The quest for truth
Astrology was practised by the rishis (sages) in ancient times. However, humanity has lost that precious art through the ages, and what goes around as astrology nowadays is but a pale shadow of what our ancestors knew then. As a result, in my endeavour to learn authentic astrology, I had to overcome a few misconceptions on what is considered authentic.
Table of Contents
Are the classical astrology books authentic?
The classical astrology books we have now have all been penned down after the start of Kali yuga. For example, Brihat Jataka is said to have been written about 2000 yrs back, and all the other books available now were written after Brihat Jataka. Moreover, the authenticity of the versions of Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra we have now is debatable. A profound discussion on this topic is available here.
Brihat Jataka
I read Brhat Jataka so as to learn astrology in its purest form as expounded by the sages. But, I felt wanting for more and that the book was incomplete. I don’t intend to say that I mastered that book, but the book does not discuss even some basic aspects of astrology like the rules about rahu and ketu; about 6th, 8th, and 12th houses being bad; etc.
No agreed-upon rules in Vedic astrology
To add to the confusion, no two books agreed on the astrological rules, and applying those contrasting rules did not produce good results. Certainly, I am not a master of astrology, agreed. But, even the masters cannot understand the basis of the predictions in nadi astrology and Saptarishi Nadi.
Saptarishi Nadi
To clarify, those who have consulted nadi astrology will realize the precision of the past-life predictions in those palm leaves; therefore, a science capable of such predictions existed/exists. In fact, we do have the work of saptarishis themselves in the Saptarishi Nadi series.
Saptarishi Nadi is a collection of books containing discussions of horoscopes by the seven sages (saptarishis) and the consort of Lord Siva, Devi Parvati, herself. It is written in poetic form in the Tamil language. These books were compiled from palm manuscripts found in various parts of Tamilnadu, India, and published by the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras. Most importantly, they are a treasure house for those who want to analyze the predictions of the horoscopes by the ancient sages. I have discussed at length about this collection in the Saptarishi Nadi section. I have compiled the portions where the saptarishis put forth their arguments in favor of/against some of their predictions in the form of an eBook titled, “Elucidation of astrological predictions by saptarishis: Saptarishi Nadi, Aries ascendant collection.”
The most intriguing aspect of Saptarishi Nadi is that the verses indicate the planetary position at the time of birth. The saptarishis also elaborate on their predictions and elucidate the various conflicting rules, which throw much light on the authentic rules of astrology.
Saptarishis used tropical zodiac
In the course of my quest for authentic astrology, a tectonic realization occurred: I learned that the saptarishis used a tropical zodiac with sidereal nakshatras, as opposed to a sidereal zodiac. To clarify, traditional Indian astrologers nowadays use sidereal zodiac. I have discussed at length the evidence that the saptarishis used a tropical zodiac in my article here. Specifically, manuscript evidence for the use of tropical zodiac by the saptarishis is also available now.
Tropical zodiac vs sidereal zodiac
To understand the impact of using a tropical zodiac versus sidereal zodiac, let’s compare the charts computed for a hypothetical child born in Chennai, India, on January 1, 2018 at 6:00 am.
A chart using sidereal zodiac
To start with, let’s consider the chart computed using a sidereal zodiac (traditional Lahiri ayanamsa) in Jagannatha Hora. This chart uses the English abbreviations for the planets. (eg., sa for Saturn.)
We see that the ascendant is Sagittarius and the Moon is in Gemini and in the 7th house. Above all, no planet is in exaltation or in its own house.
The same chart using tropical zodiac
On the other hand, you can find the chart computed using tropical zodiac (no ayanamsa) in Jagannatha Hora, below. Setting up JHora to use tropical zodiac with sidereal nakshatras has been illustrated in this post.
Let us note some differences in the tropical chart. Firstly, the ascendant is Capricorn. Secondly, the Moon is in Gemini and in the 6th house. Thirdly, Saturn and Mars occupy their own houses.
Moreover, a cursory glance shows that the jataka suffers from Sakata dosha as the moon is in the 8th house from Jupiter. Also, the lordships of the bhavas differ. Above all, the lagna lord stays in his own house.
