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Planetary avasthās

An avasthā describes a planet's state. Mạghā calculates five families, Bālādi, Jāgradādi, Dīptādi, Lajjitādi and Śayanādi, and displays their rules in the planetary ledger. A planet can have a different classification in each family.

Five age bands · reverse the order in even signs

Bālādi age bands by sign parity
Degrees in sign	Odd signs	Even signs
0°–6°	Bāla · quarter	Mṛta · nil
6°–12°	Kumāra · half	Vṛddha · negligible
12°–18°	Yuva · full	Yuva · full
18°–24°	Vṛddha · negligible	Kumāra · half
24°–30°	Mṛta · nil	Bāla · quarter

Odd-sign planets

Mercury, Libra 11.2156°, Kumāra, half
Saturn, Aquarius 12.4775°, Yuva, full
Rāhu, Libra 22.1615°, Vṛddha
Ketu, Aries 22.1615°, Vṛddha
Jupiter, Libra 23.9127°, Vṛddha, negligible
Venus, Libra 24.2104°, Mṛta, nil

Even-sign planets

Mars, Cancer 11.4044°, Vṛddha
Moon, Capricorn 24.2535°, Bāla, quarter
Sun, Virgo 26.6731°, Bāla, quarter

Bālādi gives a planet an age from its degree

Bālādi cuts each sign into five bands of 6°. In odd signs (Aries, Gemini, Leo and the rest) a planet passes from Bāla (infant) through Kumāra (youth), Yuva (adult) and Vṛddha (old) to Mṛta (dead); in even signs the order runs backwards. Parāśara grades the results a quarter, a half, full, negligible and nil.

Nila's Saturn, at 12.48° in odd Aquarius, is Yuva and gives its full result. Her Sun at 26.67° Virgo and Moon at 24.25° Capricorn sit in the last band of even signs, so both are Bāla. In Libra, Jupiter at 23.91° is Vṛddha, while Venus, 0.3° further on at 24.21°, has crossed into Mṛta. Rāhu and Ketu take Bālādi states too: both are Vṛddha at 22.16°.

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Jāgradādi finds a planet awake in its own or exaltation sign

Jāgradādi has three states. Parāśara calls a planet in its own or exaltation sign Jāgrat (awake), with full results; in a friend's or neutral's sign it is Svapna (dreaming), with medium results; in an enemy's sign or in debilitation it is Suṣupti (asleep), and gives nothing.

Mạghā judges friendship by the compound relationship: the natural friendship between the planet and its sign's lord, adjusted by where that lord sits from the planet in your chart. Nila's Venus in Libra and Saturn in Aquarius own their signs, so both are Jāgrat. Mars, debilitated in Cancer, is Suṣupti, and so is Jupiter in Libra, the sign of Venus, its enemy by nature and by position. The Sun, Moon and Mercury are Svapna. Mạghā gives Rāhu and Ketu no Jāgradādi state, since it assigns them no sign dignity or friendships.

Dīptādi states in Nila’s chart

Dīptādi states and planets
State	Planets
Dīpta · exalted	None
Svastha · own sign	Venus (also Vikala), Saturn
Pramudita · great friend	None
Śānta · friend	Sun, Moon
Dīna · neutral	Mars, Mercury (also Vikala)
Duḥkhita · enemy	None
Khala · great enemy	Jupiter (also Vikala)

Mercury, Jupiter and Venus are also Vikala because they share Libra with Rāhu. None is Kopita: Mercury is 14.5° from the Sun, outside its retrograde limit of 12°.

A planet can carry more than one of Dīptādi's nine conditions

As Mạghā reads Parāśara, seven Dīptādi conditions follow a planet's sign: Dīpta in exaltation, Svastha in its own sign, then Pramudita, Śānta, Dīna, Duḥkhita and Khala as the sign's lord turns from great friend to great enemy. Two more come from company: Vikala when the planet shares a sign with a malefic, and Kopita when it is combust, too close to the Sun.

Mạghā gives each planet one sign-based condition, judged by compound friendship, and adds Vikala and Kopita when they apply. Mercury, Jupiter and Venus share Libra with Rāhu, a malefic, so all three are Vikala: Mercury is Dīna and Vikala, Jupiter Khala and Vikala, Venus Svastha and Vikala. Saturn is Svastha, the Sun and Moon Śānta, and Mars Dīna. None is Kopita: Mercury, the nearest, stands 14.5° from the Sun, beyond the 12° Mạghā allows a retrograde Mercury.

