Jyotisha through the ages

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Dear All, The following article is from : http://www.karmicrhythms.com/pe2.htm Love and regards,Sreenadh===============================Jyotisha through the ages

------ © Dr. Satya Prakash Choudhary

Jyotisha,

which is often referred to in the west as Vedic astrology, is an

integral part of Indian life. It provides us with light on life. The

ancient seers used it primarily for timing the rituals around which the

Vedic culture was based. Broadly speaking ancient Indian arts and

sciences has gone through four phases- Vedic, Puranic, Tantric and Modern .

There

are two versions in vogue. According to the first the three traditions

- the Vedic, Puranic and Tantric/Agamic are equally old and

co-existent. It is just that they reveal the Truth in various ways. The

other version prevalent is that the Vedic tradition is the oldest

followed by the Puranic. Whatever may be the case, one thing is

certain. Historically ancient wisdom seems to have been through various

phases with each phase adopting/emphasizing one of the three traditions

predominantly. In other words the Veda, the Purana and Tantra rose to

popularity during various periods historically.

Veda

The

Vedas are the most ancient spiritual literature of India . 'Veda'

literally means knowledge, knowledge of truth based upon direct

perception. This knowledge is not theoretical. It is based on an actual

experience of Cosmic Consciousness. Such knowledge flows naturally

through the seer in the state of pure consciousness. It was revealed

knowledge springing from the One source, the source of all that is. The

Vedas as they are handed down to us are the revelations of many seers

who had achieved such high states of pure consciousness. Nobody can be

said to be the author, since the knowledge is universal and eternal.

The ancient seers and their disciples preserved this knowledge and

handed it down to the next generations, with each generation learning

it orally. It was many thousand years later that the Vedas were

actually written. It is still a living tradition in India , albeit with

some differences. The Rg vedic sages had identified the luminaries, the

planets, the nodes and the 27 asterisms or nakshatras. They were

primarily concerned with reckoning time in order to perform the

sacrifices according to certain cycles. The nodes too have received the

attention of the sages. In line with the principles underlying the Rg

veda, a vedic astrologer should actually use the nakshatras and the

nodes more than what is being done now by the vast majority.

Purana

Many

thousand years later the Puranas taught the spiritual principles of the

Vedas in the form of mythology. Concepts and ideas were symbolized as

characters and depicted in the Puranas. The Puranas are probably

semi-historical and mythological in nature. Whatever their actual

nature, when demystified, the Puranas also speak of the same Vedic

truths. But one should be cautious and not take the Puranas as an

infallible authority. In fact some great thinkers of India have

rejected the Puranas as not being fully authentic. Intolerance shown in

some puranas to the Jains, or Buddhists, or even rival sects within

Hinduism is quite often due to later additions, interpolations and

expansions by certain over zealous followers.

Let

me explain more about the puranas. As the Linga Purana says, it could

be possible that sage Parasara taught the original Purana Samhita to

his son Vyasa who in turn taught it to Romaharshana. Thus though all

the puranas are attributed to Vyasadeva himself, the texts of the

eighteen puranas were written by various disciples. This has resulted

in some differences between the texts. Moreover, most of these texts

that we see today in their present and final form were rewritten with

many interpolations between 300AD and 1000AD. But earlier versions of

the puranas were in existence even during 500BC. This also explains the

differences and contradictions between the puranas. Hence to take

everything in the puranas as final or authentic in a historical or

factual sense may be erroneous. At the same time, this should not deter

us from benefiting from the living wisdom. Moreover there are many

gems, facts and spiritual truths in these myths in spite of the

interpolations. Most of the interpolations are obvious to a discerning

reader in their subject and style. Some accounts are amplified beyond

their primary scope. At times efforts to glorify or elevate particular

schools of thought or deities are made in these interpolations. But it

is possible to still feel the common spirit and the original sense of

the myth.

Agama

Later came the period of Agamas, when Tantra ' rose to' popularity

(what I mean is that Tantra existed even before this time, but ROSE to

popularity during this period of the Agamas. In fact Tantra is as old

as the Veda and could possibly be related to the 'Vratya' culture whose

remnants could have survived in the tantric tradition. There are many

internal references to the Vratyas in the Vedas themselves.

Unfortunately Tantra has been misrepresented and abused so much that

today Tantra is associated with black magic and inferior practices and

the very word carries a negative connotation to the lay person). The

period of the Agamas was the period of techniques. A majority of the

people had come far away from the natural state of the mind. With this

came the need for techniques and formulae. Most of the works written in

this period reflect this attitude. Nevertheless the Vedic principles

still remained the basis. Remedial measures like yantras, gems etc

reveal influences of the Tantric period. Let me add a note here.

The

essence of Tantra is Vedic while the myths and deities are Puranic in

origin. Present day Hinduism, it should be noted, is a mixture of all

these approaches. In fact, a lot in Hinduism is closer to practical

tantra than we imagine. The principal Vedic deities like Prajapati,

Indra, Agni, Varuna, Soma etc., are not really an integral part of

popular Hinduism today. There are almost no temples to these Vedic

deities in India today, while all the key deities popular in present

day India- like Shiva (the auspicious), Vishnu (the sustainer),

Saraswati (patron Goddess of learning), Durga, Kali, Lalita (all

aspects of Sakti) who are more Tantric and Puranic in origin- have

hundred thousands of temples throughout India. Most of the scriptures

today are at root Tantric- if not in source -at least in aspiration. It

is hard to differentiate between the vedantic and tantric traditions in

present day Hinduism, as they are intricately woven into each other. To

say that Tantra came later and influenced the Vedic (vedantic)

tradition, is far from the truth. Both the traditions seem to have

existed since ancient times, influencing each other. Today even an

orthodox Advaitic parampara like the Sringeri math, prescribes agamic

(tantric) practices for its followers. Thus both the Tantric and Vedic

(vedantic) traditions are co-existent and often intricately linked.

It

now becomes clear that to understand any ancient Indian art or science

all these three aspects are to be examined. So too with Jyotisha. The

spiritual principles of astrology have their basis in the Vedas. The

Puranas depict the same truth as interesting stories making use of the

powers of imagination of the mind. To miss these illuminating stories

is to miss part of the teachings. Many well known classical works of

Hindu astrology have been compiled/written during the Agamic/Tantric

period and thus necessitate a basic knowledge of the Agama sastra if

one wishes to fully appreciate the context or meaning (for instance the

most elaborate description of the astrological use of 'Sarvatobhadra

chakra' is found not in an exclusively astrological text, but an agamic

text called 'Brahma Yamala'). Hence all the above tools have to be

employed in any attempt to learn Jyotisha if one hopes to glimpse even

a fraction of the truth. In other words, the spiritual principles, the

demystified stories and the classical works of astrology should all be

utilized in the learning process.

The scientific aspect of Jyotisha

Apart

from the above three aspects of learning Jyotisha, another important

point has to be kept in mind. Astrology is both an art and science. As

a science, its principles work in patterns that are replicable.

Otherwise it would cease to be a science. Unless its principles can be

demonstrated to be replicable (at least under certain conditions) the

student cannot place his/her faith in astrology as a science. For this

reason it has to be studied with a scientific attitude so that one can

discern dogma from scientific principles. This is the growing trend

during the modern times. This aspect too has to be studied, though one

should not forget that Jyotisha is not a mundane science, but a divine

science par excellence. The modern student of Jyotisha has to keep in

mind all the above factors. Hence to appreciate Jyotisha fully one has

to study all the following aspects.

