Mars rules houses 5 and 10 for Cancer rising — yogakaraka. The rules behind that verdict, dasha themes and how it compares with the other planets.
✦ Generate My Free Birth ChartFor Cancer rising, Mars owns both a kendra and a trikona, the strongest structural role a planet can hold for Cancer rising. It rules Scorpio (the 5th house) and Aries (the 10th house), so its Mahadasha (7 years) concentrates on children, creativity and intellect and career and public standing.
Each rule below is applied in turn; the verdict is the sum. Positive numbers support the planet, negative ones weigh against it.
| Rule applied | Weight |
|---|---|
| Aries is the 10th house (Kendra); Aries is Mars's moolatrikona sign, so it counts 1.5× | 0.0 |
| Scorpio is the 5th house (Trikona) | +2.0 |
| Mars is a natural malefic owning the 10th (a kendra), which softens its malefic nature | +0.5 |
| Owns both a kendra and a trikona — the Yogakaraka combination | +3.0 |
| The lagna lord Moon is neutral toward Mars | 0.0 |
| Net score → Yogakaraka | +5.50 |
Scorpio — house 5 (Trikona). The 5th house governs children, creativity and intellect. Whatever Mars promises or withholds in a chart tends to be delivered through these matters.
Aries — house 10 (Kendra). The 10th house governs career and public standing. Whatever Mars promises or withholds in a chart tends to be delivered through these matters. It is also the planet's moolatrikona sign.
| Planet | Houses ruled | Functional reading |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | 2 | Neutral / Mixed (maraka) |
| Moon | 1 | Lagna Lord — Benefic |
| Mars | 5 & 10 | Yogakaraka |
| Mercury | 3 & 12 | Functional Malefic |
| Jupiter | 6 & 9 | Neutral / Mixed |
| Venus | 4 & 11 | Functional Malefic (badhaka) |
| Saturn | 7 & 8 | Functional Malefic (maraka) |
Rahu and Ketu own no signs, so they have no lordship to classify; they act through the sign lord of the sign they occupy and the planets they join (see Rahu & Ketu in KP).
In the Vimshottari system Mars's Mahadasha lasts 7 years out of the 120-year cycle. For Cancer rising it activates the 5th house (children, creativity and intellect) and the 10th house (career and public standing). A well-supported period therefore tends to lift those areas; the sub-lords of the period and the transits at the time decide which way it actually goes. See Mars Mahadasha for the period itself.
Cancer is a movable sign, so its Badhaka (obstruction) house is the 11th, whose sign is Taurus and whose lord is Venus. Mars is not the Badhaka lord. The Maraka lords for Cancer rising are Sun (2nd) and Saturn (7th); Mars is not one of them.
In KP astrology, ruling a house by sign is only the weakest of the four levels a planet can signify through (the others are occupying it and the star-lord links). A yogakaraka reading by lordship is useful context, but the sub-lord chain in the actual chart is what decides outcomes. See Significators in KP and Sub-Lord Theory.