KAALA SARPA YOGA

Kaal Sarpa Yoga is one of the most feared and discussed yogas in Vedic astrology. Whilst its classical reference is uncertain, it’s equated to the nabhasa yogas as it has an overriding effect on the chart much like the nabhasa yogas.

The Kaal Sarp Remedies for this among astrologers, today range from wearing gemstones of all planets to making a pilgrimage to the Kala Hasti temple in Andhra Pradesh, India.

The yoga is said to envelope the native in a life of bondage, with little success arising in life, until the yoga matures at the age of forty. To add, the yoga has been given different names of the divine serpents, depending on the twelve different ways the yoga can form. With the wide range of remedies available, and a much wider range of confusion, the tradition of Sri Achyuta Dasa teaches the following:

Traditional teaching: Kala Sarpa yoga is formed when all the planets are placed in between the two nodes of the moon: Rahu and Ketu. Thus the nodes, splitting the zodiac in half, would have all the planets placed in the signs in-between Rahu to Ketu, or from Ketu to Rahu. This is known as kaal sarpa yoga. There are however two variations of this yoga. The node which is in-front of the planets is said to be the head, and if this head is Rahu, the yoga is known as Kaal Sarpa yoga. However if this head is Ketu, then the yoga is Kaal Amrit yoga.

The difference between the two is obvious from their names:

Kaal Sarp yoga will push one into a life of sense-objective experience, in other words, a materialistic life.
Kaal Amrit yoga instead puts one on the path of spirituality.
Whilst either would seem attractive depending on personal preference, the yoga torments the native’s life before giving the above path. The native lives a life of bondage and torment between the two extremes of material life and spirituality until the appropriate age. The area of bondage is indicated by the house joined by the nodes. How the bondage manifests must be ascertained through the analysis of the nodes from lagna, arudha lagna, karaka lagna, etc.

Axis Area of bondage
First/seventh Fame, name, health, character, aspirations/relationships and partnerships
Second/eighth Wealth, family/debts and diseases
Third/ninth Strife, aggression/higher education, world view
Fourth/tenth Home, property, happiness/work and profession
Fifth/eleventh Children, subordinates, supporters and lack of the same, future planning
Sixth/twelfth Diseases and recovery of illness, as well as enmity
The bondage experienced by the native is the superimposition of maya onto the person in an overwhelming way. As a result the satya or truth of the chart (surya and chandra) becomes deterred in the native, to the extent of the native following an agenda different from that suggested by the chart. The head of the yoga being either Rahu (kaal sarpa) or Ketu (kaal amrit) will suggest which agenda.

Just as the light of the Sun removes darkness, so also truth dispels untruth and can break the kala sarpa/amrita yoga. The houses of truth are the first and seventh houses, which symbolize the entrance into this world and exit here from, respectively. Planets placed in the first or seventh from the respective node, or in the first or seventh from the lagna will thus be able to break the yoga and establish truth.

House/Rasi Naga
First/Aries Vasuki
Second/Taurus Kacanira
Third/Gemini Takshaka
Fourth/Cancer Sahajanya
Fifth/Leo Elapatra
Sixth/Virgo Sankhapala
Seventh/Libra Dhananjaya
Eighth/Scorpio Airavata
Ninth/Sagittarius Mahasankha
Tenth/Capricorn Karkotaka
Eleventh/Aquarius Kambhala
Twelfth/Pisces Asvatara
If the planet breaking the yoga is malefic, then the experience of the truth is quite terrible and can lead to sorrow or general unhappiness in life. Contrary to this a benefic planet doing the same, will give a pleasant and happy experience upon the realization of truth, and escape from bondage.

In case of kaal sarpa/amrit yoga, the astrologer should always advise remedies of the benefic planets breaking the yoga, otherwise the success of the native will be obstructed continuously in life. If no benefics seem to be breaking the yoga, the strengthening of the most auspicious among the two gurus: Jupiter and Venus should be advised, as these two Gurus can lead the native out of the bondage of the yoga.

