The 10th House
Karma bhava
What the 10th house rules and what Parashara says of it, how to read it in your own kundli with a worked example, each graha in it, and where its lord sits.
What Parashara says
Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, chapters 11 and 21BPHS reads the 10th house for authority and position, one's place, profession and livelihood, honour, the father, living abroad, and debts. BPHS 11.11
When it is strong: A strong lord of the 10th, exalted or in its own sign or navamsa, gives the father's full blessing, fame and good deeds, says BPHS. With the 10th lord joined by a benefic or in a good house, the text gives steady gains through favour from those in power and through business; the 10th lord exalted with Guru (Jupiter), while the 9th lord is in the 10th, brings honour, wealth and courage. BPHS 21.2, 21.4, 21.8–10
When it is afflicted: If the lord of the 10th lacks strength, BPHS warns of obstacles in work. A debilitated 10th lord with malefics in the 10th and in the 10th from it brings obstructions to one's undertakings, and the 10th lord in the 8th with Rahu is said to turn one towards hostility and wrong deeds. BPHS 21.3, 21.6, 21.18
These are the text’s readings under its conditions, as the old texts write them for a man; they apply to anyone. A real kundli is read as a whole.
How to read your 10th house
the checks the Janam Kundli report makes- Find its lord. Your lagna decides which rashi falls in your 10th house, and so which graha rules it. The table further down gives it for every lagna.
- See where the lord sits from your lagna. In a kendra (the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th) or the 5th or 9th, it helps; in the 6th, 8th or 12th it is hidden, and the house’s matters come more slowly. In its own rashi, exaltation or moolatrikona (a stretch of a rashi where a graha works most like itself, ranked just below exaltation) it is strong; debilitated, weak.
- Count from the 10th house itself. The lord in the 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th or 11th from it supports it; the 6th, 8th or 12th from it is a difficult place. For the 10th, those are your 3rd, 5th and 9th houses.
- Look at the grahas in it. Guru (Jupiter) or Shukra (Venus) in it helps. The 10th is an upachaya house, which grows with effort, so Shani (Saturn), Mangal (Mars), Rahu and Ketu here are not counted against it.
- See which grahas look at it. Any graha in your 4th house casts its drishti (a graha’s glance: the houses it looks at feel its influence) on the 10th. Mangal (Mars) also looks at it from your 3rd and 7th, Guru (Jupiter) from your 2nd and 6th, and Shani (Saturn) from your 1st and 8th. Our reports give Rahu and Ketu Guru’s 5th and 9th drishti, so they look at it from the 2nd and 6th too. Guru’s or Shukra’s drishti helps; a malefic’s weighs against it, except in an upachaya house like this one.
- Count its ashtakavarga points. Out of 56, a house with 28 or more carries its matters well; one under 25 asks for effort.
- Read its karaka (the graha that naturally signifies a house’s matters, whatever the lagna) beside it. Budh (Mercury), Surya (Sun), Guru (Jupiter) and Shani (Saturn) are the natural significators of the 10th’s matters, whatever your lagna.
Each help counts one point for the house and each weight one against. Two or more on balance for it reads strong; any balance against it, weak; anything between, mixed.
An example: the 10th house in a real kundli
From the Janam Kundli report
10th · Cancer Mixed
Its lord Moon sits in your 6th house in Pisces, in a neutral sign.
In it: Mercury and Ketu.
Drishti on it from Mars and Rahu.
Its lord stands in the 9th from the house itself — a supporting place.
for it: lord in the 9th from the house itself, a supporting place; against it: lord in your 6th house
Read together: help and weight are level — a house that gives, with effort.
This is the chart on our home page. The Janam Kundli report reads all twelve of your houses this way, with the dasha periods that bring each one forward.
