Upapada is the Arudha of the 12th house. An entire chapter is devoted in Jaimini’s Upadesa Sutras to Upapada. Take the 12th lord from the Ascendant and see how far he is removed from the 12th house. Count the same number of signs from the 12th lord and the resulting sign is the Upapada. The exceptions applicable to Arudha also hold good here. That is, if the lord of any house is in the 4th or the 10th from it, then the 4th sign itself is the Arudha. If the lord is in the 1st or 7th from any house, then the 10th sign from it becomes the Arudha. For example, if the lord of the 12th house is in the 3rd or the 9th sign from it, then the 3rd sign itself is the Arudha. Similarly if the said lord is in the 12th or in the 12th or the 6th from it, then the 9th house becomes the Arudha or the Upapada sign.
Upapada reveals many aspects about one’s marriage. It tells us about the type of spouse one is likely to get If the lord of the Upapada is exalted, the spouse hails from the upper class; if debilitated, from the lower class. If benefics are in Upapada or aspect the Upapada, the spouse is beautiful and is of a good disposition. Similarly benefics influencing the Upapada bring early marriage, while malefics like Saturn or Rahu tend to delay the event.
If the 2nd from the Upapada has malefic aspects or conjunctions, the native has a short married life or renounces the world. Debilitated planets or the bitter the enemy of the lord of the Upapada in the 2nd from it tend to curtail the duration of married life. The 2nd lord from the Upapada should be strong to sustain the marriage for a long time. The Sun is not a malefic as far as the Upapada is concerned unless he is debilitated or heavily afflicted. Saturn and Rahu in the 2nd from the Upapada or aspecting it, make the native lose or desert the spouse due to a scandal. The Upapada in a Dustana from the Ascendant is not good for early marriage. Sometimes, marriage may not also occur if the lord of the Upapada is in the 12th from the Ascendant. If the Upapada is in a Dustana from the Arudha Lagna, one may reject one’s spouse or tend to ignore the spouse. Planets in the 2nd and 7th from the Upapada are Marakas to it and such Karakas as represented by the planets tend to oppose the marriage.
In Chart 1, the Upapada is in Sagittarius which is in the 8th from the Ascendant. Its lord Jupiter is in the 4th with the 4th lord. Jupiter is Vargottama but combust. The Upapada is aspected (Jaimini’s aspects) by Venus, Moon and exalted Mercury. The native got married in this 29th year to a girl who was good looking from an elitist family. The marriage was happy for about 3-1/2 years only. The native lost his wife in the 4th year of marriage. The 2nd lord from the Upapada (for checking the longevity of the marriage) is Saturn who is afflicted in the 7th from the Ascendant. Its aspect on the 2nd from Upapada gave a marriage lasting for a short period only.
Chart 1: Male: Born August 24, 1956 at Oh. 05m. at 12 N 52, 74 E 50.
Chart 2: Female: Born October 4, 1931 at 9h. 15m at 12 N 53, 75 E 5.
The 2nd marriage is seen from the 2nd house from the Ascendant (as it is in 8th from the 7th) and from the 8th from Upapada. The 2nd lord Mercury is exalted kin the 5th and the 8th lord from the Upapada Moon is well-placed in the 11th. The 2nd marriage which took place after 3 years continues to be stable.
In Chart 2, the Upapada is in Gemini with the Moon in it and aspected by Saturn, Sun, Venus, Ketu, Rahu and its own exalted lord Mercury. The 2nd from Upapada has exalted Jupiter and its lord Moon is in Upapada. The Upapada and its 2nd house both being strong the native had a long and happy married life for 54 years.
Chart 3 is of a spiritual aspirant. Upapada is in Aquarius having the Moon in the same sign and aspected by Mercury. Its ruler Rahu* is in Taurus in a cuspal degree with the lord of the 12th lord in the 12th. Its other lord Saturn is in the 2nd from Upapada, aspected by the Sun, Mars and Jupiter denying him marriage or rather, his rejecting it himself. The 2nd lord from Upapada Jupiter is in the Ascendant combust in the Sun (who is exalted in Navamsa), thus channalising his sexual energy into the spiritual.
Chart 3: Male: Born July 7, 1966 at 6h. 45m. at 11 N 15, 75 E 49.
Chart 4: Male: Born April 27, 1974 at noon at 12 N 25, 75 E 44.
Chart 4 of a temple priest has the Upapada in the 8th with 2 benefics Jupiter and Venus aspected by Mercury and the Sun. Its lord Saturn is in the 12th with Mars and the Moon. The native is still not married at 37 years. However, two benefics in the Upapada and the 2nd lord from the Upapada Jupiter is in his own sign in Navamsa which does not rule out marriage. It is the afflicted lord of Upapada in the 12th house from the Ascendant that is delaying the event.
* Aquarius comes under the lordship of both Saturn and Rahu.
In Chart 5 of a bank manager, the Upapada is in Aries with the Moon and aspected by Jupiter and Saturn. Its lord Mars is afflicted in the 7th. He had difficulty in getting a suitable alliance for marriage, but finally got married in his 30th year. The 7th house and its lord Mercury are heavily afflicted, so also the Upapada lord Mars which have given neurological disease to his wife since about 3 years.
