In this, the second article in the series on the five Pancha Mahaparusha Yogas, whose presence in the horoscope show the potential for greatness, we’ll be taking a look at the Malavya Yoga, formed when Venus resides in a kendra, with strength. The very name Pancha Mahaparusha Yoga means “five types of yogas that occur in the charts of great men.” The yogas are formed when any of the planets Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter or Saturn reside either in the signs of their rulership or in which they are exalted, AND they fall in a kendra (angular ) house from either the Lagna or the Moon. For example: Jupiter in Pisces in the 10th house, either from the Lagna or the Moon is one form of Pancha Mahaparusha Yoga. If Jupiter in Pisces fell in the 9th house, the yoga wouldn’t exist, as the 9th house isn’t a kendra.
In the “Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra”, sage Parashara gives a brief description of the effects of each planetary yoga. He describes the effects of the Malavya Yoga, in part, thus:
“Malavya yoga is caused by Shukra (Venus) ocupying a kendra, in own or exaltation rasi. A (person) born in Malvya yoga is possessed of beautiful lips, a thin waist and is of moon like (splendorous) complexion. He emanates a good smell, is somewhat fair, of medium structure and possessed of beautiful and clean teeth…”
You will note that this quote is almost entirely descriptive of one’s physical attributes and says nothing about the character of someone born with this yoga. However it can’t be too difficult to describe someone with such a prominent and strong Venus. Words like, ” sweet, peace-loving, romantic, artistic, aesthetic, fair-minded, graceful” spring immediately to mind and I’m sure there are many others of a similar ilk that could be thought of. Now there must be literally tens of thousands of horoscopes that contain at least one of the Pancha Mahaparusha yogas, yet not all people who possess at least one of them goes on to live a life of great deeds and memorable accomplishments. So what then, sets apart those people who do go on to become great in the eyes of the world? Kalyan Varman states in “Saravali”:
‘When the yoga is caused on account grahas like Bhauma (Mars) etc. in strength, one gets kingdom. But if, simultaneously, Suyra and Chandra are bereft of strength then the yoga for kingdom does not occur but one does get progeny and wealth during the Dasha of the yoga causing graha.”
So it would seem that one cannot rule a kingdom, even with a brilliant Pancha Mahaparusha yoga in your chart, if the Sun and Moon are not strong. You will have children and lots of money, but you won’t become President, Prime Minister, or Your Majesty. Fair enough. Also, another rule to bear in mind is this one from Mantreshwara, in “Phaladeepika”:
“If these grahas (capable of giving Pancha Mahapurusha yoga) are also placed in a kendra from Chandra (moon) simultaneously, the yoga becomes capable of making one an emperor and possessed of great bhagya (luck)”
This rule makes perfect sense if you think about it. When the planet is angular from both the lagna AND the Moon – by virtue of the Moon also being in a kendra – then the yoga is going to be doubly strong, and capable of making you an emperor.To illustrate the grace and beauty of the Malavya yoga, and the powerful manner in which it can work when it operates both from the Lagna and the Moon, let’s take a look at the chart of Diana, Princess of Wales:¹
We can immediately see the beautiful double Malavya Yoga formed by Venus in Taurus in the 7th house from the Lagna and the 4th house from the Moon. This gave her the potential to one day become “an emperor”, and of course she did when she married into the British Royal family and became Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales. She of course also possessed all of the typical attributes of Venus, especially since from the 7th house it aspects the Lagna: she had grace, beauty, charm, and in many ways expressed all of the qualities of a true fairy-tale Princess! However, neither the Sun nor Moon can be said to be strong so she didn’t actually acquire a kingdom, although she was blessed with progeny and wealth before her untimely death in 1997.
Now let’s take a look at another horoscope that contains the beautiful Malavya Yoga, and see how in this case it operated quite differently, while still bestowing fame and popularity. This is the chart of Albert Einstein:
In Einstein’s chart we see Venus exalted in the 10th house and involved in several Raja Yogas, not least of which is the powerful 1-5 yoga created by the conjunction of Venus with the lagnesha Mercury. Now at first glance this might seem strange since Mercury is in the sign of its Fall (neechha) in Pisces but here Mercury’s debility is cancelled due to it being a) in a kendra and b) being conjoined to the exalted Venus, thereby conferring upon Mercury all the powerful inspiration and mystical insight of Pisces. Venus is also conjoined to the 9th lord Saturn, in the 10th, another Raja Yoga, which moved his creative genius ( Venus, 5th lord ) towards the field of classical physics.Still another Raja Yoga is formed by the Parivatamsha (mutual reception) between Jupiter in Aquarius (lord 10) and Saturn in Pisces (lord 9). This strong connection between the 9th and 10th lords is equivalent to the Dharma Karma Yoga and can produce great fame and renown in the fields of teaching, science and religion. Given that the Parivatamsha of Jupiter and Saturn connects with Einstein’s Malavya Yoga is it any wonder that he gained worldwide attention in 1905, after publishing four papers in the Annalen der Physik, one of the best known physics journals. The four papers—the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and the equivalence of matter and energy—would alter the course of modern physics and bring him to the attention of the academic world. In his paper on matter and energy, Einstein deduced the well-known equation E=mc2, suggesting that tiny particles of matter could be converted into huge amounts of energy, foreshadowing the development of nuclear power. In that year Einstein was running his Venus/Rahu dasha/bhukti, with Rahu as always, giving the effect of it’s lord, in this case that wonderful Saturn, lord of the 9th. A brilliant example of an exalted 5th lord combining with the 9th lord in the 10th house! Raja Yogas everywhere, and his life bore witness to them. Even if, due to his weak Moon, he never became an emperor, he did become the most celebrated physicist of his generation!
But where do we see the appreciation of beauty, aesthetics, grace and harmony in Einstein’s life which we would expect with such a wonderful Malavya Yoga? He is of course world famous for the development of his General Theory of Relativity but few people realise that he was as much an artist and a romantic as he was a physicist. Here are just a few of his quotes that illustrate this side of his nature:
“Personally, I experience the greatest degree of pleasure in having contact with works of art. They furnish me with happy feelings of an intensity such as I cannot derive from other realms.”
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science.”
“In art, and in the higher ranges of science, there is a feeling of harmony which underlies all endeavor. There is no true greatness in art or science without that sense of harmony.”
Beauty, harmony, mystery, art. These weren’t just abstract concepts to Einstein, they were the touchstones that guided his life; that directed his grand vision of the universe and which spurred him to find a Unified Field theory that eventually eluded him. He wasn’t just arguably the greatest classical physicist of the 20th century, in many ways Albert Einstein was also a wonderful example of the grace and beauty of the Malavya Yoga.
¹ The officially accepted birth data for Princess Diana is July 1st 1961, 7:45pm, B.S.T., Sandringham, England. This receives an ‘A’ rating from Lois Rodden’s Astrodatabank, since the birth time is “from memory”
Pete Dawson 
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