The 5th House
Putra bhava
What the 5th 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 16BPHS reads the 5th house for protective amulets and mantras, learning and knowledge, children, authority, and the loss of position. BPHS 11.6
When it is strong: If the lords of the 1st and 5th are in their own signs, or in a kendra (the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house) or trikona (the 5th or 9th), BPHS gives full happiness through children, and the two lords together in a good house bring children early. A strong 5th lord, with the 5th aspected by strong Budh (Mercury), Guru (Jupiter) and Shukra (Venus), is the text's sign of many children. BPHS 16.1–3, 16.12
When it is afflicted: With the lord of the 5th in the 6th, 8th or 12th, BPHS warns that children may be denied; if that lord is combust, weak or with malefics, it warns of no children, or of children who do not live long. A 5th lord in an enemy's sign or debilitated is said to bring children only with difficulty. BPHS 16.1–3, 16.8
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 5th house
the checks the Janam Kundli report makes- Find its lord. Your lagna decides which rashi falls in your 5th 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 5th 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 5th, those are your 10th, 12th and 4th houses.
- Look at the grahas in it. Guru (Jupiter) or Shukra (Venus) in it helps. Shani (Saturn), Mangal (Mars), Rahu or Ketu in it weighs against it, unless that graha is the house’s own lord: a lord in its own house guards it.
- See which grahas look at it. Any graha in your 11th house casts its drishti (a graha’s glance: the houses it looks at feel its influence) on the 5th. Mangal (Mars) also looks at it from your 2nd and 10th, Guru (Jupiter) from your 1st and 9th, and Shani (Saturn) from your 3rd and 8th. Our reports give Rahu and Ketu Guru’s 5th and 9th drishti, so they look at it from the 1st and 9th too. Guru’s or Shukra’s drishti helps; a malefic’s weighs against it, unless it is the house’s own lord. A malefic sitting in the house and a malefic’s drishti on it count as one weight between them, not two.
- 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. Guru (Jupiter) is the natural significator of the 5th’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 5th house in a real kundli
From the Janam Kundli report
5th · Aquarius Strong
Its lord Saturn sits in your 3rd house in Sagittarius, in a neutral sign.
No graha sits in it; it is read through its lord.
Drishti on it from Jupiter and Saturn.
Its lord stands in the 11th from the house itself — a supporting place.
for it: lord in the 11th from the house itself, a supporting place · drishti from Jupiter
Read together: a house that gives its matters readily.
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 5th house
by Lal Kitab, each with its own page| Graha | Lal Kitab | What it gives here |
|---|---|---|
| Surya (Sun) | Good | The Sun in the 5th house gives intelligent children, good fortune, and a noble character. |
| Chandra (Moon) | Good | The Moon in the 5th house gives good children and emotional intelligence. Gains from investment are possible. |
| Mangal (Mars) | Good | Mars in the 5th house gives intelligent and courageous children but may cause stomach-related issues. |
| Budh (Mercury) | Good | Mercury in the 5th house gives intelligent children and success in investment and education. |
| Guru (Jupiter) | Good | Jupiter in the 5th house gives wise children, good fortune, and a spiritual inclination. It is highly auspicious. |
| Shukra (Venus) | Good | Venus in the 5th house gives love affairs, artistic children, and gains from entertainment or investment. |
| Shani (Saturn) | Hard | Saturn in the 5th house delays children, gives pessimistic thinking, and may cause stomach problems. |
| Rahu | Hard | Rahu in the 5th house creates confusion in education, unconventional children, and losses on risky investments. |