Specifically, it’s said that the kaal sarp yoga, with Rahu as its king, eclipses the Sun who in turn needs the saving grace of Brihaspati/Jupiter. Similarly, the kala amrita yoga, with Ketu as its king, eclipses the Moon, and Shukracharya/Venus is the saving grace. Yet, in either case both the gurus Jupiter and Venus, must be asessed to find the saving grace in the chart.

Graha Mahavidya Nama Mantra
Sun Matangi om matangyai namah|
Moon Bhuvanesvari om bhuvaneshvaryai namah|
Mars Bagalamukhi om bagalamukhyai namah
Mercury Parasundari om parasoundaryai nama|
Jupiter Tara om tarayai namah|
Venus Kamalatmika om kamalatmikayai namah|
Saturn Dakshinakali om dakshinakalike namah|
Rahu Chinnamasta om chinnamastayai namah|
Ketu Dhumavati om dhumavatyai namah|
Having ascertained the saving grace in the chart, the Mahavidya of the particular devata must be prescribed as worship to the native. The Mahavidya will remove the avidya experienced by the native due to the kaal sarpa/amrit yoga, and ensure the welfare of the native.

Hereunder I, the scribe, submit my personal experiences with the application of these principles, and the ‘unlocking’ of the kaal sarp yoga.



Chart 1: Vidakovic, Bojan


In the given chart, all the grahas exist between the nodes. Rahu heads the grahas, and thus the yoga is kala sarpa yoga. Rahu is placed in the lagna and being the sixth lord can show enmity and disruption within the family. Karaka for the sixth house and relatives is Mercury and is placed in the ninth from Rahu showing durbhagya and bad planning. This would especially be with regards to paternal relatives, i.e. paternal uncles, etc. and these will be mainly financial issues as Rahu is the culprit and enemy of dhanakaraka Jupiter. As a result of which though the native’s paternal family was of a considerable good standing and financially sound, they lost a considerable amount of money invested in their businesses, and their wealth was squandered on bad investments.

The timing can be ascertained from the progression of Guru. Jupiter’s vimsottari length is 16 years, and based on its placement we can progress the planets forwards or in reverse. Jupiter is placed in the tenth which will be the 16th year of the native. Progressing backwards to Ketu’s house, we will arrive at the 13th year as being that of the instigation of the kala sarpa yoga. The financial problems occurred mainly due to the inflation arising during the wars in Yugoslavia during the early 90’s, which was during the natives early teens from 12-15 years of age.

Jupiter’s house Age
Tenth 16th
Ninth 15th
Eighth 14th
Seventh 13th
This put the native’s family into a tight financial situation for a long time, and with the yoga occurring along the first/seventh house axis it also negatively affected the natives aspirations whilst growing up, leading to a more escapist and hippie-type behavior.

When the 19th year came and Jupiter progressed over Rahu, the native began taking on a more spiritual interest in life and learnt to meditate. Despite the kaal sarp yoga’s grip over the material prosperity, the Moon is placed in trines to Ketu in the natal chart and shows a strong spiritual bent of mind in the native, and shows a spiritual person gripped by issues of material instability. Though studying foreign languages and financial administration, the native left their studies prematurely due to lack of interest.

However, despite the native’s background the placement of Rahu in the ninth from arudha lagna would not deny support to him. The native’s father offered to start a joint business of selling lamps (Mars lords the eleventh from arudha lagna showing source of gains). The offer came and the business was implemented during the vimsottari period of Mercury dasa, Rahu antaradasa. The business continued for a bit over a year, but by the end of Rahu antaradasa the business had to declare financial bankruptcy. So even whilst trying to support, the negativity of the kaal sarp yoga again bound the person further into financial problems.

At this juncture the native approached this scribe seeking to move abroad in seek of greater opportunities. Though realizing that such a request could be somewhat unrealistic keeping in mind the kaal sarp yogas placement, this scribe analyzed that the next antaradasa of Jupiter looked extremely fruitful. As no planets join either of the nodes, nor the first or seventh houses, the remedy is only through the two gurus: Jupiter and Venus.

