Learn Vedic Astrology
The Vedic Astrology Glossary
Every term behind your Kundali and matchmaking report — grouped by topic, searchable, and available as flashcards. Start with the basics and work outward.
Start here — the basics
8The core building blocks of a Vedic birth chart.
- KundaliJanma Kundali, birth chartA Kundali, or Janma Kundali, is a Vedic birth chart that maps the positions of the planets, the Moon's nakshatra and the rising sign (Lagna) at your exact moment and place of birth.
- LagnaAscendant, rising signThe Lagna, or Ascendant, is the zodiac sign rising on the eastern horizon at your exact moment and place of birth. It anchors the first house of the Kundali.
- RashiMoon sign, zodiac signA rashi is a 30° zodiac sign. In Vedic astrology the Moon rashi, the sign the Moon occupied at birth, is especially important and is what most people mean by their Vedic 'sign'.
- Nakshatralunar mansionA nakshatra is one of the 27 lunar mansions, the equal 13°20′ segments of the zodiac that the Moon travels through. Your birth (Janma) nakshatra is the one the Moon occupied at birth.
- Navagrahathe nine planets, grahasThe Navagraha are the nine celestial bodies of Vedic astrology: Sun (Surya), Moon (Chandra), Mars (Mangal), Mercury (Budha), Jupiter (Guru), Venus (Shukra), Saturn (Shani), and the lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu.
- Bhavathe twelve housesThe twelve bhavas are the houses of the birth chart, counted from the Lagna. Each governs specific areas of life: the 1st is the self, the 7th marriage, the 10th career, and so on.
- AyanamsaAyanamsa is the angular difference between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs, caused by the precession of the equinoxes. Vedic astrology applies it to convert tropical positions to sidereal.
- Kendra and Trikonaangular and trine housesKendras are the angular houses (1, 4, 7, 10) and Trikonas the trine houses (1, 5, 9). Together they are the strongest, most auspicious houses of the chart.
The twelve houses
12What each of the 12 bhavas governs, from the self to moksha.
- 1st HouseTanu Bhava, Lagna Bhava, Ascendant houseThe 1st house (Tanu Bhava) is the house of the self: your body, appearance, vitality, temperament and overall direction of life. It is anchored by the Lagna (Ascendant), the sign rising at your birth.
- 2nd HouseDhana Bhava, house of wealthThe 2nd house (Dhana Bhava) governs accumulated wealth, family, speech, food and values, meaning what you hold and how you express yourself.
- 3rd HouseSahaja Bhava, house of courageThe 3rd house (Sahaja Bhava) governs courage, initiative, younger siblings, communication, skills and short journeys.
- 4th HouseSukha Bhava, Bandhu Bhava, house of homeThe 4th house (Sukha Bhava) governs the mother, home, land and property, vehicles, foundational education and inner contentment.
- 5th HousePutra Bhava, house of childrenThe 5th house (Putra Bhava) governs children, intelligence, creativity, romance, education and purva punya, the merit carried from past lives.
- 6th HouseAri Bhava, Roga Bhava, house of enemiesThe 6th house (Ari or Roga Bhava) governs enemies, disease, debts, litigation, competition and daily service or employment.
- 7th HouseYuvati Bhava, Kalatra Bhava, house of marriageThe 7th house (Yuvati or Kalatra Bhava) governs marriage, the spouse, long-term partnerships and business alliances: everything that sits directly opposite the self.
- 8th HouseRandhra Bhava, Ayu Bhava, house of transformationThe 8th house (Randhra Bhava) governs longevity, sudden events, transformation, inheritance, joint assets, research and the occult.
- 9th HouseDharma Bhava, Bhagya Bhava, house of fortuneThe 9th house (Dharma or Bhagya Bhava) governs fortune, dharma, the father, the guru, higher learning, philosophy and long journeys or pilgrimage.
- 10th HouseKarma Bhava, house of careerThe 10th house (Karma Bhava) governs career, profession, public status, authority and one's visible actions in the world.
- 11th HouseLabha Bhava, house of gainsThe 11th house (Labha Bhava) governs gains, income, the fulfilment of desires, friends, networks and elder siblings.
