Stars twinkle in my mind when I read the name of Carl Sagan, as his contribution to space sciences has enabled the mankind to surpass the limits the earth. Cosmos, his popular and novel work, focusing on origin of life and mankind place in universe, is one of my favourite books. Yet, I don’t agree with Sagan at various points, especially on astrology. He was a denier of all spiritual aspects of life, perhaps an atheist. He refuted the astrology on the bases of polls-a-part deviation between astronomical realities and astrological planetary significations. In support of his thesis, he put many arguments, but unfortunately his reasoning is confined to apparent contradiction and limited samples of astrological readings. He committed the mistake of taking the karakas (significators) in verbatim and correlating them with physical and chemical characteristics of planets. Moreover, he highlighted the absence of scientific facts in favour of planetary influence on human affairs. And inferred that astrology, like ancient religious believes, is nothing but superstition. Similarly, he also presented the (sun sign based) daily horoscope of two leading American newspaper of same day and pin pointed the ambiguousness and marked difference between them. In short, he proved astrology is a pseudo science.
Unlike other astrologers, I don’t hold that “astrology is a science” as science has its own material paradigm. I don’t know why astrologers insist and argue that astrology is a science. Astrology is not a science and can not be a science. Science addresses the material aspects of things and has its own parameters to judge a reality. But the question is how many realities and practices around us fulfill scientific scrutiny? Can presence of God be proved in a laboratory? Can efficacy of prayer be tested? Can ethics and aesthetic be calculated scientifically? Should we deny all of them because science is unable to prove them? No. We must have to accept them whether science denies them or not, because they are philosophical and spiritual realities of life. It is fallacious to judge a non-material reality on the touchstone of matter, i.e. science.
The beauty of astrology is its depth and breadth in material, philosophical and spiritual paradigms. The mathematical and astronomical aspect of astrology fall in the material (scientific) category. Analytical part has philosophical grounding while predictive and remedial measures are spiritual facet. That's why I believe that astrology is not "merely" a science, it is more than a science.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturn-Moon and Punarphoo Dosha
Sani-Chandra Sambandh is a unique planetary combination that casts inerasable shadows on the psyche and domestic peace of native. Moon is a karaka of mana (mind) and Saturn is of dukha (sorrow) besides loneliness, decay and delay. So when they associate/aspect, mind of the native is clutched by sorrow and pessemism. Their placements in "sign" shape the modes and nature of the effects whereas their occupations in specific "houses" manifest the afflicted area of life. If Moon is solely influenced by Saturn without having simultaneous benefic aspect or association then this is indeed a combination of disturbed early life, emotional turmoil, pessimism, loneliness and melancholic nature. However, benefic association or aspect to Saturn-Moon combination may renders one intelligent, sober, and fond of ancient knowledge. At positive front this signature yields success through masses (public related professions) but after hardworking and considerable patience. 
The Saturn-Moon association is also called Punarphoo dosha and considered an unwelcome signature for early and peaceful marital bliss. It may break engagement, produce unexpected delay in marriage, or even mar the marital life, unless fortified by natural benefic planets. I’ve seen many a charts having Saturn-Moon relation led to delayed or even no marriage at all.
Like other yogas and planetary combination, Saturn-Moon association mainly depends upon involved signs and houses. A house shows the area of life (home, office, temple, bedroom, relationship, love etc.) while sign indicates how an event may occur. On the other hand, lord of rashi and karakas stand for spirited bodies and living beings (e.g. parents, wife, teacher, boss, pets etc). Hence when Saturn influences 7th house then this indicates delayed marriage and/or cold/indifferent spousal relationship. On the other hand, if Saturn influences 7th lord and karaka then this shows diseased spouse and/or aged partner, obviously when other things being constant.
The native of following chart however got married in early twenties but confronted a husband doubled in age. Note the parivartana between Saturn and Moon in first and seventh houses. Although destined with sons and daughters, she is a neglected wife with cold marital relations.
As far as no-marriage is concern, Mother Teresa’s austere life is an example to look in the light of Saturn-Moon association. She was a soul filled with unparallel love and unshakable faith, but she never married and led a life of catholic nun.
