Jaimini Astrology (From Astrological eMagazine)

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Gary Gomes

 

This article will illustrate the use of Jaimini astrology for analyzing

the spiritual potential of individuals through use of the karakas

(indicators) in the chart and through the use of Upagrahas ("little

planets") in the context of principles of Jaimini interpretation.

A Brief Overview

 

Jaimini Astrology is predominantly practiced in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Its governing principles are also discussed in detail in the

encyclopedic compendium of astrological techniques, Brihat Parasara

Hora Sastra (BPHS). The BPHS has enough material in it to keep most of

us studying Jyotisha for several life times. The Jaimini factors are

not referred to specifically as Jaimini indicators. However, when one

reads Prof. P. S. Sastri's translation of the Jaimini Sutras, or Mr.

Rao's texts on Jaimini Astrology, one realizes that these principles

are, in fact Jaimini principles. There are other Jaimini texts which

have emerged over the years (including The Jaimini Upadesa Sutras

written by Sanjay Rath, and published about two years ago and a recent

translation in process by Ernst Wilhelm of the United States).

The major differences between Jaimini and "standard" Parasara astrology are:

The

use of sign mahadasas (Chara, Sthira and Shoola dasas are the best

known, but there are approximately 44 mahadasas used in Jaimini

astrology); The use of padas. Padas are indicators in the

signs. The best way to explain a pada is to illustrate it. Suppose we

are looking for the marriage pada in a chart. The seventh house is the

marriage house in a standard chart. Let us assume we have a Libra

ascendant. Aries is the seventh house in this chart. The ruler of the

seventh house is therefore Mars. Then let us assume that the Graha Mars

is in the sign Capricorn. This sign is ten signs away from Aries. We

then count ten signs from Capricorn to get the pada for marriage

matters. Thus, the sign Libra is the marriage indicator for this chart.

Issues connected with marriage (and partnerships in general) will reach

fruition during the mahadasa or bhuktis of Libra. The extensive use of karakas. There are karakas in

Parasara astrology too, but these are based on certain "natural"

karakas of the planets. For example, Venus is the natural karaka for

marriage and Mars is the natural karaka for brothers. However, in

Jaimini astrology, the Karakas can be any of the planets. (I exclude

the North and South Lunar Node -- Rahu and Ketu -- as Jaimini karakas

for most purposes). There are seven karakas which are judged in terms

of the planet which is highest in degree to that which is lowest in

degree, regardless of sign placement. The karakas are, in descending

order, the atma karaka (the indicator of self), the amatya karaka (the

indicator of career); the bhatri karaka (the indicator of siblings and

father); the matri karaka (the indicator of mother and education); the

pitri (Or putri) karaka (the indicator of children, intelligence and

creativity); the gnati karaka (the indicator of strife, disease, and

spiritual sadhana); and the stri or dara karaka, the indicator of

marriage (and partnerships in general). Some authors, Parasara

included, use 8 karakas. In the Jaimini Upadesa Sutras, both 7 and 8

karakas are mentioned, indicating to me that both must have some

utility for interpretation. These karakas are of extreme importance in

judging a chart, especially in terms of career potential and,

especially, for judging spiritual potential, as indicated in both BPHS

and Jaimini Sutras (JS) . Also, although this stance is not universally

endorsed, it has also been my experience that the Jaimini karakas work

especially well when we analyze the planetary mahadasas and the

maturity of planets. I also believe that the natural Parasara planetary

karakas also exert their influence on the Jaimini karakas. Jataka

Tattwa, as revealed by Robert Koch, describes methods for using the

moveable karakas in interpreting Parasari charts. For this article however, we will limit the

discussion to the use of the Jaimini Chara dasas, padas, and Jaimini

Karakas as spiritual determinants in a chart. The major points that we

will look at are some of the spiritual indicators in Jaimini that are

mentioned in Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra and in the Jaimini Sutras. There is another part of Jaimini Astrology which

must be accounted for in analyzing charts for spiritual potential. The

atma karaka (planet in the highest degree in the chart) will fall in a

certain sign in the Navamsa (harmonic ninth) chart. This sign in the

Navamsa in which the Atma Karaka falls is extremely important.

