Rahu and Eighth House

By Sanjay Rath

There can be nothing more fearful than the 8
th
house which is called Randhra bhava in Jyotisa. The lord of
the 8
th
house represents that which we astrologers call the hand of destiny, in a most negative sense. While
many studies have been made about this house and its lord, here we are examining the effect of Rahu on the
8
th
house. Normally most astrologers assume that the conjunction of two malefic factors the most malefic
bhava (i.e. 8
th
house) and the most malefic planet in Jyotisa (i.e. Rahu) should produce the worst
malfeasance, but that is not true all the time. When Rahu is in the 8
th
house, it can give sudden changes of
fortune, and when in conjunction with the lord of another house, activities related to the other planet activate
the results of Rahu both positive and negative.


In the chart of Albert Einstein, Rahu in the 8
th

house is conjoined exalted Mars which is lord of
the 6
th
and 11
th
houses promising success in
research and great fame due to such great
inventions and research. The conjunction of Mars,
the god of war, indicates that the research shall be
used to make powerful weapons like the nuclear
bomb. The 6
th
house lordship of Mars shows that a
war or battle shall trigger Rahu in the 8
th
house. In
some ways we
can say that Rahu in the 8
th
house with an exalted planet is definitely a blessing as it gave Einstein great
success in his research related to energy (Mars rules agni tattva - energy).


An exalted Rahu in the 8
th
house in Gemini can
indicate one born in a famous or wealthy
family, promised inheritance and generally way
above want throughout life. It is a real blessing
as the lord of happiness (Rahu is co-lord of
Aquarius, the 4
th
house) gets exalted in the 8
th

bhava. Bridget Fonda is an American actress
and member of the famous theatrical Fonda
family, the daughter of Peter and Susan Fonda
and granddaughter of Henry and niece of Jane
Fonda. In this chart we find that the exalted planet is Rahu itself which conjoins the Moon, the lord of 9
th

bhava. While this is definitely not a good combination for longevity matters, the life on earth is surely a
blessed one as there are no tears in the eighth house, and whatever is there is easily wiped out by Rahu.


Aveek Sarkar is the son of Ashok Sarkar, and
the grandson of Prafulla Sarkar, after whom
one of the important streets in Kolkata gets its
name. Rahu in the 8
th
house is exalted with the
4
th
lord Saturn ruling home and properties. Just
around the time when he shifted residence to
South Kolkata, his father expired and he
inherited a huge business empire which he
carried forward very well. Note that just as
Bridget Fonda continued in the profession of
her illustrious parents and
grandparents, so also did Aveek Sarkar carry the torch of his father handed down from his grandfather. In
general, Rahu in the 8
th
house, if in exaltation or with an exalted planet is definitely indicating a blessing -
here we consider exaltation as Gemini (and not Taurus, which can be for longevity related matters).

Eighth house is Rudra bhava source of all tears

When Rahu conjoins or afflicts the lord of the 8
th
house, then it surely brings in disastrous diseases that make
living miserable or an endless battle against pain. This is true if the lagna is also involved. Normally, the
conjunction of two opposite factors like (a) water and fire or (b) wind and earth shows the conflict which
brings the disease, and Rahu simply heightens it by making it tough to cure.

This is due to the anger of Rudra, and the suffering can be terrible. Remedy is possible if such an eighth lord
is somehow associated with a good house where remedies are easily forthcoming, like a kendra or kona.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Wiki Notes: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the
axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad
spectrum of signs and symptoms. Disease onset usually occurs in young adults, and it is more common in
women. Almost any neurological symptom can appear with the disease, and often progresses to physical and
cognitive disability. MS takes several forms, with new symptoms occurring either in discrete attacks
(relapsing forms) or slowly accumulating over time (progressive forms). Between attacks, symptoms may go
away completely, but permanent neurological problems often occur, especially as the disease advances.

There is no known cure for multiple sclerosis. The prognosis is difficult to predict; it depends on the subtype
of the disease, the individual's disease characteristics, the initial symptoms and the degree of disability the
person experiences as time advances. Most doctors say that Life expectancy of people with MS is 5 to 10
years lower than that of the unaffected population, which really means nothing nowadays because if the
average life expectancy is about 60 years, then people with MS can live till about 55 years! Honestly, these
sorts of statistics clearly show how ignorant science is about the disease.

Let us examine a few charts with MS. What we were expecting was
1. Some kind of an association of Rahu with the 8
th
lord or 8
th
house resulting in a hard-to-find cure; the
body gradually becoming like stone (Rahu) as the nerves fail and movement is destroyed.