Vimsottari Dasa (started from Moon):Merc MD: 1994-03-01 (9:07:51 am)Antardasas in this MD:Merc: 1994-03-01 (9:07:51 am)Ket: 1996-07-30 (11:45:14 am)Ven: 1997-07-27 (2:40:03 pm)Sun: 2000-05-25 (1:25:06 pm)Moon: 2001-03-31 (7:18:40 am)Mars: 2002-09-03 (8:08:48 am)Rah: 2003-08-31 (11:52:45 am)Jup: 2006-03-16 (11:00:40 am)
Sat: 2008-06-22 (7:59:12 pm)

Jupiter is lord of the badhaka house promising foreign travel and being joined the ninth lord Venus in the tenth house, it promises great success in all works and the opportunity to escape the bondage of the kala sarpa yoga. The twelfth from the karaka lagna (Atmakaraka) shows the bondage experienced in this life, and being that Venus itself lords this and is joined benefic Jupiter, it promises the blessings of Vishnu to arrive in the dasa.

Jupiter is also seventh lord and being joined Atmakaraka Venus it shows an excellent wife with strong character, and blessings arising from the same. It’s quite apparent from the chart that the wife would be quite instrumental in bringing the blessings of the dasa, and that she will do so through the blessings of Jupiter – Sri Tara Mahavidya.

This scribe asked the native to wait until the dasa of Jupiter arrived before making a decision about foreign settlement. Also it was predicted that not only would foreign voyage be possible during Jupiter antarada?a, but because Venus was the second lord placed in the tenth, the native would become the head of an organization (simhasana yoga) and it would be one linked to spirituality (Atmakaraka), education/knowledge (seventh lord – Siva) and the community (fourth lord – Vishnu). The blessings of elders and preceptors was also quite apparent due to the ninth lord being joined Jupiter. However, a warning was given to the native that with all these blessings, the native may find himself travelling away from their spouse because these benefics were placed in the sixth from arudha lagna. This was quite apparent as Venus in the tenth house promotes travelling for work.

True to the prediction, 3 months into the advent of Jupiter antaradasa, the native was appointed as a principle teacher of astrology within his organization, and later went on to head the organization. He earns through his astrology practice which requires him to travel away from home for a few days of the week to tend to clients (seventh lord), of which ladies are the greatest supporters (Venus,) and students (Venus-Mercury parivartana) in the various parts of the country. With this the native was also given the opportunity to travel abroad, but instead of settling in a foreign country decided to settle in a different town south-east (Venus) from their home.

These blessings all came in full to the native due to the blessings of Sri Tara. As ascertained above, the wife could be instrumental in bringing these blessings, and for the sake of analysis the wife’s chart is presented below.

Chart 2: Vidakovic, Maja


Just as in the case of her husband, this lady also has kala sarpa yoga, showing how birds of the same feather do in fact flock together. In this case the yoga is along the fifth and eleventh house axis showing how the main issue is due to the children, supporters, etc. Jupiter is placed in the twelfth from Rahu and can show loss or a similar event occurring.

Progressing Jupiter forward in a similar manner as above, we find that Jupiter arrives at its 17th year (16 years completed) when Jupiter touches Rahu. At this juncture an unfortunate incident happened which changed the ladies views of having children. This also set the scene for the kala sarpa yoga to start and for another 12 years (Jupiter’s full progression), the native though being in a stable relationship had a highly unsettled life. The native travelled a lot during this time but was finding it difficult to settle down in one place, and issues of income also were great concerns.

Saturn is joined Rahu and as a remedy also shows the following of sorrow afterwards, and hence cannot be advised as a remedy. Four planets join in the lagna, and do show the opportunity for the remedy, but this also forms pravrajya yoga and can cause the native to renounce life all together. Jupiter is the only one fit to really break the k?la sarpa yoga, and the native was advised by her Guru to take up the worship or Sri Ekajati Mahavidya– one aspect of Tara

The lady took up the worship very seriously and through continuous and intense worship she got married and settled down in her 27th year, despite several financial concerns on the husband’s part. She did this following the completion of a university degree which had taken her seven years to finish. One year later the yoga reached its completion when in her 28th year, after almost the full circle of 12 years from the yoga’s instigation, she was blessed with a beautiful baby girl, who was symbolically named ‘Tara’.

The natives 29th year arrived about 3 months back, with the pleasant news of new and stable property, good financial standing and happy family life, showing how the kaal sarpa yoga’s full circle of 12 years has been completed.