Kalyana Varma generalizes Sani-Soma sambandh as; “When the Moon and Saturn be together, the native will possess a decayed wife, be dear to public, will breed elephants and horses, devoid of virtues, under the control of others, poor and defeated.” (Saravali XV, 12)
But no individual yoga or dosha is responsible for materializing any event. Exceptions (in the form of drishti, yuti, amsha, dispositors etc.) modify, even change the results at all. So before inferring any conclusion the ‘relative strength’ of conjunction, aspect, occupation etc should work out. Noted Vedic astrologer B.V. Raman’s chart is a good example in this regard. Dr. Raman married quite early in life and enjoyed a happy and smooth marital life, despite having Saturn-Moon association.
Let’s find the reason why Dr. Raman neither confronted any marital or relational enigma. There is a fairly powerful aspect of Jupiter on Sat-Moon from Scorpio. Note that Jupiter’s aspect is stronger than Saturn’s conjunction (whenever multiple planets are involved do consider Spusta Drishti taught by Maharishi Parasar). Moreover, seventh lord–Sun is in chara rashi, getting aspect of Jupiter and dhan-argala of Venus, Mercury and Mars (this favours early gain of spouse). Thirdly, the Moon’s rashi dispositor and kalatar-karaka Venus is in 7th and aspecting the lagna. For reader’s interest, I point out a peculiar Raja Yoga formed by Saturn and Moon. Vidyanatha in his Jataka Parijata narrates;
“If the Moon is conjunction with Saturn in 11th, 4th or 10th, the native will become a king (when born in royal family) otherwise will be rich and like a king.”
Note that in natural zodiac, mentioned houses are ruled by Saturn (10th and 11th) and Moon (4th).
Rahu Kala
In Vedic Astrology, Rahu is ranked no less than a planet and attributed to past deeds and reason to reborn. Besides Jataka (natal horoscopy) Rahu also plays a significant role in mahurtha (election), however, he is not awarded the lordship of weekday (vaara) or planetary hour (hora). But Rahu Kala is factor that no one dare to neglects, especially in Indian subcontinent.
Rahu Kala (also pronounced Rahu Kaal) is the 1/16th part of a whole day (24 hours) or 1/8th part of a day (12 hours). During months of spring and autumn (when day and nights are of equal length) Rahu Kala spreads over about 90 minutes. However, in summer and winter, the Rahu Kala does not remain uniform in elongation on account of difference in timing of sunrise and sunset. Therefore one should not stick to conventional 6am sunrise and 6pm sunset and considering static 90 minutes Rahu Kala.
For finding the accurate Rahu Kala, first calculate the duration of a day i.e. dinmaan (sunrise to sunset) and divide into 8 equal segments. Then compute the respective segment order according to weekday.
The order of Rahu Kala for weekdays is as follows;
| Weekday | 1/8th of Dinmaan |
| Sunday | 8th segment is Rahu Kala |
| Monday | 2nd segment is Rahu Kala |
| Tuesday | 7th segment is Rahu Kala |
| Wednesday | 5th segment is Rahu Kala |
| Thursday | 6th segment is Rahu Kala |
| Friday | 4th segment is Rahu Kala |
| Saturday | 3rd segment is Rahu Kala |
Take Monday, August 3, 2009 Mumbai as an example for computing Rahu Kala. Get the sunrise and sunset timings from Panchanga, almanac or any software.
Sunset: 7:10 PM (19:10)
Dinmaan = Sunset minus
Now divide this duration of 12 hours and 50 minutes into 8 equal segments. We get 01:36, i.e. duration of one segment is 1 hour and 36 minutes (you better do this job on Excel spreadsheet or with a scientific calculator). Now cumulatively add this 01:36 into sunrise until sunset.
| Kala | Start | End |
| 1st segment | 06:20 AM | 07:56 AM |
| 2nd segment >>> | 07:56 AM | 09:32 AM |
| 3rd segment | 09:32 AM | 11:08 AM |
| 4th segment | 11:08 AM | 12:45 PM |
| 5th segment | 12:45 PM | 02:21 PM |
| 6th segment | 02:21 PM | 03:57 PM |
| 7th segment | 03:57 PM | 05:33 PM |
| 8th segment | 05:33 PM | 07:10 PM |
The 2nd segment that spans from 7:56 am to 9:32 am, stands here as Rahu Kala for Monday, August 3, 2009, Mumbai.
