Jyotisha

Jyotisha, “the science of the heavenly lights”

Kalpa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kalpa.

Jyotisha is the study of the jyotis, the “lights” of the sky: the Sun, the Moon, the planets and the stars. It covers both astronomy (working out where the celestial bodies are) and astrology (reading what their positions mean for life on earth).

It is one of the six Vedāṅgas (the “limbs of the Veda“, the supporting sciences needed to understand and use the Vedas), and it is called “the eye of the Veda”. It is used to find auspicious times for rites and every important task, and to reckon the calendar.

The Agni Purāṇa counts Jyotisha among the six Vedāṅgas and the aparā vidyā (the lower knowledge), all of which are forms of Śrī Mahāvishṇu, and it declares that Śrī Mahāvishṇu alone presides over the auspicious and inauspicious results that Jyotisha tells. Agni Deva gives the essence of the whole science: the muhūrtas for marriage, the saṃskāras and every task of life, the nine tārās, the strength of the moon, the saṅkrāntis, the course of an illness and the daśās of the planets (Chapter 121), and the arithmetic for finding the weekday, tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karaṇa (Chapter 122). In the Yuddhajayārṇava, which he tells as Bhagavān Śiva taught it to Devī Pārvatī, he adds the yogas to be avoided, the grahas in the houses from the birth sign, the rising periods and classes of the rāśis, and the rise and fall of prices (Chapters 124, 127, 129). Its knowers are also heard in rāja-dharma, in the reading of omens and the timing of a king’s march.

Per Nārada Purāṇa

Chapter 54 presents Jyotisha as one of the five Vedāṅgas covered in the first half (Pūrvārdha) of the Nārada Purāṇa. The chapter covers the astronomy and astrology needed for the Vedic calendar: working out auspicious times (muhūrta), the kinds and qualities of the nakshatras, the movements of the planets, and finding favourable times for yajñas (sacred fire offerings) and saṃskāras (life-cycle rites). This chapter goes together with the chapters on Jātaka (Chapter 55), which covers birth charts, and Saṃhitā (Chapter 56), which covers choosing times for actions.

Per Agni Purāṇa

The Agni Purāṇa gives Jyotisha in a short but full form across two chapters, 121 and 122.

The teaching is announced at the close of Chapter 120, the Bhuvanakośa (the description of the worlds). There Agni Deva says: “Now I shall tell of the vidyās such as Jyotiśśāstra. Śrī Mahāvishṇu alone is the master (adhipati) of the auspicious and inauspicious results told in them.” In Chapter 1 the Purāṇa names Jyotisha among the six Vedāṅgas, with Śikshā, Kalpa, Vyākaraṇa, Nirukta and Chandas, as part of the aparā vidyā, and says that both the parā and aparā vidyās are forms of Vishṇu. At its close, in Chapter 383, Agni Deva says again that jyotisha and the other vidyās are all forms of Hari, and names the jyotiś-cakra (the wheel of the luminaries) and jyotisha among the subjects the Purāṇa has told.

Chapter 121 covers how to find a muhūrta (an auspicious time), how nakshatras (lunar mansions) match, which tithis (lunar days) are favourable, and the rules for choosing good times for marriage, journeys and every important task. Chapter 122 is called Kāla-gaṇana (“the reckoning of time”). It explains the methods of calculation for working out calendar units, the places of the planets, and the great cycles of time, from the smallest nimesha (the blink of an eye) up to the mahākalpa.

How Jyotisha is presented

The text introduces Jyotisha as a science of four lakh (four hundred thousand) ślokas (verses), here boiled down to its key principles. It is described both as the science of telling the auspicious from the inauspicious (śubhāśubha-viveka) and as the way a person gains all-round knowledge (sarvajñāna). The speaker is Agni-deva himself, talking to the great muni.

Marriage Compatibility and Nakshatra Rules (Chapter 121)

The section on Jyotisha begins with the rules for matching bride and groom. These are measured by the distance between their birth-signs (rāśi, the sign of the zodiac in which the moon stood at birth). The following positions are declared inauspicious for marriage:

• The groom’s rāśi is 6th or 8th from the bride’s rāśi (shaḍashṭaka dosha)
• The groom’s rāśi is 9th or 5th from the bride’s (nava-pañcama dosha)
• The groom’s rāśi is 2nd or 12th from the bride’s (dvirdvādaśa dosha)

When the groom’s rāśi falls in the positions 4–10 or 3–11, or when the two signs are 7th from each other in a well-matched way (saptaka), the marriage is auspicious. And even where the numbers do not match well, the marriage is allowed if the rulers of the two birth-signs (rāśyādhipatis) are friends, or if both signs have the same ruler, or if the nakshatras of bride and groom are friendly to each other. In such cases the pañcama-navama and dvirdvādaśa faults need not be counted.