Each graha in the 10th house
by Lal Kitab, each with its own page| Graha | Lal Kitab | What it gives here |
|---|---|---|
| Surya (Sun) | Good | The Sun in the 10th house gives high status in career, authority, and government connections. |
| Chandra (Moon) | Hard | The Moon in the 10th house can make the person overly emotional at work. If the Moon is afflicted, setbacks may come after the age of 24. |
| Mangal (Mars) | Good | Mars in the 10th house gives a successful career in the military, the police, or surgery. It is a strong position for authority. |
| Budh (Mercury) | Good | Mercury in the 10th house gives success in business, good reputation at work, and favour from authorities. |
| Guru (Jupiter) | Hard | Jupiter in the 10th house is in its house of debilitation in Lal Kitab, and its results depend on Saturn. When Saturn is strong, or the Sun is in the 4th, the career rises well and luck often turns between 36 and 39. When Saturn is weak, money and ancestral support come slowly, and effort must be practical rather than idealistic. |
| Shukra (Venus) | Good | Venus in the 10th house gives success in the arts, entertainment, or the fashion industry, and a good public image. |
| Shani (Saturn) | Good | Saturn in the 10th house gives steady career success through hard work, with authority and discipline in the profession. Results come after the age of 36. |
| Rahu | Good | Rahu in the 10th house gives sudden career changes, success in politics or foreign companies, and fame. |
| Ketu | Hard | Ketu in the 10th house causes sudden career changes, detachment from authority, and an unconventional profession. |
Who rules your 10th house
it depends on the lagna| Lagna | 10th house rashi | Its lord |
|---|---|---|
| Mesh (Aries) | Makar (Capricorn) | Shani (Saturn) |
| Vrishabh (Taurus) | Kumbh (Aquarius) | Shani (Saturn) |
| Mithun (Gemini) | Meen (Pisces) | Guru (Jupiter) |
| Kark (Cancer) | Mesh (Aries) | Mangal (Mars) |
| Singh (Leo) | Vrishabh (Taurus) | Shukra (Venus) |
| Kanya (Virgo) | Mithun (Gemini) | Budh (Mercury) |
| Tula (Libra) | Kark (Cancer) | Chandra (Moon) |
| Vrishchik (Scorpio) | Singh (Leo) | Surya (Sun) |
| Dhanu (Sagittarius) | Kanya (Virgo) | Budh (Mercury) |
| Makar (Capricorn) | Tula (Libra) | Shukra (Venus) |
| Kumbh (Aquarius) | Vrishchik (Scorpio) | Mangal (Mars) |
| Meen (Pisces) | Dhanu (Sagittarius) | Guru (Jupiter) |
Where your 10th lord sits
what Parashara says of each placement (BPHS chapter 24)| Lord in | What it gives |
|---|---|
| 1st house | With the lord of the 10th in the 1st, BPHS gives scholarship, fame and a poet's gift; illness in childhood, then happiness, with wealth growing day by day. BPHS 24.109 |
| 2nd house | With the lord of the 10th in the 2nd, the text gives wealth, virtue, honour from government or those in power, charity, and happiness from the father and others. BPHS 24.110 |
| 3rd house | With the lord of the 10th in the 3rd, BPHS gives happiness from brothers and staff, courage, virtue, eloquence and truthfulness. BPHS 24.111 |
| 4th house | With the lord of the 10th in the 4th, the text gives happiness, care for the mother's welfare, command over vehicles, land and houses, virtue and wealth. BPHS 24.112 |
| 5th house | With the lord of the 10th in the 5th, BPHS gives learning of every kind, constant cheer, wealth and children. BPHS 24.113 |
| 6th house | With the lord of the 10th in the 6th, the text warns of little happiness from the father, and of a lack of wealth and trouble from enemies despite skill. BPHS 24.114 |
| 7th house | With the lord of the 10th in the 7th, BPHS gives happiness through the spouse, intelligence, virtue, eloquence, truthfulness and religious feeling. BPHS 24.115 |
| 8th house | With the lord of the 10th in the 8th, the text speaks of a lack of deeds or work, long life, and a habit of blaming others. BPHS 24.116 |
| 9th house | With the lord of the 10th in the 9th, BPHS says one born into a family of authority rises to authority, and others reach a standing like it, with wealth and happiness from children. BPHS 24.117 |
| 10th house | With the lord of the 10th in the 10th itself, the text gives skill in every task, courage, truthfulness and devotion to elders. BPHS 24.118 |
| 11th house | With the lord of the 10th in the 11th, BPHS gives wealth, happiness and children, with virtue, truthfulness and constant cheer. BPHS 24.119 |
| 12th house | With the lord of the 10th in the 12th, the text warns of expenses through government or those in power, fear of enemies, and worry despite skill. BPHS 24.120 |
Common questions
5 questionsWhat does the 10th house rule in astrology?
Career, status, reputation and authority. It is called the Karma bhava, and is a kendra and an upachaya.
Which grahas are good in the 10th house?
By Lal Kitab: Surya, Mangal, Budh, Shukra, Shani and Rahu.
Who is the karaka of the 10th house?
Budh (Mercury), as Parashara names it (BPHS 32.34); later texts add Surya (Sun), Guru (Jupiter) and Shani (Saturn) (Jataka Parijata 11.18).
What if my 10th house is empty?
An empty house is not a weak one. With no graha in it, the 10th is read through its lord, the grahas that look at it, its ashtakavarga points and its karaka.
Which grahas aspect the 10th house?
Any graha in the 4th; Mangal (Mars) also from the 3rd and 7th, Guru (Jupiter) from the 2nd and 6th, and Shani (Saturn) from the 1st and 8th.
A graha reads the same for everybody. Your chart does not.
Where each graha sits in your kundli, which bhavas it rules for your lagna and which dasha is running decide what it does for you. Make your free kundli to see all nine.
Create free kundli
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