Jātaka in the Nārada Purāṇa
Jātaka is the branch of Jyotiṣa (Vedic astronomy and astrology) that deals with the birth chart. By reading the chart drawn for the moment of birth, it seeks to know a person’s nature, qualities and destiny.
Chapter 55 of the Nārada Mahā Purāṇa gives a short teaching on Jātaka. Most of it is about doṣas (faults) and śubha-yogas (auspicious combinations of planets) that matter when choosing a muhūrta (auspicious time) for marriage and other saṃskāras (life-cycle rites). It shows which planet positions are deadly and when those faults are cancelled.
Reading the Chart for Marriage: Lagna and Navāṃśa
The Nārada Purāṇa’s Jātaka chapter is mostly about how to judge the chart when choosing the lagna for a marriage. The lagna is the sign rising on the eastern horizon at the chosen moment, and it counts as the first house of the chart.
Lagna-ādhipatya doṣa (the fault of the lagna’s lord): The lagna or the lagnāṃśa may be joined with, or looked on (aspected) by, its own ruling planet. If the same is also true of the saptama (the seventh house), there is danger of death for the husband. In the same way, if the saptama-bhāva (seventh house), the saptamāṃśa or the udayāṃśa are joined with or aspected by their ruling planets, especially in hostile patterns, widowhood is shown.
Uttama lagna (the best lagnas, whose good combinations overcome faults):
- When Bṛhaspati (Jupiter), Śukra (Venus) or Budha (Mercury) sits in a kendra (the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house), all doṣas of the lagna are destroyed.
- The janma-rāśy-udaya (the rising of one’s birth sign) and the janma-lagna-udaya (the rising of one’s birth lagna) are especially auspicious. Their vṛddhi-sthānas, the third, fifth and eleventh houses counted from each, are most auspicious.
Rules for the navāṃśa (the ninth division of a sign):
- The auspicious navāṃśas are Tulā (Libra), Mithuna (Gemini), Kanyā (Virgo) and Dhanu (Sagittarius). These are śubhaprada, “givers of good”.
- Vṛṣabha (Taurus) navāṃśas that are vargottama (in the same sign in the navāṃśa as in the main chart) are also auspicious.
- All other navāṃśas are kunavāṃśa, a bad navāṃśa. A lagna with a kunavāṃśa should be given up, even if it is sarva-guṇānvita, full of every other good quality.
Planet Pairings That Affect the Couple
The chapter looks at particular pairings of planets and what they mean for the newly married couple.
Candra (the Moon) joined with another planet:
| The Moon with | Result for the couple |
|---|---|
| Sūrya (the Sun) | Dāridrya, poverty |
| Maṅgala (Mars) | Mṛtyu, death |
| Budha (Mercury) | Vyādhi, disease |
| Bṛhaspati (Jupiter) | Nissantāna (childlessness) and daurbhāgya (misfortune) |
| Śukra (Venus) | Sapatnī, a co-wife: the husband takes another woman |
| Śani (Saturn) | Asceticism, sannyāsa |
| Rāhu | Mūla-nāśa, complete destruction |
| Ketu | Nitya-kaṣṭa (constant hardship) and poverty |
The exception: When the Moon is in its ucca (sign of exaltation, where it is strongest) or in a mitra-rāśi (friendly sign), and is joined with śubha-grahas (helpful planets), it is good for the couple even if the lagna has some faults.
But: When the Moon, even in its own exaltation, its own nakṣatra (lunar mansion) or a friendly sign, is joined with pāpa-grahas (harmful planets), it still brings death for the couple.
The rule of the eighth place: When the Moon is in the eighth house from the lagna, it brings death to both husband and wife. This is so even if helpful planets are in the lagna and in the Moon’s sign. Such a lagna must be given up.
Helpful Planets as the Remedy
The strongest remedy for almost every fault of the lagna is to have Bṛhaspati, Śukra or Budha in the kendras. The chapter clearly says that these three helpful planets in kendra positions cancel all faults. The same rule appears both here in the Jātaka chapter and in the next chapter, on Saṃhitā and muhūrta (Chapter 56).
Sources
- Nārada Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 55