Varahamihira: the Brihat Jataka, the Brihat Samhita and the Panchasiddhantika · Chapter 8 of 22 · Part Two · The Brihat Jataka
Livelihood
Brihat Jataka, chapter X — "On Avocation"
Chapter X is four verses long and gives a complete method for finding how a person earns their living.
The source of wealth (X.1)
A person gets wealth from his father, mother, enemy, friend, brother, wife or servant according as the planet which occupies the 10th house from the lagna or from the Moon is the Sun, or the Moon, or Mars or Mercury, or Jupiter or Venus or Saturn respectively (X.1).
| Planet in the 10th (from the ascendant or the Moon) | Wealth through |
|---|---|
| Sun | the father |
| Moon | the mother |
| Mars | enemies |
| Mercury | friends |
| Jupiter | brothers |
| Venus | the wife |
| Saturn | servants |
Aiyar adds, following Garga, that the wealth comes in that planet's period, and that several planets in the 10th mean several sources (note to X.1).
The kind of work (X.1–3)
The avocation of a person will be that stated for the planets which might be the lords of the navamsas occupied by the lords of the 10th houses from lagna, the Moon and the Sun (X.1).
So: take the 10th house from the ascendant, from the Moon and from the Sun; find each one's lord; find the navamsa each lord occupies; the lords of those navamsas are the planets of livelihood. Their work (X.2–3):
| Planet of livelihood | Work |
|---|---|
| Sun | perfumes, gold, wool, medicines and the treatment of the sick |
| Moon | farming, things from water, and through women |
| Mars | metals and minerals, fire, weapons, and bold deeds |
| Mercury | writing, accounting and the like; crafts |
| Jupiter | through Brahmins, the gods and the learned; mines; acts of virtue |
| Venus | gems, silver and other metals, cattle |
| Saturn | hard labour, carrying burdens, and low work |
(Aiyar's examples: for the Moon, pearls, corals and shells; for Mercury, writing commentaries; for Jupiter, sacrificial rites, charity, pilgrimage and service to a teacher.)
The conditions (X.4)
If the planet of livelihood is in a friend's sign, the wealth comes through a friend; in an enemy's sign, through an enemy; in its own sign, from one's own house; if the Sun, exalted, by one's own powers. And "if powerful benefic planets occupy the 11th house, the lagna or the 2nd house, the person will acquire wealth in various ways" — that is, Aiyar explains, they will prosper whatever work they choose (X.4).
A worked example
Take a chart with a Libra ascendant, the Moon in Taurus and the Sun in Cancer, in which the Sun, Jupiter and Venus are in Cancer (the 10th house from Libra) and Mercury is in Leo (the 11th).
Source of wealth. The planets in the 10th from the ascendant are the Sun, Jupiter and Venus: wealth through the father, brothers and the wife.
Kind of work.
| 10th from | Sign | Lord | Lord's navamsa | Planet of livelihood |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ascendant (Libra) | Cancer | Moon | Gemini | Mercury |
| Moon (Taurus) | Aquarius | Saturn | Scorpio | Mars |
| Sun (Cancer) | Aries | Mars | Sagittarius | Jupiter |
The planets of livelihood are Mercury, Mars and Jupiter: writing and accounting, bold or technical work, and learning or virtue.
Conditions. Mercury, a benefic, is in the 11th: by X.4, wealth "in various ways".
Summary
- Planets in the 10th from the ascendant or the Moon show the sources of wealth (X.1).
- The lords of the navamsas of the 10th lords (from the ascendant, the Moon and the Sun) show the kind of work (X.1–3).
- The sign of the planet of livelihood shows through whom; powerful benefics in the 11th, ascendant or 2nd bring wealth in many ways (X.4).
Exercises
- Saturn is in the 10th from the Moon. Through whom does wealth come?
- The 10th lord from the ascendant is in Pisces navamsa. What is the planet of livelihood, and what work does it give?
- The planet of livelihood is in its own sign. What does X.4 say?
- Work out the planets of livelihood for a chart you know.
Answers: 1. Through servants (X.1). 2. Jupiter (lord of Pisces): through the learned, religion, mines, acts of virtue (X.3). 3. Wealth from one's own house. 4. (Your own answer.)