Chart 3: Krgovic, Zeljko



The native of the given chart is also born with kala sarpa yoga. All planets are between the nodes, and Rahu leads the pack. Rahu is in the ninth house, and we can infer that the main issues will be that of 1) father, 2) dharma, 3) guru, 4) luck/bhagya and 5) education. Rahu is the Atmakaraka as well, and a strong spiritual bent on life will be seen through the kala sarpa yoga.

The Sun is the karaka for father and is placed in the ninth from Rahu. This doesn’t show loss, but can show problems in the relationship with father, and Rahu specifically highlights the issue being due to not listening to or rejecting father’s advice. Further, Rahu is involved in the conjunction with three other planets, among which two are the dire malefics Mars and Saturn, showing that the relationship with father can also be colored by anger (Mars) and sorrow (Saturn) respectively. As a result of which the native had considerable disagreements and fights with their father, mainly on topics of livelihood. Many of which the native was quite headstrong in his decisions, and let to more problems. These planets are notably in the fifth from arudha lagna showing that the native can attract wrong support and associations in life.

Thankfully the trinal placement of the Sun promises no break in the relationship between the native and their father, but since Rahu is the Atmakaraka it can also show that a considerable shock may be experienced by the native during these times, and will mark a change in attitude of the native… The lessons of the Atmakaraka are always learnt well, after which the native either accepts their punishment and becomes God-fearing, or refuses to accept their punishment and become vengeful and bitter towards the world and God.

Jupiter is the karaka for Guru and higher education and is joined Rahu and the other malefics. This can show differences with the Guru as well as disjointed education and particularly in matters of character, health and personality, which will be the main issues of the native. Here it should be learnt that our close friends, loved ones and even the worst enemies hold no flaws as they also are souls living a material existence. Instead the flaw is in our own karma, which causes us to experience the karmic punishments through our mutual associations with each other.

Jupiter is joined the node, and shows that the 16th year itself can instigate the kala sarpa yoga. During this time the native had been quite unruly, and the influence of friends as well as the disinterest in education and other related matters took to a new height.

The eighth lord from Atmakaraka shows the punishment of Siva, and in this case is Jupiter who is afflicted in the mentioned yoga. The sixth lord from Atmakaraka shows the sins which created us and acts like Brahma in the chart. When the two are joined in a malefic yoga, it surely promises swift and intense punishment due to our own failings, just as Siva burnt one of Brahmas heads when Brahma was committing the sin of taking his own daughter as a wife.

The effects will definitely be felt on the native since Jupiter is also lagna lord. The years of the planets joined Rahu will reveal some important incidents:

Mars rules the 7th year (vimsottari), and its higher multiple is the 14th year (2×7) was when the native had an ear operation and later some severe stomach problems (Leo) which till today are undiagnosed.

Saturn rules the 19th year (vimsottari length – Brahma) during which the native was hit by a car, and then hospitalized for 3 weeks (Mars), and then was bedridden for 3 months at home. Saturn and Mars with the nodes inevitably gives physical suffering from the effects of the Sarpa Dosa. Specifically Saturn is the stranglehold of the snake as Mars is its bite. The most severe damage was to the hand (3rd/9th axis affects hands and legs, especially when Saturn or Rahu afflict the Sun) which required considerable amount of surgery to bring back some of its function.

When Jupiter progressed over Ketu, the native’s life took a turn for the better. This was during the natives 22nd year during which he began meditating, and became very spiritual and God fearing. However, with all the malefics in the ninth house, the adharma they caused was surely going to continue the bad luck in his life. This showed up in problems in getting stable employment, and the native gave up his education as well.

Notably education is of considerable issue in cases of kala sarpa yoga, as the karaka for the higher education is Jupiter, who is a dire enemy to Rahu.

Luckily the native was given initiation into the worship of Sri Tara in his 27th year, after considerable worship with guru-mantra over one year’s time. Following the initiation into Tara sadhana, the native is now the main bread earner in the family, and runs a stable astrology consultation practice along with teaching. He has regained much of the strength of his hands. He has also entered into a long term relationship, and recently his 28th year has also begun coinciding with the hope of the entering into a more permanent bond. Today he is married, well settled in his astrology career and has a son.

