Yogas in Vedic Astrology: The 12 Yogas Our Engine Checks and How Common Each One Is

In Vedic astrology a yoga is a specific combination in the birth chart: planets joined in one house, placed at set distances from each other, or ruling and occupying particular houses. Classical texts list hundreds. Our engine checks twelve of the most widely used, and this series explains each one: the exact rule, what it is said to give, and how often it actually occurs.

संक्षेप में: वैदिक ज्योतिष में योग जन्म कुंडली में ग्रहों का विशेष मेल है, जो भाव, आपसी दूरी या भावों के स्वामित्व से बनता है। यह लेख बारह प्रचलित योगों के नियम और आवृत्ति समझाता है। 291 कंप्यूटर-जनित कुंडलियों में राज योग 85.6% में मिला, जबकि रुचक योग केवल 4.8% में। यानी योग का नाम उसकी दुर्लभता नहीं बताता। योग अपने-आप फल नहीं देता; ग्रहों का बल और दशा का समय तय करते हैं कि उसका कितना असर दिखेगा। पूरा लेख हिंदी में पढ़ें →

How yogas are counted

All the rules here use whole-sign houses counted from your lagna (ascendant). Four groups of houses matter: the kendras (1st, 4th, 7th and 10th), the trikonas (1st, 5th and 9th), the wealth houses (2nd and 11th), and the dusthanas (6th, 8th and 12th). A planet is called strong here when it is in its own sign or its sign of exaltation.

The twelve yogas and how common they are

We ran the engine over 291 computer-generated charts spread across all twelve lagnas. The average chart had about three of these yogas, and only four charts had none at all.

The lesson of the table is that a yoga’s name says little about how rare it is. Raja Yoga sounds royal and appears in most charts; Ruchaka Yoga is far rarer. A common yoga is not worthless, but its effect depends on the strength of the planets that form it.

Why a yoga does not act by itself

A yoga is a promise in the chart. Three things decide how much of it you see: the strength of the planets forming it (dignity, combustion, the house they sit in); whether the dasha of one of those planets runs during the active years of your life; and what else in the chart pulls the other way. Two people with the same yoga can have very different lives. Read the Vimshottari dasha guide for the timing side.

The series

One guide for each yoga follows through November: Gajakesari, Raja, Dhana, Lakshmi, Budha-Aditya, Chandra-Mangala and Vipareeta Raja, then the five Pancha Mahapurusha yogas, Hamsa, Malavya, Ruchaka, Bhadra and Sasha.

To see whether your chart has it, open your birth chart after saving a free kundli: the yogas section lists every yoga our engine detects, with the planets involved and its strength. A free account shows the first three yogas found; Plus lists all of them.

Yogas in Vedic astrology: FAQs

What is a yoga in a kundli?
A specific combination of planets in the birth chart, defined by the houses they occupy or rule and their distance from each other, that classical texts link to particular results.

How do I check which yogas are in my kundli?
Save a free kundli and open your birth chart. The yogas section lists what the engine found; a free account shows the first three, Plus shows all.

Which is the most common yoga?
Of the twelve we check, Raja Yoga: it appeared in 249 of 291 test charts, 85.6%.

Which is the rarest yoga?
Ruchaka Yoga, Mars in its own or exalted sign in a kendra: 14 of 291 test charts, 4.8%.

Does having a yoga guarantee its results?
No. The strength of the planets involved and the timing of their dashas decide how much of a yoga is felt.

For your yogas read together with your dashas and transits, get the ₹49 kundli report or talk to an astrologer.

Building an app or website? The birth chart, with divisional charts and yogas, is available through the AstroLogics API.