“You are the in-dweller of all beings because you are the Self of all; what then shall I speak unto one who knows my inmost thoughts?”
-Vishnupurana 1.12.72
A circle does not have a starting point the starting point has to be assumed. Time and Space sweep a vast circle in the sky and there exist no straight lines in these dimensions. Therefore, the sky has the appearance of an inverted bowl. The orbits of the planets in the vicinity of a star and the orbits of the stars within a galaxy are all nearly circular because of the angular momentum gained by them at the time of their formation. The Sun, a fairly average faint and inconspicuous star amongst tens of billions of other stars and which from a distance of one hundred fifty million kilometres gives all heat and light to sustain all non-living and living things and beings on Earth, is itself travelling at a speed of over nineteen kilometres per second some two-thirds of the way out from the centre of our Galaxy. The Sun and its entire system moves in a near circular path around a central axis lying somewhere in the direction of Sagittarius. It takes about two hundred twenty five million years for our Sun and its entire system to complete one orbit moving towards a point in between Hercules and Vega. The orbit of the Earth lies in a plane which passes through the Sun and is called the Ecliptic. The rotation axis of the Earth is tilted by an angle of 23°27’ called the angle of Obliquity of the Ecliptic. Thus, the Sun appears to move northwards and southwards relative to the Earth.
The Vernal Equinox which is the direction from the Earth to the Sun is used as a standard direction in all astronomical co-
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ordinate systems; this direction is also called the First point of Aries. According to the Surya Siddhanta this point lies ten minutes east of the yogatara of Revati nakshatra marking the end-portion of Pisces and is believed to move once around the orbit of the Earth in a period of 25827 years. Its motion is retrograde at the rate of 50.2438” per year or one degree in 72 years or one Dwadasamsa or 2°30’ in 179 years. However, the Hindu texts have maintained that this precession is not continuous in nature but oscillates up to 70° either side of the First point of Aries in a cycle of 7200 years and that the rate of precession is not uniform. In astrological terms, the Sun, which is a star, the Moon, which is a satellite of the Earth, and the two Nodes of the Moon are also called the planets or grahas along with the five prominently visible planets of our Solar system. All celestial bodies rotate on their own axes, this rotation having been imparted by angular momentum and contraction of matter at the time of their formation. The rotation of the Sun differs because it is gaseous throughout. Mercury, Venus and Mars have their rotation locked into an orbital motion and the rotation of planets and their orbits around the Sun are co-related because the planets not only attract each other to cause deviation in their orbits but also cause counter-attraction on the Sun. Thus, it is seen that the Sun does not follow a straight line in the path of its motion but appears to wobble about through space which is an effect mainly produced by Jupiter and Saturn with the mass-centre of the Solar system lying very near the Sun. The mutual perturbations of planets cause their orbits to rotate in their own plane as a result there is a steady change in the direction of their perihelion, for our Earth the shift is 1,165 arc seconds per century or 1,11,270 years for one round. All members of the Solar system exist in the glory of the Sun and reflect the unabsorbed energy received from the Sun. Jupiter alone radiates more energy than it receives owing to gravitation energy or gravitational separation of Hydrogen and Helium. The extra-Saturnine planets do not figure in Hindu Astrology, may be they were not known or maybe they were too far away and took too long a time to complete their orbit which time was far more than the average life-span of human beings and therefore, they could not have had an immediate impact on the destinies of individual beings on Earth. Whatever be the reason for their exclusion or noninclusion we certainly know that in some mysterious manner each change brought about by the movement of the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, the planets, the Galactic plane, the stars, and their reciprocal masses and relative distances guides the destiny of all beings on Earth and theirs’ is a collective impact.
Astrology begins from the stage when a very firm grip over the various principles of Astronomy has been achieved. Our ancient astronomers have said that Astrology is intended for prediction and prediction itself depends on the Rising Ascendant or the Lagna and the other position of the planets, which positions involve astronomical calculations. Therefore, Jyotisha i.e. Astrology, consists of Ganitha, the mathematical part, and Phalita, the predictive part, and is more a science of tendencies which assumes that planets influence the activity of man and hence his destiny, it actually speaks of the fruits of Poorvapunya i.e. the results of the karmas of previous births. The Hindu belief in the seemingly never-ending cycle of birth, life, death and re-birth is deeply rooted which belief has revealed the uniform regularities of nature and helped formulate the Law of Uniformity of Nature. It has also been said that the knowledge of previous birth is revealed to him alone who has knowledge of his own Sanskaras. Since all events are believed to re-occur in a predeterminable manner, therefore, Astrology can be said to be the study of man’s response to stimuli and that planets simply offer a lawful channel for the outward operation of cause-effect equilibriums each man has set in motion in the past.