According to one school of thought, this sign assumes a special status

called the Karakamsa. Mr. Rao feels that this sign should be moved to

the natal chart, and there it becomes the Karakamsa. The Navamsa

position of the atmakaraka then becomes an entity called a Swamsa

chart. This is not so insignificant a matter as it seems at first. The

BPHS and JS indicate that certain planets in certain positions from the

Karakamsa will produce specific spiritual effects and affiliations, and

the placement of planets from the Swamsa and the Karakamsa will often

differ dramatically, so certain spiritual combinations which show in

the Navamsa chart will not appear in the natal chart, and vice versa.

For the analysis of spiritual potential in the chart, a choice must be

made. We do need to make a choice, if only to determine a starting

place. Before my encounters with Mr. Rao, I had relatively

good results in delineating spiritual preferences when using the

Navamsa chart as the location of the Karakamsa. However, closer

examination of certain charts of individuals who had never been known

for spiritual tendencies showed that certain indications which were

supposed to follow by the placement of the Atma Karaka in certain signs

made me reevaluate my position. The placement of the Atma Karaka in the

sign Pisces, for example, did not necessarily "grant final

emancipation" or produce spiritual individuals. The technique used by

Mr. Rao seems to work more consistently although the Navamsa position

of the Atma Karaka holds some sway as well.. Let's examine the chart of one of the best known

spiritual teachers of the twentieth century, Paramahamsa Yogananda.

Yogananda introduced the West to the discipline of Kriya Yoga, a yogic

science passed on by the 1,000 year old emanation of Shiva known as

Babaji. Yogananda was clearly a very famous spiritual individual,

lecturing to thousands and establishing one of the most enduring

spiritual groups of the twentieth century, the Self-Realization

Fellowship. Even the fact that there are at least a half dozen

disparate and unaffiliated Kriya Yoga Organizations in the United

States (The Ananda Church in California and the Temple of Kriya Yoga in

Chicago are examples of the diversity of Kriya Yoga practiced in the

United States). Paramahamsa is also well known for not showing any

visible signs of decay for twenty days after his death at Forest Lawn

Cemetery. If we examine his chart, we see that Yogananda's atma karaka

planet is Venus and that this planet is located in the fourth house,

one of the three moksha (liberation) houses, in Scorpio (Vrischika) one

of the three moksha signs (the other two being Cancer and Pisces. Water

signs are considered signs of dissolution or merging with the

infinite). If we look at the padas of the various houses, the

fourth house pada (the indicator of where the heart is in a natal

chart) is located in the twelfth house (Cancer), an indicator that this

individual's emotions are connected with renunciation, a necessary

attribute for a 'renunciate'. Also, if we look carefully at the fourth

house, we see several auspicious upagrahas in the fourth house -- the

Pranapada, Kala , Indrachapa (the child of Venus) and Upaketu are all

in this house, Upaketu giving great qualities of renunciation, but the

presence of Indrachapa giving the blessings of the great teacher Venus

giving Paramahamsa divine bliss through deep control of Kundalini

energy -- also known as Kriya. In the BPHS, the placement of Upaketu in the fourth

house makes the native "charming, very virtuous, gentle, interested in

Vedas, and ... always happy". The placement of Indrachapa in the fourth

makes the native "happy, endowed with quadrupeds, wealth, grains, etc.