From this example, we can realize why the rules laid down by the sages do not work in a sidereal chart if they were indeed meant for a tropical chart. As a result, the astrologers, through the centuries, would have tweaked the rules based on their experience with a sidereal chart. However, upon finding that the rules expounded by the sages did not produce the expected results, they would have altered the rules to conform to a sidereal zodiac.
Know your Vedic horoscope with tropical zodiac and sidereal nakshatras
To compute a horoscope with tropical zodiac and sidereal nakshatras for you for free, you can send me your birth particulars (date, time, and place of birth) through the contact form in the website. I will send you the basic horoscope in pdf form as soon as I find time.
To sum up
After I came across Saptarishi Nadi, I realized that the saptarishis used a tropical zodaic. However, humanity lost this knowledge during Kali yuga. Later, the traditional astrologers in India started using a sidereal zodiac. As a result, over the course of time, they would have tampered/invented the rules to suit a sidereal zodiac. Therefore, the classical astrological books we have now may not be authentic.
My blog
In my humble quest to learn authentic astrology as practised by the rishis, I have chosen to write on Saptarishi Nadi and Pulippani astrology as I find these to be authentic, unsullied by the ravages of time.
I will be writing on the authentic rules as discussed by the saptarishis in Saptarishi Nadi in my blog.
May 31, 2019 at 4:24 pm
Sir, what are the effects when a retrograde planet is exalted or debilitated?
June 1, 2019 at 4:53 pm
I’m going to restrict my answer to what the saptarishis has said. I have read aries and virgo ascendant collections, but a planet being retrograde has not been mentioned even once. You are free to draw your conclusions.
June 1, 2019 at 4:30 pm
Good evening sir, are the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) also considered by our Saptarishis?
June 1, 2019 at 4:56 pm
No. Our saptarishis talk only about 7 planets and rahu and ketu. Even the known Sanskrit classics do not talk about other outer planets. So that should answer your question.
August 10, 2019 at 9:06 pm
Sir, What are the differences between tropical zodiac and sidereal zodiac? Which between both the tropical zodiac and sidereal zodiac follows the Axial Precession of the Equinoxes?
August 10, 2019 at 11:56 pm
Kindly take a pen and paper. Done? Well, now draw a circle. A circle has no starting point and ending point. Now if i tell you to divide the circle into 12 equal parts, you have to START the first segment somewhere. right? We all know the zodiac starts with Aries. So far so good. But where to mark the starting point of Aries? You have two friends who advise you on this, but unfortunately they don’t agree on the starting point of the circle. What will you do? One of your friends says that she will start it where the nakshatra (constellation of stars) Ashvini starts. Her name is Ms.Sidereal. Your other friend, Ms.Tropical, says she will start it when the duration of the day and night is equal (equinox, specifically March equinox). This point on the circle keeps changing every year due to the precession of the equinoxes. You let both of them have their way. So now you have Ms.Sidereal’s zodiac and Ms.Tropical’s zodiac. The whole world follows Ms.Tropical’s zodiac and publishes the ephemeris based on that. Your other friend, Ms.Sidereal, is still adamant. She uses the ephemeris published by Ms.Tropical’s friends but adjusts it to suit her definition by subtracting a value which keeps changing steadily due to the precession of the equinoxes. She calls this variable, ‘ayanamsa.’ Please decide which one of your friends is right. This is the end of this story.
Ms.Tropical’s definition takes into account the precession of the equinoxes. Ms.Sidereal’s definition does not take the precession of the equinoxes into account as it is based on a particular constellation (Ashvini). Her zodiac always starts from that point, no matter what. Hope this answers your questions.
This topic has been discussed elaborately in this page.
September 29, 2019 at 6:21 pm
hi Dr.Mathi..
pls do go in depth of these researches.. Hope to have ur views more on this.. keep updating.. Thanks.. Anbudan- GV
November 20, 2019 at 12:57 pm
Hello Sir, Have you been able to translate other Lagnas like Mithunam, Karkatakam, Thulam, etc I am eager to know whether you are anybody else has done the translation into English since I cannot read Tamil.
November 20, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Shree Yenbeeyes has translated many horoscopes in aries lagna. You can Google them. Translating other lagnas from my end is an ongoing project. I’m planning to translate all the horoscopes in each lagna collection, but it will take time. If you are interested in astrological predictions, check out my book “Elucidation of astrological predictions by saptarishis”.