The spiritual principles (Vedic and Tantric)

 

The myths (Puranic) The classical techniques and combinations given in the texts (medieval) Replicability of the patterns (scientific or modern).

Now

let us look at the history of Jyotisha briefly. It is hard to find the

exact time of the origin of Jyotisha. Scholars do not agree with each

other and are constantly changing their views. Yet one thing is

certain. The roots of Jyotisha are as old as Vedic knowledge. As for

the Vedas the traditional view is that they are 'Apauruseya'. The risis

are said to be the ones through whom the knowledge was revealed. They

are not its authors. Vedic wisdom is considered eternal. But for

historical purposes one may have to use some dating process. The

attempt here should be seen only in this light. Without taking the

dates for the Vedic or Puranic period as definite, let us try to look

at the issue objectively.

Vedic period : (>8000 BC?)

Many

scholars say that astrology wasn't yet predictive and that the vedic

emphasis was only on astronomy and muhurta (electional astrology).

While a superficial study could lead to the above view, deeper study

leaves no doubt that the Vedic hymns have a predictive basis at least

in a seed form. Here a major distinction has to be made between the

Veda, Vedanga Jyotisha and Jyothisha.

Veda, Vedanga Jyotisha and Jyotisha

The

word Jyotisha can mean both Astronomy as well as Astrology. As for the

Vedas, they do not speak directly about either, be it astrology or

astronomy. The Samhitas refer to the luminaries, constellations etc.

This knowledge may be employed for various purposes. The purpose

depends on the user too and not just the knowledge revealed. It is

Vedanga Jyotisha (which is ascribed to the late Vedic period) that is

astronomical, not the Veda or Jyotisha. It should be pointed out that

there are at least four approaches to interpreting the Veda.

 

The Adhi Yajna approach The Adhi Daivata approach The Adhyatma approach The Tritaya approach

While

the Vedas have a ritualistic basis too, the roots are even deeper,

running into psychological, philosophical and spiritual depths. Hence

the need for various approaches to interpret the Veda. Sayana has

relied on the Adhi Yajna approach largely. In this approach the

knowledge of the luminaries, Nakshatras etc is employed in fixing the

time for the vedic rituals. The rules of Vedanga jyotisha seem to have

been evolved for finding the Tithis and Nakshatras for the purposes of

the Vedic rituals or yajnas.

Vedanga Jyotisha and the Siddhantas

Lagadha is said to have * compiled*

the 36 slokas of Rgveda jyotisha. Vedanga Jyotisha is a collection of

Rg, Yajur and Atharvaveda Jyotisha. As already stated the calculations

of Vedanga Jyotisha seem to have been used for timing the Vedic rituals

(yajnas). Since the calculations of Vedanga Jyotisha needed regular

corrections which is a very tedious process, the Hindus took to the

Siddhantas at a later date. The Siddhantas have more straightforward

and accurate (in a way) methods of calculating. But where did the

Siddhantas come from? According to tradition they were already existing

(probably through the other traditions like the Puranic tradition) when

they were adopted by the later day brahmins. They represented the

teachings of various sages (a few of which seemed to be from foreign

lands too though the majority of them are the teachings of the Hindu

seers). So the Siddhantas did not spring forth suddenly, but rose to popularity due to the Brahmins favouring them due to reasons already stated.

It

is interesting to note that scholars found many verses in 'Vedanga

Jyotisha' quite obscure till the late Sri Shama Sastry came up with an

interesting exposition based on 'light from an unexpected quarter'. He

studied Jaina astrological works like 'Suryapragnapti' and

'Jyotishkaranda'. Curiously these works have preserved calculations

along the lines of 'Vedanga Jyotisha' (probably for the observance of

religious customs performed on Full Moon and New Moon days) though the

Hindus themselves took to the Siddhantas.

I

should remind the reader that I made a distinction between the 'Veda',

'Vedanga Jyotisha' and 'Jyotisha' earlier in this article. It is only

'Vedanga Jyotisha' (the reference here is to an actual text by that

name) that is astronomical while Jyotisha can mean both astronomy as

well as astrology. Of course the Veda itself does not speak directly

of either. As already pointed out, there are at least four approaches

to interpreting the Veda. The seemingly different approaches are not

contradictory or disparate. They are co-existent in a way. Thus the

Vedic hymns can be interpreted in more than one way and at more than

one level- ritualistic, psychological and spiritual. As the Skanda

Smrti suggests the Vedic corpus has three meanings ('trayorthas sarva-vedeshu' ).

These three meanings can be accommodated in an integrated and

interrelated approach which the 'Tritaya' school of thought purports to

do.

The Tritaya approach to the Veda

The

'tritaya' is a reconciliation of the adhiyajna, the adhi-daivata and

adhyatma approaches as observed by the famous scholar Sri S. K.

Ramachandra Rao in his 'Rgveda Darsana'. The adhyatma is implicit in

the adhi-daivata which in turn is implicit in the adhiyajna.

The

integrated 'tritaya' approach to the Veda is in accord with the

eligibility and capability of the student or seeker of knowledge, each

of the meanings being meant for one of the possible levels of the

student. So at one level the Vedic hymns may refer to the individual

devatas like Agni, Soma or Indra. At another level they refer to the

one principal devata who is the origin and inner ruler of all devatas.

At yet another level they may refer to the seeker's own psycho-physical

constitution ruled by the Self. In accordance with the integrated

approach some of the Vedic hymns can be interpreted to derive the

fundamental basis of Jyotisha, specifically predictive astrology. For

instance the various hymns involving the grahas refer to the

significations (karakatwas) of the grahas which form the basis of every

good prediction. Any astrologer with a good knowledge of the basics of

predictive astrology as well as some knowledge of these vedic hymns,

will be able to identify these karakatwas from the vedic hymns with

little effort. It is only a misconception that the Vedas have no

astrological basis at all. But that should be dealt with more

elaborately in a separate article.

Atharvana Jyotisha

There is an important text called 'Atharva Jyotisha'

containing 14 chapters and 162 slokas in all. As this text deals with

the weekday too, it may be of recent origin relatively. Though it does

not belong to the vedic period as such, its affiliation (at least by

name) qualifies it to be discussed here. Moreover it deals with some of

the basic foundations of Muhurta as well as predictive astrology though

it is largely a Samhita text. I will describe some of its

contents briefly. The division of time, Nakshatras- roudra, soumya and

karma yoga taras, moon's strength as a basis for planetary results,

tarabala, graha, ulka, vidyut, bhukampa (earthquakes) etc are all dealt

with in this text. A famous verse from this text is from the seventh

chapter (verse 21). "In the matter of their potency for bestowing

benefits for rituals performed during their currency, the tithi ranks

one-fold, the nakshatra four-fold, the Vara eight-fold and the karana

sixteen fold." A later text by name 'Phalita Navaratna Samgraha'

expands on this further by adding the relative significance of yoga,

chandrabalam and tarabalam. The resultant points allotted now are as

follows according to the 'Phalita Navaratna Samgraha':

Lunar day = 1,

Weekday = 8,

Constellation = 4

Yoga = 32,

Karana = 16

Chandrabala = 100

Tarabala = 60

Epic period:

Many

references to calculations and predictive astrology are found in the

epics. As already stated, the exact timing of these periods varies from

scholar to scholar, with some conservative scholars trying to place the

vedic period around 2000BC and the epic period even later till the 6 th

century AD. Moreover it should be remembered that scholars often go by

the written records, while the ancient seers passed on the wisdom

orally for thousands of years, till it was finally recorded or compiled

in a written form. The views of modern historians and archeologists are

quite often arbitrary and subjective and at times even motivated.

