What are the 12 Vedic Astrology houses and what do they represent?

The 12 houses (Bhavas) in Vedic Astrology represent different areas of life, arranged in the birth chart (Kundali) from the Ascendant (Lagna) onwards: 1st House (Lagna): Self, personality, physical body. 2nd House (Dhana): Wealth, family, speech. 3rd House (Sahaja): Siblings, courage, communication. 4th House (Sukha): Mother, home, happiness, vehicles. 5th House (Putra): Children, education, creativity, past-life merit (Purva Punya). 6th House (Ripu): Enemies, diseases, debts, service. 7th House (Kalatra): Marriage, partnerships, business. 8th House (Mrityu): Death, transformation, longevity, inheritance, occult. 9th House (Dharma): Father, fortune, religion, pilgrimage, guru. 10th House (Karma): Career, status, public life, action. 11th House (Labha): Gains, income, elder siblings, wishes fulfilled. 12th House (Vyaya): Losses, foreign lands, moksha, spiritual liberation. The 9th house (Pitru Bhava in some traditions) and 5th house (Putra Bhava) are directly relevant to ancestral rites — afflictions here indicate Pitru Dosh requiring remedial Pind Daan and Shraddha.