But where there is shashṭāshṭaka (the 6–8 relation), the Agni Purāṇa says the marriage must never be done. It gives these further rules for the time of marriage:

• If the marriage is done while Guru (Bṛhaspati, Jupiter) and Śukra (Venus) are astaṅgata (set in the rays of the Sun), the groom dies.
• If the Sun is in Guru’s sign and Guru in the Sun’s sign, the marriage is not good: the bride meets widowhood.
• When Bṛhaspati is vakra (retrograde) or aticāra (moving fast into the next sign), neither marriage nor upanayana should be done. If it cannot be avoided, a set period is left out; in vakra it is four months.
• Marriage is not auspicious in the months Caitra and Pausha; on a riktā tithi (caturthī, navamī, caturdaśī); while Śrī Mahāvishṇu rests in his yoga-nidrā; on Tuesday and Sunday; or when the moon is waning.
• The sandhyā (twilight) is auspicious.
• Marriage is auspicious in the nakshatras Rohiṇī, the three Uttarās, Mūla, Svātī, Hasta and Revatī; in the dual (dvisvabhāva) rāśis other than Tulā; and in the fixed (sthira) rāśis.
• In marriage, karṇavedha (piercing of the ears), upanayana, puṃsavana, annaprāśana (the first feeding of grain) and cūḍā-karma (the first tonsure), a viddha (afflicted) nakshatra is to be given up.

Tithis, Nakshatras and Choosing Auspicious Times

The thirty tithis of the lunar month are sorted into five named groups that repeat through the month:

• Nandā tithis (1st, 6th, 11th): auspicious for festivals and for things tied to prosperity
• Bhadrā tithis (2nd, 7th, 12th): good for steady, building work
• Jayā tithis (3rd, 8th, 13th): suited to contests and forceful aims
• Riktā tithis (4th, 9th, 14th): mostly inauspicious; avoided for new beginnings
• Pūrṇā tithis (5th, 10th, 15th, new moon and full moon): auspicious for completing things, for pūjā and for major rites

The five vowels (a, i, u, e, o) match these five groups of tithis in order. The consonants from ka to ha match the planets in sequence: Sūrya and Maṅgala rule the ka group; Budha and Candra rule the ca group; Bṛhaspati and Śukra rule the ṭa group; and Śani and Maṅgala rule the ta group. These links are used in working out muhūrtas.

The twenty-seven nakshatras rule the days of the lunar month. The text lays down that particular nakshatras suit particular tasks. Some are good for travel (yātrā), some for sowing seed (bīja-nyāsa), some for starting to build, and some for war. The text also describes the yogas (twenty-seven periods formed by the combined longitude of the sun and the moon) and the karaṇas (the eleven half-tithis), each with its own effect on what one sets out to do.

The Muhūrtas of Life (Chapter 121)

Agni Deva then gives, task by task, the times that suit each act of life.

The saṃskāras of childhood. Puṃsavana is done in Śravaṇa, Mūla and Pushya, on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, in the Kumbha, Siṃha and Mithuna lagnas. A child is first taken out of the house in Hasta, Mūla, Mṛgaśīrsha and Revatī, on Wednesday and Friday. The first tāmbūla (betel) is best on Sunday, Monday, Thursday and Friday, in Mūla. Annaprāśana is done on Friday and Thursday, in the Makara and Mīna lagnas, in the five nakshatras from Hasta, in Pushya, and in the three from Kṛttikā. New grain and fruit are first eaten in Aśvinī, Revatī, Pushya, Hasta, Jyeshṭhā, Rohiṇī and Śravaṇa. Medicine is taken in Svātī and Mṛgaśirā. One freed from illness takes his bath in the three Pūrvās, Maghā, Bharaṇī, Svātī, Śravaṇa, Dhanishṭhā and Śatabhishak, on Sunday, Saturday and Tuesday.

Shaving, ear-piercing, letters and the sacred thread. A boy’s first kshaura (shaving) is good on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday, in the six months from Māgha. Karṇavedha is good on Wednesday and Thursday, in Pushya, Śravaṇa and Citrā. In the fifth year, leaving out pratipat, shashṭhī, the riktā tithis, pūrṇimā and Tuesday, one worships Vishṇu (with a second devatā whose name the print has lost) and begins the letters (akshara-ārambha). The six months from Māgha are auspicious for upanayana; the six from Śrāvaṇa are not good for cūḍā-karaṇa and the other saṃskāras. If the yajñopavīta (sacred thread) is put on while Guru and Śukra are set, or while the moon wanes, the boy becomes dull of mind or dies. Samāvartana (the return home after study) is done in the nakshatras of the first shaving and on the days of the benefic planets.

