Argala — intervention or the power to influence a house or planet — arises from the planets and signs situated in the 2nd, 4th and 11th places from it. Further, when Rahu or Ketu occupies the 5th, or when three or more planets are gathered there, the 5th also generates argala. Benefics so placed intervene favourably, malefics adversely, and the number and strength of the intervening planets measure the force of the intervention.
Verse 2 — Second-House Argala — Resources Feed the House
द्वितीयादर्गला धनसाधनपोषणेन ॥
dvitīyād argalā dhana-sādhana-poṣaṇena
Argala from the second operates through resources: wealth, food, speech and means continuously feed the house they flank. A strong second flanking the lagna sustains the body itself; flanking the ninth, it funds dharma; malefics there turn provision into poison — money that corrupts what it touches.
Verse 3 — Fourth-House Argala — Foundation and Comforts
चतुर्थाच्चार्गला आधारसुखपोषेण ॥
caturthāc cārgalā ādhāra-sukha-poṣeṇa
Argala from the fourth intervenes through foundation: home, mother's blessing, emotional ground and comforts prop up whatever stands beside them. Jupiter in the fourth argalaing the tenth makes careers rise on family virtue; afflicted fourths make every higher achievement rest on unstable soil.
Argala from the eleventh works through gains: income streams, networks and fulfilled desires amplify whatever they touch. Eleventh argala on the fifth turns hobbies into revenue; on the seventh, partnerships multiply profit. It is the most commercially potent of all interventions.
Benefic occupants deliver intervention as grace — help arriving unasked, doors opening gently. Malefics deliver it as goading — pressure that forces growth through friction. Both strengthen the target house; only their manner differs, and both are ultimately necessary for full flowering.
Verse 6 — Argala on Lagna Shapes the Life-Current
लग्नार्गलं जीवनधारायाः वेगं नियन्त्रयति ॥
lagnārgalaṃ jīvana-dhārāyāḥ vegaṃ niyantrayati
Interventions upon the Lagna govern the very current of life: abundant benefic argala produces a life that flows with visible support; heavy malefic argala forges a life driven by pressure into uncommon strength. Reading all three argala seats around the Lagna sketches destiny's hydraulic map.
Verse 7 — Argala on Ninth and Tenth — Dharma and Karma Reinforced
नवमदशमयोरर्गला धर्मकर्मणोः पुष्टये ॥
navama-daśamayor argalā dharma-karmaṇoḥ puṣṭaye
When the ninth receives strong argala, dharma finds patrons, pilgrimage and scriptural momentum; when the tenth is so reinforced, karma acquires sponsors, machinery and manpower. Together these interventions build the twin towers of a significant public life.
Verse 8 — Ketu's Special Argala — The Moksha Push
केतोरर्गला विशेषतो मोक्षदिशं धक्षति ॥
ketor argalā viśeṣato mokṣadiśaṃ dhakṣati
Ketu's intervention deserves special note: wherever his argala falls, it pushes the matter toward liberation — detaching the native from outcomes even while supporting the activity. Ketu argala on the twelfth accelerates renunciation; on the first, self-inquiry becomes compulsive.
Verse 9 — Compound Argalas Multiply Force
बहूनामर्गलानां संयोगे बलं गुणितम् ॥
bahūnām argalānāṃ saṃyoge balaṃ guṇitam
When several argala sources converge on one house, their forces multiply rather than merely add: two benefic interventions create breakthrough conditions; two malefic ones create siege. Compound analysis always outranks single-source judgement in argala practice.
Verse 10 — Argala Versus Drishti — Action Versus Desire
अर्गलं क्रियात्मकं दृष्टिरिच्छात्मिका ॥
argalaṃ kriyātmakaṃ dṛṣṭir icchātmikā
Argala is action-based while drishti is desire-based: aspects express what planets want from a house; argala expresses what they actually do to it. A planet may desire (aspect) without capacity to act (no argala), or act silently without desire — Jaimini separates wanting from doing.