Brhat Nakshatra Pdf
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Nakshatra based Dasas, such as Vimshottari Dasa, plus many others, are more extensively dealt with in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra than in any other text and it is quite likely that Parashara was the original disseminator of Nakshatra Dasas. The Most anciently dated texts that I have seen, which date from 100-700 AD do not contain Vimshottari. Power of the Nakshatra (Read Dr.David Frawley – Shaktis of the Nakshatras and Fruits of Worshipping Each Nakshatra); A list of Vedic Nakshatra deities, their shakti, upper and lower levels and the results of their being are listed. A more detailed reference is Pt. Sanjay Rath’s ‘Brihat Nakshatra’.
250+ Pages colored “Brihat Horoscope” is the most detailed & accurate kundli ever! It offers detailed life predictions based on KP, Numerology, KCIL, Cuspal Interlinks, Nakshatra Nadi and others, remedies, favourable dashafal, astrology suggestions and much more in PDF & Print format. Colorful, Elegant & Picturesque!
AstroSage Brihat Horoscope Report in Coloured Form! Now move away from boring old black-and-white kundli reports and rest your eyes on the coloured format! 250+ Pages – Most Detailed Kundli on Earth
Enjoy a detailed, astrological narrative based on your birth details. Know your Lagna sign, favourable time, place, and number, and read predictions about your career, marriage, and much more.Numerology Reveals Your Destiny Number
Your Radical, Destiny & Name Number as per Numerology reveals a lot about your nature, characteristics & traits! Want to know which number is lucky for you? Order now!Yogas & Doshas in the Kundli
Know if you are a Manglik, undergoing Shani Sade Sati or suffering from Kal Sarp Dosha. Find out the favourable and unfavourable yogas such as Raj Yoga etc. in your kundli.Dashafal & Favorable Periods
Brihat Horoscope Report explains the influence of favourable planetary dashas and periods you are currently undergoing, and what holds for you in the future.Lal Kitab with Teva Types & Ancestral Debts
Gain access to life predictions based on the concept of Lal Kitab & Lal Kitab Teva, and follow the remedies to get rid of Ancestral Debts.Ishta Devta, Gemstone, Rudraksha, Yantra & Jadi Remedies
Know your Ishta Devta, and avail remedies related to Gemstones, Rudraksha, Jadi or Yantra based on your kundli.KP with KCIL, Cuspal Interlinks, 4-Step, Nakshatra Nadi
Detailed Predictions based on Nakshatra Nadi, KP, KCIL, 4-Step, Cuspal Interlinks, & other advanced systems.Detailed Predictions for Upcoming 5 Years
5-Year Detailed Horoscope Predictions covering every nook-and-corner of your life and its various aspects!
Introducing AstroSage Brihat Horoscope Report with an all-inclusive introductory price of ₹ 999! Order now and enjoy the best inaugural offer. Shyamasundara DasaCopyright © 2009-2017
This article first appeared in the July and August, 2009, issues of The Astrological eMagazine, Bangalore. Get the PDF version of this article in German.
How Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra
Became Gospel
Ever since 1984 with the publication of the first volume of Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra(Parasara, 1984) with translation and commentary by R. Santanam, Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra (henceforth BPHS) has been successfully marketed to Vedic astrologers in India and abroad as the preeminent text on Vedic astrology. Ranjan, the publishers, described it as: “The Gospel Book of Hindu Astrology with Master Key to Divination” (I didn’t coin the term “Vedic Astrology” my guru maharaja did, but I did popularize it in 1988). This reputation was further cemented when Sagar published their superior edition of the same work with translation and commentary by Sriman Girish Chand Sharma (Parasara, 1994).
The idea that one gets, especially for followers of Lord Krsna’s Vedic culture, is that the modern edition of BPHS is a very ancient text dating back to the beginning of Kali-yuga (3102 B.C.). Hence, the views set forth in the BPHS are seen by many as sacrosanct, infallible and on par with sacred scriptures like the Vedas or Srimad Bhagavatam. And, hence BPHS is often quoted as pramana -- authoritative evidence -- in Vedic astrological discourse. But what is the real status of BPHS and the implications to Vedic astrology?