Either ways, the point here is that the sages belonged to the vedic

period. Traditionally the knowledge handed down by the sages is

considered as revealed, divine and hence authentic. Once Kali yuga

started, imperfections are said to have crept in. Any source after this

period is traditionally not considered infallible. I will confine

myself to mentioning that puranas like the Narada purana deal with

Jyotisha quite extensively while itihasas like Ramayana and Mahabharata

too have references to eclipses, the Sun, Moon, Tithis, Nakshatras,

grahas, yugas etc.

Historic/Agamic period:

The Buddha and astrology

It

is possible that the earliest form of predictive astrology is the

Samhita division of astrology and that Hora sastra was evolved later.

Historically speaking we don't know the exact level of knowledge of

predictive astrology in India before the 6 th century BC. But it is

well known that the astrologer Asita predicted that the newborn prince

might become a renunciant. There are slightly variant versions of this

(such as the Pali canon Nalaka Sutta in Sutta-Nipata )

though the essence is same. According to one version Asita was an

astrologer while another suggests that he was a sage who came from the

Himalayas . According to yet another version many leaned Brahmins were

invited to the name giving ceremony (namakarana) on the fifteenth day.

Eight of them were learned in interpreting the signs on the body

(Samudrika sastra). Two of the many astrologers who were called by king

Suddhodhana found that the position of the planets at the time of birth

was such that the new born child would be a 'chakravarti'

meaning 'one who would turn the wheel of law'. This could mean either

'the king of kings' (an emperor) or 'one who would set the wheel of

dharma in motion'! It is said that Asita however, asserted that there

was no question of an alternative meaning and that the child would grow

up to establish dharma by founding a new order of religion. The prince

did become the Buddha!

From

this we know that predictive astrology was practiced during 6 th

century BC itself in India though it is not definitely clear whether it

was Hora or Samhita that was predominantly in use (I have used only the

most widely accepted date for the Buddha here though there are other

versions placing him at even earlier dates). The Buddha being a Gnani,

insisted on Purushartha - that personal effort and discipline played a

major role in spiritual development. Since his focus was on Nirvana,

like most gnanis (the path of Gnana emphasizes Self-Knowledge), he

condemned astrology. It is interesting that Swami Vivekananda condemned

astrology while his own Guru Sri Ramakrishna was open to astrology;

here again lies the difference between how a bhakta (devotee) and gnani

see things. The Buddha felt that astrology made people weak. With the

rise of Buddhism, interest in astrology too went down (but

interestingly Tibetan Buddhism has embraced astrology as an integral

part of its Medical studies!). By the time of king Ashoka (3 rd century

BC), astrology was out of favor and was ignored.

Golden period in the history of Modern Jyotisha

However

after the 3rd century BC, there was a revival of interest in astrology

as is evident from some excavations at Sanchi. Around this time the

teachings of the eighteen seers rose to prominence. By the 1 st century

BC, Ujjain had become the Greenwich of India of those days. Ideas were

exchanged and technical discussions held. Astrology was gaining

strength and popularity again. Of course about the same time astrology

was growing in both its form as well as popularity in the West too

under the influence of certain intellectuals from Hipparchus (150 BC)

to Ptolemy (140 AD). There was a surge in predictive astrology the

world around by now.

Around the 1 st BC thanks to the Saka and Suhana rulers, predictive astrology RE-ENTERED India

.. Greek astrology had its influences on India . Scholars who argue that

predictive astrology came to India from elsewhere focus on this

RE-ENTRY conveniently forgetting the earlier references to predictive

astrology as in the case of Asita. Here I am not suggesting that astrology originated only

in India . It could even be possible that it originated simultaneously

in certain other parts of the world in some other ancient civilizations

too since some of the earliest civilizations had some connections or

even shared a common origin (especially the ancient Indians and

Babylonians). Yet it is only India that can definitely boast of an

almost unbroken living tradition of astrology, while the other great

ancient civilizations haven't left such unbroken living traditions).

Based on both internal as well as external evidences most Indian

astrologer-scholars hold that Indian astrology is distinctly original.

Here let me clarify that I am not denying any external influences on

Jyotisha at various points of time. External influences have surely

enriched Jyotisha in more than a few ways. But as far as foreign origins (especially

Greek) are concerned, such theories are untenable. Since this

controversy is not really relevant to our present topic, I will leave

it here and move on.

By

around 400AD the Siddhantic calendar based on the Pancha Siddhantas was

gaining prominence. Here I should refer to the eighteen (or nineteen)

pravarthakas or pioneers of jyotisha. According to Kasyapa, the 18

pravarthakas are Surya, Pitamaha, Vyasa, Vasishta, Atri, Parasara,

Kasyapa, Narada, Garga, ,Mareechi, Manu, Angeerasa, Lomasa, Poulisa,

Chyavana, Yavana, Bhrigu and Saunaka. It can be seen that some of these

seers figure as smrtikartas too as Jyotisha, Smrti (especially the

Dharma sastras and Puranas) are all interlinked and have a similar

purpose. To illustrate my point here I should draw attention to a very

interesting text called 'Veerasimhavalokah' written by a scholar king

by name Sri Vira Simha Dev. This text is unique in that it combines

Ayurveda, Jyotisha and Dharma sastra while dealing with the etiology as

well as treatment of various diseases. Such is the place of Jyotisha in

India till the modern times. Resuming the main topic of the eighteen

pravarthakas, to the above mentioned list Parasara adds one more name -

that of Pulastya whom Narada seems to refer to as Poulastya. Another

difference is that Narada refers to Acharya instead of Surya. Now let

us see the various pravarthakas and their contribution.

The Pravarthakas of Jyotisha

Surya: It

is said that Surya revealed the Surya Siddhanta to Maya. But there are

three Surya siddhantas according to some- one belonging to the period

of the rishis, another one referred to by Varahamihira in his

'Panchasiddhantika' and finally the modern 'Surya Siddhanta' which is a

popular text for Siddhanta.

Brahma:

While some opine that Pitamaha of 'Pitamaha Siddhanta' is the same as

Brahma, a more traditional view of Brahma's role is found in the Brihat

Parasara Hora Sastra in the following slokas from the 97 th chapter.

"The great sage Parasara said: O Brahmin (meaning Maitreya)! I have

described to you the Jyotish Sastra as narrated by Lord Brahma to the

sage Narada and by Narada to Saunaka and other sages from whom I

received the knowledge of this Sastra. I have narrated the same

Jyotisha Sastra which I learnt from them." Of course Pitamaha of

Pitamaha Siddhanta fame is not the same as Brahma.

Vyasa: Vyasa deserves

special treatment due to various reasons which will become obvious as

you read more. Instead of writing anything new, I will quote from an

unpublished work of mine here.

