Ayana Bala, Chesta Bala and Drig Bala of Jupiter
Are you interested in learning Vedic Astrology from an experienced teacher? Do you want to deepen your understanding of the ancient wisdom of the stars and planets? If so, you might want to check out the Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program, a two-year online course that covers all the essential topics of this fascinating discipline.
The Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program is offered on the teachable.com platform, where you can access the lectures, exercises, quizzes, and assignments at your own pace. You will learn about the fundamentals of Vedic Astrology, such as the rasis, the signs, the houses, the planets, the vargas, the dashas, the yogas, and more. You will also learn how to interpret charts, make predictions, and apply remedies.If you are looking for even more rigour, you can also enrol in the Certification Pathway, a complementary program that allows you to submit your work for assessment at the end of each semester. There are nine semesters in total, and each one has a specific focus and theme. By completing the Certification Pathway, you will demonstrate your mastery of Vedic Astrology and earn an invitation to join the Practicum Year of supervised, applied Vedic Astrology. Successful completion of the Practicum Year will entitle you to Certification from Asheville Vedic Astrology and its associated benefits.But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself the quality of the work produced by students on the program. Today’s blog post is a paper written by one of our apprentices at the end of the fourth semester, which explores how to apply and remedy Shadbala in Vedic Astrology.We hope you enjoy reading this paper and find it informative and insightful. If you are inspired by what you see and want to join our program, please visit the Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program on teachable.com or contact me for more information. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you on your journey of learning Vedic Astrology.
Ayana Bala, Chesta Bala and Drig Bala of Jupiter by Patricija Venckutė
Introduction
What is possible to be discovered when diving deeper into Vedic Astrology? One such possibility is Shadbala. The latter is constructed out of 6 different types of strength that are used to evaluate each planet more thoroughly. In this essay, I will be exploring 3 of the different types of strengths: Ayana Bala, Chesta Bala, and Drig Bala. Furthermore, I will explain how they influence Jupiter and I will give practical advice on ways to manifest the highest potential of Jupiter.
Ayana Bala
Ayana Bala is the 4th strength of Shadbala. The translation of ‘Ayana’ from Sanskrit to English has a few similar variations: “arrival, circulation, belonging to the solstice” (Sanskrit Dictionary, 2023). All of these translations speak of movement that happens in a repetitive or better said cyclical way. That is how the Sun exists in our galaxy from the perspective of Earth. It follows the zodiacal path that has a polarity. The Northern side of the pole belongs to the sign Cancer, whereas the Southern side belongs to Capricorn. To be even more specific, the Northern path begins from the sign of Aries and reaches its final destination at Cancer, which is where Summer Solstice occurs. On the flip side, the Southern path begins from Libra and culminates up to Capricorn, which is where Winter Solstice occurs. By traveling from one side of the pole to another, the Sun experiences a shift in energy that affects its luminosity hence, the strength of other planets and that is what Ayana Bala assesses. For example, when the Sun is moving through the Northern part of the sky, as well as Mars, Jupiter, and Venus are – they all gain strength. The Moon and Saturn gain strength when they move through the Southern side, it’s where the Sun is the weakest. Mercury has an exception – it does well throughout the whole time, but gains even more strength when it is closer to Cancer or Capricorn. Since Ayana Bala is based on polarity and is ruled by Mars, it determines the conflicting factor of each planet.
How does Ayana Bala determine Jupiter’s position during conflicts? When Jupiter has at least 30 points of Ayana Bala it is considered to have enough strength in this Bala. This then enables Jupiter to have the necessary wisdom during a conflict. Moreover, it provides a sense of purpose for joining the battle. A person with Jupiter strong in Ayana Bala can see the greater reason for not avoiding a conflict. Most importantly, the native is capable of learning and growing from the dispute (Kurczak, Shadbala 6 Part 2, 2023). In other words, the conflict is perceived as an opportunity to develop. On the flip side, when Jupiter has a score that is below 30 in Ayana Bala, it lacks strength. Then, the person deliberately avoids confrontations and conflicts because they do not see a purpose in them. However, if they somehow participate in a conflict, they struggle to gain something beneficial from it, they don’t learn and don’t know how they could grow afterward.
A piece of practical advice I would give to someone with Jupiter that has a low Ayana Bala score is to practice understanding the bigger picture of life and how a conflict could be meaningfully contributing to it. Moreover, I would try to inspire the person to remember that a conflict is always an opportunity for growth, even if one cannot perceive that at first. Lastly, I would also recommend journaling after the conflict is over, mainly focusing on at least one thing that they learned or gained out of it.
Chesta Bala
Chesta Bala is the 5th strength of Shadbala. Just like the word itself proposes when translated into English as “moving” (Sanskrit Dictionary, 2023), so does this Bala analyze each planet’s strength according to its motion. There are 3 main ways of motion: retrograde, stationary, and direct. When a planet is retrograde, it is considered to have lots of strength and confidence to express itself because it is the closest to Earth. After that, the stationary position follows. The least strong movement is when a planet goes direct. In other words, the slower a planet moves, the more it gains Chesta Bala and the faster it moves, the less it gains. It is important to note that for the Sun and the Moon, there are separate ways of determining their strengths. The Sun gains as much of Chesta Bala points as it has in Ayana Bala, whereas the Moon gains according to its lunar phases.
