"Employment, occupation, honor, trade, and commerce (also of the father) etc. from the tenth house."

 -- Madhya Parashari, Ch. 9 , Shloka 10

"Whatever effects are to be known from the Karma and Labha Bhava be also known from similar bhavas counted from Surya."

~~ BPHS Ch. 7, Shloka 39-43

Dignity, prestige, success in public life, father's wealth, and "Karma" or Effort, are seen in: 

1. 10th house from radix lagna

2. L-10

3. 10th from Chandra & L-10-from-Chandra

4. 10th-from-10th, or Yuvati Bhava

5. Radix (D-1) planets in Makara (Capricorn)

6. Radix L-10 within navamsha

7. Surya's condition in navamsha

8. Radix L-10 within dashamsha (D-10, the 10th harmonic varga)

9. 10th house within D-10

10. Sun & Moon in D-10

Various house lords will alter one's style & ability in performance of active duty.  A good house lord in the 10th makes profession, authority, and other implications of karma bhava better.  A dushthamsha lord makes it worse. But all lords have certain good and bad effects.

For example, L-2 occupying karma bhava puts L-2 in 9th-from-swakshetra, a decidedly auspicious angle. Native exhibits well developed moral & aesthetic values, wealth (often a profession handling some form of cultural wealth) and a healthy family lineage.

L-10 as 2nd-from-9th is the maraka lord who can cause death of the father. (However in practice lord of 7th-from-9th, or L-3, is more commonly the maraka agent for native's father.)

"If Dhana's lord is in Karma Bhava, the native will be libidinous, honorable, and learned; he will have many wives and much wealth, but he will be bereft of filial happiness." 

~~ BPHS, Ch 24, shloka 22

Graha drishti affecting karmasthana or L-10:

• benefics casting drishti upon L-10 improve easy & skillful expression of vocation

• benefics on either side of the L-10 also  improve easy & skillful expression of vocation

• malefics casting drishti upon L-10 create obstacles & impedance in expressing & developing the basis of moral leadership

• malefics on either side of the L-10 slow down or thwart easy expression of career & vocation

Leadership, Prestige, Position, Status, Social Dignity, Rank

The first and most predominant signification of karma bhava is social dignity.  A strong, positive karma bhava virtually guarantees the individual a large measure of high status in their social group.  

Along with status comes leadership.  Auspicious Simha planets in karma bhava give moral leadership.  Beneficial Capricorn planets make a conservative leader, perhaps a captain of industry.  Mithuna will rise high in media communications industry.  

Mercury in 10th gives an administrative career.  Saturn in 10th (with strength) shows a rise through toughness.  Etc.

Promotions;  increases in rank, title, and status; rises in popularity; and overall glory in social validation, are marked by karma bhava, its occupying planets, and drishti to karmasthana.

Mahadasha of Empowered L-10 (free of negative drishti) will give very high levels of professional respect & recognition. 

House Lords & Karakas in the Career House

Leadership capability whether compassionate or authoritarian, whether popular or hated, whether in education, politics, commerce, law, finance, medicine, or a host of other marketplace specialties, will manifest through the 10th house and its lord.

Karakas in house-10 are also highly significant. As always with karakas in their own houses, be alert to the dysfunctional effect of karako bhavo nashto - where "too much of a good thing" tends to overwhelm the balance of the house, and creates problems in execution for even the most intelligent and well-meaning native.

Government & Large Corporations

Karma bhava is the natural house of Capricorn, the sign of hierarchies.   Strong 10th-house gives a proclivity to hold highly responsible executive level positions in government service or large corporate hierarchies. 

Very little entrepreneurial freedom or creativity is permitted in iconic house-10, which emphasizes conservative social role modeling and public accountability.   Being 12th-from-11th karmasthana gives "loss" or dissolution of income through a loss of mobility or flexibility in the marketplace. 

However strength in either dhanasthana or labhasthana will compensate the native for the losses inherent in karmasthana's public accountability.

High-level public leadership responsibilities largely preclude much dallying in the marketplace.  Success in entrepreneurial business, even when it brings the native high levels of public recognition, is a function of the gainful 11th house.  The essence of the 10th house is public service, through government.

A competent and committed public servant may become wealthy before entering the ranks of government administration, or afterward - but unless he is a criminal (e.g. strong 6th or 12th house effects) he will not gain significant wealth through his service.

(As most Americans know, the President of the United States earns a much smaller salary than most middle-ranking corporate executives!)

One's overall relationship to one's government (in the Sanskrit texts, one's "favor with the king") is displayed in karma bhava. 

See the charts of Al Gore and G.W. Bush noting their high levels of government service.  Both were educated at the power-center colleges, and are scions of national  leadership families.  Both have rising planets, giving strong personalities.  Both share a rising L7-L8 Saturn, showing both stamina and high risk for political assassination.  

L-10 of G.W. Bush occupies dhana bhava, indicating that his government service dharma is controlled by his birth family.  Al Gore, with the same Mesha 10th, has L-10 rising, indicating that -- although he too is the scion of a wealthy influential family -- his government service dharma is his own.