- 12th HouseVyaya Bhava, house of loss and mokshaThe 12th house (Vyaya Bhava) governs expenditure, losses, endings, sleep, isolation, foreign lands and moksha (spiritual liberation).
Charts & divisions
3Divisional charts that zoom into specific areas of life.
- NavamsaD9 chartThe Navamsa, or D9, is the most important divisional (varga) chart, made by dividing each sign into nine parts. It is used especially for marriage, the spouse and the deeper strength of planets.
- Vargadivisional charts, D-chartsVarga charts are divisional charts derived by splitting each sign into parts (equal in almost every case), such as the D9 (Navamsa), the D10 (Dashamsha) and others. Each one zooms into a specific area of life.
- DashamshaD10 chartThe Dashamsha, or D10, is the divisional chart for career, profession and public status, made by dividing each sign into ten parts.
Planets & points
10How planets gain or lose strength, and the special points.
- Rahunorth node, Dragon's HeadRahu is the Moon's north node. It is a shadow planet, not a physical body, and signifies desire, ambition, foreign and unconventional matters, and sudden gains or obsessions.
- Ketusouth node, Dragon's TailKetu is the Moon's south node, the shadow planet opposite Rahu. It signifies detachment, spirituality, past-life karma, moksha and sudden losses or liberation.
- Uccha and Neechaexaltation and debilitation, debilitated planetUccha (exaltation) is the sign where a planet is strongest and gives its best results; Neecha (debilitation) is the opposite sign, where it is weakest. A 'debilitated' planet is one placed in its Neecha sign.
- AstacombustionA planet is combust (asta) when it sits too close to the Sun and is 'burnt' by its rays, weakening its ability to give results. Each planet has its own combustion distance.
- VakriretrogradeA vakri or retrograde planet appears to move backward from Earth's viewpoint. In Vedic astrology retrograde planets are generally considered strong, receiving full motional strength (Cheshta bala), and to give intensified, internalised results, though schools differ on whether those results are favourable.
- Graha Drishtiplanetary aspectDrishti is the 'gaze' or aspect a planet casts on other houses and planets. Every planet aspects the 7th house from itself; Mars, Jupiter and Saturn have additional special aspects.
- AtmakarakaAK, soul significatorIn one branch of the tradition the Atmakaraka is the planet at the highest degree in any sign: the 'soul significator' representing the self's deepest desires and karmic path.
- KarakasignificatorA karaka is a planet that signifies a particular person, thing or area of life. For example, Jupiter is the karaka for children and Venus for the spouse.
- Shadbalasix-fold strengthShadbala measures a planet's total strength from six sources (positional, directional, temporal, motional, natural and aspectual), expressed in units called Rupas.
- AshtakavargaAshtakavarga is a points-based system that scores each sign and house from the perspective of the seven planets and the Lagna, producing a bindu (point) map used to judge strength and time transits.
Timing — dashas & transits
4The systems that time events across your life.
- Vimshottari DashaDasha periodVimshottari Dasha is the most widely used Vedic system of planetary time-periods. It divides life into major periods (Mahadasha) ruled by each of nine planets, based on the birth nakshatra.
- Gochargochara, planetary transitGochar is the ongoing movement of planets through the signs, read against your birth chart, especially your Moon sign, to time current and upcoming influences.
- Shani Sade SatiSaturn's seven-and-a-half yearsSade Sati is the roughly seven-and-a-half-year period when Saturn (Shani) transits the sign before, the same sign as, and the sign after your Moon rashi.
- Muhurtaelectional astrology, muhuratMuhurta is the Vedic practice of choosing an auspicious date and time to begin an important activity, such as marriage, travel or a new venture, based on the Panchang and planetary positions.
Panchang
4The five limbs of the Vedic almanac.
- PanchangVedic almanacThe Panchang is the Vedic almanac defined by five limbs (panch-anga): Tithi, Vara (weekday), Nakshatra, Yoga and Karana. It describes the quality of a given day and time.
- Tithilunar dayA tithi is a lunar day: the time it takes the Moon to gain 12° over the Sun. There are 30 tithis in a lunar month, split across the waxing (Shukla) and waning (Krishna) fortnights.
- Yoga (Panchang)In the Panchang, a Yoga is one of 27 combinations based on the sum of the Sun's and Moon's longitudes. It is distinct from the planetary yogas (combinations) read in a birth chart.
