The twelve bhavas of a kundli and what each one governs
A janam kundli is a map of twelve houses, or bhavas, counted from your lagna. Every question in astrology, from career to marriage to health, begins by finding the right house.
Houses 1 to 6
The 1st bhava is the self: body, temperament and the way life begins. The 2nd rules wealth, family and speech. The 3rd rules courage, siblings and effort. The 4th is home, mother, land and inner peace. The 5th governs intelligence, children and past merit. The 6th covers illness, debt, enemies and daily service.
Houses 7 to 12
The 7th bhava is marriage and partnership. The 8th rules longevity, sudden change and inheritance. The 9th is dharma, fortune, father and teachers. The 10th is career and public standing. The 11th governs gains, networks and elder siblings. The 12th rules expense, foreign lands, sleep and moksha.
How to read a house
Three things decide a house's result: the planets sitting in it, the strength and placement of its lord, and the planets aspecting it. A strong 10th lord placed in the 11th, for example, converts career effort into steady gain.
Kendra houses (1, 4, 7, 10) give stability and trikona houses (1, 5, 9) give fortune. The dusthanas (6, 8, 12) bring struggle but also depth and research ability.
Common questions
Which house is most important in a kundli?
The 1st house and its lord, because they colour every other result in the chart.
Do houses change with my birth time?
Yes. The lagna shifts roughly every two hours, so an inaccurate birth time can move every planet into a different bhava.
Read this in your own chart
Generate your free Janam Kundli and ask AI Acharya what these placements mean for you.