House lord meaning in Vedic astrology: house ruler

Which planet rules a house depends on the lagna (Vedic ascendant). With an Aries ascendant, Capricorn falls in the 10th house and Aquarius in the 11th, so Saturn rules both the 10th and the 11th.

BPHS (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra) gives results for the lord of each house placed in each of the 12 houses, and Light on Life, by Hart de Fouw and Robert Svoboda, reads the lord's position from the lagna and from the house it rules.

House lordship also decides a planet's functional nature, meaning whether it acts as a benefic or malefic for a particular ascendant (lagna).

Related terms

• Sign lord →A sign lord (rashi lord) is the planet that rules a given sign.
• Bhava →Bhava means house in Vedic astrology: a sector of the chart counted from a reference point, usually the lagna (ascendant).
• Lagna →Lagna is the Vedic ascendant: the sign rising on the eastern horizon at the moment and place of birth.
• Functional benefic and malefic →Functional benefic and functional malefic describe whether a planet is read as favourable or unfavourable for a particular chart, based on the houses it rules for a given lagna (Vedic ascendant).

Lessons that use this term

• 12 zodiac signs (rashis) in Vedic astrology →
• 12 houses in Vedic astrology (bhavas) explained →
• House lords in Vedic astrology: how lordship works →
• Functional benefic and malefic planets for each ascendant →
• How Skybond reads a Vedic chart: method and conventions →
• Aries ascendant (Mesha lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• Taurus ascendant (Vrishabha lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• Gemini ascendant (Mithuna lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• Cancer ascendant (Karka lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• Leo ascendant (Simha lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• Virgo ascendant (Kanya lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• Libra ascendant (Tula lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• Scorpio ascendant (Vrischika lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• Sagittarius ascendant (Dhanu lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• Capricorn ascendant (Makara lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• Aquarius ascendant (Kumbha lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• Pisces ascendant (Meena lagna) in Vedic astrology: traits and planets →
• What is lagna (ascendant) in Vedic astrology? →
• Rahu (north node) in Vedic astrology: meaning and significations →
• Ketu (south node) in Vedic astrology: meaning and significations →
• Sign lords (rulers) of the 12 signs in Vedic astrology →
• 2nd house in Vedic astrology: meaning and significations →
• 11th house in Vedic astrology: meaning and significations →
• What is a yogakaraka planet? Yogakaraka for each ascendant →
• Read a sample Vedic chart: practice 1 (foundations) →

Sources for this entry

1. Hart de Fouw & Robert Svoboda, Light on Life, ch. 6
2. Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (R. Santhanam translation)