Vedic Yogas — 51 Classical Planetary Combinations

A yoga is a named geometric configuration the tradition has catalogued. The word means “union” in Sanskrit: the planets unite in a specific pattern, the pattern produces a specific effect, and classical sources name it so practitioners can recognise it quickly. Most charts carry five to twelve active yogas; reading them in combination is the practitioner’s craft.

The 51 yogas below are organised by category. Auspicious yogas (green border) describe supportive geometry; mixed yogas (brass border) describe distinct life-shapes whose effects depend on conscious work; challenging yogas (red border) describe structural friction the chart asks the person to address.

Pancha Mahapurusha

5 yogas

The five 'great person' yogas — Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, or Saturn at full strength in a kendra.

Ruchaka Yoga

Ruchaka Mahapurusha Yoga

Mars in its own sign or exalted, sitting in a kendra (1st, 4th, 7th, 10th) from the Lagna or the Moon.

auspicious · courage, command, physical vitality

Bhadra Yoga

Bhadra Mahapurusha Yoga

Mercury in its own sign or exalted, sitting in a kendra from the Lagna or the Moon.

auspicious · intelligence, communication, commerce, learning

Hamsa Yoga

Hamsa Mahapurusha Yoga

Jupiter in its own sign or exalted, sitting in a kendra from the Lagna or the Moon.

auspicious · wisdom, dharma, teaching, ethical authority

Malavya Yoga

Malavya Mahapurusha Yoga

Venus in its own sign or exalted, sitting in a kendra from the Lagna or the Moon.

auspicious · beauty, the arts, refinement, partnerships, taste

Sasa Yoga

Sasa Mahapurusha Yoga

Saturn in its own sign or exalted, sitting in a kendra from the Lagna or the Moon.

auspicious · structure, endurance, public office, long-arc authority

Lunar yogas

4 yogas

Yogas formed by relationships between planets and the Moon.

Sunapha Yoga

Any planet other than the Sun occupies the 2nd house from the Moon — wealth and self-effort flowing toward the chart.

auspicious · self-earned wealth, articulation, intelligence

Anapha Yoga

Any planet other than the Sun occupies the 12th house from the Moon — refinement, taste, grace.

auspicious · personal refinement, charisma, comfort

Durudhura Yoga

Planets occupy both the 2nd AND 12th houses from the Moon — the Moon supported on both sides.

auspicious · all-around prosperity, supported emotional life

Gajakesari Yoga

Gaja Kesari Yoga

Jupiter in a kendra from the Moon — the elephant-and-lion yoga of grand reputation.

auspicious · reputation, wisdom, sustained recognition

Solar yogas

6 yogas

Yogas formed by relationships between planets and the Sun.

Budhaditya Yoga

Budha-Aditya Yoga

Sun and Mercury conjunct in the same sign — articulate intelligence, often with public visibility.

auspicious · articulate intelligence, public communication, scholarly work

Shubha Vesi Yoga

A natural benefic (Jupiter, Venus, well-placed Mercury, waxing Moon) in the 2nd from the Sun.

auspicious · dignified speech, articulate public presence, accumulated wealth

Shubha Vasi Yoga

A natural benefic in the 12th from the Sun — graceful expenditure, dharmic spending, foreign success.

auspicious · dharmic expenditure, foreign matters, retreat/contemplative life

Vesi Yoga

Any planet other than the Moon in the 2nd house from the Sun — nature varies with the planet involved.

mixed · speech, secondary capability, supporting strength

Vasi Yoga

Any planet other than the Moon in the 12th house from the Sun — nature varies with the planet involved.

mixed · expenditure, foreign matters, behind-the-scenes work

Ubhayachari Yoga

Planets in BOTH the 2nd AND 12th from the Sun — the chart's solar centre flanked by support.

auspicious · all-around prosperity, supported public life

Raja yogas

10 yogas

The structural signatures of authority, kingship, and sustained influence.

