6 min · Goal: Identify the flanking yogas and read them by their forming planet rather than their name.
Three yogas form from planets other than the Sun sitting beside the Moon. Sunapha: a planet in the 2nd house from the Moon. Anapha: a planet in the 12th from the Moon. Durudhara: planets in both, and the strongest of the three since the Moon is supported on either side.
They are read as support for the mind and circumstance — Sunapha for self-earned wealth and reputation, Anapha for health and character, Durudhara for assistance available through life.
The crucial qualification is this: which planet occupies the position matters far more than the presence of the yoga. Saturn in the 2nd from the Moon is not Venus in the 2nd from the Moon, and reading them identically because both technically form Sunapha is exactly the error this level is designed to prevent.
The natural benefics — Jupiter, Venus and Mercury — occupying the 6th, 7th and 8th houses counted from the Moon. Associated classically with leadership, good health and standing, and often with people who hold office.
The full condition is strict, so genuine instances are uncommon. Partial forms with only one or two benefics in those houses are common and considerably weaker, and are frequently reported as the full yoga by sites that do not check.
The same structure applied to the Sun, this time excluding the Moon. Vesi: a planet in the 2nd from the Sun. Vasi: a planet in the 12th. Ubhayachari: planets in both.
These are read for character and standing rather than for circumstance — truthfulness, capability, dealings with others. They are rarely decisive alone and should be read alongside the Sun’s own dignity and house placement.
Two charts both have Sunapha yoga. In one it is formed by Jupiter, in the other by Saturn. Should they read the same?