Chart 5: Male: Born March 22, 1950 at 6h. 37m. at 12 N 52, 74 E 50
Chart 6: Male: Born May 22, 1970 at 16h. 04m. at 16 N 77 E 22.
The native of Chart 6 got married in May 1997. He divorced his wife in 2000. The Upapada is in Scorpio with a debilitated Moon aspected by debilitated Saturn and Mercury. It’s lord Mars is in the Ascendant with Digbala which should have saved the marriage. Unfortunately Jupiter being retrograde and aspected by the Sun, Mars, Ketu and Rahu, all malefics could not help.
The native of Chart 7 got married in 1988 and the marriage lasted till 1996 when he divorced his wife and got remarried in the same year. Upapada is in Sagittarius aspected by Jupiter, Venus and Mars. Its lord though aspecting the Upapada is retrograde and aspected by malefic Mars, the 8th lord from the Ascendant, and debilitated Venus. The 2nd from Upapada has Rahu aspected by Mercury and exalted Moon. So the marriage did last for 8 years. For remarriage, the 2nd lord from the Ascendant and the 8th lord from the Upapada should be strong. Here Venus is the 2nd lord who though debilitated gets Neechabhanga. The 8th lord from the Upapada is the Moon who is exalted in the 9th from the Ascendant. This helped him to get remarried.
Chart 7 Male: Born October 26, 1953 at 4h. 04m. at 12 N 52, 74 E 50
Chart 8: Female: Born November 20, 1954 at OOh 04m. at 13 N 38, 74 E 42.
This lady’s (Chart 8) marriage was in trouble right from the beginning. It continued for about 4 to 5 years till she gave birth to a female child. The in-laws then sent her away to her parents’ house making various complaints against her. The Upapada in the 8th house gave initial hurdles in finding a match. Its lord Saturn is exalted in the 4th but debilitated in Navamsa. The Upapada aspected by 4 planets gave her a spouse well-placed in society. The 2nd lord from Upapada is Jupiter who is exalted in the Ascendant and is weak due to retrogression and due to Mars and Saturn being in a Kendra from him. The marriage did not work and she has been living away from her spouse for about 15 years.
The Upapada is also of help in matching horoscopes for marriage. It is better the spouse’s Ascendant is in a trine from the Upapada of the other or in the 7th from it Such marriages have lasted long. Even if the Ascendant of the spouse is in a trine to the lord of the Upapada of the other or the Ascendant is owned by a planet who powerfully aspects the Upapada of the other, then also it is good.
Finally let us look at the chart of Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati who was the Jagadguru of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.
Chart 9: Male: Born May 20, 1894 at 13h. 25m. at 11 N 57, 79 E 32.
The Upapada in Chart 9 is in Pisces in the 8th from the Ascendant with exalted Venus and Rahu. It is aspected by Ketu and Saturn(R). The Upapada lord Jupiter is in the 10th with the Sun and Mercury. The 2nd lord from Upapada is Mars who is in the 7th from the Ascendant in a Marana Karaka state. Because the Upapada is aspected by malefics Saturn, Ketu and Rahu, he renounced the material world.
The Upapada is also of help in matching horoscopes for marriage. It is better the spouse’s Ascendant is in a trine from the Upapada of the other or in the 7th from it. Such marriages have lasted long. Even if the Ascendant of the spouse is in a trine to the lord of the Upapada of the other or the Ascendant is owned by a planet who powerfully aspects the Upapada of the other, then also it is good.
In Chart 2, the Upapada is in Gemini. The husband’s Ascendant is Aquarius in trine to it.
In Chart 1, the Upapada is in Sagittarius and his first wife’s Ascendant is in Gemini. The second wife’s Ascendant is Taurus in trine to Mercury, the 2nd lord, and aspects the Moon, the lord of the 2nd from Upapada (8th from Sagittarius)
Usually marriage occurs when transit Jupiter aspects or occupies the 2nd from the Upapada. Such marriages are stable. In Chart 1, the first marriage took place when transit Jupiter was in Aquarius in the 3rd from Upapada. It lasted for 3-1/2 years but when the 2nd marriage occurred, Jupiter was in Leo aspecting Capricorn, the 2nd from Upapada. This marriage is now in its 19th year.
To summarise,
i) Upapada is an important factor for analyzing matters relating to marriage, its duration and the type of spouse one is likely to get.
ii) Benefics Jupiter, Venus and the Moon tend to give a beautiful spouse and generally, a good marriage.
iii) Malefics Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu aspecting or in the Upapada tend to delay the marriage; marriage is usually a dull affair.
iv) The 2nd lord from Upapada should be strong to sustain the marriage. Benefics or the Upapada lord aspecting the 2nd give a long married life. Malefics and bitter enemy of the lord of Upapada curtail the length of married life. Even benefics influencing the 2nd should be strong in both Rasi and Navamsa.
v) If Upapada and its 2nd house are weak, the native may not marry at all or may renounce the world.
vi) Upapada should be considered also while matching charts for marriage. •
Courtesy: MODERN ASTROLOGY(Author : Dr. S.N. Rao, B.Sc., M.B.B.S)
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