Raja Yoga

Lord of a kendra (1/4/7/10) and lord of a trikona (1/5/9) in mutual relationship — the structural signature of authority.

auspicious · power, authority, sustained influence

Vipreet Raja Yoga

Lords of the dushtana houses (6, 8, 12) in mutual relationship — authority born of overcome adversity.

auspicious · authority through adversity, distinguished comebacks

Dharma Karmadhipati Yoga

9th-house lord (dharma) and 10th-house lord (karma) in mutual relationship — purpose aligned with vocation.

auspicious · vocational alignment with dharma

Neecha Bhanga Raja Yoga

A debilitated planet whose debilitation is cancelled by specific classical conditions — defeat reversed into authority.

auspicious · authority through transmuted weakness, late-bloomer arcs

Adhi Yoga

Benefics (Jupiter, Venus, Mercury) in the 6th, 7th, and/or 8th houses from the Lagna or the Moon — supported leadership.

auspicious · leadership, command, well-supported authority

Akhanda Samrajya Yoga

The 'unbroken empire' yoga — exceptionally strong cluster of conditions producing wide and durable authority.

auspicious · wide, sustained authority across spheres

Saraswati Yoga

Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus together in a kendra, trikona, or the 2nd house — the goddess-of-learning yoga.

auspicious · learning, scholarship, the arts

Lakshmi Yoga

9th-house lord in own/exalted sign in a kendra, with Venus (Lakshmi's significator) strong — the yoga of refined wealth and grace.

auspicious · wealth with grace, fortunate marriage, refined prosperity

Bheri Yoga

Venus and Jupiter both in kendras from the Lagna lord, with the 9th house strong — the drum-yoga of fortunate marriage and wealth.

auspicious · fortunate marriage, dharmic wealth

Mridanga Yoga

Lord of an exaltation sign in a kendra or trikona, with the Lagna-lord strong — the percussion-yoga of natural authority.

auspicious · natural authority, supported career

Dhana yogas

6 yogas

Wealth-accumulation yogas — the geometry of money and gains.

Dhana Yoga

Lord of the 2nd house (wealth) and lord of the 11th house (gains) in mutual relationship — the structural signature of accumulated wealth.

auspicious · accumulated wealth, financial gains

Kubera Yoga

Specific clusters of well-placed wealth indicators producing exceptional accumulation — named after the lord of wealth.

auspicious · exceptional wealth accumulation

Maha Bhagya Yoga

Born by day with Sun, Moon, and Lagna all in odd signs (men) or born by night with all three in even signs (women) — the great-fortune yoga.

auspicious · exceptional fortune across life domains

Indra Yoga

Specific configuration involving strong Moon, Jupiter, and Mercury producing the king-of-gods style fortune and authority.

auspicious · exceptional fortune combined with authority

Sankha Yoga

5th-lord and 6th-lord mutually placed in the 5th and 6th, with Lagna-lord strong — the conch-shell yoga of distinguished wealth.

auspicious · wealth, sons, distinguished material life

Vasumati Yoga

Benefics (Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, waxing Moon) in the upachaya houses (3rd, 6th, 10th, 11th) — the earth-goddess yoga of supported wealth.

auspicious · supported wealth, growth-oriented effort

Nabhasa yogas

8 yogas

Chart-shape yogas — defined by the geometric distribution of planets across the zodiac.

Rajju Yoga

All seven traditional planets occupy movable signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) — the rope-yoga of restless travel.

mixed · travel, restlessness, repeated change

Musala Yoga

All seven traditional planets occupy fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) — the pestle-yoga of stability and stubbornness.

mixed · stability, persistence, stubbornness

Nala Yoga

All seven traditional planets occupy dual/mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) — the reed-yoga of adaptability.

mixed · adaptability, versatility, multiple roles

Mala Yoga

Benefics in the three kendras 1, 4, 7, 10 — the garland-yoga of supported life across all four directions.

auspicious · supported life across all four directions

Sarpa Yoga

Malefics in the three kendras (other than 1st) — the serpent-yoga of contested foundational life.

challenging · contested foundations, hard-won life

Gada Yoga

All seven planets concentrated in two adjacent kendras (1st-and-4th or 4th-and-7th or 7th-and-10th or 10th-and-1st) — the mace-yoga of focused force.

mixed · concentrated force in two life-domains

Veena Yoga

Veena / Vallaki Yoga

All seven traditional planets distributed across exactly seven different signs — the lute-yoga of harmonious distribution.

auspicious · harmonious life-distribution, cultivated capability across domains

Yuga Yoga

All seven traditional planets concentrated in just two signs — the era-yoga of intense single-themed life.

mixed · single-themed life, intense focus

Ascetic / spiritual yogas

3 yogas

Yogas marking spiritual depth, renunciation, or single-calling life.

Pravrajya Yoga

Four or more planets conjunct in a single house — the yoga of departure from worldly life.

mixed · spiritual life, withdrawal, monastic arc

Sannyasa Yoga

Strong renunciate signature — typically Saturn or Ketu in the 9th house with a weak Lagna lord, or Moon-Saturn with no benefic aspects.

mixed · monastic / renunciate life, formal spiritual commitment

Chamara Yoga

Lagna lord exalted in a kendra, aspected by Jupiter — the fly-whisk yoga of authority earned through conscious living.

auspicious · earned authority, conscious living, spiritual leadership

Afflicted yogas

6 yogas

Challenging configurations — friction, blocked gains, contested vitality.