""I

am Vyasa among the sages", declared Lord Krishna to Arjuna. Such is the

greatness of Vyasa. He is the most significant among all the

incarnations of the Divine. According to most Puranas, Vyasa is the 17

th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Some puranas even include him in the ten

major incarnations of Vishnu. What we call Hinduism today, its entire

body of literature is directly or indirectly from Vyasa. He saved the '

Sacred Word ' or Veda as it was revealed. He divided the Vedas . He reclaimed the fourth Veda into the mainstream. He edited the Vedas

and made a plan to preserve Vedic wisdom intact for the people of Kali

Yuga. He composed the original 'Mahabharata' and thus the 'Bhagavad

Gita' too. He gave the 'Purana Samhita' and thus the entire puranic

literature in a way. He composed the essence of the Upanishads in the

form of the 'Brahma Sutras'. Not satisfied with all this, he gave us

the holy 'Srimad Bhagavatam', the book of books, one that takes

spiritual love, the highest form of love, to its pinnacle. He gave us

countless stotras (like Vishnu Sahasranama etc) embedded within the Puranic literature.

Krishna

Dwaipayana Vyasa is undoubtedly the architect of Spiritual India of

Kali Yuga. As Sri Aurobindo said, the Mahabharata is the National poem

and Vyasa the National poet of India . Vyasa gave us almost everything

that we see as 'Sanatana Dharma' today. His life was dedicated to the '

Sacred Word '. He upheld Dharma. He authored an unbelievable

body of knowledge. He is the most prolific author ever, an editor par

excellence. The more you know of Hinduism, the more you realize the

greatness of Vyasa. We would not have heard the Vedas in their pristine

form without him. There wouldn't be the Puranas, or the Mahabharata, or

the Brahma Sutras, or the Gita, or the various stotras, stutis and sahasranamas .

Vyasa is thus, the most significant among all the incarnations of

Vishnu. For how would we know about the various incarnations, if not

through his works? Whatever we know of most incarnations of Vishnu, is

through Vyasa.

..

Vyasa is the editor par excellence. With unbelievable zeal and divine

inspiration, he redacted the Vedas. He standardized the Vedas, the

order and the accents of every mantra, which has come down to us intact

since a few thousand years. Vyasa is by far the most prolific among

writers. He survived the Kurukshetra war and later composed the

original Mahabharata, on which, with interpolations and additions, the

present structure of the epic rests. Today the Mahabharata is the

world's longest epic, and is considered as the fifth veda. The highly

revered Bhagawad Gita is just a portion of this great and inspiring

epic. The Puranic literature, which originally was said to consist of

ten million verses, is also attributed to him. He is said to have

composed the Brahma Sutras. The list is endless. Such a gigantic feat

and prolific intellectual work remain unparalleled.

..

It is said that in each age (Mahayuga), in every Dwapara yuga, Vishnu

in his form of Veda Vyasa, incarnates to uphold the Vedas. He divides

the Vedas and helps to preserve them for the coming kali yuga. . In

this Manvantara, twenty-eight mahayugas have elapsed. Thus twenty-eight

Veda Vyasas have incarnated so far! The Vyasa for this Dwapara yuga is

Krishna Dwaipayana, the son of the illustrious sage Parasara, who is

considered the father of Vedic astrology, for it is held widely that it

was he who composed the famous astrological text 'Brihat Parasara Hora

Sastra'. Parasara was the son of Shaktri and the grandson of Vasishta,

the greatest among sages. ."

The above extracts are from 'Vyasa and Parasara' - the lives of two of the greatest Vedic seers recreated"

also subtitled " A story of the fulfillment of a great mission by a

father and son" . As is evident from the general tone of the extracts

it can be gleaned that the above work was not intended for historical

purposes. In this unpublished work of mine, I tried to recreate the

story of Vyasa and Parasara from all the references to their lives as

found scattered in the various puranas and legends of India . Yet the

reader can catch a glimpse of Vyasa's role traditionally speaking.

Coming back to the eighteen pravarthakas-

Vasishta:

Vasishta siddhanta has an important place among the Panchasiddhantas.

It is more in depth than Pitamaha Siddhanta. Varahamihira quotes 13

slokas from Vasishta Siddhanta. During Brahmagupta's time there were

two Vasishta Siddhantas, one old and another relatively new.

Atri: Atri

and his descendants were well versed in the knowledge of Eclipses as

revealed by the Rg Veda. Since eclipses and the nodes have a

significant place in vedic knowledge, Atri is given a place among the

18 pravarthakas.

Parasara:

Parasara needs no special introduction to a student of Jyotisha as he

is more or less unanimously accepted as the father of Jyotisha. But

some make a distinction between Parasara the smrtikarta and Parasara

the author of BPHS. In that case, the second Parasara may be placed

between 5 th BC and 5 th AD. Reference to Parasara is found in

Kautilya's 'Arthasastra' too. There are many references to astrology

and astrologers in the 'Arthasastra'.

Narada:

He is said to have revealed the 'Narada Samhita' the first among the

Samhitas. This text has 55 chapters. The original text seems to have

had only 37 chapters to which 18 chapters were added later. The three

major ancient divisions of Jyotisha- Siddhanta, Samhita and Hora are

mentioned in the fourth sloka. It is mentioned in the text that Narada

also wrote a text on Hora called 'Naradeeya Hora Sastra'. This text is

not available today. Such early texts may throw further light on the

origins of Hora sastra.

Garga:

There are many works attributed to Garga. Though he does not seem to

have authored these books, it is well accepted that Garga is among the

most ancient authorities. Bhattotpala (8 th century AD) in his

commentary on 'Brihat Jataka' tells us of Garga Hora Sastra. Moreover

he is also among the most important figure-heads in Jaina astrology too.

Mareechi: Though there is no extant work of Mareechi, we can only infer that his work must have had been well known at one time as Govinda Daivagna quotes Mareechi.

Manu: He is better known for his contribution to Dharma sastra.

Angira:

It is not uncommon to use the terms 'Angira' and 'Brihaspati'

interchangeably. It is said that a text called 'Barhaspatya Samhita'

was in existence in the past.

Romasa:

Some suggest that Romasa, Lomasa and Romaka are all the same. Lomasa

Samhita is among the ancient works while Romaka Siddhanta is among the

Panchasiddhantas. But Romaka and Lomasa seem to be two different

individuals. Both are accepted by some as pravarthakas. But Romaka

Siddhanta is of foreign origin ( Rome ?) Some suggest that the

knowledge of Jyotisha spread from the Hindus to other places and after

subsequent developments again interacted with Jyotisha. Whatever be the

case, Romaka Siddhantha has a foreign route of entry as we know it

currently. As Varahamihira tells us (in the form of a conversation

between Surya and Aruna in the beginning of his 'Panchasiddhantika')

due to a curse Surya is said to have taken birth among the Yavanas and

taught Romaka the subject. He in turn is said to have spread the

teachings.

Paulisa:

Paulisa siddhanta is an ancient work again considered to be a foreign

one. Varahamihira says that Latadeva is the commentator of both Paulisa

and Romaka Siddhantas. Paulaha, Paulisa, Paulastya are the other names

which we come across in various places in this context. The Mahabharata

mentions Paulastya and Pulaha as the sons of Brahma.

Chyavana: As in the case of Mareechi we can only infer the existence of Chyavana's work through Govinda Daivagna's quotes.

Yavana: Yavana

parampara is also among the ancient recognized schools of astrology.