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Lajjitādi: six planetary moods

Lajjitādi describes six moods derived from sign, company and aspects. A planet can hold several states simultaneously; the rules distinguish pride, shame, hunger, thirst, delight and agitation.

Lajjitādi's six states are moods, and a planet can hold several. Parāśara calls a planet in the fifth house with Rāhu, Ketu, the Sun, Saturn or Mars Lajjita (ashamed), and one in exaltation or mūlatrikoṇa Garvita (proud). Kṣudhita (hungry) comes from an enemy's sign, an enemy's company or aspect, or Saturn's company; Tṛṣita (thirsty) from a water sign aspected by an enemy with no benefic aspect. Mudita (delighted) mirrors Kṣudhita with friends and Jupiter, and Kṣobhita (agitated) means joined by the Sun and aspected by a malefic or an enemy.

Nila's Saturn is Garvita in the mūlatrikoṇa part of Aquarius, and Kṣudhita because Mars, its natural enemy, aspects it from Cancer. Jupiter is both Kṣudhita and Mudita: Libra belongs to its enemy Venus, while Mars aspects it as a friend. The Sun and Moon have no Lajjitādi state.

How Saturn reaches Sabhā

Multiply the inputsŚatabhiṣā 24 × Saturn 7 × navāṁśa 424 × 7 × 4 = 672
Add the birth factorsMoon’s Dhaniṣṭhā 23 + ghaṭī 1 + Libra rising 7672 + 23 + 1 + 7 = 703
Take the remainder703 = 58 × 12 + 7State 7: Sabhā

Ghaṭī 1 corresponds to 16 minutes 48 seconds after sunrise. The remainder identifies one of the twelve Śayanādi states.

Śayanādi turns birth-time arithmetic into one of twelve activities

For Śayanādi, multiply the planet's nakṣatra number × planet number × navāṁśa number, then add the Moon's nakṣatra, birth ghaṭī from sunrise and ascendant sign. The remainder modulo 12 names the activity. Sun–Saturn use 1–7; Mạghā assigns nodes 8–9. Nila's Saturn gives 24 × 7 × 4 + 23 + 1 + 7 = 703, remainder 7: Sabhā. Another birth ghaṭī changes every state; the sub-state also needs the name's first sound.

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Mạghā adds each avasthā family as a column in your planetary ledger

Enable Bālādi, Jāgradādi, Dīptādi, Lajjitādi or Śayanādi in the Planetary ledger's Avastha columns menu. Cells explain matched rules, values and cited verses; Śayanādi remains Partial until a name sound supplies its sub-state. Praśna and Muhūrta charts support the same columns.

Translations differ. Mạghā follows Sanskrit for Tṛṣita, Mudita and Kṣobhita, but takes Khala as a great enemy's sign where Sanskrit says a malefic's sign. Different readings can produce different labels.

Questions about planetary avasthās

What does Mṛta avasthā mean?

Mṛta (dead) is the fifth Bālādi state: the last 6° of an odd sign or the first 6° of an even sign. Parāśara grades a Mṛta planet's results as nil, and Mạghā's cell details describe it as inactive. It is a traditional grade of how fully the planet acts, not a prediction about anyone's life. Nila's Venus at 24.21° Libra is Mṛta; 0.3° earlier it would be Vṛddha.

Which avasthā matters most?

Sources differ. The notes to the common English translation of Parāśara call the Śayanādi states the most important. Parāśara himself asks that every state be weighed against the planet's strength, so avasthās read best beside a strength measure such as Ṣaḍbala. Mạghā keeps the five families in separate columns and never merges them into a score.

Can avasthās be read in the Navāṁśa and other divisional charts?

Parāśara gives the rules for the birth chart. Mạghā also applies them to whichever divisional chart you pick in the ledger's chart menu, working from that chart's signs, degrees and company, while combustion and the Moon's phase still come from the birth chart. Each cell's details call this a software extension of the natal rules. Nila's Venus, Mṛta in her birth chart, is Vṛddha in her Navāṁśa.