be honored by the king and be devoid of sickness". It was known that

Yogananda was able to access large amounts of money and nice cars when

he needed to, and he also met with President Calvin Coolidge, among

other world leaders. Kala, an inauspicious upagraha which acts like

Rahu is also in the fourth house, which indicates his separation from

his parents, his lack of interest in academic disciplines, and the

early death of his mother. The placement of Rahu in the ninth gives fame, but

also gives a famous Guru. This was certainly the case of Sri Yukteswar,

who is probably the one of the most famous Indian gurus who never left

India. Yogananda's extreme attachment to his Guru is probably due to

the pada of the ninth house being placed in the seventh house. The

Kriya Yoga tradition calls for an extremely strong attachment between

disciple and teacher, and Yogananda never wished to marry, perhaps

because he was already emotionally "married" to his teacher. (In Autobiography of a Yogi,

Yogananda mentioned that his astrological chart indicated that he would

Remember -- to determine a pada, count from the house being evaluated

to the house in which the ruler of that house sits, then count from

that house the same number of houses as the ruler of the house. In this

case Mars is the ruler of the sign in which Rahu sits (Aries). Mars is

in Pisces in this chart, and is located twelve signs away from Aries.

We then count from Pisces to twelve signs away -- this leads to the

seventh house sign Aquarius, which the becomes the indicator of the

Guru, or spiritual teacher. In 1922, Yogananda entered an Aquarius

mahadasa (Jaimini uses sign mahadasas rather than planetary mahadasas).

This was the time that he went to the United States at the bequest of

his Guru. We can trace other events, such as his great fame in the

United States after he entered his Aries Mahadasa (with Rahu in Aries,

fame was certainly assured).

Venus, the Atma Karaka planet in

Yogananda's chart, is located in the sign Aquarius in the Navamsa.

Therefore Aquarius is the Karakamsa house in the natal chart. So we can

start to assess the indicators from either the Rasi chart and the

Navamsa chart. Interestingly BPHS does say that if Venus is in the

Karakamsa one gets initiated in a religious order. This holds true when

we look at Yogananda's chart from the Navamsa chart, but not from the

Rasi chart. Yogananda's amatyakaraka planet was Jupiter (also

known as Guru in Sanskrit) -- it is then fitting and appropriate that

during his Pisces mahadasa he was mostly involved in teaching Kriya

Yoga. The placement of Jupiter with Mars emphasizes that he would teach

a yoga path which emphasized rapid development. Kriya is really a

"Mars" type of yoga in that it calls for extreme self control and the

development of willpower as a means to liberation. This is corroborated

by his chart in that the eighth house is really a "kundalini" or

"kriya" house, because any yoga which involves control of sexual energy

through willpower requires a strong eighth house. This strong eighth

house also probably gave Yogananda the willpower to preserve his

physical body after his "mahasamadhi". The chart of the Dalai Lama also gives evidence of

the way that the Jaimini karakas work in a spiritual chart. His

atmakaraka planet is Mars -- this is common among individuals who

practice intense meditative practices, and I have read several accounts

that the Dalai Lama spends at least two hours a day in meditation even

while keeping an active travel agenda. Mars is located in the sign Leo

(Simha) in his Navamsa chart, making the sign Leo his Karakamsa chart

when it is transposed to his natal chart. He has a Virgo rising chart

in Jyotisha, so Leo becomes his twelfth house. In addition to this, he

has both the Moon and Venus in the sign Leo, which, according to

Jaimini principles, guarantees spiritual happiness. The association of

the Moon and Venus is a special Raja Yoga combination in Jaimini

astrology. It is also noted in the BPHS, that if benefics are in the

Karakamsa, then the individual will surely become a king. The Dalai

Lama had traditionally served as the secular and spiritual ruler of

Tibet. It is interesting to note, however, that these benefic planets

are in the twelfth house of this chart, which seems to infer a king in

exile. In addition, Jaimini astrology has special aspects. The mutable

signs (Pisces, Virgo, Gemini, Sagittarius) aspect each other, while the

cardinal signs (except those adjacent to each other) aspect the fixed

signs and vice versa. So Leo, the Karakamsa in this chart is aspected

by Libra, Capricorn, and Aries. Libra contains the planet Jupiter,

which gives him a popular personality. Any mutual relationship between

Jupiter and Venus gives the individual the ability to teach and reach

people, particularly in spiritual matters. Interestingly enough, the

Dalai Lama's amatyakaraka (career indicator) is, as in the case of

Paramahamsa Yogananda, Jupiter, and the placement of the career

indicator in the second house, with the second house ruler in the

twelfth house, indicates the ability to teach in foreign countries.