When I first started studying jyotish in India in 1977-1983 there were very few classic texts easily available in English. The main authors to have translated texts were V. Subrahmanya Sastri to whom we owe translations of: Brhat Jataka
Brhat Samhita
Jataka Parijata
Sripatipaddhati
Phaladipika
Uttarakalamrita
Shatpanchasika
Prasnajnana
Jataka Tattva
Jatakadesamarga
Jatakalankara
Sanketanidhi
Horasara
(Most of which have been pirated and republished after his demise by others claiming to be the authors.) B.V. Raman though a prolific author did not translate many books but the ones he did were important in particular Prasna Marga. His grandfather B. Suryanarayana Rao translated and commented on several important classics including Brhat Jataka, Jaimini Sutras and Sarvartha Cintamani. This is not a complete list of translators and titles.
I remember from my early days of study that the ’big five’ main classical texts that the scholars in The Astrological Magazine eulogized and encouraged one to read and study were:
*Brhat Jataka
*Jataka Parijata
*Phaladipika
*Saravali
*Sarvartha Cintamani
We note the absence of BPHS.
In The Astrological Magazine we read that in South India, especially Kerala, one was not considered a scholar of jyotish unless he had memorized both Brhat Jataka and Prasna Marga not BPHS. Brhat Jataka was considered to be the jewel among astrological literatures and indeed in my early days of study there were many translations and commentaries on Varaha Mihira’s Brhat Jataka. I have already mentioned the translations of V. Subrahmanya Sastri and B. Suryanarayana Rao, another excellent translation was by Swami Vijnananda. A less valuable translation (in my opinion) was that of N. Iyer which was later pirated and repackaged as authoured by Usha and Shashi. Much later P.S. Sastri also did a translation of Brhat Jataka. Indeed Brhat Jataka and its author Varaha Mihira were so famous and adored by the Jyotish Pandits that when it came to eulogize Dr. B.V. Raman he was honored by calling him the modern Varaha Mihira. BPHS as one can see from my narrative so far was hardly mentioned or popular.
First Encounter with
Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra
Whereas today BPHS would be one of the first books a new student would be recommended to purchase I had barely heard of it what to speak of seen it. It was not until my third year of intense study did I stumble upon BPHS in a university library in Kolkata in 1980. I came across it by accident when I spotted it in the card catalogs. When the clerk returned with the book I was enthralled and spent a long time looking through it and taking notes.
The copy of BPHS I got in Varanasi.
The book was a translation of some important chapters (not a complete translation) by N.N. Krishna Rau and V.B. Choudhuri, published in 1962. It was not well printed but the content mattered more to me than the form it was in. I recall I was especially happy because for the first time I could read an explanation of how the shodasavargas were to be used. I had been trying to use shodasavargas since 1977 and had even written a computer program to calculate them but was not really sure how to use them as no texts up to that time gave instructions on how to use them. I was also intrigued by the idea that the author, Parasara Muni, had indicated that each of the planets was an expansion of a different incarnation of Lord Krsna. I was determined to get a copy of this book. Unfortunately only about a thousand had been made by mimeograph copying almost 20 years earlier so it would be very hard to come by and no book sellers had heard of it.
By my good fortune I was introduced by a friend to an old brahmana, Pandit Dvivedi, from Varanasi who said he had a copy of the same book and would give it to me. I made arrangements to stop in Varanasi on my way to Vrndavana in August 1980 and acquired the book which I still have to this day. I studied the book diligently especially the use of the different vargas.
You may also be interested in:
Well, It’s a Crazy Story
Ashtamangala Deva Prashna
At that time while I was living in Kolkata (1980- May 1981) I was studying Vedic astrology with Sriman Harihara Majumdhar. I asked him what his opinion was of BPHS, I remember that he startled me by saying that unlike other well known texts BPHS started appearing only recently in the 1930-40s and that there was no standard version in Bengali. It was not till much later that I understood the significance of his statement.
In 1982 I was living and studying jyotish in Bangalore and Thiruvanantampuram. I recall having a discussion with my astrology teacher Sriman B.G. Sashikanta Jain regarding which system of house division should be used, one choice was for unequal house division based on statements of BPHS another was for Bhava = Rasi based on Brhat Jataka 1.4. The thing that I remember was that I was wondering how these two texts could give different views.
Later in 1982 I was discussing with my jyotish guru, Sriman B.G. Sashikanta Jain, about the lack of classical works translated into English. We made up a list of desired texts including BPHS. I then wrote a letter to Mr. Goel one of the owners of Ranjan Publications in Delhi submitting my desideratum. I never got a reply but I was more than pleasantly surprised when Santanam’s translation and commentary on Hora Sara came out later that year and 2 years later they came out with Santanam’s translation of the first volume of BPHS. And, later Santanam translated and published a steady stream of texts, many of which had been on my list.