- KaranaA karana is half of a tithi. There are 11 karanas that repeat to fill the lunar month, and they are the fifth limb of the Panchang.
Compatibility — Gun Milan
9The eight kootas behind Ashtakoot marriage matching.
- Ashtakoot Gun MilanGun Milan, AshtakootAshtakoot Gun Milan is the traditional Vedic method of checking marriage compatibility by comparing two people's Moon nakshatras and Moon signs across eight kootas (factors) for a combined score out of 36 gunas.
- Varna KootaVarna is the first of the eight Ashtakoot factors, worth 1 guna. It compares the class (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra) of the partners' Moon signs to assess ego and temperament.
- Vashya KootaVashya is the second Ashtakoot factor, worth 2 gunas. It measures mutual attraction and influence between the partners' Moon signs, grouped into categories like Chatushpada, Manava and Jalachara.
- Tara KootaTara kutaTara is the third Ashtakoot factor, worth 3 gunas. It counts each partner's birth star from the other's along the nine-fold Navatara cycle to judge health and fortune.
- Yoni KootaYoni is the fourth Ashtakoot factor, worth 4 gunas. Each nakshatra maps to an animal (Yoni), and the pairing measures physical and instinctive compatibility.
- Graha Maitri KootaGraha Maitri is the fifth Ashtakoot factor, worth 5 gunas. It compares the lords of the partners' Moon signs to judge mental and intellectual friendship.
- Gana KootaGana is the sixth Ashtakoot factor, worth 6 gunas. It sorts nakshatras into three temperaments to assess nature and outlook: Deva (divine), Manushya (human) and Rakshasa (demonic).
- Bhakoot DoshaBhakoot dosha occurs in Gun Milan when the partners' Moon signs fall in a 2–12, 5–9 or 6–8 axis, scoring 0 of the 7 points for the Bhakoot koota.
- Nadi DoshaNadi dosha arises in Gun Milan when both partners share the same Nadi (Aadi, Madhya or Antya), scoring 0 of the 8 points for the Nadi koota, the highest-weighted factor.
Doshas
3Afflictions weighed in a reading.
- Manglik DoshaKuja Dosha, Mangal DoshaManglik dosha occurs when Mars sits in certain houses of a birth chart (commonly the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th from the Lagna, Moon or Venus) and is considered in marriage matching.
- Kaal Sarpa DoshaKaal Sarpa dosha forms when all seven main planets are hemmed between Rahu and Ketu on one side of the chart. It is a later addition to the tradition rather than part of its older core, and is said to bring struggles and delays that ease over time.
- Pitra DoshaPitra dosha is an affliction linked to ancestors (pitru), often read from the Sun, the 9th house or combinations of Rahu and the Sun, and associated with unresolved ancestral karma.
Yogas
4Powerful planetary combinations.
- Raja YogaA Raja Yoga is a combination that confers success, status and power. It forms most clearly when the lords of a Kendra (angular) and a Trikona (trine) house connect.
- Gaja Kesari YogaGaja Kesari Yoga forms when Jupiter is in a Kendra (1st, 4th, 7th or 10th) from the Moon. It is a well-known yoga associated with intelligence, respect and prosperity.
- Pancha Mahapurusha YogaThe five Mahapurusha ('great person') yogas form when Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus or Saturn sits in its own or exaltation sign in a Kendra. They are Ruchaka, Bhadra, Hamsa, Malavya and Sasa respectively.
- Neecha Bhanga Raja YogaNeecha Bhanga is the cancellation of a planet's debilitation under specific conditions; when it also produces success it is called Neecha Bhanga Raja Yoga: a debilitated planet turning into a source of great results.
Omens & body signs (Shakuna)
2What the traditional Shakuna and Samudrika Shastra say about everyday body signs.
- Right Eye Blinkingright eye twitching, Akshi SpandanaIn the Indian omen tradition (Shakuna and Samudrika Shastra), a twitching right eye is read as auspicious for men, a sign of success, gains or good news. For women the same right-eye twitch is traditionally considered inauspicious.
- Left Eye Blinkingleft eye twitching, Vama Akshi SpandanaIn Shakuna and Samudrika Shastra, a twitching left eye is read as auspicious for women, heralding good news, gains or a happy meeting. For men the left-eye twitch is traditionally the inauspicious one.