Chart 4: Larsen, Branka



The planets reside between the nodes in this case, yet unlike the previous cases Ketu leads the planets thus forming kala amrit yoga. This is formed along the second/eighth house axis showing the bondage being mainly that of money, family, debts, inheritance, disease, deaths, etc.

The native’s family saw considerable sorrow during the Yugoslavian wars, particularly including the loss of mother, paternal grandmother and grandfather. Due to the same war a large land-inheritance had been deprived of the native. We see that from the fourth lord Jupiter, Rahu in the twelfth from it shows some type of loss. Mars in the eighth from the fourth house can suggest loss of land or property.

Ketu is the head of the yoga and being in the second and having the karakas for wealth (Jupiter) and family (Moon) in the eighth from it showed the particular issues arising. Just as in the previous cases again the education was delayed as it took seven years to complete it.

Where we used Jupiter to specifically time the length and major events of the kaal sarpa yoga, we will use Venus for the same purpose in the case of kaal amrit yoga. Venus is joined Rahu showing that the 20th year was a major highlight in the person’s life, or the 14th year when Venus progressed over Ketu. It was in the 14th year when the native lost their mother during the raging wars in Croatia.

Ketu is in the sixth from Amakaraka Jupiter, showing that the reason for these issues are due to inherent ripu/sin. Ketu is also the fourth lord from Jupiter showing that the anger of the divine mother also played an important role in the family’s devastation. Jupiter is lagna lord as well, and with a planet in the sixth from it, it does show that these incidents left a scar on this lady’s memories, as she had been instrumental in discovering her mother’s remains.

Venus is also the only planet breaking the kaal amrit yoga by being joined one of the nodes, showing the sister, aunt or even of marriage are important ties to ensure the bonds of the kaal amrit yoga are broken. Thankfully the maternal aunt played the role of a supporting mother and also helped the lady engage in more spiritual practices; showing how Venus always played an important role in breaking the bonds of the kaal amrit and leading a more spiritually aware life.

Yet, the native did not live close to their aunt and was required to travel to keep this connection alive. A large spiritual support group (spiritual family-second house) was instead instrumental in her further spiritual awakening.

However, it was not until one year before the full cycle of 12 years reached its completion in her 25th year, when she met her husband to be. The lady was given initiation into Sri Kamalatmika Sadhana in her 25th year, and subsequently one month after completing the first 40 days of sadhana, the lady met her husband to be. Venus receives digbala from the arudha lagna, and thus the south-eastern direction would be very auspicious to travel in. She did so and after one and a half year she was proposed to and married in her 27th year. Her financial insecurities were then solved, and she has seen a much happier relationship with her family due to her marital bond.

Chart 5: Author


Tales of the kaal sarpa/amrit yoga are always best told through personal experience. As seen from the chart of this scribe, all the planets are placed between Rahu and Ketu, and Ketu leads the pack of planets causing kala amrita yoga. The yoga occurs along the third/ninth axis showing that the issues of dharma, father, higher education and thus career would be the problem, just as in the third case example. Just as in the previous case Sun is in trines to Rahu in the ninth showing that the native would disregard the father’s advice, yet be very respectful towards father as Atmakaraka is in the ninth house.

Mars and Saturn don’t influence the ninth through conjunction, but ninth lord is joined Saturn showing disappointment on part of the father. This scribe after completing his secondary education was unmotivated to continue his studies. Instead he sought to further his understanding of spirituality, and was considering all other studies as useless. The fourth house is the seat of formal (apara) studies and its lord Saturn is combust by its conjunction with the Sun in navamsa. Since Rahu also lords the fourth house in rasi the scene is set for disillusionment in formal studies, especially since the karaka Mercury is placed in the fourth (education/studies) from Rahu.