2. The 8
th
lord must be weak either by itself or conjoined a very weak planet.

3. Affliction of Mars, the ruler of nerves, and simultaneous Mars-Venus association of some kind where
the fire-water conflict brings the disease.

4. A period (dasa) which exposes this weakness in the chart


MS Chart-1 b. 3 Mar 1984; 8.01am Sonepat,
India. Venus the lord of 8
th
bhava and Saturn,
the lord of 11
th
bhava are in parivartana yoga.
Such a yoga involving the Randhra bhava is
definitely a dainya parivartana. Mars is in the
8
th
house in a sign of Venus (Libra). Rahu
afflicts the 8
th
lord Venus by graha drsti and the
8
th
bhava with rasi drsti. MS was triggered in
Saturn dasa Venus antardasa and he fights it
with
Homeopathy. We have generally found Homeopathy to be very helpful where Venus affliction is involved.


MS Chart-2 b. 16 Dec 1983, 4.45 am IST,
Jaipur, India. Venus is the lord of both the 8
th

bhava and lagna and is well placed in lagna. Its
conjunction with yogakaraka Saturn would
define a brilliant rajayoga. However, as
Randhresa (8
th
lord) Venus can also bring
deadly disease, especially when Rahu is in
Taurus in the 8
th
bhava and aspects the lagna
having Venus and Saturn by rasi drsti. Mars is
in the 12
th
bhava and is also
aspected by Rahu by graha drsti. MS disease was triggered in Venus dasa Saturn antardasa.


MS Chart-3 b. 11 Jan 1982; 1.53 am IST,
Bhopal, India. Once again we have a
parivartana yoga involving a dusthana, this time
the 12
th
house where Saturn is placed with Mars
and Mercury joins Venus in the 4
th
bhava.
Saturn and Mercury exchange signs and with
that, bring about an unfortunate relationship
between Mars and Venus, who they conjoin.
Rahu is not in the 8
th
bhava and Rahu aspects
Saturn and Mars
but does not aspect the 8
th
lord Venus either by graha or rasi drsti. But instead Rahu is in the 9
th
house in
marana karaka sthana and its dispositor Mercury is also in marana karaka sthana afflicting Venus, the 8
th

lord. This is not a straight case like the previous two but she did suffer from MS.


MS Chart-4 b. 22 April, 1982; 1.40pm IST,
Delhi, India. Moon is in the 8
th
house in
chandrastama dosa; the 8
th
lord Jupiter is very
weak being in marana karaka sthana in the 3
rd

house. Rahu is exalted but it aspects the 8
th

bhava by rasi drsti and 8
th
lord Jupiter by graha
drsti. Serious onset of disease occurred in Ketu
dasa as Ketu is placed in the 8
th
house in
Scorpio in the navamsa chart. However with
the advent of Venus
dasa, there has been marked improvement. Note that Venus is not involved in the affliction. Mars may not
seem to be directly involved in the affliction but it is in the 2
nd
house with Saturn (disease significator) and
aspects the 8
th
bhava.


MS Chart-5 b.17 Oct 1974; 11.17 am IST,
Rajkot, India. 8
th
bhava is afflicted by Saturn
and 8
th
lord Mercury is well placed in the 12
th

house. However, it is subject to papakartari
yoga between Rahu in the sign ahead and Sun
and Mars in the sign behind. This malefic
scissors yoga caused by Rahu and Mars brings
the energies of these planets to bear down on
the 8
th
lord as well as the Moon triggering the
disease Multiple
Sclerosis. Venus, the dispositor of the 8
th
lord is involved in a parivartana yoga with Mercury - and once
again we have a dainya parivartana yoga involving a dusthana (12
th
bhava). Further we also have the Venus-
Mars conjunction which directly influences the 8
th
lord due to exchange.


MS Chart-6 b. 28 Jan 1983; 11.42 pm IST
Ludhiana, India. The 8
th
lord Mars conjoins
Venus in marana karaka sthana in the 6
th
bhava
and both are afflicted by their dispositor, the 6
th

lord Rahu by graha drsti. Lagnesa Mercury is
also in marana sthana in the 4
th
bhava and is
also afflicted by Rahu. Planets are placed in a
dainya graha malika yoga forming a garland
from Saturn in the 2
nd
bhava to the terrible
Venus-Mars
conjunction in the 6
th
bhava. The net result of all these planets is seen in disease in the 6
th
house. Life shall
revolve around this. Look at her tender age when this terrible MS struck and she battles it with great courage.

Conclusion

A weak Randhresa afflicted by Rahu can indicate a life full of tears. As a remedy, worship Sri Rudra and
find a solution to the terrible suffering and pain indicated by the 8
th
bhava. Exalted planets associated with
the 8
th
bhava can be a blessing.