Vyatīpāta
Vyatīpāta · vi-ati-pāta, “the great fall, a calamity”
Karaṇa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Karaṇa.
Grammar: masculine noun, from vi, ati and pāta (a fall, from the root pat, to fall): “a great fall”, a calamity.
Meaning: an ill-omened yoga (a joining of the times) of the pañcāṅga, in which auspicious works such as marriage and the march of a king are not begun, but which is a holy time for dāna.
In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa names vyatīpāta in the rules of marriage, of dāna and of the march.
How it is formed. In the rules of dāna which Agnideva tells Vasishṭha Maharshi, when the nakshatra is Śravaṇa, Aśvinī or Dhanishṭhā, or the first quarter of Āśleshā, together with a Sunday, that is the vyatīpāta yoga (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 209).
A time for dāna. In the same chapter, dāna should be made at the Sun’s entry into uttarāyaṇa and dakshiṇāyana, at the holy time of the vishuva (equinox), at vyatīpāta, on a lost tithi, at the beginning of a yuga, at a saṅkrānti, on caturdaśī, ashṭamī, pūrṇimā and dvādaśī, at the ashṭakā śrāddha, at a yajña, a festival or a marriage, at the beginning of a manvantara, in the vaidhṛti yoga, after a bad dream, on gaining wealth and on meeting a worthy brāhmaṇa (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 209).
No marriage. In the rules of marriage which Pushkara tells Paraśurāma, marriage is forbidden in the months Paushya and Caitra, on Tuesday, on the riktā and bhadrā tithis, when Guru and Śukra are set, when a lunar eclipse is about to occur, when Ravi, Śani or Kuja are in the lagna, and when there is the vyatīpāta dosha (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 154).
No march. In the march of a king according to rāja-dharma, Pushkara teaches that one should not march in the yogas Vaidhṛti, Vyatīpāta, Nāga, Śakuni, Catushpāda and Kiṃstughna, in the tārās Vipat, Mṛtyu, Pratyari and Janma, in the Gaṇḍa yoga, or on the riktā tithis (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 233).
Related terms: Yoga · Vaidhṛti · Pañcāṅga · Nakshatra · Dāna · Muhūrta
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 154, 209, 233