Positive conditions in karma bhava show the father's support for his king, or his own government's values.  This father believes in the goodness of his own country, and raises his children to trust and respect their government.

Negative conditions in karma bhava will show that the father's values do not align well with government policies.  The individual will have been raised in an anti-government home.  Native may feel alienated from his own country, have no power to serve others, and deny the validity of the rule of law.  In extreme cases he may choose a life of crime.

Large corporations function as extensions of government (or vice versa!) as they are governed by elaborate hierarchies and the rule of law.  High-level administrative work in a large corporation is also a function of a strong karma bhava.

Example:

Attorney who handles government policy issues within a large corporate law firm.  His legal work has a substantial effect on national policy, but he does not need to run for office to achieve an impressive national influence.  He is privileged to work in a comfortable business setting, where he runs no risk of assassination and suffers no campaigning stress.

Note: not only karma bhava but also 10th-from-Sun, 10th-from-Moon, and 10th Dashamsha are auspiciously arranged to provide "favor from the king".  However he has no rising planets. The L-5 from Chandra AND the L-5 from radix lagna are destroyed in domain-8. Therefore the personality is not itself "kingly" and he does not enter politics.

Social Prestige 

"Achievement" in the sense of achieving important goals, is found in house-11. But the social recognition we crave for having accomplished those goals is found in the recognition house-10.

Material-world status markers - position, title, social dignity, father's wealth - are seen through the 10th house and also the 10th-from-10th, yuvati bhava. 

Even when the 10th house is not itself distinguished, mahadasha of L10 or auspicious transits through karma bhava can bring social recognition for achievements.

A strong 10th at birth shows natural ambition to achieve leadership status, but ambition can also temporarily increase with positive dasha or transits as above.  Note that auspicious transits to any house only have effect if the transiting planets is ALSO simultaneously mahadasha pati or bhukti pat!

Father's wealth

As 2nd-from-9th, karma bhava shows the father's wealth and values.  

Generally, leaders are born into leadership families.  The child with a robust karma bhava has a wealthy father and who himself received a good education and has strong values.  

To have full strength, karma bhava must be free of malefic influences, and L10 must be in a good angle to the Moon.

Vehicle of first spouse

4th-from any house is the vehicle of that house.  For example, your mother's car is your 7th house (7th is 4th-from-4th).  If you have a troubled 7th house, you'll have a difficult first marriage and your mom will have unreliable cars, be scared of driving, or vehicular karma of some variety!

As the 4th-from-7th, karma bhava indicates the vehicle(s) of the first spouse. If you have a distinguished 10th house, your first spouse will have nice cars.  If your 10th house is really glamorous but your own 4th house is so-so, your first spouse will have much nicer cars than you!

Losses to close friends

Twelfth from any house shows losses to that house.  Labhastana =s friends & community.  Karma bhava as 12th-from-11th shows losses of connection to the marketplace and losses to your community, especially to your closest friends who care for you like older siblings would.  

If your 10th house has strong negative planets, you might notice your close friends take a lot of financial, emotional, spiritual, or emotional hits during your lifetime.  If your friends (however much you might love them) aren't able to support you well because of their losses, then your own social rank will suffer.

Usually if the 10th house is OK, losses to friends will occasionally occur, but only during dasha-bhukti of the 10th lord, or unfavorable transits to karma bhava.

From a business point of view, the executive who leaves the company and takes a prestige public leadership position - perhaps temporarily entering government service for a defined period of time - is demonstrating the "loss" effects of house-10. Government leadership positions typically pay much less than equivalent roles in private business, which are more associated with gains. 

In addition, the character of a true leader is usually somewhat sacrificial financially: they are less concerned with their own gains and more concerned with the welfare of the people.  House-10 does generally create a loss of "potential" wealth to those whose virtues include authentic leadership, and sincere concern for public welfare.

Children's Enemies, Debt, or Illness

6th-from-5th  indicates the debt (6th) of one's children (5th).  Since karma bhava is an auspicious house, the parent who accepts responsibility for his child's debts usually receives public respect.

Ari bhava (6th house) contains major imbalances, such as medical problems & consumer debt.  Children's financial problems, medical problems, and other forms of animosity both internal & external, will affect the parent during the parent's mahadasha of L-10.

6th-from any house tells about enemies, debt, and disease originating in that house.  Karma bhava bespeaks the illness, if any, of the first child.  Second child's illness 6th-from-7th would be Vyaya bhava, third child's illness 6th-from-9th is dhana bhava.  Etc.

Trauma to Younger Siblings

As 8th-from-3rd, karma bhava can signify catastrophic changes affecting the native's younger siblings. Also, if 10th-house planets are auspicious, subsequent healing of trauma, within the period of L-10.

Hidden matters erupting into the lives of teammates, exposure of secrets during small-group meetings, sudden changes in self-made wealth and configuration of neighbors, are all encompassed in the period of L-10. 

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.