From this point onward, BPHS became the ’bible of astrology’ replacing Brhat Jataka as a primary authority on the premise that BPHS was the older text. I also followed this trend. However I was somehow disturbed by what I perceived to be a focus only on BPHS and the demise of the tradition of studying other classics especially Brhat Jataka among the younger astrologers especially those who got into astrology via the internet and had never visited India.
Doubts about (modern)
Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra
In the summer of 1999 while reading B. S. Rao’s annotated translation of Brhat Jataka with commentary of Bhattotpala (Mihira, 1986) I came across an interesting point in his commentary to the 7th chapter.
In Brhat Jataka 7.1 Varaha Mihira directly refers to Parasara Muni by the name of Saktipurva (son of Sakti). Later in Brhat Jataka 7.9. Rao mentions that the learned commentator Bhattotpala laments that while he has a copy of Parasara Samhita he was unable to acquire a copy of Parasara Hora which Mihira refers to in Brhat Jataka 7.1. This struck Rao as significant because it now made him doubt the authenticity of Jataka Candrika which is supposedly an abstract of Parasara Hora but much later than the time of Bhattotpala. On this basis Ajay Mitra Sastri (Shastri, 1969, p. 449) also doubted the authenticity of Laghu Parasari and BPHS.
In order to discredit the antiquity of the BPHS some persons have commented that there were many Parasaras in antiquity and that Varaha Mihira didn’t mean Parasara Rishi, father of Vyasadeva, it was some other Parasara.
We reply first by asking who are these many other “Parasaras” they are referring to that Varaha Mihira would consider as a great authority in Jyotish?
We secondly note that Varaha Mihira identifies exactly which Parasara he means by identifying him as being the son of a particular Rishi, that is Śakti, who himself was the son of Vasista. Varaha Mihira in Brhat Jataka 7.1 calls him Śaktipurva, that is, having Śakti as a forefather.
“śaktipūrva: pūrva m. having Śakti for a forefather’, patr. of Parāśara VarBṛS.” M.M. William’s Sanskrit-English dictionary.
So there is no doubt who Varaha Mihira thought he was quoting. Modern western-centric scholars 1500 years later with no access to his material are doing a disservice by such neo-colonial etic approach to the study of the history of Vedic astrology.
Why is this significant?
Bhattotpala lived in North India on the same latitude as Ujjain (Mihira, 1986, p.560). Bhattotpala finished his commentary on Brhat Jataka on 888 Saka which is either 833 AD (Vikram) or 968 AD (Shalivahan) (Mihira, 1986, p. 68). This was before the Islamic invasion of India with attendant destruction of libraries, places of learning, decline of scholarship and general decline of Krsna’s Vedic civilization in North India.
His writings indicate that he had at his access many ancient works of jyotish, many of which we only know about because he quotes them in his commentaries (Mihira, 1986, pp. 17-19). It seems that he had access to various royal libraries in North India particularly Ujjain which was the native place of Varaha Mihira. Yet despite his living before the general destruction in the wake of the Islamic invasion and having access to a vast quantity of jyotish literature he was unable to see let alone acquire Parasara Hora quoted by Varaha Mihira. How then is it that we are able to get it 1000 years later with all the difficulties and loss associated with the passage of so much time?
Therefore there is great doubt as to the authenticity of the modern BPHS.
Importance of Brhat Jataka
In South India Brhat Jataka (and its commentaries) is held in the highest esteem, not BPHS. Why? Because of its many ancient commentaries by Bhattopala and others especially the Dasadhyayi of Talakkulathur Govindam Bhattathiri.
Visnu Nambudiri (fl. 1649 A.D.) the author of Prasna Marga, considered the master piece on Prasna literature, states the following, with notes by B.V. Raman (note the complete absence of any mention of BPHS):
Stanza 28. ’Brhat Jataka by Varahamihira, though short, is a very suggestive treatise pregnant with ideas. Though difficult to be comprehended by even intelligent persons, yet with the aid of the commentaries of Bhattotpala and others, it is possible to understand the book.
NOTES: Compare Varaha Mihira’s own admission, .. meaning that his work is ’concise, of a variety of meter and full of meaning.’