Varahamihira, Bhattotpala and Kalyana Verma have all eulogized the

Yavanas in their works. Sphudidwaja's 'Yavana Jataka' (269 or 270 AD)

claims to be the versified version of a prose work of one previous

Yavaneswara. Latadeva has written a commentary on 'Yavana Jataka'. All

these three authors predate Varahamihira. Another later author by name

Meena Raja authored a work called 'Vriddha Yavana Jataka'. While the

influence of Greek astrology on these works need not be denied, it

should be pointed that both these texts share more than 90% likeness

with Hindu astrology (and culture) and show less resemblance (up to 5

to 10%) to Greek works as known today. Due to such reasons it is

debatable whether original Greek works were thoroughly Indianised or

whether Yavana jataka (as referred to by the Indian astrologers) itself

is only a form of astrology practiced by the already Indianised Greeks

or Ionians who grafted Greek ideas and concepts onto Indian astrology.

But one thing is certain. The ancient Indians were universal and

catholic in their outlook. They did not hesitate to openly acknowledge

the greatness of the Yavanas too. A lesson or two may be learnt from

such instances by all of us who dogmatically prefer to behave like the

'frog in the well'. Yet one should retain a healthy pride in the

greatness of Jyotisha as taught by the Indian seers too.

Bhrigu :

Bhrigu Samhita is a text that is quite famous. Govinda Daivagna has

quoted the sayings of sage Bhrigu in his text. We also find Bhrigu

readings (similar to the South Indian Nadis in some sense) in North

India where the individual's horoscope is already found in the numerous

palm leaf manuscripts written long back. Interestingly neither

Varahamihira nor Kalyana Verma has mentioned anything about Bhrigu

Samhita.

(I

have come across a Bhrigu reader in Varanasi who allowed me to see the

leaf for a brief moment only preferring to read it himself for reasons

best known to him. During another visit to Varanasi during the Maha

Kumbhamela of 2001, I also studied a few palm leaf manuscripts (with

readings for some charts) of the said Bhrigu Samhita at the private

library of Sri Brahma Gopal Bhaduri of Varanasi. Here I was allowed to

even film some of the manuscripts. Sri Bhaduri has inherited a vast

collection of thousands of rare and known manuscripts on various

ancient sastras, from his father who seems to have been a versatile

scholar. As for Sri Brahma Gopal Bhaduri himself, he seemed to be more

knowledgeable in Samudrika sastra than Jyotisha.)

Saunaka : Both BPHS as well as Muhurta Chintamani mention Saunaka's name. He also figures in many puranas.

As already stated Narada refers to Acharya

instead of Surya. It is possible according to some that the Acharya

referred to by both Narada as well as Parasara, is actually a Jaina

astrologer-sage.

Among

the above mentioned pravarthakas, the works of five seers find a place

in the 'Pancha Siddhanthas'. As already stated by around 400AD the

Siddhantic calendar based on the Pancha Siddhantas had gained

prominence. Varahamihira too has written a text called

'Panchasiddhantika' wherein he discusses the same. Most of the ancient

works are not available today. We come across other works wherein the

authors have quoted the more ancient works.

Aryabhatta I

Among

the most famous contributions to the science of astronomy, come

Aryabhatta's and Bhaskara's works. Aryabhatta (AD 476-523) belonged to

Tiruvankur in Kerala though he also seems to have lived in Kusumapura.

He wrote the first edition of his 'Aryabhateeya' when he was just 23

years old. He also seems to have revised the book when he was older. It

is this revised edition that has survived today. I cannot do justice to

the greatness of his work in an article of this sort and will confine

myself to merely asserting that in the world history of science

Aryabhatta is among the greatest of the great. Whether it is the

earth's motion around the Sun, the motion of the stars, or the

calculation of the circumference of a circle, or the discovery of Sine,

Aryabhatta's contributions span across various fields like astronomy,

mathematics (including Geometry), and knowledge of Time etc. His works

gave a big boost to astrology too as astrology includes the knowledge

of ganita (mathematics), gola (astronomy) and kalakriya (Time and

planetary motion), all of which the 'Aryabhateeya' takes to hitherto

unknown heights in many ways. Hereafter began the period when many

astrology classics came to be written. No wonder Aryabhatta's fame

spread to foreign countries too, inspiring the Arabs to not only study

his work but spread it across the world.

Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra

Some

say that the Parasara who wrote BPHS (Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra)

belonged to a period between 500 BC and 500 AD and that he is not the

same as Parasara the father of Vyasa. One argument against this is that

the language and style of BPHS indicate that it could be a relatively

ancient work, written around the same time as Vyasa. But that alone

wouldn't make a strong case. Instances of other good works authored by

scholars with the same name as Sankaracharya or somebody else are not

very uncommon. It is possible for someone else to write in an ancient

style especially if he is trying to make it authentic (I am not

suggesting that this is exactly the case with BPHS).

What

seems to have happened (according to my understanding) is that

Maharishi Parasara taught the principles of the BPHS to his disciple

Maitreya. This set of teachings was handed down over the generations.

But part of the teachings were lost or at least hidden during later

times. When astrology surfaced back again, these teachings were not

easily available. Between 5 th century BC and 5th century AD a great

astrologer who was either referred to or adopted the name of Parasara,

took it upon himself to revive the teachings. The currently available

BPHS is probably the second Parasara's attempt to put together the

original teachings of Parasara. It cannot be ruled out they could also

be the same as sage Parasara's teachings largely. But the second

Parasara must have attempted to fill in the gaps. This is one way that

we could reconcile the two theories. Of course this is all speculation

based on the available contradictory beliefs and scholars could go into

hair-splitting arguments on this.

The

very process through which the BPHS has been put together in the last

century is prone to error. In fact if one starts getting into this, a

lot of time will go into this with no definite conclusions finally. The

available data is incomplete and altered. It is well known that the

currently available BPHS has many interpolations, and individual copies

of some traditional scholars from different places vary to some extent.

I myself have come across at least four variant versions that differ

here and there. Some scholars suggest that the Uttarakhanda of the BPHS

was a subsequent addition. Due to various such reasons one cannot take

any statement as INFALLIBLE since a lot that has been attributed to

Parasara or Jaimini, may not be really true. The words of the later

scholars should only be taken as a foundation and could be treated

reasonably seriously, but not in an infallible manner. Leaving this

controversy aside let me proceed with the story of Jyotish.

Apart

from the division of the periods into Vedic, Puranic, Agamic/historic

there is yet another division that appeals to an astrologer-historian

as far as Jyotisha is considered.

• Pre-Varahamihira

• Post-Varahamihira

Varahamihira's influence

Such

is Varahamihira's place in the history of Jyotisha. He extracted the

best of his predecessors' ideas and crystallized the science of

astrology by adding his own insights and observations thus contributing

to the systematization of Jyotisha. Varahamihira (505AD), the most

famous of all Indian astrologers, came later to Parasara. I cannot

agree with David Pingree's biased views about the dates of various

Indian sages, astrologers and scholars as internal evidences clearly

prove him wrong. Pingree places Parasara much later than Varahamihira

based on untenable grounds. If that is so, how could Varahamihira

mention Parasara's name in Brihat Jataka' (see chapter 2, second

sloka)? While one may agree that Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra itself has

been redacted and expanded upon many times (even after Varahamihira's

times) Parasara's teachings were already in vogue in a major way during

Varahamihira's times. That is why Varahamihira merely refers to

Parasara's opinion without elaborating much.

