Meaning
"Mercury is speech," the Brihat Jataka says of the cosmic person, and among the grahas it is the prince (II.1, Iyer 1885). Its colour is "green like the color of the bent grass", its direction north and its element earth; among its other names is Induputra, "son of Moon".
The text makes Budha benefic on its own and malefic when it is joined with malefics, a graha that takes the colour of its company. Modern readings make it the graha of intellect and speech, of learning, trade and skill, quick and adaptable.
It is the only graha exalted in one of its own rashis, Kanya. In the chart it is written Me, with R beside it when it is retrograde, as it is for the sample person on our system page.
Rashis and dignities
Budha rules Mithuna and Kanya. It is exalted at the 15th degree of Kanya, which is also its moolatrikona, and debilitated in Meena (Brihat Jataka I.6, I.13 and I.14). Its drishti falls on the seventh rashi from itself. It is the Vimshottari lord of Ashlesha, Jyeshtha and Revati, the last nakshatra of each round.
Its period
In the Vimshottari dasha Budha holds seventeen of the cycle's 120 years, the ninth period in the order Ketu, Shukra, Surya, Chandra, Mangala, Rahu, Guru, Shani, Budha. A person whose Moon stands in Ashlesha, Jyeshtha or Revati at birth begins life in Budha's period, counting only the part still to run; for any other Moon it comes later in the sequence. Each period is divided into nine sub-periods in the same order.
Our chart's reading of the period, in our words: "A Budha mahadasha, lasting seventeen years, tends to highlight learning, communication, commerce and skill. The mind is often active and adaptable, and the period frequently suits study, writing and practical cleverness." The tradition's reading of this period, not a prediction of events, and not advice on health, money, legal matters or relationships. The dates follow the chart's conventions, years of 365.25 days and the Lahiri ayanamsa; other tools differ from ours by days.
Correspondences
Each item with how it stands: “sourced” is in the work cited, “our construction” is EsoTerrier’s own, and “disputed” means the sources disagree.
- To the Kalapurusha (Brihat Jataka II.1, Iyer 1885)
- "Mercury is speech" sourced
- Rank among the grahas (II.1)
- the prince sourced
- Natural nature (Brihat Jataka)
- benefic alone, malefic with malefics sourced
- Moolatrikona rashi (I.14)
- Kanya sourced
- Element and gender (II.6)
- earth; neuter sourced
- Themes in modern readings, our summary
- intellect, speech, learning, trade and skill our construction
How the schools read it
- The Brihat Jataka (Varahamihira, 6th century; Iyer 1885)
- Speech to the Kalapurusha and the prince among the grahas; lord of Mithuna and Kanya; exalted at 15° Kanya and debilitated in Meena; benefic, but malefic with malefics; "green like the color of the bent grass"; the north; element earth.
- The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, as printed
- Seventeen years in the Vimshottari order; the lord of Ashlesha, Jyeshtha and Revati.
- Modern Jyotisha
- Intellect, speech, learning, trade and skill.
- Western tropical astrology
- Mercury of the Western chart, the same body measured from the equinox; there too it rules Gemini and Virgo.
- EsoTerrier
- Shown as Me in the boxes, with its degree; R beside it when it is retrograde (vakri).
Claims about it
-
The dasha of this graha foretells events to the day.
unverifiedWhat the record shows: Dasha dates move with the ayanamsa, the year length and the Moon's degree; tools differ by days. We give the period with its conventions stated, as the tradition's theme for a stretch of years.
-
This graha's place foretells illness, wealth or marriage, and doshas cause misfortune.
unverifiedWhat the record shows: These are claims of the tradition and of the commercial kundli. We compute no doshas.
Elsewhere on EsoTerrier
- Rashi 3: Mithuna, Gemini its own rashi
- Rashi 6: Kanya, Virgo its own rashi
- Rashi 6: Kanya, Virgo where it is exalted
- Nakshatra 9: Ashlesha a nakshatra it rules as Vimshottari lord
- Nakshatra 18: Jyeshtha a nakshatra it rules as Vimshottari lord
- Nakshatra 27: Revati a nakshatra it rules as Vimshottari lord
- Natal Chart (Tropical): Mercury the same body in the Western chart
