Yogas
Vipareeta Raja Yoga
vih-pah-REE-tah RAH-jah YOH-gah
Raja Yogas
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Origin 500 to 800 CE
Vipareeta Raja yoga (the reverse royal union) is formed through relationships among the lords of the dusthanas, the difficult houses of the 6th, 8th, and 12th, typically when these lords occupy one another dusthana houses or associate together. Its principle is that two negatives produce a positive: the mutual affliction of the houses of enemies, obstacles, loss, and hidden troubles cancels out, yielding sudden and unexpected success. Gains often arise out of adversity itself, through the downfall of rivals, escape from danger, or fortune that emerges from crisis. Classical texts name three varieties, Harsha, Sarala, and Vimala, after the 6th, 8th, and 12th lords respectively; the results favor those who endure difficulty and emerge stronger.
Facts
Origins
Origin Period500 to 800 CE 1Tradition: Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra Origin PeriodThis planetary yoga belongs to the classical catalogue the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra sets out; Pingree's survey of jyotihsastra literature situates the text within the sixth to eighth century CE stratum of classical Sanskrit horoscopy. 1Tradition: Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra Structure
Formation ConditionThe lords of the 6th, 8th and 12th houses (dusthanas) linked together 1 Status
Standing as a Comparative CategoryA standard analytic category in the study of religion 1 Attributions
EffectsSudden, unexpected success emerging out of adversity 1 Learn More
Vipareeta Raja Yoga
Vipareeta Raja Yoga, the reverse royal combination, is formed by association among the lords of the three dusthana or difficult houses, the sixth, eighth and twelfth, which carry illness and enemies, obstruction and death, and loss and expenditure respectively. The doctrine holds that when the lords of these houses are placed in one another's houses, or are conjoined, the difficulties they signify undermine one another and the result is unexpected success, often arising out of adversity or from the failure of an opponent.
Three named forms are given: harsha from the sixth lord, sarala from the eighth and vimala from the twelfth. The logic is that of a double negative, and the classical texts apply it cautiously; the yoga is generally read as producing gain through difficulty rather than as a straightforward benefit, and its timing, as with all yogas, is governed by the dasha periods.
The Argument for Reading the Bad Houses Backwards
Vipareeta Raja Yoga rests on a piece of reasoning found nowhere else in the system, and it is either elegant or a licence, depending on which practitioner is asked.
The sixth, eighth and twelfth houses, the dusthanas, are the houses of enmity, obstruction and loss. Their lords are treated as bringing those things. The argument of the reverse combination is that when two or more dusthana lords are associated with each other, or occupy each other's houses, the harm they carry is turned against harm itself: loss of loss, obstruction of obstruction, and therefore a good result reached by a negative route.
The tradition names three varieties after the sixth, eighth and twelfth lords, and the results attributed to them are typically sudden rather than gradual, and often arrive through the failure or removal of an opponent rather than through the person's own advancement.
Practitioners disagree about it sharply. Some treat it as one of the most reliable combinations in the system. Others hold that the double negative is a verbal trick and that afflicted houses remain afflicted. The disagreement is genuine and long standing, and the atlas records it rather than resolving it.
As throughout this atlas, this is a description of what a divinatory tradition holds.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Originates in Language
The term is Sanskrit, and the technical vocabulary of the Panchanga and of jyotisha more widely is Sanskrit throughout, whatever the vernacular in which a given almanac is printed. The name is a Sanskrit term. Regional almanacs render it in the local script and pronunciation, so a reader will meet the same term in several transliterations without any difference of reference.
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