A

perusal of various chapters of Varahamihira's 'Brihat Jataka' like

'Ayurdayadhyaya', 'Rajayogadhyaya', 'Grahayoniprabedhadhyaya' etc

allows us to draw a list of the ancient astrologers who predated

Varahamihira. They are Maya, Yavana, Manitha, Saktipoorva or Parasara,

Satyacharya, Vishnugupta, Devaswamy, Siddhasena, Jeevasena, etc.

Satyacharya has established a school of thought that goes by the name

'Dhruva matham'. His 'Satya Jataka' is a very useful text to students

of astrology.

A

more complete list of all the illustrious ancient astrologers who

predated Varahamihira (based on other works like Brihat Samhita,

Panchasiddhantika etc) includes Pitamaha, Surya, Lagadha, Narada, Atri,

Bhrigu, Vasishta, Kasyapa, Poulastya, Maya, Yavana, Visnugupta,

Devaswamy, Siddhasena, Poulisa, Romaka, Jeevasarma, Satyacharya,

Manitha, Sphudidhwaja, Latadeva, Aryabhatta etc.

As

already stated Varahamihira systematized all astrological and

astronomical knowledge available during his times in the form of books.

He influenced and was in turn influenced by the western astronomers and

astrologers. He has codified and verified the principles enunciated by

various other astrologers and rishis. He was catholic in his outlook

and embraced astrological principles from foreigners too, whom he held

in respect. Varahamihira had written excellent books on all the three

main divisions of Jyotisha- Jataka, Samhita and Siddhanta. While Parasara is considered the father of Jyotisha, one can say that in many respects Varahamihira is the father of modern Jyotisha. It is only later that others followed suit. There are at least five main commentaries on Varahamihira's 'Brihat Jataka'.

• Bhattotpala's commentary

• Mudrakshari

• Subhodini

• Sripatiyam

• Dasadhyayee

Though

the dasadhyayee deals with only the first ten chapters, the illustrious

author Bhattathiri has dealt with multiple meanings and interpretations

for each sloka. Bhattathiri is a famous astrologer from Kerala who is

said to belong to the period between the 13 th and 16 th centuries.

That Bhattathiri's commentary enjoyed a special status in spite of it

dealing with only the first ten chapters of Brihat Jataka is evident

from the following sloka from 'Prasna Marga' ,

which itself is among the finest texts ever written in the history of

astrology- "One who attempts to predict without studying the Dasadhyayi

is like a person trying to cross an ocean without a boat". Till a few

centuries back it was an established practice among Kerala astrologers

to learn both the 'Brihat Jataka' and 'Dasadhayee' by heart. In

addition to the many commentaries on Varahamihira's works, his

influence is clearly seen on later authors in many ways. But before

dealing with the later day classics it is apt that I acquaint the

reader with Bhaskara I and II as well as Aryabhatta II.

Bhaskara I and Aryabhatta II

Like

Aryabhatta, Bhaskara too belonged to Kerala. In addition to authoring

'Mahabhaskareeya' and 'Laghu Bhaskareeya' he is also known to have

authored a commentary on 'Aryabhatteya'. This commentary is called

'Aryabhatta tantra bhasya which is unavailable today. Though written

around 629 AD his work seems to have been widely followed up to the 15

th century. Aryabhatta II who seems to have lived around 950 AD

authored the book 'Mahasiddhanta' consisting of eighteen chapters and

625 slokas. Likewise there is a second Bhaskara- Bhaskara II - who was

born in 1114 AD in Vijjadavida village near the Sahyadri parvata in

today's Maharashtra . The following Information is based on a

silasasana at the Bhavani temple situated about 10 miles from Chalis

gaon.

Bhaskara II (Bhaskaracharya)

Bhaskaracharya's

(Bhaskara II) grandson Changadeva was an important astrologer in king

Singhana's court. Singhana ruled Devagiri from 1210 to 1237 AD. Another

by name Somadeva, a minor king under Singhana, donated towards a

special school of astrology (matham based on the teachings of

Bhaskaracharya and others) founded by Changadeva. It is known from

other such silasasanas that Bhaskara's ancestors too were astrologers

in their own right. Upto 6 generations of Bhaskara's ancestors have

been referred to.

Bhaskaracharya

himself authored two famous books- 'Siddhanta Siromani' and 'Karana

Kutoohala' both dealing with Gola and Ganita largely. Bhaskaracharya

was 69 years old when he authored 'Karana Kutoohala'. 'Siddhanta

Siromani' is a popular text consisting of four divisions or parts-

Leelavati, Beejaganita, Ganitadhyaya and Goladhyaya. He gives numbers

upto parartha i.e. 10 17 . The eight methods of addition, subtraction,

multiplication, division, square, square root, cube, cube root, are all

dealt with in this book. Permutations and combinations (ankapasa),

unknown quantities (such as X, Y, Z) positive and negative values, zero

and infinity, are all dealt with quite elaborately. Of course

Bhaskaracharya seems to have followed Brahmagupta's 'Brahmaguptasphuta

Siddhanta' (628 AD) as far as the use of Zero in geometry is concerned.

Eclipses, planetary rise and set, the earth's radius, trigonometry etc

are all covered by Bhaskara II. In the yantradhyaya while dealing with

various yantras (mechanical devices) to calculate the planetary

spheres, he asserts that intelligence is the best of all yantras. The

popularity of Bhaskaracharya's works may be inferred from the fact that

even Muslim kings like Akbar and Shahjahan supported the translation of

Leelavati and Beejaganita to Persian. Without dwelling more on this, I

will draw attention to the fact that numerous commentaries have been

written on Bhaskaracharya's work.

Kalyana Verma, Vaidyanatha and Mantreswara

Kalyana

Varma (6 th century AD), Vaidyanatha (13 th century AD) and Mantreswara

(16 th century AD) are some other important names. Kalyana Varma

crystallises very comprehensively Varahamihira's works as well as those

of others like Yavana while Vaidyanatha models his wonderful work

"Jataka Parijata" after Varahamihira and Kalyana Varma. His work is

widely acclaimed and is also among the prescribed list of texts for any

serious student. In fact it is second only to the 'Brihat Parasara Hora

Sastra' in its treatment of the various topics of predictive astrology.

 

Mantreswara

who hails from Tirunelveli district of South India has written a very

useful text. His 'Phala Deepika' is unique in some ways. While other

astrological works merely mention the Sarvatobhadra charka, Mantreswara

actually deals with its use. His chapter on transits is quite useful.

He also deals with other valuable concepts like Kshetra and Beeja

sphutas.

It

is almost impossible to list all the illustrious scholars and their

contributions in an article of this sort, with such a rich tradition

available, not to speak of the ancient Jaina astrologer-seers and their

works. Moreover it becomes even more difficult to list all the sages

and various schools of Jyotish like Bhrigu matham, Dhruva matham,

Jaimini matham, etc. I will reserve that for a full-fledged discussion

on the various schools of Jyotisha in another article though I will

refer to Jaimini astrology briefly.

