Vedic Astrology.

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A few questions to Vedic Astrologers.

 

(These questions were posed when Vedic Astrology was introduced in the

Universities)

 

The Vedic Astrologers are asking the scientists to have an open mind before

concluding whether astrology is a science or not. I have a few questions

addressed to Vedic Astrologers. These questions are relevant irrespective of

the questioner’s background or credentials.

 

Those who claim to be Vedic Astrologers and those who promote Vedic Astrology

must answer these questions in public interest.

 

Question No.1

 

At the outset the Vedic Astrologers should state what texts of the Vedas and the

ancillary texts constitute the source of Vedic Astrology. Even if a text is in

Sanskrit, it cannot automatically be said to be the source of Vedic Astrology.

Charvaka’s proposition denying the next birth, which is called naastika vaada,

is written in Sanskrit but is opposed to the Vedas.

 

Question No.2.

 

Jyothisham is one of the six ancillary texts of the Vedas. Here Jyothisham means

astronomy or the saastra dealing with the movements of luminaries (grahaanaam

gatih). In Vedic times, a Jyothishi or Joshi was one who knew Jyothisham and was

not a Daivajnah or knower of astrology or fortune or fate.

 

>From a verse in Brihatsamhita of Varaha Mihira, it would appear that Vedic

Brahmins did not know astrology nor were they practicing the profession of

astrologers. He says -

 

Mlechhaa hi yavanaas-teshu samyag-saastramidam sthitham /

Rishivat tepi pujyante kimpunar-daivavid dwijah //

 

The yavanas (Greeks) are barbarians or non-aryans. This science (astrology) is

well established among them. Even they are honoured as rishis (sages). Then

what about a Brahmin if he knows astrology?

 

This shows that even in Varahamihira’s time, the Vedic Brahmins did not practice

astrology. Varahamihira (who himself was not a Vedic Brahmin but a Maga

Brahmin) encouraged them to become astrologers. He composed the Brihajjaatam or

Horasastram as it is popularly known, based

on Greek astrology. Today it is the most important textbook in Indian

astrology.

 

Can the Vedic Astrologers state where, in the Vedic texts, Jyothisham refers to

astrology and not to astronomy?

 

Question No.3

 

The basic data in Indian astrology is the Panchangam or five fold elements of

time viz. Thithi, Vaaram, Nakshatram, Yogam and Karanam It has also the

division of zodiac into twelve signs, such as Mesha. Vrishabha etc. and related

subjects like their lordships, etc.

 

Of these, Vaaram or the day of the week and the seven- day week are not

mentioned even in the post vedic texts such as Kautilya’s Arthasastra or

Amarakosha. The names of weekdays are based on

the 24-hour division of the day. This is an Egyptian concept. The Egypto-Greeks

visualized the universe as geo-centric and arranged the seven planets (as known

to them then) from the farthest to the

nearest from the earth as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon

from the slowest to the speediest. By successive assignment of lordship to each

hour of the day to these planets, we get the lordship of the first hour of each

day of the week as Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, and Mercury. Jupiter and Venus. The

week originally commenced from Saturday and ended on Friday. After Christianity

came to be respected by the Romans, the starting day of the week was changed

from Saturday to Sunday on which day Jesus Christ was said to have

resurrected. The sun also was the god of the Romans. In these days of global

air-travel the starting day of the week has changed from Sunday to Monday. In

airlines parlance No.1 refers to Monday.

The following two verses in Aryabhateeyam (476 A.D) mention how the weekdays got

their names.

 

Bhaanaamadhas-shanaishchara-guru-bhauma-arka-shukra-budha-chandraah /

theshaamadhashcha bhoomih medheebhoothaa khamadhyasthaa //

 

Under the star, are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon. Under

all these is the earth standing at the center of the universe as an axis.

 

Saptaithe horeshah shanaishcharaadyaah yathaakramam seeghraah /

sheeghrakramaat chaturthaah bhavanti sooryodayat dinapaah //

 

These seven are the lords of the hours starting from Saturn and arranged

according to their increasing speed (as observed from the earth). Thus the

fourth planet becomes the lord of the first hour after sunrise (from which the

day takes its name). Here Aryabhata seems to have accepted the geo-centric

theory of the Greeks.

 

Simply because these verses are in Sanskrit, it cannot be concluded that these

are part of Vedic Astrology.

 

Here there are some fallacies in the naming of weekdays. The universe (limited

to the planetary system) was thought to be geocentric (earth as the center). We

now know that it is heliocentric

(the sun as the center). The Greeks observed seven planets. But we have now

three more planets viz. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. If we reallocate the

lordships of the hours among ten planets, the week

will have ten days. But the 24-hour day will have to give place to 27 equal

divisions. The division of the day into 24 hours is arbitrary. In any case it is

not Vedic.