Now take another example. Wednesday, December 16, 2009,
Sunset: 5:22 PM (17:22)
Dinmaan = Sunset minus
Since the dinmaan is 10 hours 10 minutes (or 610 mintues). One segment can be obtained by dividing 8.
(10:10)/8 = 610/8 = 76.375 (about 76 minutes) or 1:16:15
Now cumulatively add 1:16 from sunrise until sunset as;
| Kala | Start | End |
| 1st segment | 07:12 AM | 08:27 AM |
| 2nd segment | 08:28 AM | 09:44 AM |
| 3rd segment | 09:44 AM | 11:00 AM |
| 4th segment | 11:00 AM | 12:16 PM |
| 5th segment >>> | 12:17 PM | 01:32 PM |
| 6th segment | 01:33 PM | 02:49 PM |
| 7th segment | 02:49 PM | 04:05 PM |
| 8th segment | 04:05 PM | 05:22 PM |
We find Rahu Kala for Wednesday, December 16, 2009 (
In fact, JHora software takes a bit different method for calculating Rahu Kala. It does not bisect the whole day (sunrise to next sunrise) into dinmaan and raatri. But directly divides the whole day into 16 segments of equal length. Therefore the Rahu Kala erected by JHora differs from Rahu Kala of different Panchagas in vogue. Last year, I had requested Narasimharao to add Day/Night option for calculating Rahu Kala and Horas (planetary hours). But I hope requested option in JHora next version.
Rahu is a chahaya graha, i.e. a shadowy planet. Negative significations of Rahu include delusion, misunderstanding, confusion, uncertainity, deception, cheat, chronic disease, exile and sudden set back. Since Rahu Kala is an inauspicious slot of time therefore aforementioned matters are especially feared. This does not implies that one should do nothing and sit idle while Rahu Kala is running. Its a fatalist approach. However, one should try to avoid starting new venture during Rahu Kala.
Here one misconception about Rahu Kala (and unfavourable mahurtha) should keep in mind. Fructification of anything is mainly depended upon two things; first the time of it's initiation, and second potential of natal chart. One can't amend natal horoscope but wisely elect or avoid benefic/malefic mahurtha. So better avoid Rahu Kala for starting new task rather routine work.
Another important correlation is observed between Rahu Kala and the weekday lord. The karaktatwa of weekday lord has the potential to modify the nature of Rahu Kala. For example Rahu Kala on Saturday often leads to delay and unnecessary waiting. Rahu Kala on Wednesday causes chances of cheat and misinformation in corresponding and signing important documents. I have personally observed the inauspiciousness of Rahu Kala on Sunday and Monday. Well, this does not infer that Rahu Kala is not malefic for rest of the weekdays. But Rahu’s natural enmity towards luminaries renders the Rahu Kala more evil on Sunday and Monday. Moreover, the viciousness of Rahu Kala gets augmented when it coincides with the time of Sun or Moon rashi sandhi. You may notice it yourself. On Sunday, Rahu Kala is the last 1/8th segment of day, i.e. about 90 minutes before sunset. And on Monday, it is the second 1/8th segment of the day, i.e. in early morning when you start going to office/college. Both are easy to remember.
Rahu Kala does not yield identical malevolence to all. It varies person to person both in quantity and quality. The results pertaining to Rahu Kala mainly hinges upon radical nativity as well as the planetary position at transit.
One should especially avoid any new venture during Rahu Kala IF
1) It coincides with the time when transit Sun or Moon is leaving or entering a sign
2) It coincides with the evil planetary hours (horas) of Saturn and Mars
3) Sun, Moon and lord of the weekday is transiting in bad houses
4) Rahu is badly placed and aspected in natal chart
5) The dasa/antar of afflicted Rahu is in progress
Well, there are lots of other (radical and dynamic) factors that may enhance the evil of Rahu Kala. But in my practice, aforementioned parameters holds good.
Daridra Yoga
Almost all Jyotish treatises have extensively dealt with financial matter and having exclusive chapters on Dhana and Daridra yogas. Following are the choice aphorisms from Jataka Parijatha on lack of financial ease and indigence.
1) Jupiter as lord of lagna or 8th exceeds the lord of 9th in strength and afflicted lord of 11th be other than kendar then yoga forms called daridra that yields bad luck and indigence.