Arms, clothes, gems, trade and service. Dhanurveda (the science of the bow) is begun when a benefic planet owns, occupies or looks upon the lagna, in Aśvinī, Maghā, Citrā, Svātī, Bharaṇī, the three Uttarās, Punarvasu and Pushya. One who wishes to live does not put on new clothes in Bharaṇī, Ārdrā, Maghā, Āśleshā, Kṛttikā and Pūrvaphalgunī; clothes are put on on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and for a marriage and other auspicious occasions the nakshatra need not be examined. Conch, coral and gems are worn in Revatī, Aśvinī, Dhanishṭhā and the five nakshatras from Hasta. Buying or selling in Bharaṇī, Āśleshā, Dhanishṭhā, the three Pūrvās and Kṛttikā brings loss; in Aśvinī, Svātī, Citrā, Revatī, Śatabhishā and Śravaṇa buying brings profit and selling does not. Service to a master is not begun, money is not lent and nothing is pledged in Bharaṇī, the three Pūrvās, Ārdrā, Āśleshā, Maghā, Svātī, Kṛttikā and Viśākhā. The rājyābhisheka (consecration of a king) is done in the three Uttarās, Śravaṇa and Jyeshṭhā.

House, tank and boat. All months except Caitra, Jyeshṭha, Bhādrapada, Āśvina, Pausha and Māgha are good for beginning a house (gṛhārambha). Aśvinī, Rohiṇī, Mūla, the three Uttarās, Mṛgaśīrsha, Svātī, Hasta and Anurādhā, on days other than Sunday and Tuesday, are auspicious for beginning a house, a tank, a step-well and a prāsāda (palace or temple). No work on a house is done while Guru is in Siṃha, in gurvāditya, in an adhika-māsa (an added month), or while Śukra is young, old or set. Grass and wood stored in the five nakshatras from Śravaṇa bring fire, fear, disease, trouble from the king and loss of wealth. A new house is entered in Dhanishṭhā, the three Uttarās and Śatabhishak. A boat is built on dvitīyā, tṛtīyā, pañcamī, saptamī and trayodaśī.

The king, war and cattle. One goes to see the king in Dhanishṭhā, Hasta, Revatī and Aśvinī. A war-march in the three Pūrvās, Dhanishṭhā, Ārdrā, Kṛttikā, Mṛgaśīrsha, Viśākhā, Āśleshā and Aśvinī gives prosperity and success. On ashṭamī, amāvāsyā and caturdaśī, and in the three Uttarās, Rohiṇī, Śravaṇa, Hasta and Citrā, cattle are not taken out of the cowshed for sale, and cattle bought are not brought in.

Farming and grain. Farming work is begun in Svātī, the three Uttarās, Rohiṇī, Mṛgaśīrsha, Mūla, Punarvasu, Pushya, Hasta and Śravaṇa. Ploughing is done in Punarvasu, the three Uttarās, Svātī, Pūrvaphalgunī, Mūla, Jyeshṭhā and Śatabhishak; on Sunday, Monday, Thursday and Friday; in the Vṛshabha, Mithuna and Kanyā lagnas; and on dvitīyā, tṛtīyā, pañcamī, saptamī, daśamī and trayodaśī. Seed sown in Revatī, Rohiṇī, Jyeshṭhā, Kṛttikā, Hasta, Anurādhā and the three Uttarās, on days other than Saturday and Tuesday, brings all prosperity. The crop is cut in Revatī, Hasta, Mūla, Śravaṇa, Pūrvaphalgunī and Mṛgaśirā, in the Makara lagna. Grain is threshed in Hasta, Citrā, Punarvasu, Svātī, Revatī and the three from Śravaṇa, and stored in a fixed lagna, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, in Bharaṇī, Punarvasu, Maghā, Jyeshṭhā and the three Uttarās. It is taken out for use in the three Pūrvās, Viśākhā, Dhanishṭhā and Śatabhishak. Two mantras, written on a leaf and placed on the heap of grain, make the grain increase:

ओं धनदाय सर्वधनेशाय देहि मे धनं स्वाहा

oṃ dhanadāya sarvadhaneśāya dehi me dhanaṃ svāhā

Oṃ, to Dhanada, the giver of wealth, the ruler of all wealth: give me wealth, svāhā.

