. Raising children is very conflictual and a Moon with
high ayana bala is tolerant of the everyday conflicts that arise with raising children. When the Moon is in the South, it does not have an agenda when
dealing with conflict, the Moon adapts to its environment. The Moon in the South with the demons has empathy and tolerates the conflict. The Moon
in the North cannot tolerate any stupidity or irrationality. If the Moon is empathetic it can heal the conflict. No matter how painful it is, if we open
ourselves up to it, then it naturally goes away, and can become a blissful experience. It Saturn or Mars are on the Moon in the natal chart, then the
person will naturally have more conflict and suffering, but if the Moon has high ayana bala, then the native can open themselves up to these things,
and accept them, and even find bliss from them.

Mercury always has 30 points of ayana bala so it is never lacking. The more north or south he is, the more points he gets. Mercury is happy in the
North or South, he wants to go to the extreme. Mercury is the manager, the guy who runs the corporation, the president’s chief of staff. To
manage, he has to look at the statistics and make things better. The further North Mercury is, the better he is able to see how to make something
better. The other part of management is dealing with problems. The further South Mercury is, the more he is able to manage his way past the
obstacles, the more he is able to solve problems. Mercury tries to negotiate himself out of the conflict. When in the North, he negotiates with the goal
of making things better, when in the South, he negotiates with the goal of just getting through the problem.

The planet with the lowest ayana bala score is the planet the person gets most conflicted about. It is the planet that is very difficult to use when called
upon to solve conflict.

This is part 3 of my article on Shadbala: The Six Fold Strengths of Planets. Specifically Drig Bala is discussed. Looking at the strengths of planets
as found in the balas, one can read the character with precise insight. Calculations for arriving at the mathematical value of Drig Bala are not given as

most astrological softwares calculate the Drig Bala. Drig Bala specifically shows the obstacles and adversities a person will meet with when trying to
use specific planetary energies.

About the Author

Laura Barat is a full-time, professional Vedic Astrologer in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. She maintains a very busy practice with clients from
every corner of the globe. Laura has been giving astrological consultations for 12 years and is an avid practioner of hatha and kundalini yoga. Her
website is: http://www.laurabarat.org/

Source: http://www.motivationalmagic.com