Jaimini

Jaimini's

school of thought (Jaimini matham) is a slightly variant and

specialized school of Jyotisha . Jaimini has codified the principles of

this school in his 'Jaimini Sutras'. Many astrologers hold that this is

a distinct system from Parasara's school of thought while some hold

that Jaimini principles are part of Parasara's all encompassing

classic. There are some chapters in Parasara's magnum opus (Brihat

Parasara Hora Sastra) that deal with Jaimini matham too. While it is

true that Parasara's text deals with parts of Jaimini, the definitive

and more authoritative text for Jaimini methodology is the Jaimini

Sutras and the commentaries on it. Whether Parasara's text was earlier

or later than Jaimini is debatable. But what is certain is that Jaimini

has specialized exclusively in this system

Among

the most glaring of David Pingree's blunders is his dating of Jaimini's

'Upadesa Sutras'. He asserts that because of 'the lack of earlier

citations and internal evidence', one cannot date the text of Jaimini

(and his teachings) before c. 1700! Moreover he even writes that it

shows a strong Greek influence! To my knowledge, Jaimini matham is so

unique that leave alone a 'strong Greek influence' it is hard to draw

even reasonable parallels between Jaimini and Greek astrology. As for

the date, nothing can be more erroneous. Even 'Kalpalata' the

commentary of Somanatha on Jaimini astrology is older than the date

assigned to the original text itself. Sri Madhura Krishnasmurty Sastry

(in a conversation that I had with him) opines that the Kalpalata

itself belongs to the 11 th century AD. As is obvious from the text

'Kalpalata' certain areas of Jaimini methodology had already become

obscure during Somanatha's times. So one may safely infer that the

original teachings of Jaimini must have preceded Somanatha's times by a

few centuries at least if not many centuries! For the reader's benefit

I will list some of the interesting commentaries on Jaimini astrology

that I have come across.

• Krishna Misra's 'Jyotisha Phala Ratnamala',

• Raghava Bhatta's 'Jataka Saara Sangraha',

• Narasimha Suri's 'Jaimini Sutrartha Prakasika',

• Somanatha's 'Kalpalata',

• Nrisimha Daivagna's 'Jaimini Sutra Vyakhya',

• Singayarya's 'Jataka Rajeeya'

• Nilakantha's

• Venkateswara's and

• Balakrsnananda Saraswati's commentaries

Most

of the above works are available only in Sanskrit. The 'Kalpalata' of

Somanatha Misra is a very interesting text among the above lot.

Somanatha is the son of Krishna Misra the author of 'Jyotisha Phala

Ratnamala'. While Venkateswara, Nilakantha and Narasimha Suri have

commented on the first two chapters only, Somanath's 'Kalpalata' covers

all the four chapters and can be easily rated as one of the exhaustive

commentaries. To my knowledge it is not yet available in print.

Nilakantha's commentary on the first two chapters is in great use and

is the most easily available one. With this brief overview of Jaimini

jyotisha I will now move on to yet another school of astrology- Tajika.

 

Tajika

While

some think that the varshaphal (solar return) and the progressed chart

are both contributions of western astrology, most Indian astrologers

maintain that it is definitely Indian in origin. During the Mughal

rule, Tajika did gain prominence especially in north India . Certain

Urdu or Persian words in Tajika do show the influence of Arabic

(medieval) astrology leading one to infer some cross-cultural

influences on Jyotisha as far as Tajika is considered. In fact the

Sahams are in principle, the same as Arabic parts. But one has to be

very cautious in claiming that Tajika is entirely western in origin as

Tajika still uses most of the fundamentals of Parasari though certain

foreign concepts have been grafted on to the mother plant of Jyotisha.

British and Post-Independence India

With

the entry of the British in India , gradually all that was Indian fell

out of favor. Astrology too suffered in general. Yet the secrets of

astrology were well preserved in the traditional families, though some

knowledge seems to have been lost. The biggest loss of astrological

knowledge seems to have occurred during the period of the rise of

Buddhism and not during any other time. Yet it is true that after and

during the British rule, most educated Indians especially the

politicians adopted a pseudo scientific attitude, leading to an

irrational public denial of astrology, while during the evenings the

same persons would be consulting astrologers!

In

the past century, Jyotisha was revived by the efforts of one person

more than anyone else. It is none other than the late Dr.B.V.Raman. His

efforts to forward the cause of Jyotisha through his books and the

Astrological Magazine (founded by his grandfather Sri B. Suryanarain

Rao), easily entitle him to be named as the greatest popularizer and

crusader of Jyotisha in the modern times. The ICAS too was founded by

him. Yet it is some other astrologers who are said to have pioneered

some researches into Jyotisha.

Sri

Seshadri Iyer popularized the divisional charts with his 'New

Techniques of Prediction'. In fact my first teacher of astrology was a

student of Sri Seshadri Iyer. Meena's (Sri R. Gopalakrishna) nadi

astrology was another innovative thought. Especially his idea of the

sublords, based on Parasara's Vimsottari dasa, is a novel idea. But it

was the late Sri Krishnamurti, who refined the sub lord theory by

proposing 249 subs instead of Meena's 243 subs, and eventually evolved

his much acclaimed as well as controversial Krishnamurti paddhati

(system popularly called KP).

KP

is a unique methodology that combines ruling planets, sublords,

Placidus houses and cuspal sublords, the use of Nakshatras and a

characteristically different way of arriving at significators that make

it brilliant at times. That this methodology gives excellent results

(at least with Prasna), is often acknowledged even by his detractors.

Even forgetting his use of the sub lord for predictions, he deserves

credit for first coming up with a near mathematical astrological

working model for the phenomenon of Synchronicity- the reference here

being to the 'Ruling Planets' theory. Of course there are no direct

references to the phenomenon of Synchronicity in Krishnamurti's work.

Nor does he seem to be aware of Carl Jung's work on Synchronicity. But

the link is obvious to a serious student of both psychology as well as

astrology. In fact many good astrologers laid emphasis on the use of

nakshatras in the sixties and seventies. From Krishnamurti to Seshadri

Iyer, the role of nakshatra as the sukshma (subtle) lord, received more

prominence. In fact Krishnamurti called his methodology, 'Stellar

astrology'. These two astrologers have influenced many students.

In

the modern times among the generation of senior astrologers, though

many other scholars like the late Sri D.V.Subba Rao, Prof.P.S.Sastri,

Sri Madhura Krishnamurty Sastry and a host of others deserve mention,

one name stands head and shoulders above all others for forwarding the

cause of Indian astrology as also for inspiring thousands of astrology

lovers and students. It is none other than Sri K. N. Rao, around whom,

grew the largest body of astrologers. His role in moulding and guiding

a whole generation of astrologers is awe-inspiring. He has guided

groups of astrologers in conducting researches, trying to validate the

replicability of certain astrological principles, often giving his own

ideas for others to research. Whether or not one agrees with all his

views, one thing cannot be denied even by his detractors - his role in

inculcating a scientific temper among vedic astrologers, persuading

astrologers not to be dogmatic, but be liberal in interpreting the

classical works and finally in re-popularizing the varga charts by

demonstrating their use (even with respect to the varga charts I

consider his contribution to be at least as valuable or even more than

Sri Seshadri Iyer's).

Jyotisha in the West

Though

there were quite a few people studying Jyotisha in the west since

decades back, it was only the nineties that saw Jyotisha pick up more

momentum in the west, especially the US . The western disciples of

gurus like Paramahamsa Yogananda, Srila Prabhupada, Maharshi Mahesh

Yogi, and many others also contributed to the growing interest in

Jyotisha in the west. The formation of the American Council of Vedic

Astrology due to the efforts of David Frawley and group has resulted in

a definite growth of interest in Vedic astrology both within and

outside India and seems to have inspired other such Vedic astrology

councils in a few more countries. The author of this article is the

President of the Australian Council of Vedic Astrology which was

founded in the late nineties by Keven Barrett. Other councils such as

the British Council too deserve a mention.