ओं नव्ये वरे इलादेवि, लोक संवर्धनि, कामरूपिणि देहि धनं स्वाहा

oṃ navye vare ilādevi, loka saṃvardhani, kāmarūpiṇi dehi dhanaṃ svāhā

Oṃ, O new one, O excellent one, Ilā Devī, who makes the worlds prosper, who takes any form at will: give wealth, svāhā.

Consecrations and the festivals of Vishṇu and Durgā. The pratishṭhā (consecration) of temples, gardens, tanks and wells is done while the Sun is in uttarāyaṇa. When the Sun is in Mithuna, on the dvādaśī after amāvāsyā, the śayana-utsava (festival of the resting) of Śrī Mahāvishṇu is held; with the Sun in Siṃha and in Tulā, on the dvādaśīs after amāvāsyā, come the festivals of his turning (parivartana) and of his waking (jāgaraṇa). With the Sun in Kanyā, on the ashṭamī after amāvāsyā, comes the Durgā-jāgaraṇa, the vigil of Devī Durgā. When a bhadrā tithi (dvitīyā, saptamī, dvādaśī) falls on a pāda-nakshatra and the day is Sunday, Saturday or Tuesday, that is the tripushkara yoga.

Mahājyeshṭhī and the banner of Indra. When the Sun is in Vṛshabha or Mithuna, Guru in Mṛgaśirā or Jyeshṭhā, the day is Thursday and the tithi pūrṇimā, that is the Mahājyeshṭhī. The full moon of Jyeshṭha month with Guru and the moon in Jyeshṭhā and the Sun in Rohiṇī is also Mahājyeshṭhī. Before the moon reaches Svātī, one worships Indra (Devendra) on a frame and raises the Indra-dhvaja (Indra’s banner); it is taken down in Śravaṇa or in Aśvinī, or at the end of the week.

The Twelve Bhāvas, the Nine Tārās and the Strength of the Moon (Chapter 121)

From the lagna, beginning with Mesha, arise the twelve bhāvas (houses): tanu (the body), dhana (wealth), sahaja (siblings), suhṛt (friends), suta (sons), ripu (enemies), jāyā (the wife), nidhana (death), dharma, karma, āya (income) and vyaya (expense).

The text then names the nine tārās (the stars counted from one’s birth nakshatra): janma, sampat, vipat, kshema, pratyak, sādhaka, maitra and atimaitra; the print gives these eight names. For every act the strength of the moon (candra-bala) and of the tārā (tārā-bala) is to be seen. The moon is auspicious in the janma-rāśi and in the third, sixth, seventh, tenth and eleventh places, and in the bright fortnight in the second, fifth and ninth as well. From kṛshṇa ashṭamī to śukla ashṭamī the moon is weak; after that it is full. The maitra, atimaitra, sādhaka and sampat tārās are auspicious. In the janma tārā there is death, in the vipat tārā loss of wealth, and in the pratyak and mṛtyu tārās death.

Eclipses, Saṅkrāntis, Illness and the Daśās (Chapter 121)

When the Sun is seized by Rāhu in an eclipse, every gift is a gift of gold, every brāhmaṇa is equal to Brahmā, and all waters are equal to the water of Gaṅgā.

The Sun’s saṅkrāntis falling on Sunday to Saturday bear names in order: Ghorā, Dhvāṅkshī, Mahodarī, Mandā, Mandākinī, a sixth whose name the print has lost, and Rākshasī. A saṅkrānti in the karaṇas Kaulava, Śakuni or Kiṃstughna makes the people happy. In Garaja, Vaṇij, Vishṭi or Bālava the people suffer from the faults of the king but keep their wealth. In Catushpāt, Taitila or Nāga there is famine and war among kings, and doubt arises about the life of husband and wife.

An illness that begins on one’s janma-nakshatra or on the ādhāna (the nineteenth nakshatra from it) brings great suffering. By the nakshatra on which it begins, an illness lasts:

If homa is done with the Gāyatrī mantra, offering the five grains, tila (sesame) and ghee, the illness goes and auspicious fruit comes. The gift of a milch cow to brāhmaṇas also pacifies it.

The daśās (periods) of the planets are: the Sun six years, the Moon fifteen, Kuja (Mars) eight, Budha sixteen, Śani ten, Bṛhaspati nineteen, Rāhu twelve and Śukra twenty-one years.