Stanza 29. ’One wearing the garland of Varahamihira in his neck along with the necklace of Krishneeya can win laurels in any astrological assembly. [sic]
NOTES : Brhat Jataka deals with horoscopy and Krishneeya with Prasna. One well acquainted with these two books can, according to the author, safely claim good scholarship.
Stanza 30. ’An astrologer who wants to make predictions should specially study Dasadhyayi carefully.
Stanza 31. ’Without a thorough study of the Dasadhyayi, it would be difficult to make correct predictions. So say the learned.
Stanza 32. ’One, who attempts to predict without studying the Dasadhyayi, would be like a man trying to cross an ocean without a boat.
Prasna Marga 1.28-32 (Nambudiri, 1991, pp. 19-21)
No Ancient Commentaries on
Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra
Another reason that casts doubt on the veracity of the modern BPHS is the complete lack of any ancient commentary on the text. The oldest commentary known to me is that of Devacandra Jha’s Hindi commentary from the first half of the 20th century, that is, less than 100 years old. More recently are the previously mentioned English translations and commentaries of Santanam and Sharma.
In the preface of the first volume of his translation Santanam mentions that he had access to the following published texts:
1. Sri Venkateswata Press, Bombay, partly rendered in Hindi.
2. Hindi translation by Sitaram Jha (Master Khelari Lal, Varanasi edition)
3. Hindi translation by Devachandra Jha (Chaukambha edition) Borderlands 2 zero save file.
4. Hindi translation by Ganesa Datta Pathak (Thakur Prasad edition). And, that he chose the version of Sitaram Jha as the basis for his translation.
Girish Chand Sharma gives no information regarding what text he translated.
N.N Krishna Rau in the preface of his (1962) translation of BPHS only mentions the Sri Venkateswata Press edition that he says was published 35 years earlier (1927) and seems to be the basis of his translation as no other source is mentioned. It thus appears that all of these editions are of recent not ancient vintage.
Why are commentaries important from a historical perspective?
Commentaries ensure that the corpus of the material in the text stays intact and allows us to track changes in the text. For example we know that the Bhagavad-gita has 18 chapters and 700 verses because all the commentaries from ancient to modern have the same number. If someone were to publish an edition of more or less than 700 verses it would be immediately detected as spurious.
But if a work has no commentaries then we can not know if there have been any changes to the text unless there is some other system (such as ghanapata) of keeping the text from changing.
Brhat Jataka commentaries
We can have reasonable faith and trust in the authenticity of the present version of Brhat Jataka because there are a number of commentaries on this text some of them very ancient. These commentaries preserve the text and its structure in a way that is hard to do without commentaries.
Shastri (Shastri, 1969, p. 26) gives the following information about commentaries on Brhat Jataka:
’Alberuni (1.158) informs us that the Brihajjataka was commented upon by Balabhadra who flourished sometime before Utpala (Bhatattopala).’
Shastri then goes on to mention seven other commentaries some without the name of the authors.Jagaccandrika aka Cintamani aka Vivrti by Bhattotapal
Jataka-vivarana by Mahidhara
Nilotpaliya -- not certain of the author
Prakasa by Nityaprakasa Suri
Dasadhyayi [Talakkulathur Govindam Bhattathiri]
Nauka aka Hora-vivarana aka Varahamihira-hora-tatparya-sagara
Subodhini
Kalyanraman adds:
’Brhat Jataka .. is stated to have more than twenty commentaries in Sanskrit itself, like Mudrakshari, Subhodhini, Sripatiyam, Bhatttopalavritti, besides, those in other languages. Dasadhyayi is one of such commentaries in Sanskrit, by Talakkulathur Govindam Bhattathiri. Perhaps next prominent one is Vivaranam of Rudra.’ (Kalyanraman, 2007, p. 203)
A recent Sanskrit commentary on Brhat Jataka is Apurarthapradarsika by A.N. Srinivasaraghava Aiyangar, published by Adyar Library, Chennai, in1951.
How to tell what is authentic in
Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra?
How to tell what is authentic in BPHS and what has been interpolated by later authors?