The revival of Jyotisha

All

this has led to the revival of Jyotisha in a big way, thanks to the

internet too. The present Indian government's efforts to introduce

Jyotisha courses in the Universities, comes at an interesting juncture.

Today Jyotisha is at a vital phase of rejuvenation. It is going through

many changes, both positive and negative.

Any

art or science is bound to benefit when foreigners study it. Western

astrologers will be able to add to the richness of Jyotisha, their

ideas and views. While the general advantage of cross-cultural

interactivity and the resultant liberalization of interpretation of the

principles, along with the decline in dogmatism are encouraging, there

may be another side to it. Lack of knowledge of the background of

Jyotisha, cultural gap (with the resultant half-knowledge) and

bastardization of some jyotisha techniques where they ought to remain

pristine, are some things that worry some traditional jyotishis. Yet

the Universe knows how to take care of itself. Eventually in the coming

decade, a new phase or rebirth of Jyotisha is bound to occur. Jyotisha

will be popular the world over, with more and more astrologers

switching to, or at least learning Jyotish.

Tradition- a dual edged sword

One

last word. Vedic astrologers have one big advantage that astrologers of

other traditions probably have in a lesser measure- a rich body of

knowledge, oral and written, as well as known and hidden. Yet it should

be remembered that the available data is incomplete and altered. Due to

various reasons, certain places have been altered, new verses inserted,

and so on. A lot that is attributed to sages like Parasara or Jaimini

may not be really authentic. While this is the case with the so-called

teachings of the sages, we should be open to the fact that the works of

later authors could be erroneous here and there. Of course they derived

their ideas from the teachings of the sages. While they are all

brilliant, couldn't we be open to the fact that they could also make

some mistakes. Aren't there enough contradictions? So is it really

worth repeating verses like parrots? Shouldn't we investigate first

into the truth behind some dictums? Do they work as they are? Or do we

need any research or modifications? What I am suggesting is that if we

can doubt some words of a 20 th century scholar, how can we blindly

think that a 15 th or 16 th century scholar, or for that matter, any

other scholar is infallible? I am not questioning tradition here. All I

am saying is that tradition shouldn't become binding. The rich base

that these great minds gave us should be valued, but cannot be taken

blindly. Most literature should be taken as a starting point, but not

blindly in an unquestioning manner. Do western astrologers take Ptolemy

or Hipparchus or anyone else as an infallible authority as some of us

do with a Mantreswara or Vaidyanatha? Though they are all brilliant,

can't we be open to change and a healthy research mind? Faith and

perseverance will surely help, but will not further the cause of the

subject. So what do we do? Lapse into inaction and despair? No. We

should be cautious when we take certain verses literally.

Where

do we draw the line? No one can say anything definitely. I can only say

what I myself do. Take the words of the sages reverentially, but keep

in mind that the available data is incomplete and altered. Treat the

scholars' (human) works as the foundation, but have a healthy

questioning attitude. Try new things to see if they really work. Be

open to good ideas wherever they come from. Tradition has its role.

Undeniably we are very lucky to have such a rich base handed down to

us. But we cannot stop there. When in doubt over a scholar's opinion, a

saint's words are taken as more authoritative. In all matters of basic

spiritual principles, the teachings of the saints may be considered

from time to time.

One

can pray and hope for guidance and be open to the truth in whatever

form or wherever it comes from. If there are certain techniques in

Western astrology that can enhance our understanding or practice of

Jyotisha as an art or science, we should gladly be open to studying

them. Science cannot stagnate. Each generation has to contribute

something to further our knowledge. While this is applicable to

Jyotisha too as a science, the spiritual foundations of Jyotish will

remain unchanged, for they are based on certain timeless truths. The

spiritual principles of Jyotish are based on relatively higher occult

truths and this part of Jyotisha will not change. Any attempt to tamper

with these principles will break the very foundations of Jyotisha. As

JK proclaimed, "Truth is a pathless land". No country or religion or

path can claim it exclusively. Salutations to all the brilliant

astrologers! Salutations to all the sages who revealed the divine

knowledge! Salutations to the One radiant Self that shines in all!

Post script

There

is a general trend, a shift in paradigm since the last century with the

progress in Quantum physics, which has influenced all areas of human

knowledge. Nichola Tesla, an eminent physicist opined that, "The day

science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more

progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its

existence." Quantum physics has already opened a dialogue with other

arts and sciences. Art, philosophy, poetry, physics, psychology,

medicine and astrology, are all beginning to meet again as they did in

the ancient times. Multidisciplinary studies into the cross roads

between some of these fields will interest more and more seekers,

eventually leading us 'Back to our Cosmic Roots'- the One Source of

all.

What will be its impact on Astrology as an academic subject? While

the spiritual foundations of Jyotisha are unchanging and timeless in

some sense, the APPROACH to astrology could be influenced by the times

and the paradigm shift. Astrology will sooner or later have

to be ready for its new (?) role. A strong influence of Humanistic

and/or Transpersonal psychology is increasingly evident on a large

number of intellectuals during the modern times. Carl Jung's works have

begun to influence some in the Jyotisha camp too, while most western

astrologers are already looking at astrology through the eyes of modern

psychology. Yet one should not mistake the superficial approach to

psychology that some western astrologers adopt in the name

of "psychological readings". Likewise one shouldn't mistake the

fatalistic approach to life that some eastern astrologers adopt in the

name of karma . Most vedic astrologers feel that

psychological astrology is for lesser brains who dare not predict,

while most tropical astrologers are wary of and look down upon "fortune

telling", as they refer to predicting. As an astrologer who studied and

practiced both the approaches, I feel that both are wrong. How

can one predict without understanding the psychological roots? On the

other hand how would one be sure that all these psychological readings

are right unless one is able to predict fairly well based on one's

understanding of such psychological roots. After all,

any science does try to predict, though in a different sense. One has

to pay tribute to Indian astrology for keeping alive the tradition of

predictive astrology in tact. Nowhere else in the world is astrology a

continuous living tradition as it has been in India .

I

feel that the primary purpose of astrology is not fortune telling, but

an exploration of consciousness, a journey into the psyche, into the

unconscious forces which stem from the past vasanas , into the 'shadow' (a term used by Carl Jung which comes close to the tantric papa purusha ),

into the universe that we have within us, into the conflict between the

opposing forces and the process of attaining equilibrium. Of course

these forces manifest as our (as well as others') reactions to

situations, situations that we attract to ourselves because of these

unconscious drives ( vasanas and samskaras ), which

thus indirectly influence our life path. Fortune telling based on such

symbols of the psyche like the horoscope, dreams, omens etc is the most

ordinary usage of this knowledge, albeit an application prone to error

due to various factors. Nevertheless astrology can help us understand

our karma, especially the hidden or unseen factors that shape our life

as our own karmic forces, and thereby encourage us to take

responsibility for our actions. But the highest benefit of a study of

this kind of a subject is Self-actualization or individuation- a

process that assists the individual in an expression of one 'self',

taking one to the final stages of Nirvana. Astrology can help an

individual in integrating the many facets of the psyche to become

"'ONE'-'SELF'". When this happens the individual feels a sense of

psychic "wholeness", which is a natural state of equilibrium. Don't the

ancient texts promise that anyone who studies and teaches astrology is

assured of final liberation ( moksha )? Perhaps that is the

ultimate goal of a spiritual system like astrology and the above is

only a modern way of saying the same.

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