 

The word hora used by Aryabhata is a Greek word and became hour in English.

 

The day has 24 horas or hours. Even in Kautilya’s time (about 300 B.C) Indians

did not divide the day into 24 hours but only into 60 nazhikas or nalikas.

Kautilya does not mention both the unit hora and the seven-day week. Even in

Varaha Mihira’s time there was speculation about the origin of the word hora.

He says -

Horetyahoraatra-vikalpameke vaanchhanti poorvaapara-varna-lopat /

 

Some people say that the word hora has come from ahoratra with the omission of

the first and last letters. It would appear that he did not favour this

derivation. Amarakosha also does not contain this word as a unit of time.

 

Any reference in the Vedas for sun as saptaasvah

refers to the seven colours of sunlight.

 

Why I am dwelling at length on the word hora and week days is because some

important notions of Indian Astrology like Rahu Kaalam, Gulika Kaalam, Yamakanta

Vela, and auspicious week days for muhoortham etc. depend on the names of week

days.

Can the Vedic Astrologers state in which Vedic text the word Hora occurs?

 

In which Vedic text the day is divided into 24 hours? Which Vedic text gives the

names of the weekdays?

If the weekdays are named after the planets as

known to Hindus, why are the names of Rahu and Ketu missing?.

 

Question No.4

 

The Vedic astronomers found that the moon takes 27.32 civil days to move 360

degrees in the zodiac while circling the earth. They indicated the position of

the moon in the zodiac by giving a name to the star or star cluster where the

moon appeared on each day such as aswathi, bharani and so on. Since the moon

took 27 full days and 19 nalikas (8 hours) they had 28 stars to indicate these

positions. Starting with Sravana nakshatram they had 27 one day stars upto

Uttraashaadham and one 19 nalika star called Abhijit.

 

These 28 stars are mentioned in the Vedas and also in the Mahabharatha. Today

Indian astrologers make use of only 27 stars, omitting Abhijit. Most

of the predictions in Indian astrology are based on these 27 stars. For example,

matching of horoscopes, dasa and bhukti in the vimsotttari

dasa system, gochaara phalam etc. are based on Nakshatras.

 

Will the Vedic Astrologers explain what happened to Abhijit?

 

Question No.5

 

During vedic times the civil year of 365 and odd days had 12 lunar months of 360

days. These were madhu, madhavam, sukra, suchi, nabhas, nabhasya, isa, urja,

sahas, sahasya, tapas and tapasya. Later the names of these months were changed

as Chaitra, Vaisakha, etc. Once in five to six years there was an extra lunar

month of 30 days which was called adhimaasam to take care of the excess of five

plus

days in each solar year.

 

Then came the twelve equal divisions of the zodiac. Their names are borrowed

entirely from the Greeks. Names like Mesha, Vrishabha, Mithuna, etc. are

Sanskrit equivalents of the corresponding Greek

names. In his Brihajjataka Varaha Mihira gives the Greek names thus:

 

Kriya taavuru jituma kuleera leya paarthona jooka korpiakhyaah /

thoukshika aakokero hridrogashch-ethasishcha anthyam //

 

Including the above, Varaha Mihira has used about 33 Greek words for some of

which there are no Sanskrit equivalents. What is the justification for calling

this astrology as Vedic Astrology?

 

Question No.6

 

Vedas prescribe certain rituals during the time of solar and lunar eclipses.

As the beginning, duration and ending of these eclipses can be confirmed by

direct observation, the formulae used by Indian astrologers have been

periodically revised. One such system is called Drigganitham, which means

“astronomy as observed”, but for ascertaining the commencement of Uttarayana and

Dakshinayana and fixing the two equinoxes (vishus), we adopt the nirayana

system (without taking into account the precession of equinoxes), which is now

about 24 days. Even a schoolboy can observe that the apparent northward

motion of the sun commences on December 22 and not on January 14. And we

perform the rituals prescribed in the Vedas on such wrong days. We also

continue to cast horoscopes on Nirayana basis. Westerners cast horoscopes on

Sayana (not Sayanacharya) basis. For a person born on 6th May, according to the

western system the sun sign is Taurus (Vrishabham) while in the Indian system,

the sun is in Mesha Raasi where it is exalted. Will the Vedic Astrologers state

definitely what type of astrology we are following in these cases?

 

 

P.K.Ramakrishnan

peekayar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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