The first thing to consider is that Varaha Mihira refers to many previous and contemporary authors:
’Varaha Mihira was an encyclopedic writer and naturally he refers to a host of earlier or contemporary authors not only on astronomy and astrology but on various other subjects also. His equally learned scholiast Bhattotpala persi
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Nakshatra based Dasas, such as Vimshottari Dasa, plus many others, are more extensively dealt with in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra than in any other text and it is quite likely that Parashara was the original disseminator of Nakshatra Dasas. The Most anciently dated texts that I have seen, which date from 100-700 AD do not contain Vimshottari. Power of the Nakshatra (Read Dr.David Frawley – Shaktis of the Nakshatras and Fruits of Worshipping Each Nakshatra); A list of Vedic Nakshatra deities, their shakti, upper and lower levels and the results of their being are listed. A more detailed reference is Pt. Sanjay Rath’s ‘Brihat Nakshatra’.
250+ Pages colored “Brihat Horoscope” is the most detailed & accurate kundli ever! It offers detailed life predictions based on KP, Numerology, KCIL, Cuspal Interlinks, Nakshatra Nadi and others, remedies, favourable dashafal, astrology suggestions and much more in PDF & Print format. Colorful, Elegant & Picturesque!
AstroSage Brihat Horoscope Report in Coloured Form! Now move away from boring old black-and-white kundli reports and rest your eyes on the coloured format! 250+ Pages – Most Detailed Kundli on Earth
Enjoy a detailed, astrological narrative based on your birth details. Know your Lagna sign, favourable time, place, and number, and read predictions about your career, marriage, and much more.Numerology Reveals Your Destiny Number
Your Radical, Destiny & Name Number as per Numerology reveals a lot about your nature, characteristics & traits! Want to know which number is lucky for you? Order now!Yogas & Doshas in the Kundli
Know if you are a Manglik, undergoing Shani Sade Sati or suffering from Kal Sarp Dosha. Find out the favourable and unfavourable yogas such as Raj Yoga etc. in your kundli.Dashafal & Favorable Periods
Brihat Horoscope Report explains the influence of favourable planetary dashas and periods you are currently undergoing, and what holds for you in the future.Lal Kitab with Teva Types & Ancestral Debts
Gain access to life predictions based on the concept of Lal Kitab & Lal Kitab Teva, and follow the remedies to get rid of Ancestral Debts.Ishta Devta, Gemstone, Rudraksha, Yantra & Jadi Remedies
Know your Ishta Devta, and avail remedies related to Gemstones, Rudraksha, Jadi or Yantra based on your kundli.KP with KCIL, Cuspal Interlinks, 4-Step, Nakshatra Nadi
Detailed Predictions based on Nakshatra Nadi, KP, KCIL, 4-Step, Cuspal Interlinks, & other advanced systems.Detailed Predictions for Upcoming 5 Years
5-Year Detailed Horoscope Predictions covering every nook-and-corner of your life and its various aspects!
Introducing AstroSage Brihat Horoscope Report with an all-inclusive introductory price of ₹ 999! Order now and enjoy the best inaugural offer. Shyamasundara DasaCopyright © 2009-2017
This article first appeared in the July and August, 2009, issues of The Astrological eMagazine, Bangalore. Get the PDF version of this article in German.
How Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra
Became Gospel
Ever since 1984 with the publication of the first volume of Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra(Parasara, 1984) with translation and commentary by R. Santanam, Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra (henceforth BPHS) has been successfully marketed to Vedic astrologers in India and abroad as the preeminent text on Vedic astrology. Ranjan, the publishers, described it as: “The Gospel Book of Hindu Astrology with Master Key to Divination” (I didn’t coin the term “Vedic Astrology” my guru maharaja did, but I did popularize it in 1988). This reputation was further cemented when Sagar published their superior edition of the same work with translation and commentary by Sriman Girish Chand Sharma (Parasara, 1994).
The idea that one gets, especially for followers of Lord Krsna’s Vedic culture, is that the modern edition of BPHS is a very ancient text dating back to the beginning of Kali-yuga (3102 B.C.). Hence, the views set forth in the BPHS are seen by many as sacrosanct, infallible and on par with sacred scriptures like the Vedas or Srimad Bhagavatam. And, hence BPHS is often quoted as pramana -- authoritative evidence -- in Vedic astrological discourse. But what is the real status of BPHS and the implications to Vedic astrology?