Start here — the basicsThe core building blocks of a Vedic birth chart.
- KundaliJanma Kundali, birth chartA Kundali, or Janma Kundali, is a Vedic birth chart that maps the positions of the planets, the Moon's nakshatra and the rising sign (Lagna) at your exact moment and place of birth.
- LagnaAscendant, rising signThe Lagna, or Ascendant, is the zodiac sign rising on the eastern horizon at your exact moment and place of birth. It anchors the first house of the Kundali.
- RashiMoon sign, zodiac signA rashi is a 30° zodiac sign. In Vedic astrology the Moon rashi, the sign the Moon occupied at birth, is especially important and is what most people mean by their Vedic 'sign'.
- Nakshatralunar mansionA nakshatra is one of the 27 lunar mansions, the equal 13°20′ segments of the zodiac that the Moon travels through. Your birth (Janma) nakshatra is the one the Moon occupied at birth.
- Navagrahathe nine planets, grahasThe Navagraha are the nine celestial bodies of Vedic astrology: Sun (Surya), Moon (Chandra), Mars (Mangal), Mercury (Budha), Jupiter (Guru), Venus (Shukra), Saturn (Shani), and the lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu.
- Bhavathe twelve housesThe twelve bhavas are the houses of the birth chart, counted from the Lagna. Each governs specific areas of life: the 1st is the self, the 7th marriage, the 10th career, and so on.
- AyanamsaAyanamsa is the angular difference between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs, caused by the precession of the equinoxes. Vedic astrology applies it to convert tropical positions to sidereal.
- Kendra and Trikonaangular and trine housesKendras are the angular houses (1, 4, 7, 10) and Trikonas the trine houses (1, 5, 9). Together they are the strongest, most auspicious houses of the chart.
The twelve housesWhat each of the 12 bhavas governs, from the self to moksha.
- 1st HouseTanu Bhava, Lagna Bhava, Ascendant houseThe 1st house (Tanu Bhava) is the house of the self: your body, appearance, vitality, temperament and overall direction of life. It is anchored by the Lagna (Ascendant), the sign rising at your birth.
- 2nd HouseDhana Bhava, house of wealthThe 2nd house (Dhana Bhava) governs accumulated wealth, family, speech, food and values, meaning what you hold and how you express yourself.
- 3rd HouseSahaja Bhava, house of courageThe 3rd house (Sahaja Bhava) governs courage, initiative, younger siblings, communication, skills and short journeys.
- 4th HouseSukha Bhava, Bandhu Bhava, house of homeThe 4th house (Sukha Bhava) governs the mother, home, land and property, vehicles, foundational education and inner contentment.
- 5th HousePutra Bhava, house of childrenThe 5th house (Putra Bhava) governs children, intelligence, creativity, romance, education and purva punya, the merit carried from past lives.
- 6th HouseAri Bhava, Roga Bhava, house of enemiesThe 6th house (Ari or Roga Bhava) governs enemies, disease, debts, litigation, competition and daily service or employment.
- 7th HouseYuvati Bhava, Kalatra Bhava, house of marriageThe 7th house (Yuvati or Kalatra Bhava) governs marriage, the spouse, long-term partnerships and business alliances: everything that sits directly opposite the self.
- 8th HouseRandhra Bhava, Ayu Bhava, house of transformationThe 8th house (Randhra Bhava) governs longevity, sudden events, transformation, inheritance, joint assets, research and the occult.
- 9th HouseDharma Bhava, Bhagya Bhava, house of fortuneThe 9th house (Dharma or Bhagya Bhava) governs fortune, dharma, the father, the guru, higher learning, philosophy and long journeys or pilgrimage.
- 10th HouseKarma Bhava, house of careerThe 10th house (Karma Bhava) governs career, profession, public status, authority and one's visible actions in the world.
- 11th HouseLabha Bhava, house of gainsThe 11th house (Labha Bhava) governs gains, income, the fulfilment of desires, friends, networks and elder siblings.
- 12th HouseVyaya Bhava, house of loss and mokshaThe 12th house (Vyaya Bhava) governs expenditure, losses, endings, sleep, isolation, foreign lands and moksha (spiritual liberation).
