Phaladīpikā ('the lamp of effects') of Maṇṭreśvara is a 15th-century synthesis of classical jyotiṣa, condensing the pre-classical literature into 28 highly readable chapters. Chapter 1 sets the foundation: each graha is described in compact verses covering form, deity, complexion, gender, element, and natural quality. The opening declaration — sūryaḥ ātmā kīrtitaḥ śāstrakāraiḥ ('Sūrya is declared the soul by the śāstra-authors') — establishes the kāraka-of-ātman framework that runs through all later chapters.
Read this chapter alongside BPHS Ch. 2 (the same topic from Pārāśara's hand). The two are largely congruent — Maṇṭreśvara is a careful synthesiser who preserves Pārāśara while contributing his own refinements, particularly on physical descriptions and the ordering of significations.