Written Yantras (Chapter 121)

The chapter also gives written yantras. On a square tablet of clay one writes the bīja hrīṃ eight times in the eight directions and one’s own name in the middle; or on clay or a bhūrja-patra (birch-bark leaf), with gorocanā and kuṅkuma, a second bīja in the eight directions and the name in the middle. Wrapped in cloth and worn at the throat, it brings enemies under control. The name enclosed by śrīṃ and hrīṃ, written with gorocanā and kuṅkuma on eight birch-bark leaves and buried, brings one who has gone abroad quickly home. The same yantra written with turmeric juice on a stone slab and laid face down paralyses enemies (śatru-stambhana). The name enclosed by oṃ, hūṃ and sa, written on eight birch-bark leaves and kept, wards off death (mṛtyu-nivāraṇa). Written once, seven or nine times the mantra brings mutual love; two, six or twelve times it reunites those who are parted; three, seven or eleven times it brings gain; four, eight or twelve times it brings mutual enmity.

Kāla-Gaṇana: The Reckoning of Time (Chapter 122)

Chapter 122 is given to the science of reckoning time by calculation (kāla-gaṇana). Agni-deva explains that this knowledge lets one work out the positions of the planets from any starting point: from the start of Brahmā‘s day (brahma-dina), from the start of creation (sṛshṭy-ārambha), or from the start of a historical śaka (era).

The Basic Method of Calculation

The steps for finding the present position in the calendar of the universe are:

1. Take the total number of years passed since the starting point and multiply by twelve (to turn them into months).
2. Add the number of months passed in the current year, counted from Caitra.
3. Multiply the result by two and write it down in two places.
4. In the first place add 4; in the second place add 865. The pair of numbers that results is called the saguṇa.
5. Write the saguṇa in three places (sthānas). Multiply the middle value by eight and the lower by four.

Through further steps of this kind, multiplying, dividing and adding set numbers, the tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karaṇa of any day can be worked out. The text gives the full set of multipliers and divisors for the motion of each planet.

The three places are called ūrdhva (upper), madhya (middle) and adhaḥ (lower). When the first number is divided by seven, the remainder gives the weekday, counted from Sunday; the numbers in the other two places become the tithi-dhruva. Further steps on the same saguṇa give the dhruva of the nakshatra and yoga, found by dividing by 27. Adding the monthly dhruva each month, one finds the tithi of a weekday with its ghaṭikās and palas, and the nakshatra counted from Aśvinī. Some of the divisors are lost in the printed text.

Making the tithi true. The chapter then gives Sanskrit ślokas, with their explanation, on the saṃskāra (correction) that turns the mean tithi into the true (sphuṭa) one. The ghaṭikās to be added or taken away are: on caturdaśī none; on trayodaśī and pratipat five; on dvādaśī and dvitīyā ten; on tṛtīyā and ekādaśī fifteen; on caturthī and daśamī nineteen; on pañcamī and navamī twenty-two; on shashṭhī and ashṭamī twenty-four; and on saptamī twenty-five. Tables of values for the rāśis from Karkaṭaka, Tulā and Mesha follow, and from these the measure of the tithi and the nakshatra in daṇḍas is found. The measure of the yoga is found from the tithi, or by adding the Sun and the Moon. The moving (cara) karaṇas are found from the number of the tithi. From the second half of kṛshṇa caturdaśī come the four fixed (sthira) karaṇas, Śakuni, Catushpada, Kiṃstughna and Nāga, and in the first half of śukla pratipat is the Kiṃstughna karaṇa.

Units of Time

The text lists the units of time from the smallest to the largest:

• Nimesha: the blink of an eye, the smallest unit one can notice
• Kāshṭhā: 15 nimeshas
• Kalā: 30 kāshṭhās
• Muhūrta: 2 kalās (48 minutes in modern time)
• Prahara (yāma): 8 muhūrtas
• Ahorātra: a full day and night, 30 muhūrtas
• Paksha: 15 ahorātras (a fortnight)
• Māsa: 2 pakshas (a lunar month)
• Ṛtu: 2 māsas (a season)
• Ayana: 3 ṛtus (half a year)
• Varsha: 2 ayanas (a solar year)
• Yuga: 12,000 divine years (4,320,000 human years)
• Mahāyuga: the four yugas together (Kṛta + Tretā + Dvāpara + Kali)
• Manvantara: 71 mahāyugas
• Kalpa: 14 manvantaras, one day of Brahmā

The Vedic Calendar and the Extra Month

The text deals with bringing the solar and lunar calendars into line. Twelve lunar months fall about eleven days short of a solar year, so an extra month (adhikamāsa) is added from time to time to keep the two together. The text gives the numbers needed to work out when an adhikamāsa should be added.

The year (saṃvatsara) is divided into six ṛtus (seasons): Vasanta (spring), Grīshma (summer), Varshā (monsoon), Śarad (autumn), Hemanta (early winter) and Śiśira (late winter). The sun’s passage through the twelve signs of the zodiac (rāśis) marks the solar months. Its northward course (uttarāyaṇa) and southward course (dakshiṇāyana) mark the two ayanas. The winter solstice, Makara-saṅkrānti, when the sun enters Makara (Capricorn), marks the start of Uttarāyaṇa and is held to be the most auspicious saṅkrānti (the sun’s entry into a new sign).