How does Chesta Bala’s score affect Jupiter’s capacity to express its agenda? When Jupiter has at least 50 points of Chesta Bala, it is very strong. Someone with that kind of Jupiter in their birth chart feels confident about their knowledgeability and they don’t shy away from sharing their accumulated wisdom with others. Furthermore, a strong Chesta Bala score for Jupiter enables one to have strong faith in manifesting one’s dreams (Kurczak, Shadbala 7, 2023). On the flip side, if Jupiter doesn’t have sufficient Chesta Bala points, the person lacks confidence in their philosophy, religion, belief system, or any kind of greater knowledge. Therefore, the native desires to be validated by others for what they believe in. In the most negative light, this could manifest as someone who is aggressively pushing their beliefs onto others, so they could feel righteous and safe.
For someone with Jupiter that has a low score for Chesta Bala, I would recommend visual meditation where the person would imagine themselves confidently expressing their wisdom or knowledge to others. Also, I would suggest strengthening their knowledge on matters that they care about as that would naturally add more confidence. For those who would like to dive even deeper, I would advise finding moments in the past when their level of confidence for expressing knowledge was diminished by someone and how that created an unsupportive belief pattern in the subconsciousness and then working on shifting that pattern into a supportive one. For example, shifting a belief pattern that says: “nobody cares to listen to my wisdom” into: “what I have to share is interesting and valuable”.
Drig Bala
Drig Bala is the last strength of Shadbala. It is calculated based on aspectual points that a planet receives from other planets. If a planet receives more benefic aspects than malefic ones, then the planet is more supported to express its agenda. On the flip side, if the planet receives more malefic aspects, it will face obstacles and struggle to have a free and easy flow of expressing itself. Furthermore, Drig Bala is ruled by the Moon which symbolizes receptivity. Therefore, this Bala shows what is each planet receptive to – support or opposition.
How does Drig Bala influence Jupiter? Each planet has to have at least +5 points of Drig Bala to be considered as supported in its expression. When Jupiter has +5 or more points of Drig Bala, the person is exceptionally supported in the field of education (Kurczak, Shadbala 8 Part 2, 2023). They can study as much as they want without having to struggle or face some kind of problems with it. Since Jupiter is karaka for wealth, this gets also supported. If the native desires to accumulate wealth, they easily manifest it into their lives. Other matters that are represented by Jupiter like philosophy, religion, and spirituality or spiritual practices receive support here as well (Kurczak, Shadbala 8 Part 2, 2023). Nothing is in the way of the person to practice and follow what they believe in. Lastly, since Jupiter signifies children, the native experiences delight while spending time with them (Kurczak, Shadbala 8 Part 2, 2023). On the other hand, if Jupiter has less than +5 points in Drig Bala, the person faces some kind of obstacles or problems when they want to spend time with children, accumulate wealth, study, or follow and practice their beliefs and spirituality. To know what is exactly obstructing one’s capacity to enjoy the energy of Jupiter, one has to assess the planets that are aspecting it.
For someone with Jupiter that has less than +5 Drig Bala points, I would recommend identifying the specific factors that are in the way of Jupiter’s expression. Then, I would encourage trying to minimize or eliminate those obstacles. For example, if the 10th lord is afflicting Jupiter that is in the 5th house and thus the native’s career is challenging their ability to spend time with their children, I would recommend improving on management and planning skills to be able to make less time for career and more time for children. If such a tactic wouldn’t be fruitful, I would encourage the person to let go of desires related to Jupiter and simply focus on matters of life that are supported, without blocks, and unburdening with frustration or disappointments.
Conclusion
The exploration of Ayana, Chesta, and Drig Bala shows the outstanding potential of gaining additional insights about each planet. In short, Ayana Bala gives an insight into the potential of a planet during a conflict. Chesta Bala gives an insight into the potential of a planet for confidence to express itself. Drig Bala gives an insight into the potential of a planet for having an easy time expressing itself without being obstructed or limited by the influence of other planets. However, the insights provided by each Bala are by no means telling the whole story of a planet. The entire picture will be determined by the rest of the chart, like the dignity of a planet, the house placement, and many other factors.
References
Sanskrit – Dictionary. (2023, February 9). https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/translate?search=ayana&dir=se
Sanskrit – Dictionary. (2023, February 9). https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/translate?search=chesta&dir=au
Martin Pe. Saravali: Cheshta Bala. (2015, November 9). https://www.saravali.de/articles/bala_cheshta.html
Kurczak, R. (2023, January 10). Shadbala - The Mathematical Planetary Strength of Each Planet - Class 6
Kurczak, R. (2023, January 18). Shadbala - The Mathematical Planetary Strength of Each Planet - Class 7
Kurczak, R. (2023, January 27). Shadbala - The Mathematical Planetary Strength of Each Planet - Class 8