All available ancient texts on Hindu Astrology are in Sanskrit language. Jyotisa is an integral part of the Vedas. The Rig Veda provides sufficient astronomical data. From the mantras RV 1.116.12 and RV 1.117.22 it becomes known that at the time of their revelation the Winter Solstice was in Aries (Circa 6500 BCE). The Vedanga Jyotisa (Circa 1800 BCE) that comprises of 36 mantras in the Rig Veda recension and 45 mantras in the Yajur Veda recension with 29 mantras in common is credited to Rishi Lagadha who along with his contemporaries must have been aware of the predictive part and also about the earlier and more exhaustive works which have not come down to us but must have been then in use. The present day Hindu Astrology is mainly guided by Parasara’s Hora Shastra. Parasara, son of Shakti and father of Vyasa through Satyavati, is a prominent poet of the Rig Veda. He was the grandson of Rishi Vashishta. He lived long before the beginning of the present Kali Yuga that started according to Aryabhat at sun-rise on 18th February 3102 BCE when at Ujjain all seven Taragrahas occupying Revati nakshatra within the arc of 10° were not visible and Rahu was exactly overhead. His Hora Shastra, believed to originally contain more than twelve thousand verses, became lost a long time ago and was not available at the time of Bhattopala who in the year 832 A.D. completed his commentary on Brihat Jataka and other works of Varahamihira. Jataka Chandrika of Venkateswara, who lived after Bhattopala, is taken to be an extract of Parasara’s Hora Shastra the text that was certainly available during the time of Varahamihira who seems to have had before him works of all great masters including those of Vishnu Gupta more famously known as Chanakya. Parasara is believed to have evolved the Rasi Chakra.
The ancient Hindu astrologers seem to have confined their exercises to the seven planets - the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn; Rahu and Ketu are referred to but rarely. In fact Parasara is known to have named fourteen planets, the five extra planets being Dhuma, Vyatipata, Parivesa, Indrachapa and Upaketu which are all actually invisible mathematical solar positions. The Rig Veda does refer to the sum of thirty four comprising of twenty seven nakshatra divisions of the Zodiac and the seven planets which was the general format then in use. But then, the same anthology also refers to the sum total of forty nine by adding to the said thirty four the two Chayagrahas that are the Nodes of the Moon, the twelve rasis or signs and the Ayanamasa. Varahamihira favoured Satyacharya’s dasa-system but Satyacharya did not deviate from the basic Parasari principles. The Egyptian astrologer Manetho or Manitha was a disciple of Satyacharya who is also believed to have authored the Dhruva Nadi. Varahamihira was a contemporary of the great Sanskrit poet and dramatist Kalidasa who is believed to have written Uttarakalamrita a work on astrology based on the Parasari system. A cave-wall inscription in Prakrit and Sanskrit recently found in the Bhanpura Tehsil of Madhya Pradesh has revealed that Kalidasa was a contemporary of Shibi Janpal dating back to the First or the Second century before the birth of Jesus Christ. Laghu Parasari is the concised version of the predictive side of the Hora Shastra and the Parasari system is most widely followed having stood the test of time and because it is simple and unambiguous. Parasara who had conducted a reassessment of the predictive techniques then in vogue does not make any distinction between a Rasi and a Bhava i.e. between a sign and a house, and advocates the Equal House system. There are of course many scholars who relying on certain verses of the Fifteenth Chapter of Mantreswara’s Phaladipika insist that the Rasi and the Bhava is not the same. The Unequal House concept later on championed by Sripati who sought to re-orient astrology introduced many needless complications that need not have been included. No doubt Astrology ventures into the Unknown and fearlessly seeks that which is effort fully known but it is based more on the inferences drawn after the mathematical application of the approved laws and the various significators. Each nakshatra, each sign and each planet is a vibrant creative significator whose significance has to be methodically ascertained and judged. These are not mathematical questions to be decided if it were so then the planetary combinations and their associations foretelling specific and certain events would be meaningless or could not have been conceived.