Charts & divisionsDivisional charts that zoom into specific areas of life.
- NavamsaD9 chartThe Navamsa, or D9, is the most important divisional (varga) chart, made by dividing each sign into nine parts. It is used especially for marriage, the spouse and the deeper strength of planets.
- Vargadivisional charts, D-chartsVarga charts are divisional charts derived by splitting each sign into parts (equal in almost every case), such as the D9 (Navamsa), the D10 (Dashamsha) and others. Each one zooms into a specific area of life.
- DashamshaD10 chartThe Dashamsha, or D10, is the divisional chart for career, profession and public status, made by dividing each sign into ten parts.
Planets & pointsHow planets gain or lose strength, and the special points.
- Rahunorth node, Dragon's HeadRahu is the Moon's north node. It is a shadow planet, not a physical body, and signifies desire, ambition, foreign and unconventional matters, and sudden gains or obsessions.
- Ketusouth node, Dragon's TailKetu is the Moon's south node, the shadow planet opposite Rahu. It signifies detachment, spirituality, past-life karma, moksha and sudden losses or liberation.
- Uccha and Neechaexaltation and debilitation, debilitated planetUccha (exaltation) is the sign where a planet is strongest and gives its best results; Neecha (debilitation) is the opposite sign, where it is weakest. A 'debilitated' planet is one placed in its Neecha sign.
- AstacombustionA planet is combust (asta) when it sits too close to the Sun and is 'burnt' by its rays, weakening its ability to give results. Each planet has its own combustion distance.
- VakriretrogradeA vakri or retrograde planet appears to move backward from Earth's viewpoint. In Vedic astrology retrograde planets are generally considered strong, receiving full motional strength (Cheshta bala), and to give intensified, internalised results, though schools differ on whether those results are favourable.
- Graha Drishtiplanetary aspectDrishti is the 'gaze' or aspect a planet casts on other houses and planets. Every planet aspects the 7th house from itself; Mars, Jupiter and Saturn have additional special aspects.
- AtmakarakaAK, soul significatorIn one branch of the tradition the Atmakaraka is the planet at the highest degree in any sign: the 'soul significator' representing the self's deepest desires and karmic path.
- KarakasignificatorA karaka is a planet that signifies a particular person, thing or area of life. For example, Jupiter is the karaka for children and Venus for the spouse.
- Shadbalasix-fold strengthShadbala measures a planet's total strength from six sources (positional, directional, temporal, motional, natural and aspectual), expressed in units called Rupas.
- AshtakavargaAshtakavarga is a points-based system that scores each sign and house from the perspective of the seven planets and the Lagna, producing a bindu (point) map used to judge strength and time transits.
Timing — dashas & transitsThe systems that time events across your life.
- Vimshottari DashaDasha periodVimshottari Dasha is the most widely used Vedic system of planetary time-periods. It divides life into major periods (Mahadasha) ruled by each of nine planets, based on the birth nakshatra.
- Gochargochara, planetary transitGochar is the ongoing movement of planets through the signs, read against your birth chart, especially your Moon sign, to time current and upcoming influences.
- Shani Sade SatiSaturn's seven-and-a-half yearsSade Sati is the roughly seven-and-a-half-year period when Saturn (Shani) transits the sign before, the same sign as, and the sign after your Moon rashi.
- Muhurtaelectional astrology, muhuratMuhurta is the Vedic practice of choosing an auspicious date and time to begin an important activity, such as marriage, travel or a new venture, based on the Panchang and planetary positions.
PanchangThe five limbs of the Vedic almanac.
- PanchangVedic almanacThe Panchang is the Vedic almanac defined by five limbs (panch-anga): Tithi, Vara (weekday), Nakshatra, Yoga and Karana. It describes the quality of a given day and time.
- Tithilunar dayA tithi is a lunar day: the time it takes the Moon to gain 12° over the Sun. There are 30 tithis in a lunar month, split across the waxing (Shukla) and waning (Krishna) fortnights.
- Yoga (Panchang)In the Panchang, a Yoga is one of 27 combinations based on the sum of the Sun's and Moon's longitudes. It is distinct from the planetary yogas (combinations) read in a birth chart.
