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Astrology
Varga Chakras (Kundalis) in Jyotish Classics?
by Rohini Ranjan
Preamble and Background
 Recently on one of the many Jyotish lists on internet, spirited
discussions took place for examining the status of a variety of jyotish
parameters, including chara dasha, karakamsha. As characteristically
happens, some of the discussants began to branch into other side
discussions which really had nothing to do with the original questions
or topics and some even became a bit emotional, as also often happens on
the internet where attention spans of days and weeks are required in
order to get to the bottom of things and where sometimes a topic is
being discussed on many different boards. However, nothing was really
resolved, and some of the regulars began expressing their frustrations
about these topics coming up again and again and directing people to
archives etc. Unfortunately, the yahoo forums/fora are such that only
limited searching of past messages is possible without losing all hair,
and the archives sometimes are maintained on another yahoo site so this
does not help matters when all one wants is to get a quick summary of
what others are using and if possible their reasons, why! This latter
usually brings out more gall than good information even though the
intention of the person posing the question was noble and not
confrontational.
Somewhere, along the path, another topic was born which began
questioning the use of varga kundalis or varga chakras. Now this is
something that is utilized in Jyotish going back to almost the first
memories of even the oldest members in the forum who eventually admitted
to such being the case. I myself, though myself not that senior, have
seen horoscopes that were drawn in the century before last where the
jyotishi had drawn the rashi chakra and navamsha and dashamsha and so on
and more importantly had commented on these charts in his reading. So,
at least some individuals had been utilizing varga-charts even a couple
of hundred years ago and conceivably perhaps even before those times.
Somewhere during the discussion, in one of the lists, one of the members
made available an article in which the author had expressed thoughts to
the contrary, i.e., vargas should not be used in a chart format. A
discussion ensued which sidestepped the more important and pertinent
matter of the practical merits of using of navamsha varga as a secondary
chart. A few individuals asked for proofs in classics that indicates
that ancient jyotishis advocated of varga chakras. The discussants
emphasized that ONLY rashi chakra must be used and varga placements
should only be used for determining the strengths of planets etc.
Now,
those who have studied BPHS would know, that 16 vargas had been defined
by the Sage starting with rashi or kshetra and so on. One of the members
brought to all astrologer’s attention that Parashara had described very
clearly how to determine bhavas in the rashi chart (ascendant, 10th
house and then trisection of the arcs, etc. in Chapter V of BPHS). This
was indeed true and a positive step forward in the discussion. There
were parallel discussions going on which were rehashing the point that
BPHS was not original and was perhaps not even a classic and written by
one or a group of ‘latter day saints’ [my term, not the original
poster’s!] in Jyotish and therefore cannot be treated as a classic.
Obviously, there was some support for this as could be similarly
expected if someone were to make a comment that Jyotish was nothing but
a derivative of Babylonian astrology that the army that came with
Alexander brought to India. I believe a discussion on that topic is in
progress currently somewhere (October 2005).
To those who were still interested and intrigued by this, there seemed
to be two streams of thought prevailing:
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(a) Only
Rashi kundalis should be used. Other varga kundalis were the
product of corrupted understanding of the classics – which themselves
many concur might not have survived in pure form [though some of them
have thankfully survived in reasonably good shape1]. Underlying this is
the belief some may harbor that, alike the iceberg, available Jyotish
is only 1/10th of the total body while the submerged 9/10th is mostly
lost and partly hidden in the secret chambers of paramparas and some of
the secret documents that exist but jealously guarded by the owner
families. I do not know how much of this iceberg postulate is based
facts and how much is wishful fiction. According to the purists of this
stream of thought, vargas MUST only be used as measures of qualitative
and quantitative strength of planets and for the consideration of the
deities and primal forces those represent BUT not in the form of a
horoscope and certainly no serious consideration must be given to
aspects and bhava considerations. Just for clarity, they would maintain,
for instance, that while the 2nd house lord in navamsha is an important
indicator, the fact that it is placed in the 2nd navamsha varga from the
navamsha lagna (essentially in 2nd house in navamsha chart) is not
significant. Or, for instance, if Mars is in Aries sign and Libra navamsha, and
Saturn is in Gemini sign and Libra navamsha, the two
planets are not related (though they would be depicted as being
conjoined in the same navamsha varga in a navamsha chart).
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(b) Regardless of whether overtly described or not, the other stream of
thinking maintains that varga kundalis have an important role to play in
Jyotish and possibly are of significant utility in discerning primary
mandates matters pertaining to the prescription given by sages. In other
words, navamsha chart, for example, would hold a significant sway over
matters of marriage and spouse, while saptamsha chart would be of
similar import in the examination of children in a given nativity’s
reading. These vargas should be examined in a chart format.
I do not recall anyone in the ‘camp (b)’ saying that the first part of
(a) is not correct, namely, the varga positions must be considered, per
se, for examination of strength and quality of a planet as prescribed
within the Jyotish framework. In fact most of them utilized concepts
from both (a) and (b) streams. There seemed to be a few other
individuals who totally denied the veracity of thought stream (b) and a
few were a bit taciturn about it, perhaps to avoid acrimony and getting
ensnared in the controversy. Or perhaps there were some other reasons,
known only to them.