The word, Yoga, in Sanskrit means addition or union. Panini has provided three meanings to the root Yuj from which the word Yoga is derived; those three meanings are a) to join properly, b) to control judicially, and c) to integrate. In Hindu Astrology, the term Yoga has been used to indicate the Soli-lunar distances and the planetary situations, associations and combinations. The planetary situation, association and combination involve the planets, the rasis, the bhavas, the relationship of planets with the nakshatras and their lords, the amsas which are the various sub-divisions of a rasi and their lords etc.; vis-a-vis the lagna, the natal Moon and the twelve bhavas. Thus, yogas are formed when one planet, sign or house is related to another of the same kind or different kind by way of placement, aspect or conjunction. It is the active consideration of planetary yogas and the active consideration of the planetary dasas i.e. the directional effects, which are the two most important factors that distinguish Hindu Astrology from Western Astrology and lend support to the indigenous origin of the former system. All Hindu texts have described these yogas and assigned their results based on the nature and qualities of each planet, the rasi, nakshatras and amsas owned and occupied relative to each other. As such, prediction is based on all these factors taken into account collectively. Therefore, according to the Hindu Astrology prediction is broadly based on the strength, nature, aspect and combination of planets, on the qualities and the strength of the rasis and bhavas owned, occupied and aspected by the planets, and on the influence of the yogas. The Hindu Astrology basically requires the discerning eye to be able to identify the yogas and then apply the prescribed results judicially in accordance with the established principles.
Of course, there is a view long held that predictions based on nakshatras is more reliable and that rasis i.e. signs, do not represent an advance over the nakshatras but mere simplicity at the cost of reliability. There certainly was in use in the past a wellworked out regular and popular system of prediction based on the nakshatra-wise placement of planets but the very little information now available is insufficient to reconstruct that method. As it really is, we rarely make use of the Saptavimsama sub-division of a rasi, also known as the Bhamsa and the Nakshatramsa, even though we do not ignore an ancient principle according to which planets who have been assigned lordship over nakshatras also give the results indicated by the lord of the nakshatra occupied by them e.g. if the Moon owning Rohini, Hasta and Sravana is in Chitra ruled by Mars then it will in the course of its own dasa in addition to its own significations also give results assigned to Mars depending upon the type of relationship otherwise established.
All yogas are based on certain fundamental principles; these stand described in all standard texts. However, there are several instances where the texts do offer differing constitution and interpretation of one and the same named yogas. Take the case of the Gajakesari yoga which comes into being when Jupiter is situated in a kendra from the Moon, but according to one school this yoga will arise only when Jupiter and the bright-half Moon are in mutual 10th and 4th position in Pisces, Taurus, Sagittarius and Aquarius. There is yet another text which tells us that the Moon and Jupiter in mutual-kendras will not give rise to Gajakesari yoga if either the Moon occupies Scorpio or Mercury happens to be in the 5th house from the Moon. One more text would have us believe that this yoga will arise if the Moon and Jupiter combine in Cancer or in Capricorn even if Jupiter in Capricorn is combust even though combustion or debilitation or the evil influences of inimical planets or signs spoil yoga-formations.
Take another case, that of the lord of the 11th house occupying the 12th house from the lagna as giving rise to the dreaded Daridra yoga indicating excessive expenditure, waste and loss of gains and poverty and so on, but then there is also the view expressed that the lord of the 11th house occupying either the 3rd or the 12th will produce and confer good results alone provided the lord of the 11th for a Chara-lagna does not occupy the 12th wherein situated it may became a strong maraka if it were to give wealth and good position. Hereat experience alone comes to our rescue. Learning and practicing the art of prediction is not at all an easy task. Those who know astrology are aware that not all texts cover the description of all known widely recognised possible planetary combinations and associations. The general belief that intuition plays a greater role is ill-founded, in reality intuition is nothing but the unconscious re-call of memory from the depths of the sub-conscious mind, and memory actually is all that which we have learnt and experienced.