The issues took its height in his 21st year (Venus progression over Ketu), where after completing a mediocre year in software programming, this scribe decided to discontinue his studies and learn Jyotish and other occult studies, much to the parents dismay. Here we see that whilst the formal studies (fourth house) discontinued, instead the informal ones (fifth house) continued. Fifth lord is Jupiter joined Mercury which is a yoga for learning from the tradition (Jupiter). This occurs in the twelfth house and the native travelled abroad to learn Jyotish and tour the world for conferences. Mercury and Jupiter are the twelfth and sixth lords from Atmakaraka and shows the blessings of Vishnu and Brahma would be on the native in this pursuit, but the involvement of Brahma shows that this decision was made out of weakness, and that this scribe at that time felt burdened by his formal studies and sought to avoid the harsh truth that he had made some large blunders in his studies.

Unfortunately, Rahu is in the sixth from arudha lagna and being the Atmakaraka can make a person take very strong and fanatical stands with the excuse of God and spirituality as their backing.

During the sabbatical this scribe was fortunate enough to learn various sadhanas which he practiced diligently under his Guru’s guidance. Rahu in the ninth house as Atmakaraka will always protect the Guru, just as Saturn Atmakaraka in the lagna will always ensure strong spiritual ideals and make the person a brahmana doing good for society. These sadhanas were taught to this scribe with specific focus on breaking the kala amrita yoga in his chart.

Here is the analysis of these remedies:
Agni sadhana: Sun represents the deity Agni according to Parashara, and among the planets breaking the kala amrita yoga, only Sun in the lagna is doing so. During this time the native understood the need for him to write articles more seriously and compile them for the sake of teaching. Sun is the tenth lord and thus knowledge of karmayoga is granted as a result. As Agni is the Adhi-devata of the Sun, it promises the beginning/initiation (adhi=first) of all works/karma.

Bagalamukhi sadhana: Mars represents the deity Bagalamukhi and with the exchange between Sun in the lagna and Mars in the tenth house, the native was initiated into this sadhana to imbibe this scribe with more discipline and character. It was a tough sadhana but paid of in a great way to give this scribe a better direction in life, especially in matters of education and career. It was due to this sadhana that the native became more settled in life and also decided to finish his education.

In matters of the ninth house and education Jupiter’s blessings are required. When progressed Jupiter arrived at Rahu during the 25th year, this scribe entered into a serious relationship and felt the need to complete his formal studies. A book was also written and published during this time, and a stable astrological practice continued as a result. This scribe married one year later and is doing very well in his studies seeking to finish in the near future.

The full completion of Venus’ twelve year cycle of the kala amrita yoga is expected to come in the 32nd year of this scribe.

Endnote on Kaal Sarp Yoga and Kaal Amrit Yoga
As evident, most of the cases of kala amrita/sarpa yoga cause delays and in some few cases also a complete denial of professional pursuit, until the issue is remedied. The cases cited above are the lucky ones, whilst many soul’s lives are quite trapped by the yoga and have yet to find any relief or stability in their life as a result. Due to the intense grasp of the nodes on the chart, some say that the leading node in the yoga (Rahu for kala sarpa, and Ketu for kala amrita) act as a temporary Atmakaraka until the yoga reaches its culmination.

It should be observed however that the kala sarpa/amrita yoga actually eclipses the soul/Atmakaraka temporarily and for this reason the Atmakaraka appears to be one of the nodes. In fact what is really happening is that just as Vishnu upholds the Atma in the form of an Atmalinga and sustains its existence, Ananta/Sesa naga upholds Vishnu. Thus just as if Vishnu were to remove the sustenance of the atma, it would die, so also if Ananta were to turn his head away then even Vishnu the Ista devata cannot help. This is the essence of the kala sarpa/amrita yoga.

Ananta is worshipped by ALL the Mahavidya, hence all those planets joined the nodes, or first/seventh houses actually are the Mahavidya helping the native out of the grasp of the kaal sarpa/amrit yoga. Worship of the Mahavidya is thus essential to ensure the foundation for good things to come in life. The native sees their worship of the Ista devata prospering and all the happiness in life is secured.

Taking this knowledge to heart we must realize the importance of our own mother in flesh and blood, and how her blessing is in fact a manifestation of the Mahavidya through our karma. So do well in remembering your mother once in a while and asking for her blessing. om matre namah.

||om tat sat||

Courtesy:- SJC Guru Visti Larsen - Personal Guru and excellent Astrologer