Kāraka

A kāraka ('one who makes, agent') is a graha taken to signify a particular person or theme. The naisargika (natural) kārakas are fixed, such as the Sun for the father, the Moon for the mother and Venus for the spouse, while Jaimini's cara (variable) kārakas are assigned in each chart by the degrees the grahas have travelled within their signs. The texts also name a kāraka for each of the twelve houses.