The calculation of Upapada Lagna is given in Jaimini Sutra and also in Brihat Parasari Hora Shastra. These two are one of the best books to study and learn Vedic astrology. Upapada Lagna is a special concept in Vedic astrology through which we can know about marriage and relationship, life partner, time of relationship etc.
I have found this concept very useful and effective. I always use it while reviewing issues related to spouse and marriage.
According to Sage Jaimini and Rishi Parashar, Upapada Lagna is the Arudha Pada of the 12th House.
Arudha Pada is the image of a house. If we want to know how the world sees us or the perception of the outside world around us, we need to see the Arudha of a house. The way people see, judge or perceive us is based on Arudha.
If a couple posts nice photos on Facebook or Instagram, if they go on vacation together, to a nice public appearance, etc., people or the outside world think that the couple is very happy and the relationship is very good. This may not always be true, but this is how people will judge us.
Upapada Lagna is the image of our relationship with the Outer World. If it is well placed and strong, it indicates that the image of our relationship will be good for other people.
Generally Spouse’s physical appearance It can be known by planets in the 7th house and by the 7th house of Navamsa. But Upapada Lagna will give the formation of the natal chart and the Navamsa chart.
Calculation for Upapada Lagna
The calculation of Upapada Lagna is simple. Find the twelfth house in your chart chart and see where the Lord of the twelfth house has traveled from the twelfth house. Then you can count the same number of positions from that place.
The step by step approach should be as follows.
- Check the location of the twelfth lord
Count the position of 12th Lord of the 12th house.
- count from the twelfth lord
Now you have to count the same house number of the 12th Lord.
- Determining the Upapada Lagna
After that, the Sign where you arrived is known as Upapada Lagna.
- Example
Suppose a person is born with Aries Lagna and his 12th Lord Jupiter is placed in Cancer. From the 12th house of Pisces to Cancer, the distance is 5th sign. Thus we will add 5 signs from Cancer and we will arrive at the Sign of Scorpio. Scorpio will be the Upapada Lagna for this native.
- Exception
Upapada Lagna cannot be in the 6th house. Any Arudha Pada cannot be in the 7th sign of the Principal Sign. As Upapada is the Arudha of the 12th house, it cannot be in the opposite sign i.e. the 6th house.
Now let’s clarify this concept with some example charts.
This is a Horoscope with Virgo Ascendant. The 12th House is Leo and the 12th Sun Lord is placed in the 9th House, Taurus. As the twelfth Lord is located in Taurus, we have to count Taurus from the twelfth sign i.e. Leo. He has gone through 10 Signs since Leo. Now count 10 Signs of Taurus where the 12th Lord is located and it is Aquarius. Then Aquarius will be the Upapada Lagna.
But wait. Aquarius is the 6th house of Virgo Ascendant and we discussed earlier that Upapada Lagna cannot fall in the 6th house. So we have to count 10 Signs of Aquarius again and it is Scorpio. Finally, Scorpio is the Upapada Lagna for this card. Let’s analyze another example.
This is a horoscope for Sagittarius Ascendant and the 12th house is Scorpio. The 12th Lord, Mars, is in the 10th house, Virgo, which is the 11th house of the 12th Sign, Scorpio. Now count 11 signs of the Virgo sign and it is Cancer. So the Upapada Lagna is Cancer and the Lord Upapada Lagna is the Moon.
This way you can calculate the Upapada Lagna of your chart.
Nowadays, most good astrology programs provide the UL in the chart. Therefore, the manual calculation effort is significantly reduced.
Nowadays all astrologers use 12th house for Upapada calculation, but if you read the previous version of books written on Jaimini astrology, a group of astrologers suggested using 7th house for Upapada calculation.
Prof. BS Surya Narayan Rao in his Book on Jaimini Astrology of 1949 wrote that “Some commentators on the Jaimini Sutra say that they take the seventh house of Lagna or Ascendant and find the Arudha in it. This becomes the Upapada Lagna.
In the first example chart, the seventh house is Pisces or Meena, which is ruled by Jupiter. The twelfth Lord Jupiter is in the sign of Capricorn. This is the eleventh sign away from Pisces. So count 11 Signs of Capricorn and it’s Scorpio. So if we follow these Rules, Scorpio becomes the Upapada Lagna.
However, most people are of the opinion that 12th House should be considered for Upapada Lagna. I also use it and get satisfactory results during my analysis. I also suggest you use the 12th house for Upapada calculation.
After calculating the Upapada Lagna, I always check where the Lord is placed and which planets are conjunct UL. This will give us a clear idea about our future spouse or life partner. UL can learn what our partner will look like and how they will treat us.
If you want to know about the timing of a serious relationship, you can use Jaimini’s Chara Dasha. The normal Vimsottari Dasha will not be applicable here.
Upapada calculation and analysis is very useful in chart analysis and can reveal many hidden secrets of our relationship.
You can read a separate article on How to Study Upapada Lagna for Marriage to know the principles and technique of using UL.
Debraj Ray is an engineer by profession and a student of astrology for 30 years. More than three thousand people have consulted him. He has extensive experience in Vedic Astrology, Nadi Astrology, Divisional Charts like Navamsa, Dasamsa etc. You can contact him at debraj.1@gmail.com.