What do the Classics Say
While the purists and historians duke it out as to what constitutes a
Classic and what not, there seemed to be no significant resistance to
accepting Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, described – by a very
accomplished and brilliant, jyotishi who is an excellent writer and
teacher and a very wise person beyond his years – as ... a remarkably
well-preserved and reasonably intact, well-organized compendium of
Jyotish knowledge. So I spent a few minutes going through it after
Chapter 5 was brought to our attention as a strong indication of bhavas
only being considered in rashi and in none of the other vargas since the
Sage had not explicitly stated so. On the surface, this indeed seemed to
be the case! However a further stroll into the magnum opus brought me to
the chapter on Karakamshas In this Chapter 35 (Karakamshaphalaadhyaaya),
BPHS describes the effects of planets that are in 2nd or 5th from
karakamsha (sloka 30-31 for instance) and other houses also from
karakamsha in subsequent slokas. Additionally, in sloka 33 BPHS mentions
about the aspects (drishti) of Moon and Venus on the 4th from karakamsha
and also in sloka 13.
Now, here lies the quandary
BPHS has to the best of my understanding not clarified if the karakamsha
kundali is to be read in the navamsha arrangement or the rashi
arrangement (even though in both case the karakamsha sign will be taken
from the navamsha where AK is placed). Modern jyotishis are split over
this matter.
This, therefore, will be the deciding factor. If you see planetary
arrangements for the karakamsha chart in rashi after finding the seed
orientation (atmakaraka in navamsha), then you would say that the above
citation in BPHS does not clarify or indicate the use of varga kundali
or of bhavas in sub-rashi vargas. On the other hand, if you continue to
use the navamsha positions of other planets for the karakamsha
examination, then there lies the less explicit (than Chapter 5) but
important recommendation that houses matter and should be studied in
vargas. By extrapolation, as in the navamsha, so in the dashamsa and the
remaining 13 (Rashi having being unequivocally accepted as suitable for
studying houses in a horoscopic manner: Chapter 5, BPHS!). However,
there still was no evidence or classical indication for the use of
drishtis in amsha varga kundalis. A case was made about it “just not
being astronomically correct” because drishtis were based on angular
distances (even though Vedic drishtis are more lax in orbs than their
western tropical astrology counterparts, but angular all the same).
There was more searching that needed to be done, obviously!
At this juncture, someone mentioned that Kalyan Varma, the jyotishi king
was a reputable source and had dealt with navamshas in a brilliant
manner and had not recommended the use of varga kundali. It was indeed a
cue from the Universe! My next focus of attention was – Saravali, a text
that I absolutely love! Anyways, I recalled something in Saravali that I
was a bit bothered by early on during my Jyotish learning. Indeed, soon
I was looking at Chapters 22 onwards where effects of drishtis between
planets were mentioned by Kalyan Varma.
Before I got into it, though, I needed to make sure what a drishti means
to jyotishis. Most jyotishis writing in English use the term ‘aspects’
for drishtis, just like their tropical brethren. However, there are some
differences. Conjunction is an aspect, however yugma or more
specifically yuti (coming together of planets) is not a drishti. Several
references in Satyacharya’s writings mention “Yuto Drishto” and other
grammatical forms of these two terms. Now Satyacharya is economical in
the use of words, if nothing else. He would not use two words that mean
the same thing next to each other. This then would imply that Yuti
(conjunction) is separate from Drishti (aspect) in Jyotish parlance.
Yuti is not drishti, though the effect or influence might be similar.
Next, looking into the mathematical consideration of drishti in
drig
bala, conjunctions do not come into consideration when determining
aspect strengths. In fact the planets have to be greater than 2 signs in
order to get a aspect strength value. This allows an unambiguous cuff of
separation between two planets and yuti or conjunction not getting
aspect strength at all. An indirect but important confirmation that
conjunction is not meant when ancient jyotishis referred to ‘drishti’.
How come, then, Kalyan Varma in several slokas (e.g., Chap. 22, sloka
6, 7, 14 ..., Chap.26, slokas 25, 29, on and on in similar slokas –
talks about effects of drishtis (no mention of conjunctions or yutis)
between Sun and Mercury and Sun and Venus, and Mercury and Venus? Once
or twice could have been a mistake or error committed by a dozing
student of Kalyan Varma who was taking dictation but there are too many
instances there! Now, even a neophyte in astrology would agree that
Venus and definitely Mercury would never get so far from Sun to enter
into a drishti sambandh! UNLESS, obviously, Kalyan Varma was not
referring to the rashi horoscope but also to amsha varga horoscopes!
Yes, this makes sense!!
Putting 2 and 2 together – Parashara indicating house relationships in
varga charts in the karakamsha examination and Kalyan Varma even more
directly and at several places referring to something that can be an
astronomical reality only in varga charts – are providing firm
indication of Jyotish classics recommending the use vargas in a
kundali,
chakra or horoscope form with consideration of bhavas as in rashi as
well as aspects, or drishtis!
A good beginning! Now we would all need to study further and find
practical applicability for this information. Even more than what has
been shown in the past by way of demonstration of use of varga charts in
practical Jyotish. Not so much to convince a few individuals who would
rather hang on to their pegs of comfort and conviction, but to create
more light and less smoke in the caverns of Jyotish. A much admired
jyotishi generally signs off his messages with, “May Jupiter’s light
shine on us”. To that I would like to add, “Maybe we should invite the
soul-karaka Sun too – for the cavern needs all the light it can get!”
November 6, 2005
Top | Astrology
Image under license with Gettyimages.com
Published in arrangement with
Crystal
Pages, Ottawa.
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