When I first started studying jyotish in India in 1977-1983 there were very few classic texts easily available in English. The main authors to have translated texts were V. Subrahmanya Sastri to whom we owe translations of: Brhat Jataka
Brhat Samhita
Jataka Parijata
Sripatipaddhati
Phaladipika
Uttarakalamrita
Shatpanchasika
Prasnajnana
Jataka Tattva
Jatakadesamarga
Jatakalankara
Sanketanidhi
Horasara
(Most of which have been pirated and republished after his demise by others claiming to be the authors.) B.V. Raman though a prolific author did not translate many books but the ones he did were important in particular Prasna Marga. His grandfather B. Suryanarayana Rao translated and commented on several important classics including Brhat Jataka, Jaimini Sutras and Sarvartha Cintamani. This is not a complete list of translators and titles.
I remember from my early days of study that the ’big five’ main classical texts that the scholars in The Astrological Magazine eulogized and encouraged one to read and study were:
*Brhat Jataka
*Jataka Parijata
*Phaladipika
*Saravali
*Sarvartha Cintamani
We note the absence of BPHS.
In The Astrological Magazine we read that in South India, especially Kerala, one was not considered a scholar of jyotish unless he had memorized both Brhat Jataka and Prasna Marga not BPHS. Brhat Jataka was considered to be the jewel among astrological literatures and indeed in my early days of study there were many translations and commentaries on Varaha Mihira’s Brhat Jataka. I have already mentioned the translations of V. Subrahmanya Sastri and B. Suryanarayana Rao, another excellent translation was by Swami Vijnananda. A less valuable translation (in my opinion) was that of N. Iyer which was later pirated and repackaged as authoured by Usha and Shashi. Much later P.S. Sastri also did a translation of Brhat Jataka. Indeed Brhat Jataka and its author Varaha Mihira were so famous and adored by the Jyotish Pandits that when it came to eulogize Dr. B.V. Raman he was honored by calling him the modern Varaha Mihira. BPHS as one can see from my narrative so far was hardly mentioned or popular.
First Encounter with
Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra
Whereas today BPHS would be one of the first books a new student would be recommended to purchase I had barely heard of it what to speak of seen it. It was not until my third year of intense study did I stumble upon BPHS in a university library in Kolkata in 1980. I came across it by accident when I spotted it in the card catalogs. When the clerk returned with the book I was enthralled and spent a long time looking through it and taking notes.
The copy of BPHS I got in Varanasi.
The book was a translation of some important chapters (not a complete translation) by N.N. Krishna Rau and V.B. Choudhuri, published in 1962. It was not well printed but the content mattered more to me than the form it was in. I recall I was especially happy because for the first time I could read an explanation of how the shodasavargas were to be used. I had been trying to use shodasavargas since 1977 and had even written a computer program to calculate them but was not really sure how to use them as no texts up to that time gave instructions on how to use them. I was also intrigued by the idea that the author, Parasara Muni, had indicated that each of the planets was an expansion of a different incarnation of Lord Krsna. I was determined to get a copy of this book. Unfortunately only about a thousand had been made by mimeograph copying almost 20 years earlier so it would be very hard to come by and no book sellers had heard of it.
By my good fortune I was introduced by a friend to an old brahmana, Pandit Dvivedi, from Varanasi who said he had a copy of the same book and would give it to me. I made arrangements to stop in Varanasi on my way to Vrndavana in August 1980 and acquired the book which I still have to this day. I studied the book diligently especially the use of the different vargas.
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Well, It’s a Crazy Story
Ashtamangala Deva Prashna
At that time while I was living in Kolkata (1980- May 1981) I was studying Vedic astrology with Sriman Harihara Majumdhar. I asked him what his opinion was of BPHS, I remember that he startled me by saying that unlike other well known texts BPHS started appearing only recently in the 1930-40s and that there was no standard version in Bengali. It was not till much later that I understood the significance of his statement.
In 1982 I was living and studying jyotish in Bangalore and Thiruvanantampuram. I recall having a discussion with my astrology teacher Sriman B.G. Sashikanta Jain regarding which system of house division should be used, one choice was for unequal house division based on statements of BPHS another was for Bhava = Rasi based on Brhat Jataka 1.4. The thing that I remember was that I was wondering how these two texts could give different views.
Later in 1982 I was discussing with my jyotish guru, Sriman B.G. Sashikanta Jain, about the lack of classical works translated into English. We made up a list of desired texts including BPHS. I then wrote a letter to Mr. Goel one of the owners of Ranjan Publications in Delhi submitting my desideratum. I never got a reply but I was more than pleasantly surprised when Santanam’s translation and commentary on Hora Sara came out later that year and 2 years later they came out with Santanam’s translation of the first volume of BPHS. And, later Santanam translated and published a steady stream of texts, many of which had been on my list.