A yoga may be good or it may be bad in its effect. The good i.e. the auspicious, yogas are called the Shubha-yogas or simply yogas, the bad i.e. evil, yogas are called the Ashubha-yogas or simply avayogas. The Raja yogas indicate a high degree of power and authority, and the Dhana yogas, a greater degree of material possessions. Each lagna i.e. ascendant, has one or more planets capable of conferring exceptionally good results, they are known as the Yogakarakas. The yoga results are indicated by the circumstances in which the birth has taken place and the particular course followed by life from birth to death. Invariably the results are felt the most during the course of the maha-dasa or antra-dasa of the planets contributing to the formation of the yogas or the avayogas. The yogas are of no avail if the yoga-giving dasas do not run their course in the life of persons standing to gain. Needless to state, the dasa of a malefic planet will produce bad results and the antra-dasa of a malefic in the dasa of another malefic will produce evil results. The Udu System i.e. the dasa system, referred to is based on the nakshatra occupied by the Moon at the time of one’s birth. Therefore, it is imperative that the status of the lords of the nakshatras occupied by the planets and by the rising point of the lagna is properly determined.
The Sun onwards all planets do not in the course of their dasa and antra-dasa confer results in accordance to the bhava formed by their rasi as counted from the lagna alone but according to their particular associations. Emphatically said, all those who take birth remain under the influence and sway of the good and the bad associations formed by the planets vis-a-vis each other and their respective signs and nakshatras. The particular kind of association formed by them plays a vital role in their effects and in the matter of prediction. The kinds of association invariably established by the planets are many and varying, some independent and some mutually complementing. The present day Hindu Astrology on a broad basis comprises of the Parasari System, the Jaimini system and the Tajika system which all depend upon the accuracy of the ascending degree or point and the placement, strength and quality of each of the nine planets in relation to the lagna and other bhavas counted from the lagna. The ancient method of calculating the lagna yields fairly accurate results which method symbolically related to the Ecliptic is based on the angle of deviation or rotation of the Earth after sun-rise and is called the Ishta whose importance cannot be over-looked. In this context we are told that irrespective of the rasi rising in the lagna and the position and strength of the planets, signs and bhavas, the time of birth coinciding with the time of the exact mid-day or mid-night by itself gives rise to Raja yoga.
The so-called natural benefics and the so-called natural malefics are not always benefics or always malefics for all lagnas. The terms, Shubha (auspicious planets or grahas) and Papa (inauspicious planets or grahas), have therefore been used to render a more appropriate distinction; even Papas can confer good results. Thus, those planets who are Papa by virtue of their lordship of the 3rd, the 6th or the 11th bhava if they be associated with a yogakaraka give good results in the course of their own antra-dasa in the dasa of that yogakaraka. Out of all twelve bhavas the lagna bhava is of paramount importance and the 5th and the 9th bhavas are equal to it. Accordingly because the lords of these bhavas confer good results a natural malefic owning any one of these trikonas turns into a functional benefic and tends to produce auspicious results. Consequently a natural benefic not owning any one of these auspicious bhavas becomes a functional malefic particularly if it were to simultaneously own the 3rd, the 6th or the 11th. Mars and Saturn, basically vested with malefic propensities, turn auspicious by owning any one of the two trikonas and they also become yogakarakas by virtue of their simultaneous ownership of a trikona and a kendra as is in the case of Cancer lagna and Taurus lagna in respect of Mars and Saturn. For Cancer lagna Mars becomes a functional benefic yogakarka but since the lordships of 3rd, 6th and the 11th rest with Mercury, Jupiter and Venus in that order these three natural benefics act as functional malefics. All planets when owning the lagna are deemed auspicious as also those that happen to aspect the lagna.
The 9th bhava or the house counted from the lagna or even the Chandra-lagna signifies Poorvapunya, Dharma and Bhagya, which are all auspicious significations. Therefore, the lord of the 9th house is deemed to be a benefic at par with the lord of the lagna. Thus, the 9th bhava and its lord invite immediate attention they should not be weak or afflicted. If the lord of the 9th happens to occupy a trikasthana then the person will not be fortunate, if it is in the 6th house aspected by an inimical planet then there will be suffering and ill-fortune but if it is situated in the lagna aspected by Jupiter from a trikona then the person will be vested with royal favours and honours. According to a school of thought only those planets which are in the 9th house in conjunction with Mercury can give rise to Raja yoga and confer a position of power, planets otherwise in the 9th devoid of an association with Mercury and Jupiter do not make one fortunate though a papagraha situated therein in its exaltation, own or friendly sign invariably does. The lords of inauspicious bhavas tend to become auspicious when situated in the 9th house e.g. if the lords of the 8th and the 12th conjoin in the 9th or in the 5th then the former gives good results and the latter makes one rich and fortunate.