Jyotisha in the Yuddhajayārṇava (Chapters 124, 127, 129)

From Chapter 124 Agni Deva tells the essence of the Yuddhajayārṇava, the “ocean of victory in battle”, as Bhagavān Śiva (Śaṅkara) taught it to Devī Pārvatī: the times, mantras and herbs that bring victory, and the knowledge of the auspicious and inauspicious.

The yogas to be avoided (Chapter 127). In the Vishkambha yoga three ghaṭikās, in Śūla five, in Gaṇḍa and Atigaṇḍa six, and in Vyāghāta and Vajra nine ghaṭikās are to be avoided in all works. In the Parigha, Vyatīpāta and Vaidhṛti yogas the whole day is avoided, and no journey or battle is begun.

The grahas in the houses from the birth sign (Chapter 127). Bhagavān Śiva tells Devī Pārvatī the fruits of the grahas counted from the janma-rāśi (the birth sign):

The rising periods of the rāśis (Chapter 127). The twelve rāśis come round in one day. Their bhoga-kāla (period of rising) is four daṇḍas each for Mīna, Mesha and Mithuna; six for Vṛshabha, Karkaṭa, Siṃha and Kanyā; and five for Tulā, Vṛścika, Dhanus, Makara and Kumbha. The rāśi in which the Sun stands is the udaya-rāśi, and the rising of the others begins from it.

Cara, sthira and dvisvabhāva rāśis (Chapter 127). The rāśis from Mesha are, in turn, cara (moving), sthira (fixed) and dvisvabhāva (dual). Mesha, Karkaṭa, Tulā and Makara are cara: works not meant to last are done in them. Vṛshabha, Siṃha, Vṛścika and Kumbha are sthira: lasting works are done in them; one who sets out in these lagnas is not soon met again, and a sick man is not soon healed. Mithuna, Kanyā, Dhanus and Mīna are dvisvabhāva: they are auspicious in all works, and journeys, trade, battle, marriage and audience with the king in them bring growth and victory.

Rain (Chapter 127). Aśvinī has twenty stars and the shape of a horse; rain that begins in it falls heavily for one night. Rain that begins in Bharaṇī goes on unbroken for fifteen days.

The Arghakāṇḍa: the rise and fall of prices (Chapter 129). When meteors fall, the earth quakes, lightning strikes, the Sun or the Moon is eclipsed, or the quarters burn with heat, one should watch prices month by month:

• Caitra: gather ornament material, silver and gold; after six months it sells at four times the price.
• Vaiśākha: gather cloth, grain, gold and ghee; in the eighth month they sell at six times the price.
• Jyeshṭha and Āshāḍha: gather barley, wheat and grain.
• Śrāvaṇa: gather ghee, oil and other liquids.
• Āśvayuja: gather cloth and grain.
• Kārtika: buy and keep food of every kind.
• Mārgaśira and Pausha: profit comes from kuṅkuma (saffron) and fragrant things.
• Māgha: profit comes from grain.
• Phālguna: profit comes from fragrant things.

The profit comes within six to eight months.

Jyotisha in Rāja-dharma (Chapters 219, 231, 233)

At the king’s abhisheka, the six Vedāṅgas, Śikshā, Vyākaraṇa, Chandas, Nirukta, Jyotisha and Kalpa, are among the fourteen vidyās asked to protect him (Chapter 219). In reading omens, the knowers of jyotiśśāstra declare that the fruits of all dīpta (“blazing”) omens are inauspicious and those of śānta (“calm”) omens auspicious (Chapter 231). For the king’s march, Pushkara teaches that one should not set out in the Gaṇḍa yoga, on the riktā tithis, in the Vaidhṛti and Vyatīpāta yogas, in Nāga, Śakuni, Catushpāda and Kiṃstughna, or in the Vipat, Mṛtyu, Pratyari and Janma tārās (Chapter 233).

Per Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa is a large Purāṇa full of practical teaching. Chapters 166 to 174 of its second part (Dvitīya Khaṇḍa) are given to Jyotisha, the traditional Indian science of the lights of the sky.

In these chapters Bhagavān Brahmā teaches Bhṛgu Ṛshi the whole science of the lights. The teaching covers the seven kinds of jyotisha texts, the twelve rāśis (signs of the zodiac) and their qualities, which planet rules each month of pregnancy, instruments and units of measurement, the kākshyā measures of planetary orbits, shadow reckoning with a gnomon of 12 aṅgulas, the dhruvakas (reference stars) of the nakshatras, how the planets move, how to find the tithi from the exact (sphuṭa) positions of the grahas, how to find the equinoxes, how to find the lagna (rising sign) using prāṇa units, the first and last sightings of the planets near the Sun, and the Paitāmaha Siddhānta, Brahmā’s own system of astronomy.