2) Debilitated and combust Jupiter, Mars, Saturn or Mercury occupies 11th, 6th, 12th, 8th or 5th, constitutes the daridra.
3) If Saturn in the 9th house under malefic aspects, while Mercury associated with Sun occupies the lagna and falls in neechamsa. The person will be a beggar.
4) Should (non-luminaries) Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Mars occupy the dushtana (6th, 8th, 12th), 5th and 10th in any order. And the combust lord of 12th is stronger than lagna lord.
5) Debilitated Venus, Jupiter, Moon and Mars place in any four of the 1st, 10th, 11th, 6th, 7th, and 8th houses.
6) Venus in debilitation in lagna, Jupiter, Mars and Moon are also in their debilitation signs leads to daridra yoga.
7) Lagna in a fixed sign (Tau, Leo, Sco, Aqu), powerful malefic planets are in kendara and kona, while benefic planets occupy/aspect other than kendara, the native live upon alms.
8) Lagna in a moveable sign (Ari, Can, Lib, Cap) during night time, weak benefic planets occupy kendara and kona while malefic planets do not occupy/aspect kendara makes the individual indigent and poverty-stricken.
Preshya Yoga
There are certain planetary combinations leading to servitude. Such sorts of yogas, known as Preshya, often form in the horoscopes of unskilled labour, serfs, daily wagers, peons, lower cadre and menials.
1) When Sun is in the 10th, Moon is in the 7th, Saturn in the 4th, Mars in the 3rd and the ascendant is in a cardinal sign while Jupiter is placed in the 2nd house. Persons born under this combination during night will be a servant of another person.
2) If Venus occupies the 9th house, Moon the 7th house, Mars the 8th, and Jupiter owns the 2nd house or the ascendant while the ascendant is in fixed sign. The person born in this combination always lives in servitude.
3) When a person is born during night time and has the lord of the movable rising (Ari, Can, Lib, Cap) in bhava sandhi and a malefic planet occupies a kendara. The native will be a menial.
4) If Saturn, Moon, Jupiter and Venus occupy, during day time birth, cardinal or trine position or be in sandhi while the rising sign is an immovable one. The result is the same as above.
5) Jupiter attains Iravathamsa and occupies a sandhi, and Moon is not situated in a kendara house but possesses uttam-varga and Venus is in rising sign and the birth is night time during the dark half of a lunar moth. The person is born as a menial.
6) If at the time of birth of a person, Mars, Jupiter, and Sun occupy, respectively, the sandhi of 6th, 4th, and 10th, bhavas.
7) When Jupiter is in Capricorn occupying the 6th, 8th, or the 12th bhava, and Moon is in the 4th bhava from the rising sign, the individual born will have to work at the bidding of others.
Parivartana
Definition
The interchange of two rashi lords forms a special planetary combination called parivartana yoga.
Types
There are three kinds of parivartana yogas according to nature of involved houses.
A) Maha Parivartana Yoga: when both the interchanged lords belong to kendara, kona, dhana or labhshatna. In other words, there should be mutual interchange between lords of 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 or 11 houses. For example, lord of 1st house is in 5th and lord of 5th house is in 1st; or lord of 9th is in 10th and lord of 10th is in 9th. There are 28 possible maha yogas.
B) Kahala Parivartana Yoga: when there is interchange of sign between 3rd lord and 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 or 11 house lord. For example, lord of 3rd in 10th and lord of 10th in 3rd house. There are 8 possible kahala yogas.
C) Dainya Parivarana Yoga: when one of the involved lords is of dushtana bhavas (6, 8, 12) and other one belongs to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 or 11 houses. For example, lord of 6th house is in 11th and lord of 11th house is in 6th; or lord of 8th is in 10th and lord of 10th is in 8th. There are 30 possible dainya yogas (if 6 kind of parivartana among dushatana lords that leads to Vipreet Yoga, are excluded then there are 24 such possibilities).
General Results
Following are the effects aforementioned three kinds of parivartana yoga in the maha/antar dasas of involved planets.