| Ketu | Hard | Ketu in the 5th house gives spiritual children but may cause stomach issues and confusion in education. |
Who rules your 5th house
it depends on the lagna| Lagna | 5th house rashi | Its lord |
|---|---|---|
| Mesh (Aries) | Singh (Leo) | Surya (Sun) |
| Vrishabh (Taurus) | Kanya (Virgo) | Budh (Mercury) |
| Mithun (Gemini) | Tula (Libra) | Shukra (Venus) |
| Kark (Cancer) | Vrishchik (Scorpio) | Mangal (Mars) |
| Singh (Leo) | Dhanu (Sagittarius) | Guru (Jupiter) |
| Kanya (Virgo) | Makar (Capricorn) | Shani (Saturn) |
| Tula (Libra) | Kumbh (Aquarius) | Shani (Saturn) |
| Vrishchik (Scorpio) | Meen (Pisces) | Guru (Jupiter) |
| Dhanu (Sagittarius) | Mesh (Aries) | Mangal (Mars) |
| Makar (Capricorn) | Vrishabh (Taurus) | Shukra (Venus) |
| Kumbh (Aquarius) | Mithun (Gemini) | Budh (Mercury) |
| Meen (Pisces) | Kark (Cancer) | Chandra (Moon) |
Where your 5th lord sits
what Parashara says of each placement (BPHS chapter 24)| Lord in | What it gives |
|---|---|
| 1st house | With the lord of the 5th in the 1st, BPHS gives scholarship and happiness from children, but warns of miserliness, crookedness and a leaning towards taking others' wealth. BPHS 24.49 |
| 2nd house | With the lord of the 5th in the 2nd, the text gives many children and wealth, headship of a family, honour, devotion to the spouse and fame in the world. BPHS 24.50 |
| 3rd house | With the lord of the 5th in the 3rd, BPHS describes attachment to siblings, a habit of carrying tales, miserliness, and constant attention to one's own work. BPHS 24.51 |
| 4th house | With the lord of the 5th in the 4th, the text gives happiness, the mother's happiness, wealth and intelligence, and a position of authority, a minister's role or that of a teacher. BPHS 24.52 |
| 5th house | With the lord of the 5th in the 5th itself and linked to a benefic, BPHS gives children; linked to a malefic, it warns of no children. Either way it describes a virtuous person, dear to friends. BPHS 24.53 |
| 6th house | With the lord of the 5th in the 6th, BPHS warns that children may turn out like adversaries or be lost, or that a child may come through adoption. BPHS 24.54 |
| 7th house | With the lord of the 5th in the 7th, the text gives honour, deep religious feeling, happiness from children and helpfulness to others. BPHS 24.55 |
| 8th house | With the lord of the 5th in the 8th, BPHS warns of little happiness from children, coughs and lung ailments, a quick temper and discontent. BPHS 24.56 |
| 9th house | With the lord of the 5th in the 9th, the text describes a princely standing or one like it, the writing of books, fame, and bringing lustre to one's family line. BPHS 24.57 |
| 10th house | With the lord of the 5th in the 10th, BPHS gives a raja yoga (a combination for rise to high position), many pleasures and great fame. BPHS 24.58 |
| 11th house | With the lord of the 5th in the 11th, the text gives learning, popularity, authorship of books, great skill, many children and wealth. BPHS 24.59 |
| 12th house | With the lord of the 5th in the 12th, BPHS warns of little happiness from one's own children and speaks of a child through adoption. BPHS 24.60 |
Common questions
5 questionsWhat does the 5th house rule in astrology?
Children, study, intelligence and love affairs. It is called the Putra bhava, and is a trikona.
Which grahas are good in the 5th house?
By Lal Kitab: Surya, Chandra, Mangal, Budh, Guru and Shukra.
Who is the karaka of the 5th house?
Guru (Jupiter), as Parashara names it (BPHS 32.34).
What if my 5th house is empty?
An empty house is not a weak one. With no graha in it, the 5th is read through its lord, the grahas that look at it, its ashtakavarga points and its karaka.
Which grahas aspect the 5th house?
Any graha in the 11th; Mangal (Mars) also from the 2nd and 10th, Guru (Jupiter) from the 1st and 9th, and Shani (Saturn) from the 3rd 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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