Brahmā Teaching Bhṛgu

Most of the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa is told by Pushkara to Paraśurāma. Some sections have their own inner story, such as the teaching of Garga to Atri. The jyotisha section has its own inner story. When Pushkara reaches the topic of astronomy, he tells what Bhagavān Brahmā himself taught to Bhṛgu Ṛshi. Because it comes straight from Brahmā, the Paitāmaha Siddhānta (Brahmā’s own system) is treated as the true foundation for every jyotisha calculation in this Purāṇa.

This follows a pattern seen all through this Purāṇa. Each field of knowledge has its own divine teacher: Gargācārya for the science of omens, Brahmā for astronomy, Paraśara for the mantras of weapons. Knowledge here is never just a technique. It is always wisdom received from a divine source and handed down through a particular line of teachers.

Seven Kinds of Jyotisha Texts

Brahmā first sets out the seven kinds of jyotisha writing. Together they make up the complete science:

1. Siddhānta: the basic astronomy texts. They lay down the mathematics: how the planets move, how long their orbits take, tables for calculation, and the basic model of the universe. The Paitāmaha Siddhānta is the main one used in this Purāṇa.
2. Saṃhitā: applied astronomy and astrology. It reads signs in the sky, such as comets, eclipses and unusual planetary positions, as signs of events on earth. Varāhamihira’s Bṛhatsaṃhitā is the classic example.
3. Horā (birth astrology): the study of a person’s birth chart from the positions of the planets at the moment of birth. The system of 12 rāśis, the meanings of the houses, and the daśā-bhukti systems of planetary periods belong here.
4. Gaṇita: the calculation side. It gives the methods and tables needed to work out the exact positions of the planets (sphuṭa-grahas), the tithis, the nakshatras and the yogas from first principles.
5. Praśna (question astrology): the reading of a chart drawn up for the moment a question is asked, to answer an urgent practical question. It is used a great deal in matters of war (Chapters 162–165 and 175).
6. Jātaka: writings on reading birth charts in detail, including a person’s character, the events of life, and when they will happen according to planetary periods.
7. Muhūrta: the choosing of good times for particular actions, based on the planets, nakshatras, tithis and yogas. This Purāṇa uses it again and again to time rituals, military campaigns and ceremonies.

The Twelve Rāśis

Brahmā lists the twelve rāśis (signs of the zodiac) and their qualities:

The three natures, cara (moving), sthira (fixed) and dvisvabhāva (dual or changeable), together with the four elements, are the basis of all work with the rāśis in horā and muhūrta.

Which Planet Rules Each Month of Pregnancy

Earlier, in Chapter 114, this Purāṇa teaches about garbha-saṃkrānti, the growth of the child in the womb. The jyotisha section links back to that teaching by naming the planet that rules each month of pregnancy. The ruling planet shapes the growth that happens in that month:

• Month 1: Candra (the Moon). Life begins, still without form and fluid. Candra rules this watery, unformed stage.
• Month 2: Maṅgala (Mars). The first form becomes firm. Mars gives substance and shape.
• Month 3: Guru (Jupiter). The limbs form. Jupiter’s nature of growth and spreading gives the body its limbs.
• Month 4: Sūrya (the Sun). Bones and skin develop. The Sun’s fiery nature hardens and defines.
• Month 5: Śukra (Venus). Feeling and the sense of beauty develop. Venus rules the senses.
• Month 6: Śani (Saturn). Intelligence and memory develop. Saturn’s drawing-together nature gathers awareness.
• Month 7: Budha (Mercury). Full awareness comes, with memory of past lives; the jīva (the living soul) is most aware at this point. Mercury rules memory and communication.
• Month 8: No clear ruler. This is the critical month of change, and birth in this month is thought unlucky.
• Month 9: All the planets together. The jīva is ready to be born. The planet ruling the moment of birth becomes the lord of the lagna and shapes the person’s janmapatrikā (birth chart).

Causes of miscarriage: The Purāṇa also names planetary patterns, in the mother’s birth chart or in the current movement of the planets, that make garbhapāta (miscarriage) more likely. These include certain combinations of Śani and Maṅgala, certain movements of Rāhu, and an eclipse falling in a critical month.

Instruments and Measurement

The Purāṇa describes the tools used to observe the sky.

