Ruchaka yoga (Mars)
Ruchaka yoga is the Pancha Mahapurusha yoga of Mars. It forms when Mars is in its own sign (Mesha or Vrishchika) or exalted sign (Makara), in a kendra from the Lagna. This site checks it.
What it is
The traditional readings associate it with courage, physical strength, leadership and command. The rule is about the sign and the kendra only.
How it is worked out or read
The birth chart computes Mars's sign and its house from the Lagna, and states whether both conditions hold.
Where it appears on this site
The result is in the birth chart. See the group article for the other four.
Ruchaka and steady energy
Ruchaka is read as energy that is steady and directed rather than sudden. A reader can describe the yoga as a dependable drive, especially when Mars is in its own sign, where its force is said to be used with purpose.
The Mars yoga
Ruchaka is the Pancha Mahapurusha yoga of Mars. It forms when Mars is in Mesha or Vrishchika, its own signs, or in Makara, its exalted sign, and in a kendra from the Lagna. The traditional readings associate it with courage, physical vigour, leadership and command. The rule is about the sign and the house, and nothing else in the standard statement.
This site checks the rule in the birth chart and reports whether Mars satisfies both conditions. The reader can repeat the check from the sign table and the Lagna.
Checking the conditions
Find Mars's sign in the birth chart. If it is Mesha, Vrishchika or Makara, the first condition is met. Then count Mars's house from the Lagna. If the house is one, four, seven or ten, the second condition is met, and the yoga is present. A Mars in Karka, its debilitation, does not form the yoga even if it is in a kendra.
A reader who finds Mars in a kendra but in a sign that is neither own nor exalted should note that the yoga does not form by the standard rule.
What the traditional texts describe
The classical descriptions link Ruchaka with courage in action, strength of body and a natural capacity to lead. The reader may describe these as tendencies, noting that they depend on the rest of the chart. A Mars that is strong and well placed is read as expressing its themes more directly.
Reading Ruchaka in context
A reader should describe Ruchaka as one of five Pancha Mahapurusha yogas, state its conditions and describe its theme in traditional terms. Mars is also a malefic in the standard scheme, so the reader should note how its themes are shaped by the sign, the house and the aspects. The yoga is one piece of the picture, not a summary of it.
Ruchaka and the warrior's temper
Ruchaka is sometimes described in popular writing as a sign of physical courage or of a military temper. The classical rule does not say that. It names a strong and well-placed Mars, and the reader can describe its themes as energy and drive in whatever field the rest of the chart points to.