A planet situated in any one of the twelve rasis by itself constitutes a yoga or an avayoga owing to the relationship it establishes with the rasi-lord and other bhava-lords with reference to the lagna and each other but its mere occupation of a sign as such need not necessarily produce the results assigned for such an occupation. There are several factors that decide the actual results. Jupiter situated in Cancer in its sign of exaltation is said to make one wealthy through many sources, acquire great learning, possess polite manner of speech and be held in high esteem. Jupiter represents wisdom and happiness and when exalted accentuates these benefic indications. Not all who have Jupiter exalted enjoy results to the same extent, not all are equally rich, wise and happy. The results vary according to the bhavas owned and occupied by Jupiter with reference to the lagna and the natal Moon, with reference to the relationship with other planets and with reference to the status of the lord of the lagna, the Sun and the Moon and its own. The lord of the lagna relegated to a trika even otherwise weakens the impact of the other yoga-giving friendly well-placed planets, a similar result ensues if the Moon is not strong and its dispositor does not occupy a kendra or a trikona in strength. Exalted planets if combust or retrograde or in neecha or inimical navamsa can even produce evil results. If the Sun is also in its deep debilitation or if the Moon in Scorpio is not aspected by any planet or if the dispositor of the planet in exaltation is ill-placed and weak the results assigned for the planet in exaltation or in its own sign will not be experienced. No planet acts alone, it becomes an active participant by having established an unavoidable relationship with one or more other planets. Laghu Parasari tells us that the lords of the kendras and the trikonas even if they be tainted with malefic propensities become yogakarakas provided they establish a powerful Sambandha i.e. relationship.
The basic sambandhas are of four kinds, - 1) through the mutual exchange of rasis e.g. Mars in Leo and the Sun in Aries or Scorpio, 2) through mutual aspect between planets e.g. Saturn in Aries and Mars in Libra or Capricorn, 3) when one planet aspects the other planet but in turn is not aspected by the other planet and 4) through conjunction of two or more planets in the same sign. There is also the fifth kind of sambandha that of planets occupying mutual-kendras or mutual-trikonas. Planets devoid of sambandha are restricted in their effects; the effect if any will only be nominal but in respect of Sudharmi planets the emphasis will be on the bhavaownership which renders those planets active significators. It is obvious that yogas are basically geometrical configurations effected by planets that are in sambandha which configurations indicate the possible pattern of life of individuals and even of matters mundane. The results of research conducted by scientists have shown that when Saturn and Jupiter are conjunct or in mutual-square position then the radio disturbances become more severe. In fact planets in their orbital motions tend to cause various turbulences in the energy-field dispersed within and outside the parameters of their respective orbits around the Sun. Astrology is a geo-centric concept and therefore all yoga-formations are studied with reference to the Earth as the focal point.