A Person born with Mahayoga will have divine blessing and will be adorned with expensive and beautiful clothes and ornaments. He is revered by the king (honoured by authorities). He will hold a high position and will be rewarded of authority by the king, He will be blessed with sons and fully enjoy wealth and conveyances. (Phaladeepika)
The native with Kahala Yoga will be capricious and occasionally be haughtly and sometimes sweet in his speech. There will be occasions when he will be very prosperous and then will be driven to poverty, unhappiness and misery. (Phaladeepika)
The person with Dainya Yoga at birth will be a fool, will revile others and indulge in sinful deeds. He is always in trouble from his enemies. He will speak harshly and will not have a stable mind. He will encounter obstacles in all his ventures. (Phaladeepika)
Specific Results
If two planets say A and B are in parivartana. Then in the dasa of planet A, result of the B’s occupation (as lord of the house tenanted by A) shall obtain. Vise versa holds true for dasa of planet B.
Explanation
Parivartana is the strongest relation between any two house lords. In panch-sambhandh classification, the interchange of house lords is known as kshetra sambandh and allotted full power of 60 virupas. If the concerned lords own good houses, expected result will be auspicious, whereas in case of interchange between good and bad (6, 8, 12) houses, evil result will manifest. Like rashi chakra (D1 chart), parivartana may also form in any of vargas (divisional charts) but the exchange in varga shall be limited to the significations of that divisional chart. There are some schools of thought who hold that parivartana occurs when planets mutually exchange lunar constellations (nakhatras) but noted classical works do not support this thesis.
A Point to Note
Except Sun and Moon, rest of five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) own two signs. When parivartana occurs between any two (good or bad) signs, the involved planets do not yield result of their second sign. Take an example of Leo ascendant where Mars is in Sagittarius (5 house) and Jupiter is in Aries (9th house) then neither Mars will give the result of Scorpio (4th house) lordship, nor Jupiter will yield result of Pisces (8th house) ownership. This exchange should only analyse as interchange between 5th and 9th lords. Similarly if there is a parivartana between Sun and Saturn for Gemini lagna then it will only going to yield kahala parivartana yoga between lords of 3rd and 9th houses.
Example-1
Keeping other factors constant, suppose for a Cancer langa, there is a parivartana between 8th lord Saturn and 9th lord Jupiter. That is, Jupiter is in Aquarius and Saturn is in Pisces. According to Parivartana yoga classification, this is an evil planetary signature (dainya yoga). Now the question is what type of result may manifest in the dasas of Saturn and Jupiter.
The answer is both the dasas of Saturn and Jupiter shall yield inauspicious results. The dasa of Saturn shall give result of its dispositor Jupiter. In other words, during dasa of Saturn, one shall experience effect of 9th lord (Jupiter) in 8th house (Aquarius) which is indeed bad. Similarly, the dasa of Jupiter shall yield result of Saturn. That is, in the dasa of Jupiter, native shall accrue effects akin to 8th lord (Saturn) in 9th house (Pisces). However, the mutual maha and antar dasas (Sat-Jup and Jup-Sat) will surely give pronounced evil effects of this parivartana yoga between 8th and 9th houses. Also note that Jupiter is unable to produce any good result of Vipreet (6th lord in 8th) because of the bondage of 8th and 9th house exchange.
Example-2
Here for Aquarius lagna, Venus and Jupiter are exchanging 4th and 2nd lordship. This parivartana leads to maha yoga and surely benefit the native with dhan and sukh when dasa/antardasa of Venus and Jupiter operates.
In the dasa of 4th lord Venus, one shall enjoy the result of 2nd lord Jupiter in 4th house. Similarly in the dasa of 2nd lord Jupiter, one shall enjoy the result of 4th lord Venus in 2nd house. But in mutual antardasas of Ven-Jup and Jup-Ven, native will definitely earn amass of wealth, receive higher learning, command luxurious vehicle and obtain pleasure of domestic comfort and sumptuous meal.
Example-3
Suppose Mars is in 5th house (Libra) and Venus is in 6th house (Scorpio) for the following (hypothetical) Gemini ascendant.
Now in the dasa of Venus, one shall come across result identical to its dispositor i.e. 6th lord (Mars) is in 5th house (Libra). This may include differences and disputes with lover or off spring, loss in speculation, sickness of children etc. Similarly in the dasa of Mars, native shall face evil circumstances as if 5th lord (Venus) is in 6th house (Scorpio). As a result native’s own children turn hostile to him, he may get separation from them, fear of abortion, confrontation with officials etc.
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