Also, Saturn, in Aquarius, and Upaketu, in Taurus, aspect the twelfth

house from the Karakamsa -- the sign Cancer. The placement of Upaketu

does not necessarily promise the worship of any specific deity in the

Jyotish scriptures I have seen, but the placement of Saturn aspecting

the twelfth would promise worship of either Vishnu, or "mean deities".

Certainly, Buddhism is a "heterodox" system from the Vedic perspective

(it is "outside of the Vedas"). I have also noticed extremely strong

Saturn prominently placed in the charts of Vaishnavas, and Buddha,

according to some schools, is an Avatar of Vishnu. Also, the pada of

the twelfth house is Pisces, containing the upagraha Yamaganda, the

child of Jupiter, the great benefic among the upagrahas. Again, this

corroborates the spiritual success of the Lama, especially away from

his land of birth. In terms of events in the Dalai Lama's life, we can

certainly note that he left Tibet in 1959, during the middle of a

Sagittarius mahadasa. It has been implied in certain Jaimini texts that

there will be a "fall' during a Sagittarius period. We can certainly

view the Dalai Lama's exile as a "fall", although it eventually

projected him into a position of worldwide recognition. Jupiter, who

rules this sign, is considered a natural malefic (perhaps "death

inflicting" planet) for Virgo rising; Jupiter is placed in an enemy

sign; and Rahu is also in the sign Sagittarius, and Rahu will usually

involve separation or discord during its mahadasa of a sign in which it

is placed. The Dalai Lama's most recent Mahadasa is Gemini (Mithuna);

with both the Sun (the ruler of the Karakamsha) and the planet Mercury

in it's own sign, accompanied by Ketu, aspected by Mars, Rahu, and

Yamaganda, it is no wonder that Tibet has, since 1991 the time of

commencement of the Gemini Mahadasa, become a cause celebre, championed

by movie stars and rock performers. The Mahadasa into which the Dalai Lama was born was

a Virgo Mahadasa. The pada of the first house is Pisces, possessor of

the benefic upagraha Yamaganda. As many are aware, the Dalai Lama is

chosen through signs and the placement of the previous Dalai Lama's

possessions in front of the child candidate. This placement of

Yamaganda implies gifts at birth. And, one final point -- the placement

of Venus and the Moon, two extraordinary benefics, are usually an

indicator that the soul will attain heaven after death -- while

awaiting the next reincarnation perhaps. These two cases have illustrated, in a very basic

mode, how Jaimini principles can be used to illustrate spiritual

tendencies in a chart. The two individuals chosen were selected mainly

because they were well known. The indicators shown above, will, I hope,

whet the appetites of others to examine spiritual tendencies through

the use of Jaimini and Upagraha principles. Research is essential

because so few reference texts are available.

Bibliography

 

Sage Jaimini, Jaimini Sutram, translated by P.S. Sastri, Ranjan Publications, Delhi, India, 1990

 

Sage Parasara, Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra, translated by R. Santhanam

and G. S. Kapoor, Ranjan Publications, Delhi, India, 1989.

Rao, K. N., Predicting through Jaimini's Chara Dasa, Vani Graphics, Lucknow, India, 1995.

 

Rao, K. N. , Predicting through Karakamsa and Mandook Dasa, Vani Graphics, Lucknow, India, 1995.

 

Sastri, P. S., Jaimini Astrology, Sagar Publications, 1992.

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