The most obvious creator and sustainer of the energyfield of our system is the Sun. The corona of the Sun above the chromospheres remains in a dynamic equilibrium expanding under its own pressure gradient against the Sun’s gravitational field into the inter-planetary space. The flow of material out of the corona in the solar-wind is composed of highly ionized matter and since matter cannot cross the magnetic-field its impact on the magnetic-fields of planets is considerable. The solar-wind sweeping past planets distorts their planetary-magnetism and this distortion of the interplanetary magnetic-field reflects the Cosmic rays and is associated with shock-waves emanating from the Sun that spread out in the entire inter-planetary space and even beyond. The magnetosphere of planets is capable of trapping matter which being electrically charged causes radio-emissions and also significant changes in particular environments. All these forces and changes affect the lifepatterns of all living beings on Earth. The mass and distance, and the composition of the atmosphere varying the turbulences caused by the planets are not the same at all angular positions but the variance being systematic it is easily predictable. These angular positions of planets are the basis of all yoga-formations
The results about all astrological problems should be deduced from the relevant bhava, its lord, its karaka and their respective dispositors in the light of the intricacy displayed by the various yogaformations. Take the instance of the lord of the sign in which the lord of the lagna is situated occupying a trikona bhava and the lord of that trikonabhava occupying a kendrasthana receiving the aspect of the lord of the lagna or of its own dispositor or if its dispositor being in its exaltation sign aspects the lord of the lagna. It will then be seen that several planets modulating their own energy-fields will simultaneously come into play and influence each other. Such types of planetary permutations are not of rare occurrences and figure quite prominently in most horoscopes. Such yoga-formations are frequently noticed and also stand duly classified e.g. the Parijata yoga as described by Vaidyanatha, it will arise in case the lord of the sign or navamsa occupied by the lord of the lagna is in its sign of exaltation or is in a kendra or in a trikona. However, most such yoga descriptions do not include the role of Rahu or Ketu but there is a strong opinion held to the effect that in the case of Aprakasha or Chayagrahas it is the lord of the sign in which they are placed that tells what to except rather than the planet or planets conjoining with them or aspecting them. Rahu and Ketu become more and more powerful than the bhava they occupy and the bhavas whose lords are associated with them; when they are in a kendra or in a trikona in conjunction with their dispositor a Raja yoga is caused; if a benefic occupying its own sign were to conjoin with Ketu then that bhava acquires exceptional strength to do good.
The failure of the yogas to give the expected results can also be due to the weak status of the dispositors of the yoga-forming planets rather than the weakness of the concerned planets, the particular location and the relative strength of the dispositor cause significant changes in the prescribed results. Mars situated in a kendra from the Moon proves auspicious, in case the Moon is in Aries and Mars is exalted in the 10th house from the Moon a Raja yoga is said to arise. Then, Saturn becomes the dispositor of Mars, if Saturn were to conjoin with the Moon in Aries or if it aspects the Moon from Libra sign or aspects both the Moon and Mars or is in conjunction with Mars the yoga results will differ in respect of all these four situations. A Raja yoga is produced if the lord of the sign occupied by the lord of the 2nd occupying an upachayasthana is exalted but in a particular nativity only marginal results were noticed owing to the dispositor of the lagna-lord occupying the 8th house from the lagna which is not a favourable location. Neelkanth in very clear terms states that there will be no success or realisation of the object if the lord of the sign occupied by the lord of the lagna is in an unfavourable house. There will be no yoga or Raja yoga if the dispositor of the lord of the lagna is combust. In a Libra lagna nativity the lord of the lagna exalted in the 6th house had a combust Jupiter conjoining with an exalted Sun in the 12th from the exalted Moon and from the 7th house aspecting the lagna occupied by Mars, this native led an ordinary life and did not enjoy any Raja yoga benefits. That the dispositors of yogacausing planets play a very crucial role is evidenced by the many yoga descriptions made by the texts, for example, with regard to arishtabhanga all texts are found to reiterate that the lord of the sign occupied by the Moon at birth situated in the lagna aspected by all planets destroys all evils.
The classification and grouping of yogas has always been a difficult exercise, the texts differ in the manner of their arrangement. The Hindu Astrology confers the utmost importance not only to the lagna but also to the sign occupied by the Moon due to the equal effect which these two exert, the Moon is the body and the lagna is the breath of life. Generally, the yogas are known as Chandra yogas, Surya yogas, the Panchmahapurusha yogas, Nabhas yogas, Raja yogas, Dhana yogas, Arishta yogas, Daridra yogas, Reka yogas, Parvarajya yogas and so forth, but the common factor to be reckoned with in the case of all these yogas is the relative residential strength of the planets and of the bhavas involved whether by ownership or by occupation or by aspect.
The lagna and the Chandra-lagna gain strength by being aspected by a planet, preferably by their own lords; when their respective lords are strongly placed and also form benefic auspicious yogas good results are anticipated failing which the yogas and the Raja yogas they happen to form become defunct. If at the time of birth the lagna or the Moon is not aspected by any planet then the results of Raja yogas do not fructify. Malefic planets should certainly not afflict the lagna, the Moon, the yoga-causing planets and the bhavas involved, whichever bhava as is associated with or aspected by either their respective lords or benefic planets gains vitality, the e