Atmakaraka (AK): The highest-degree planet. Represents the soul's intent, the core of the native's karmic purpose. Its sign, nakshatra, and house reveal the life theme.
Amatyakaraka (AmK): Second-highest degree. Career, livelihood, intellect, and professional capacity. AmK and its interactions with other karakas predict vocational outcome.
Bhratrukaraka (BK): Third-highest. Siblings, courage, effort, competitive ability. Strong BK = capable; BK in debility or in enemy's sign = lack of support.
Matrukaraka (MK): Fourth-highest. Mother, nurture, landed property, vehicles. The text explicitly equates MK's strength with maternal health and early childhood stability.
Putrakaraka (PK): Fifth-highest. Children, creative output, intelligence, students. PK tells whether native has children and the nature of creative pursuits.
Gnatikaraka (GK): Sixth-highest. Health, enemies, adversaries, disease karma. GK in 8th or 12th house = chronic health challenges; GK well-placed = robust immune system.
Darakaraka (DK): Seventh-highest (lowest degree). Spouse, partnership, sexual life, desires. DK's nakshatra is said to reveal the spouse's nakshatra too (Upapada Nakshatra rule).
Each has a computational engine and a detailed placement interpretation. You will trace karakas through a natal chart and predict life outcomes from karaka yoga.
The seven karakas in order. Ranked by descending degree: Atmakaraka the soul, Amatyakaraka career and counsel, Bhratrukaraka siblings and courage, Matrukaraka mother and nurture, Putrakaraka children and creative intelligence, Gnatikaraka obstacles and adversaries, and Darakaraka the spouse. The eight-karaka scheme inserts Pitrukaraka for the father.
Reading a karaka properly. A karaka is read in three ways at once: the planet's own nature, the house it occupies, and what aspects it by rashi drishti. Saturn as Darakaraka describes a different marriage from Venus as Darakaraka, and Saturn as Darakaraka in the 12th describes something different again.
The Atmakaraka's priority. Atmakaraka outranks the others because it carries the chart's central karmic theme. Classical authorities describe it as the king of the chart, whose agenda the other significators serve. When Atmakaraka is afflicted, the affliction tends to show up across the whole life rather than in one compartment.
A caution on Darakaraka. Because Darakaraka takes the lowest degree, it is often a planet that classical reading would consider weak or malefic. This does not by itself predict a difficult marriage. The karaka describes the nature of the partner and the relationship's themes, not its quality, and confusing the two produces needlessly alarming readings.