From this point onward, BPHS became the ’bible of astrology’ replacing Brhat Jataka as a primary authority on the premise that BPHS was the older text. I also followed this trend. However I was somehow disturbed by what I perceived to be a focus only on BPHS and the demise of the tradition of studying other classics especially Brhat Jataka among the younger astrologers especially those who got into astrology via the internet and had never visited India.
Doubts about (modern)
Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra
In the summer of 1999 while reading B. S. Rao’s annotated translation of Brhat Jataka with commentary of Bhattotpala (Mihira, 1986) I came across an interesting point in his commentary to the 7th chapter.
In Brhat Jataka 7.1 Varaha Mihira directly refers to Parasara Muni by the name of Saktipurva (son of Sakti). Later in Brhat Jataka 7.9. Rao mentions that the learned commentator Bhattotpala laments that while he has a copy of Parasara Samhita he was unable to acquire a copy of Parasara Hora which Mihira refers to in Brhat Jataka 7.1. This struck Rao as significant because it now made him doubt the authenticity of Jataka Candrika which is supposedly an abstract of Parasara Hora but much later than the time of Bhattotpala. On this basis Ajay Mitra Sastri (Shastri, 1969, p. 449) also doubted the authenticity of Laghu Parasari and BPHS.
In order to discredit the antiquity of the BPHS some persons have commented that there were many Parasaras in antiquity and that Varaha Mihira didn’t mean Parasara Rishi, father of Vyasadeva, it was some other Parasara.
We reply first by asking who are these many other “Parasaras” they are referring to that Varaha Mihira would consider as a great authority in Jyotish?
We secondly note that Varaha Mihira identifies exactly which Parasara he means by identifying him as being the son of a particular Rishi, that is Śakti, who himself was the son of Vasista. Varaha Mihira in Brhat Jataka 7.1 calls him Śaktipurva, that is, having Śakti as a forefather.
“śaktipūrva: pūrva m. having Śakti for a forefather’, patr. of Parāśara VarBṛS.” M.M. William’s Sanskrit-English dictionary.
So there is no doubt who Varaha Mihira thought he was quoting. Modern western-centric scholars 1500 years later with no access to his material are doing a disservice by such neo-colonial etic approach to the study of the history of Vedic astrology.
Why is this significant?
Bhattotpala lived in North India on the same latitude as Ujjain (Mihira, 1986, p.560). Bhattotpala finished his commentary on Brhat Jataka on 888 Saka which is either 833 AD (Vikram) or 968 AD (Shalivahan) (Mihira, 1986, p. 68). This was before the Islamic invasion of India with attendant destruction of libraries, places of learning, decline of scholarship and general decline of Krsna’s Vedic civilization in North India.
His writings indicate that he had at his access many ancient works of jyotish, many of which we only know about because he quotes them in his commentaries (Mihira, 1986, pp. 17-19). It seems that he had access to various royal libraries in North India particularly Ujjain which was the native place of Varaha Mihira. Yet despite his living before the general destruction in the wake of the Islamic invasion and having access to a vast quantity of jyotish literature he was unable to see let alone acquire Parasara Hora quoted by Varaha Mihira. How then is it that we are able to get it 1000 years later with all the difficulties and loss associated with the passage of so much time?
Therefore there is great doubt as to the authenticity of the modern BPHS.
Importance of Brhat Jataka
In South India Brhat Jataka (and its commentaries) is held in the highest esteem, not BPHS. Why? Because of its many ancient commentaries by Bhattopala and others especially the Dasadhyayi of Talakkulathur Govindam Bhattathiri.
Visnu Nambudiri (fl. 1649 A.D.) the author of Prasna Marga, considered the master piece on Prasna literature, states the following, with notes by B.V. Raman (note the complete absence of any mention of BPHS):
Stanza 28. ’Brhat Jataka by Varahamihira, though short, is a very suggestive treatise pregnant with ideas. Though difficult to be comprehended by even intelligent persons, yet with the aid of the commentaries of Bhattotpala and others, it is possible to understand the book.
NOTES: Compare Varaha Mihira’s own admission, .. meaning that his work is ’concise, of a variety of meter and full of meaning.’
