Neecha grahas

The Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu become
debilitated in Libra, Scorpio, Pisces, Virgo, Cancer, Capricorn, Aries, Scorpio and Taurus
signs respectively. A neecha planet is too weak to produce good results signified by it.[2] If a
planet is neecha (in debilitation) it gives malefic results. Neecha planets, because of their
inherent weakness, give adverse results during the course of their dashas, only when their
neechbhanga occurs that their debilitation simultaneously giving rise to a benefic situation
gives good results.[3] By associating with other benefic yoga-causing planets neecha grahas
i.e. debilitated planets, even spoil the impact of those yogas. Thus, if lords of the 9th and the
10th conjoin and any one of them is in debilitation or associates with a planet occupying its
debilitation sign or the lord of the 8th , there will be Rajayoga bhanga, which means there
will be Raja yoga in the beginning which effect will soon wear out.[4]

Neechabhanga
The term Neechabhanga indicates cancellation of debilitation. This composite word is a
combination of two Sanskrit words – neecha, meaning "debilitated", and bhanga, meaning
"annulled".

The debilitation of a planet gets cancelled if its dispositor or the lord of its sign of exaltation
occupies a kendra from the lagna (ascendant) or the (Natal) Moon or if it is aspected by either
its dispositor or its exaltation lord or it exchanges sign with its dispositor or if it is aspected
by another planet in debilitation.[5] It is an enigmatic situation which according to
Vaidyanatha Dikshita of Jataka Parijata comes into being i.e. debilitation gets cancelled if at
the time of birth

 If the lord of the house occupied by a debilitated planet is in a kendra or in a trikona from
the Lagna or the Chandra-lagna.
 If the planet that gets exalted in the sign where a planet is debilitated is in a kendra from the
Lagna or the Chandra-lagna, or
 If the lord of the exaltation house of the debilitated planet is in a kendra from the Lagna or
the Chandra-lagna.
 The debilitated planet is exalted in the navamsa.
 If a debilitated planet is aspected by another debilitated planet or by its own dispositor.
 The lord of the navamsa occupied by the debilitated planet is in a kendra or a trikona from
the Lagna which rises in a movable sign or the lord of the Lagna is in a movable sign.
 If the lord of the sign that gets exalted in the sign occupied by the debilitated planet is in a
trikona from the lord of the exaltation sign of the debilitated planet. or
 If the lords of the debilitation and exaltation houses of the debilitated planet are in mutual
kendras or in trikonas from the Lagna or the Chandra-lagna. Raja yoga occurs only if the
debilitated planet owning a benefic bhava occupies a kendra in a benefic and friendly sign
otherwise its debility is removed and regains its strength.

Neechabhanga Raja yoga

Mantreswara in his Phaladeepika states that the Neechabhanga Raja yoga occurs when the
dispositor and the lord of exaltation sign of planet in debilitation, both, happen to occupy a
kendra from lagna or the Moon or both are in mutual kendras in the kendras from the lagna or
the Moon. Thus, causation of this yoga is attributed to these two lords i.e. the dispositor or
the lord of the sign of debilitation of the planet in debilitation and the lord of the sign of
exaltation of the planet in debilitation. The primary role of this yoga is to counter-balance the
neecha i.e. debilitation, results and not to confer kingship etc; to the native.[6]

The planet in debilitation if found occupying its exaltation navamsa is also deemed to have
attained Neechbhanga status but a study has revealed that in most cases of Neechabhanga
neither Raja yoga results nor favourable results had accrued.[7] Albert Einstein was born
Mercury was in Pisces sign in which sign it becomes debilitated. But because Mercury's
dipositor, Jupiter, was in a kendra from the Moon, Mercury is itself the lord of its sign of
exaltation, Venus that gets exalted in the sign of debilitation of Mercury was also exalted in a
kendra, that Mercury’s debilitation got cancelled. Einstein was not blessed with
Neechabhanga Raja yoga Raja yoga because Mercury though in a kendra from the lagna in a
benefic sign was itself combust. The neecha Moon gaining neechabhanga also did not give
rise to Raja yoga.[8] In the case of Lord Krishna the 9th house is formed by Capricorn, which
is a bad sign owned by Saturn, a natural malefic, and the 9th house receives the combined
aspect of Saturn, Mars, Venus and Rahu, denoting a miserable bhagya, but because the
exalted Moon aspects Saturn and Mars, Mars has gained neechbhanga, and with its dipositor,
exalted Moon, occupying the Lagna-kendra given rise to Neechabhanga Raja yoga.[9] In the
case of Barack Obama born in Capricorn lagna occupied by Jupiter and Saturn, Jupiter gains
neechabhanga and causes Neechabhanga Raja yoga; because the debilitated Jupiter
occupying Capricorn, its sign of debilitation, is in the Lagna-kendra in conjunction with
Saturn, the lord of the sign wherein situated Jupiter becomes debilitated[10] Vaidyanatha
Dikshita in his Jataka Parijata in its Chapter VII Sloka 15 describes two unique
Neechabhanga Raja yoga, he states that if Jupiter be depressed in the lagna, and the 8th bhava
be occupied by a malefic planet, and if the navamsa of the 8th bhava (64th navamsa) be that
of a rasi owned by that planet a king of kings is born, and in the latter Sloka 20 he states that
if three or four planets in depression occupy benefic Shashtiamsas or navamsas of their
several exaltation signs at the time of birth of a person, he will be the lord of the earth,
eminently just and virtuous.[11]

If the debilitated planet gaining neechbhanga is in the 6th, the 8th or in the 12th it would not
be a strong Raja yoga, only in good houses there will be strong Raja yoga (Phaladeepika).[12]
Cancelled debility does not become equal to exaltation, neechabhanga simply removes
debility, results produced by a debilitated planet whose dispositor is also debilitated will be
the worst possible.[13]