Measuring shadows with a gnomon: The standard gnomon (śaṅku), an upright stick, is 12 aṅgulas (finger-widths) tall. Measuring its shadow lets the astronomer:

• find how high the Sun is at any time of day
• find the equinoxes (when the shadow at noon equals the length of the gnomon)
• keep time through the day

The shadow calculations follow set tables. At different latitudes and seasons, the shadow lengths at noon, morning and evening follow patterns that can be predicted, so the astronomer can find the exact time and the position of the Sun.

Finding the equinoxes: The Purāṇa gives the method for finding the spring and autumn equinoxes from shadow measurements. The equinoxes are key reference points in the yearly calendar. They mark the change between uttarāyaṇa (the Sun’s northward course) and dakshiṇāyana (its southward course).

Kākshyā measures: The kākshyā system measures how far each planet’s orbit is from the earth. The Purāṇa gives relative kākshyā values that set out the traditional order of orbits around the earth: the Moon (closest), Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (the farthest of the visible planets). These measures are used to work out the speeds of the planets and how much weight each planet carries in astrology.

Reference Stars and the Movement of the Planets

Nakshatra dhruvakas: The Purāṇa gives a reference star (dhruvaka) for each of the 27 nakshatras (lunar mansions, the star groups the Moon passes through). These are stars that can be picked out in the sky, and they fix where each nakshatra lies. With them, the astronomer can see which nakshatra the Moon is in on any night.

How the planets move: The Purāṇa sees the movement of the planets both as something that can be observed and as something sacred. Each planet moves through its cycle by divine will. The planets are not just physical objects. They are conscious beings, the graha-devatās, and their movements show divine intention. The task of the jyotisha expert is to read this intention correctly.

Finding the tithi from exact planetary positions: To find the exact tithi (lunar day), one works out the exact angle between the Moon (sphuṭa Candra) and the Sun (sphuṭa Sūrya). Every 12 degrees of separation between the Moon and the Sun makes one tithi. The Purāṇa gives the method for this, using the planetary longitudes worked out from the tables of the Paitāmaha Siddhānta.

Finding the Lagna with Prāṇa Units

The lagna (ascendant) is the point of the zodiac rising on the eastern horizon at a given moment. It is found by counting the prāṇas (units of time of about 4 seconds each) that have passed since the last sunrise. The Purāṇa gives:

• how many prāṇas each rāśi takes to rise at a given latitude (the rising-time values)
• the method for turning the time passed since sunrise into the present lagna
• tables for adjusting to different latitudes

With this, the jyotisha-ācārya (teacher of jyotisha) can find the lagna for any moment. This matters both for birth charts, where the birth lagna shapes the whole chart, and for praśna-lagna, the lagna of the moment a question is asked.

First and Last Sightings of the Planets

The udaya (heliacal rising) and asta (heliacal setting) of a planet are its first and last appearances in the sky near the Sun. They are important in the Purāṇa’s system:

• When a planet is combust (too close to the Sun), its astrological power is thought to be weakened.
• The first sighting of a planet after it has been hidden is its “rebirth” into full activity.
• The Purāṇa gives, for each planet, the number of degrees from the Sun within which it is counted as asta (set).
• The rising of certain planets in certain seasons is tied to the timing of farming, medicine and ritual throughout the Purāṇa’s calendar.

The most important of these is the rising of Agastya (the star Canopus). The Sāṃvatsarika chapter (Chapter 152) treats it as the sign that the season for military campaigns has opened.

The Paitāmaha Siddhānta

The Paitāmaha Siddhānta, Brahmā‘s own system of astronomy, is presented as the base text for all the calculations in Chapters 166–174. “Paitāmaha” means “belonging to the grandfather”. Brahmā is the pitāmaha, the grandfather of all beings.

The Paitāmaha Siddhānta belongs to the Vedāṅga Jyotisha tradition. It is one of the five ancient Siddhāntas that Varāhamihira summed up in his Pañcasiddhāntikā. Its main features are:

• its mathematics is fairly simple compared with the later Āryabhaṭīya or Sūrya Siddhānta
• it uses the yuga system (great cycles of years) to work out the average motion of the planets
• it stresses the sacred and universal meaning of events in the sky alongside the mathematics

In this Purāṇa, the Paitāmaha Siddhānta is not just one system among many. It is the system Bhṛgu received straight from Brahmā. That makes it the most trusted basis for the jyotisha calculations behind all the timing of rituals and military actions taught in the Purāṇa.

Sources

• Nārada Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 54
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 1, 120–122, 124, 127, 129, 219, 231, 233, 383
• Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Uttarārdha (Dvitīya Khaṇḍa), Chapters 166–174
• Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Part 5