- KaranaA karana is half of a tithi. There are 11 karanas that repeat to fill the lunar month, and they are the fifth limb of the Panchang.
Compatibility — Gun MilanThe eight kootas behind Ashtakoot marriage matching.
- Ashtakoot Gun MilanGun Milan, AshtakootAshtakoot Gun Milan is the traditional Vedic method of checking marriage compatibility by comparing two people's Moon nakshatras and Moon signs across eight kootas (factors) for a combined score out of 36 gunas.
- Varna KootaVarna is the first of the eight Ashtakoot factors, worth 1 guna. It compares the class (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra) of the partners' Moon signs to assess ego and temperament.
- Vashya KootaVashya is the second Ashtakoot factor, worth 2 gunas. It measures mutual attraction and influence between the partners' Moon signs, grouped into categories like Chatushpada, Manava and Jalachara.
- Tara KootaTara kutaTara is the third Ashtakoot factor, worth 3 gunas. It counts each partner's birth star from the other's along the nine-fold Navatara cycle to judge health and fortune.
- Yoni KootaYoni is the fourth Ashtakoot factor, worth 4 gunas. Each nakshatra maps to an animal (Yoni), and the pairing measures physical and instinctive compatibility.
- Graha Maitri KootaGraha Maitri is the fifth Ashtakoot factor, worth 5 gunas. It compares the lords of the partners' Moon signs to judge mental and intellectual friendship.
- Gana KootaGana is the sixth Ashtakoot factor, worth 6 gunas. It sorts nakshatras into three temperaments to assess nature and outlook: Deva (divine), Manushya (human) and Rakshasa (demonic).
- Bhakoot DoshaBhakoot dosha occurs in Gun Milan when the partners' Moon signs fall in a 2–12, 5–9 or 6–8 axis, scoring 0 of the 7 points for the Bhakoot koota.
- Nadi DoshaNadi dosha arises in Gun Milan when both partners share the same Nadi (Aadi, Madhya or Antya), scoring 0 of the 8 points for the Nadi koota, the highest-weighted factor.
DoshasAfflictions weighed in a reading.
- Manglik DoshaKuja Dosha, Mangal DoshaManglik dosha occurs when Mars sits in certain houses of a birth chart (commonly the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th from the Lagna, Moon or Venus) and is considered in marriage matching.
- Kaal Sarpa DoshaKaal Sarpa dosha forms when all seven main planets are hemmed between Rahu and Ketu on one side of the chart. It is a later addition to the tradition rather than part of its older core, and is said to bring struggles and delays that ease over time.
- Pitra DoshaPitra dosha is an affliction linked to ancestors (pitru), often read from the Sun, the 9th house or combinations of Rahu and the Sun, and associated with unresolved ancestral karma.
YogasPowerful planetary combinations.
- Raja YogaA Raja Yoga is a combination that confers success, status and power. It forms most clearly when the lords of a Kendra (angular) and a Trikona (trine) house connect.
- Gaja Kesari YogaGaja Kesari Yoga forms when Jupiter is in a Kendra (1st, 4th, 7th or 10th) from the Moon. It is a well-known yoga associated with intelligence, respect and prosperity.
- Pancha Mahapurusha YogaThe five Mahapurusha ('great person') yogas form when Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus or Saturn sits in its own or exaltation sign in a Kendra. They are Ruchaka, Bhadra, Hamsa, Malavya and Sasa respectively.
- Neecha Bhanga Raja YogaNeecha Bhanga is the cancellation of a planet's debilitation under specific conditions; when it also produces success it is called Neecha Bhanga Raja Yoga: a debilitated planet turning into a source of great results.
Omens & body signs (Shakuna)What the traditional Shakuna and Samudrika Shastra say about everyday body signs.
- Right Eye Blinkingright eye twitching, Akshi SpandanaIn the Indian omen tradition (Shakuna and Samudrika Shastra), a twitching right eye is read as auspicious for men, a sign of success, gains or good news. For women the same right-eye twitch is traditionally considered inauspicious.
- Left Eye Blinkingleft eye twitching, Vama Akshi SpandanaIn Shakuna and Samudrika Shastra, a twitching left eye is read as auspicious for women, heralding good news, gains or a happy meeting. For men the left-eye twitch is traditionally the inauspicious one.