The munthā's house — The tenth bhāva — Karma
Traditional interpretation — Parāśara transmission · BPHS, bhāva significations; Phaladīpikā II
Karma bhāva is the zenith — the visible summit of the chart. To it the texts assign action in the world: profession and public deeds, rank and reputation, honour from authority, and the deeds by which a life is known. Structurally it is doubly favoured, a kendra and an upachaya at once: a pillar house whose results also strengthen with time. Grahas here act in full view; classical opinion holds that even natural malefics gain dignity and effectiveness at the tenth.
The reading rests on the tenth lord's condition — dignity, house, associations — on the occupants of the bhāva, and on the aspects reaching it; the computed chart beside this passage carries those facts. The kārakas Sun, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn are consulted for the character of the work. A supported tenth is read as consequential action; which support exists is computed, not assumed.