Daridra Yoga

11th-house lord in a dushtana (6, 8, 12) and the 11th house afflicted — the structural signature of chronic financial difficulty.

challenging · chronic financial difficulty, blocked gains

Dur Yoga

Lord of the 8th or 12th house occupying the Lagna or aspecting it heavily — the misfortune-yoga of contested vitality.

challenging · contested vitality, chronic difficulty in the self

Shakat Yoga

Jupiter in the 6th, 8th, or 12th house from the Moon — the cart-wheel yoga of cyclical reversals.

challenging · cyclical reversals of fortune

Vish Yoga

Saturn-Moon conjunction or close aspect — the poison-yoga of emotional density and chronic melancholia.

challenging · emotional density, chronic melancholia, depression-prone temperament

Angarak Yoga

Mars-Saturn conjunction or close aspect — the burning-coal yoga of chronic friction and accident-proneness.

challenging · chronic friction, accident-proneness, slow-burning conflict

Pisacha Yoga

Moon conjoined Rahu or in close aspect — the disturbed-mind yoga of psychic instability and chronic anxiety.

challenging · psychic instability, anxiety, disturbed sleep

Parivartana yogas

3 yogas

Mutual-exchange yogas — house-lords swapping houses to produce structural alignment or friction.

Kahala Yoga

4th-lord and 9th-lord conjoined or mutually aspected with the Lagna lord strong — the trumpet-yoga of widely-recognised authority.

auspicious · widely-recognised authority and dharmic reputation

Maha Parivartana Yoga

Mutual exchange between two house lords where one is a kendra-lord and the other a trikona-lord — the great-exchange Raja-class yoga.

auspicious · stacked authority through structural exchange

Khala Parivartana Yoga

Mutual exchange involving a 6th-, 8th-, or 12th-house lord — the wicked-exchange yoga of structural friction.

challenging · structural friction in the involved domains

What is a yoga in Vedic astrology?

A yoga (योग, 'union' or 'combination') is a named planetary configuration in classical Vedic astrology whose effects the tradition has catalogued. Hundreds of yogas exist across the classical sources — Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, Brihat Jataka, Phaladeepika, Saravali — and a working practitioner consults a few dozen of them as part of any serious chart reading. Each yoga has a specific detection rule and a documented effect; the practitioner's job is to read whether the rule is satisfied and whether the rest of the chart supports or undermines the yoga's delivery.

How many yogas are there?

Classical sources name several hundred yogas in total. The 51 covered here are the ones a working practitioner actually checks for in modern readings — the Pancha Mahapurusha (5 planet-in-kendra yogas), the major Raja Yogas (8), Dhana Yogas (6), Nabhasa shape-yogas (8), lunar (4), solar (6), ascetic (3), affliction (6), and parivartana / extras (5). The list is curated to cover the working repertoire without burying the reader in obscure yogas that only appear in rare classical configurations.

Are all yogas auspicious?

No. Yogas come in three polarities. Auspicious yogas describe configurations the tradition reads as supporting wealth, authority, wisdom, or fortunate life events. Mixed yogas — including most Nabhasa shape-yogas — describe distinct life-shapes whose effects depend on whether the chart-bearer works consciously with the geometry. Challenging yogas (Daridra, Vish, Angarak, Pisacha, Shakat, Dur) describe configurations that introduce structural friction; they are not curses, but they ask for conscious work in the affected domain.

Can a chart have multiple yogas at once?

Yes — and most charts do. A working chart reading typically identifies five to twelve active yogas, not one. The practitioner then weighs which yogas dominate the chart's overall character, which dasha periods activate which yogas, and how the yogas interact (a strong Raja Yoga can offset a Daridra Yoga, for example; a strong Sarpa Yoga can dilute the delivery of a Mahapurusha Yoga). Reading yogas in isolation is a beginner's mistake; reading them in combination is the practitioner's craft.

Should I worry if I have a challenging yoga?

Worry is the wrong response. Challenging yogas describe structural patterns; many of them respond well to conscious work — Vipreet Raja Yoga is specifically the pattern that turns dushtana-house affliction into earned authority, and it appears in the biographies of distinguished self-made figures. The classical advice for any challenging yoga is to acknowledge the pattern, undertake the recommended observances (mantras, charity, vrats, behavioural changes), and live the life. The yoga describes geometry, not destiny.