Stanza 29. ’One wearing the garland of Varahamihira in his neck along with the necklace of Krishneeya can win laurels in any astrological assembly. [sic]
NOTES : Brhat Jataka deals with horoscopy and Krishneeya with Prasna. One well acquainted with these two books can, according to the author, safely claim good scholarship.
Stanza 30. ’An astrologer who wants to make predictions should specially study Dasadhyayi carefully.
Stanza 31. ’Without a thorough study of the Dasadhyayi, it would be difficult to make correct predictions. So say the learned.
Stanza 32. ’One, who attempts to predict without studying the Dasadhyayi, would be like a man trying to cross an ocean without a boat.
Prasna Marga 1.28-32 (Nambudiri, 1991, pp. 19-21)
No Ancient Commentaries on
Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra
Another reason that casts doubt on the veracity of the modern BPHS is the complete lack of any ancient commentary on the text. The oldest commentary known to me is that of Devacandra Jha’s Hindi commentary from the first half of the 20th century, that is, less than 100 years old. More recently are the previously mentioned English translations and commentaries of Santanam and Sharma.
In the preface of the first volume of his translation Santanam mentions that he had access to the following published texts:
1. Sri Venkateswata Press, Bombay, partly rendered in Hindi.
2. Hindi translation by Sitaram Jha (Master Khelari Lal, Varanasi edition)
3. Hindi translation by Devachandra Jha (Chaukambha edition) Borderlands 2 zero save file.
4. Hindi translation by Ganesa Datta Pathak (Thakur Prasad edition). And, that he chose the version of Sitaram Jha as the basis for his translation.
Girish Chand Sharma gives no information regarding what text he translated.
N.N Krishna Rau in the preface of his (1962) translation of BPHS only mentions the Sri Venkateswata Press edition that he says was published 35 years earlier (1927) and seems to be the basis of his translation as no other source is mentioned. It thus appears that all of these editions are of recent not ancient vintage.
Why are commentaries important from a historical perspective?
Commentaries ensure that the corpus of the material in the text stays intact and allows us to track changes in the text. For example we know that the Bhagavad-gita has 18 chapters and 700 verses because all the commentaries from ancient to modern have the same number. If someone were to publish an edition of more or less than 700 verses it would be immediately detected as spurious.
But if a work has no commentaries then we can not know if there have been any changes to the text unless there is some other system (such as ghanapata) of keeping the text from changing.
Brhat Jataka commentaries
We can have reasonable faith and trust in the authenticity of the present version of Brhat Jataka because there are a number of commentaries on this text some of them very ancient. These commentaries preserve the text and its structure in a way that is hard to do without commentaries.
Shastri (Shastri, 1969, p. 26) gives the following information about commentaries on Brhat Jataka:
’Alberuni (1.158) informs us that the Brihajjataka was commented upon by Balabhadra who flourished sometime before Utpala (Bhatattopala).’
Shastri then goes on to mention seven other commentaries some without the name of the authors.Jagaccandrika aka Cintamani aka Vivrti by Bhattotapal
Jataka-vivarana by Mahidhara
Nilotpaliya -- not certain of the author
Prakasa by Nityaprakasa Suri
Dasadhyayi [Talakkulathur Govindam Bhattathiri]
Nauka aka Hora-vivarana aka Varahamihira-hora-tatparya-sagara
Subodhini
Kalyanraman adds:
’Brhat Jataka .. is stated to have more than twenty commentaries in Sanskrit itself, like Mudrakshari, Subhodhini, Sripatiyam, Bhatttopalavritti, besides, those in other languages. Dasadhyayi is one of such commentaries in Sanskrit, by Talakkulathur Govindam Bhattathiri. Perhaps next prominent one is Vivaranam of Rudra.’ (Kalyanraman, 2007, p. 203)
A recent Sanskrit commentary on Brhat Jataka is Apurarthapradarsika by A.N. Srinivasaraghava Aiyangar, published by Adyar Library, Chennai, in1951.
How to tell what is authentic in
Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra?
How to tell what is authentic in BPHS and what has been interpolated by later authors?
The first thing to consider is that Varaha Mihira refers to many previous and contemporary authors:
’Varaha Mihira was an encyclopedic writer and naturally he refers to a host of earlier or contemporary authors not only on astronomy and astrology but on various other subjects also. His equally learned scholiast Bhattotpala persi
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