☉︎ Sūrya · Surya
Sun
The self, authority, the father, and what a person cannot delegate.
- Nature
- Krūra / pāpa — a natural malefic
- Rules
- Leo
- Exalted
- Aries
- Debilitated
- Libra
Sūrya is ātmakāraka in the fixed sense — the significator of the self, the centre a chart organises around. It governs the father, authority in general, and standing in the world.
It is classed as a malefic, which surprises beginners. The reasoning is about heat and dryness rather than misfortune: the Sun burns what stands too close to it, which is why combustion exists as a technical condition at all.
Kāraka — what it signifies wherever it falls
- the soul
- the father
- authority
- vitality
- reputation
- government
Source: BPHS ch. 3; Phaladīpikā ch. 2