Graha 5 of 9 · Lahiri sidereal
Guru — Jupiter
Guru (Jupiter) rules Dhanu and Meena, is exalted in Karka and debilitated in Makara, and runs a 16-year Vimshottari dasha.
At a glance
Who Guru is
The texts (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, chapter 3) place Guru among the ministers of the court and give it knowledge and happiness. It is expansive, warm, patient and moral, the classical benefic of the nine. Guru stands for wisdom, teachers and advisers, children, wealth, dharma, law and faith, and, in a woman’s chart, the husband. It aspects the 5th, 7th and 9th houses from where it sits, which is why its placement is watched so closely. Guru takes about a year in each sign, so its transit is the great yearly marker of the Vedic calendar.
What Guru signifies
- Wisdom, knowledge and higher learning
- Teachers, mentors and advisers
- Children and students
- Wealth, savings and banking
- Dharma, ethics and faith
- Law, judges and counsel
- The husband in a woman’s chart
- Optimism, generosity and growth
- Religious and educational institutions
When Guru is strong
A well-placed Guru — in Dhanu or Meena (its own signs), in Karka where it is exalted, in a friend’s sign, in a kendra or trikona, or in the 1st house where the texts give it directional strength — tends to show as good judgement and goodwill. In everyday life: teachers, elders and advisers who turn up when needed, a habit of seeing the bigger picture, steady growth in knowledge or savings, joy from children or students, and an optimism others find reassuring.
When Guru is under strain
A strained Guru — in Makara (debilitated), in the sign of an enemy such as Budha or Shukra, combust near the Sun, or in the 6th, 8th or 12th — is read as wisdom and good fortune that are earned by effort. What it asks of a person is discernment: not over-promising, not leaning on advisers without checking, and saving and learning steadily when results are slow. Over-optimism and excess are the usual themes. The texts list cancellations — for example when Shani, lord of Makara, stands in a kendra — and the whole chart decides.
Guru’s mahadasha
Guru’s mahadasha lasts 16 years. It tends to emphasise growth: education and teaching, children and family, savings and wealth, mentors, law and ethics, long journeys and a wish to give life a larger meaning. Many recall it as a time when doors opened through a teacher or an elder. But the same dasha feels very different in different charts: through the house Guru occupies, the houses it rules (the 1st and 4th for Dhanu lagna, the 8th and 11th for Vrishabha lagna), its dignity and the antardasha.
Guru’s transit (gochar)
Guru’s transit is the one people follow most, because it spends about a year in each sign. From the natal Moon, Phaladeepika (chapter 26) calls it favourable in the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th signs and less supportive in the others; from the lagna it shows which area of life is invited to learn and grow that year. Guru’s 5th, 7th and 9th aspects from its transit sign widen the effect. Its yearly change makes it a gentle planning aid — a year that favours study, partnership or expansion — never a promise, since Shani and the running dasha count too.
Guru’s sign changes, 2024–2030
| Date (IST) | Enters | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May 2024 | Vrishabha | |
| 14 May 2025 | Mithuna | |
| 18 Oct 2025 | Karka | |
| 5 Dec 2025 | Mithuna | moving backwards |
| 2 Jun 2026 | Karka | |
| 31 Oct 2026 | Simha | |
| 25 Jan 2027 | Karka | moving backwards |
| 26 Jun 2027 | Simha | |
| 26 Nov 2027 | Kanya | |
| 28 Feb 2028 | Simha | moving backwards |
| 24 Jul 2028 | Kanya | |
| 26 Dec 2028 | Tula | |
| 29 Mar 2029 | Kanya | moving backwards |
| 25 Aug 2029 | Tula | |
| 25 Jan 2030 | Vrishchika | |
| 1 May 2030 | Tula | moving backwards |
| 23 Sep 2030 | Vrishchika |
What this does not mean
- A strong Guru does not guarantee wealth, children or a good marriage; its blessing works through the houses it touches, and those houses have to be read too.
- A debilitated Guru in Makara does not mean a person without wisdom or good fortune; it often shows as practical, hard-earned wisdom, and the cancellation rules are well known.
- Guru with Rahu, sometimes called Guru Chandal yoga, is a later popular name and not a verdict; it is more often read as an unconventional, questioning learner, and the result depends on the sign and house.
- Guru’s yearly transit does not “bring” marriage or children by itself; it opens a favourable window that the dasha and the rest of the chart must also support.
What you can actually do
- Look at your own Guru in the free kundali on JYOTISH.info — its sign, house, dignity and the houses it aspects — before reading general statements about “Jupiter people”.
- Treat a Guru year or dasha as a stretch for learning: enrol in a course, find a mentor, or return to a subject you left half done.
- Keep savings and promises in proportion; Guru’s excess shows as over-commitment, so write down what you can really afford before you say yes.
- Teach in a small way — explain, mentor or share what you know with someone; the texts tie Guru to the giving of knowledge, and it deepens your own.
Questions people ask
In which sign is Guru exalted and in which debilitated?
Guru is exalted in Karka, deepest around the 5th degree, and debilitated in Makara. Its own signs are Dhanu and Meena. A debilitated Guru can be lifted by cancellation rules, such as the lord of Makara standing in a kendra, and the whole chart decides.
How many years is the Guru mahadasha?
Guru’s mahadasha lasts 16 years in the Vimshottari system. It follows Rahu’s 18 years in the fixed order and is followed by Shani’s 19 years. The stage of life in which you meet it depends on the Moon’s nakshatra at birth.
How often does Guru change sign, and does it matter?
Guru changes sign about once a year, a little less or more depending on its retrograde spells. Counted from your natal Moon, it is favourable in the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th signs. It matters as a yearly backdrop that you read together with the slower Shani and the running dasha.
Is Guru always good in a kundali?
No. Guru is a natural benefic, but results come mainly from the houses it rules and sits in (BPHS ch. 24 on the house lords). For some lagnas Guru rules the 6th, 8th or 12th along with another house, which brings a mixed result. Natural benefic is not the same as functional benefic.
Sources
- Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, ch. 3 (Guru: nature, significations, friends and enemies)
- Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, ch. 24 (effects of the house lords) and ch. 46–47 (dashas)
- Phaladeepika, ch. 2 (the grahas) and ch. 26 (gochar)
- Uttara Kalamrita (lists of significations)
Every position on this page is calculated sidereal with the Lahiri ayanamsa from the astronomy-engine library (MIT licence). The classical texts describe tendencies; this page is for guidance and reflection, not a verdict, and no outcome is promised. How we calculate. This is the English page and the legal reference. The same page is available in Hindi. Checked October 2026.