Concept of Upachaya Houses

In Astrology, as we know that there are 12 houses in a Horoscope. These 12 houses are divided into various categories, based on auspicious/inauspicious or easy going/requires hard work or bringing fortune or misfortune etc. Every house has its job in our lives as we are supposed to go through every facet of life. It is so easy and child-like to think that why we can not have a great happy life all the way but if everything is only Good & Rosy in life then we will start undermining the importance of Good in life. We appreciate good only because of existence of Bad. So, their mutual existence is so necessary for a balanced life.

Anyways, the main categories in which houses are divided are as follows - 

Kendra (Angular) Houses - These are considered as the most important houses of horoscope. Kendra Houses are 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th house, i.e. the houses within inner square of horoscope. As they are 4 houses in total, they are called 4 pillars of horoscope. 

Trikona (Trine) Houses - After Kendra houses, the most powerful houses are Trikona or Trine Houses. These are 1st, 5th and 9th house. Together these 3 houses make a triangle, that's why named as Trikona houses. Again shows why 1st house or ascendant is most important house of our horoscope, as it is part of Kendra houses as well as Trikona houses. 

Dushthana Houses - House # 6, 8 & 12 are considered as Dushthana houses or kind of malefic houses, for the kind of portfolio they keep [6th house (debts, diseases, enemies), 8th house (death and rebirth, sudden events) and 12th house (losses)]. 

and then there are - 

Upachaya Houses - Houses # 3, 6, 10 and 11 are known as Upachaya houses, means they improve with time and start giving good results after the age of 35 years. Things represented by these houses grow/improve with time, i.e. 3rd house (communication skills, marketing skills, hobbies), 6th house (debts, diseases and enemies), 10th house (Career), 11th house (Income), all these things grow/improve with time. 

Besides these, 12 houses were divided into further 4 categories of 3 houses each. These 4 categories are our 4 Purusharths which we need to achieve in this lifetime, i.e. Dharma, Artha, Kama & Moksha. So, division was like this - 
 

• 1st, 5th & 9th houses are Dharma Houses. 
• 2nd, 6th & 10th houses are Artha Houses. 
• 3rd, 7th & 11th houses are Kama Houses. 
• 4th, 8th & 12th houses are Moksha Houses. 

Also, 2nd house & 7th house are additionally known as Maraka Houses, i.e. Death Inflicting Houses. 

In this Article, we are going to discuss about what Upachaya Houses represent and why they give results after mid-30s?

So, Upachaya Houses represent following things - 
 

• 3rd house - It is house of your communication skills, neighbors, short distance travels, younger siblings, marketing, announcements, collecting information, hobbies and skills, self-efforts, business, courage etc. 
• 6th house - It is also Dushthana Houses (houses # 6, 8 and 12) as well as Upachaya Houses (houses # 3, 6, 10 & 11). 6th house represents things like diseases, debts, obstacles, enemies, disputes, competitions, litigations, under privileged people, pets, daily routine life, colleagues at work place etc.
• 10th house - It represents things like Government, Father, Authority, Status, Recognition & Fame etc. 
• 11th house - It represents Elder Siblings, Large Organizations, Huge Structures, Higher Goals and Purposes for the Universe, Network Circle, Entrepreneurship, Friends, Gains, Income and Earnings etc.

A mere glance at the portfolio of each of the houses above is enough to understand why these houses or planets in these houses give good results after mid-life. Here is the reason - 
 

• 3rd house is basically house of Efforts, Business, Communication etc. - So, when we write 1st letter in life or give 1st speech or do 1st Business, is it going to be perfect? No. We need to put the same effort many a times to improve. After consistent efforts over a long period of time, we get better results of 3rd house. That's why, it becomes Upachaya House which gives good result after mid-30s.
• 6th house is house of Obstacles, Diseases, Debts and Enemies/Disputes etc. Again, we need to remain on our toes constantly to fight against these things in our life. If we are even little bit of careless then our enemies may win over us. Hence here also, we need to put efforts constantly over a long period of time to over-power the enemies, obstacles and disputes of 6th house. Hence, it also give better results after mid-30s as by that time, we get used to fighting & defeating our enemies and it becomes more a fun & game rather than hard work. 
• 10th house is Career/Job, Status, Rank, Prestige, Name & Fame. 10th house talks about a long term fame rather than a person becoming famous for a couple of days as a video went viral. Now, for a long term fame, you need to again be at top of your work for a long time. You need to perform consistently well over a long time to gain the fame, authority and recognition which 10th house talks about. So again, 10th house is Upachaya as it requires us to perform at highest level with our work for a long duration of time and then it gives the due recognition.
• 11th house is Income, Earning & Gains. Obviously, if we are at our 1st job then we can't expect package of a CEO. Our earnings improve with time. Even if we take other representations of 11th house in consideration like Humanitarian Causes and Social Welfare/Change, then also it is obvious that such huge efforts will take great time and consistent efforts. Hence, 11th house is also an Upachaya House. 

If we see a common theme in these 4 houses, then it is "Consistent long term efforts". That's why, one of the karakas of all these houses are either Saturn or Mars, as these two planets enable us to put efforts over a long time. That's why, Saturn is so important in getting a long term success. 

Only thing which used to bother me regarding this concept of Upachaya Houses is what if someone gets fame and money early in life? What about someone like Justin Bieber or Sachin Tendulkar or Swami Ramtirtha or Swami Vivekananda? How they managed to get good fame before 30s?

And that's where we need to understand the importance of overall chart reading. Besides these 4 houses, there are other 8 houses in chart. There can be a Fame or Success giving planet, like Rahu or Sun, well placed in any of these 8 houses and person can be going through that planet's dasha. That's why, it is always said that our life always move as per dashas we go through. Elizabeth Taylor got her 1st shot at fame at age of 12-13 as she was under Jupiter-Rahu Dasha. Jupiter was exalted in 9th house of Luck and Rahu was with exalted Venus in 5th house of Creativity & Arts, both mutually aspecting each other. So, here comes the fame. 

Hope this is helpful. Please feel free to post comment or query, if any. 

Thanks,

Swami Premanand Bharti