FINDING MUHURTHAM

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Well Begun is half done proverb must have said keeping in mind,

Muhurta. Muhurta means a time, which is auspicious for particular

kind of activity. Here the timing to be seen for particular action to

particular individual. The Pancha Angas (Five limbs) of Muhurta are

Tithi (Lunar day), Vara (name of the day), Nakshatra (star), Yoga

(Auspicious/Inauspicious nature) and Karana (1/2 of Lunar day).

In addition to these five limbs, Ayana (1/2 of the year), Masa

(Month), Paksha (15 days of month), Planetary transit, Lagna

(Ascendant) too are considered for specific Muhurtas. The self

created Short term destiny (Muhurta) certainly will have its say

provided it is put in harmony with the Birth chart. Relevance of

Muhurta also lies in its being a means through which one can accept

the Nature. It is better to draw auspicious Cosmic power than going

against it.

Generally Muhurta is seen for the following:

1:To start a new project/Business Undertaking

2:For House Warming

3:For Marriage

4:For Sacred Thread ceremony

5:For Distant Travels

6:To start Yajnas

7:To start Studies/Vedic Studies

8:To join employment

9:For Naming ceremony

10:For Engagement

Muhurta generally gives high success rate in fulfilling the purpose

of the events.

Maharishi Parashar stressed the importance of remedial measures and

their effectiveness in three ways

1) The planets can be worshipped through prayers, charities,

devotion, etc.

2) The devotion has to be in a dedicated manner with complete faith.

3) Initiation has to be on an auspicious day and in an auspicious

time on the advice of a proficient astrologer.

Why an auspicious time?

We are performing remedial measures to make good certain deficiencies

and to mitigate unfavorable influences. If these are not started at

an auspicious time, there may be problems in the continuance of

these, the desired strength may not be forthcoming from the measures

taken for strengthening weak planets, etc.

As we all know, by the word 'Muhurata' we understand the time elected

for initiating a particular event, e.g., a journey, starting

construction, purchase of movable/immovable property, celebration of

marriage, namkaran sanskar, etc. The importance of Muhurata is

understandable from the fact that we firmly believe in the growth of

everything as per the natal planetary position. The only difference

between the natal chart of a person and muhurata is that, while we

have no control over the birth time, we can time the events for some

auspicious planetary combinations.

There are various sets of rules like

1.Ascendant of a muhurata to be occupied by benefics.

2.No planets should be in the eighth house.

3.Kendras should be devoid of malefics.

4.The lord of the ascendant should be strong.

5.Avoiding a particular sign, nakshatra, day, tithi, yoga, karana,

etc.

Still, experience shows that events initiated in a duly elected

traditional muhurata do not succeed and even fail miserably. For

example, a Hindu marriage in particular is invariably solemnized in a

duly elected muhurata Now what is it? Is it a farce only? Is the

muhurata elected not auspicious or flawless?

After carefully examining a number of cases, WE have come to the

conclusion that, most of the time, muhurata is not auspicious and

even when the muhurata is auspicious, the exact time is rarely

adhered to.

Systems' Approach

When we believe that muhurata is a controllable factor, we should not

hurry, but wait for the suitable time. The following system and

scientific approach should be followed.

(A)Election of Sign in the Ascendant

Matching with the duration of the event for which the muhurata is to

be worked out, the sign should be a fixed or movable or common. For

example, for construction/purchase of a residential building or

marriage, the sign should be fixed; whereas, in the case of a

business, the movable or a common sign may be suitable. As change is

the law of nature, any business which is most successful at a

particular time may fail because of the ever changing environment. To

reduce the number of inauspicious influences, we should restrict our

choice to the signs Aries, Libra, Gemini, Leo and Sagittarius in the

ascendant of the muhurata.

(B)Strength of the Ascendant

After deciding a particular sign, we should elect a time when the

Ascendant is in full strength i.e.

(i)It should be devoid of malefic aspects.

(ii)Its lord should be strong, well placed and afflicted by malefics.

© General Strength

No house of the muhurata chart should be weak and afflicted and there

should be no concentration of malefic influences.

(D)Strength of Significators

In addition to the strength of the lagna, the lagna-lord and the

general strength of the muhurata chart, the strength of the

significator signifying a particular event for which a muhurata is

being elected is of utmost importance. For example, for marriages

Jupiter and Venus should be strong.

(E)Placement of the Moon

This is the key point and the life of a muhurata chart. The Moon

should occupy nakshatras of any of the lords of a strong and well

placed lagna or fourth house or ninth house or at least of a benefic

house. On the other hand, it should not be in the nakshatra of a

functional malefic planet or a weak planet. The main reason why the

event timed as per muhurata does not bless the natives with

auspicious results is that the Moon occupies the nakshatras of

planets mentioned in the preceding sentence.

The remedial measures suggested after careful analysis of a natal

chart and the time for initiation of these in line with the guidance

of the propounder of the divine science, Maharishi Parashar, do bless

the natives with success. In dire emergencies, these remedial

measures for offering prayers and charities can be suggested when the

lagna lord is strong and the Moon is rightly placed in the nakshatra

of a strong functional benefic with reference to the ascendant.

I would like to dwell a little more on the guidelines of the

Maharishi once again. The practitioners of this divine science have

to be of righteous conduct,i.e., free from vices, pride, greed, anger

and jealousy. The remedial measures produce results when these are

dedicated with devotion,i.e., the performer should also be initiated

into the right course. A clue which comes from Sant Tulsidas is that

a person enjoying divine grace is not encountered with tragedies in

the life. In astrology we associate "divine grace" with the planet,

Jupiter. Therefore, both in the natal chart and the initiation chart,

the favorable inclination of Jupiter to the ascendant has to be

properly analyzed.

One should not be afraid of spending time and working hard for

electing an auspicious lagna. Sometimes, even a few thousands

combinations have to be tried. It is the experience of the author

that even in a year's time the auspicious lagnas which can be adopted

for strengthening weak planets may be quite few, sometimes even less

than five. In a nut-shell, we should first select a time when planets

are free from combustion, debilitation and are not in their

debilitated navamsas. Then, the selection has to be started from the

lagnas prevailing in the working hours of the day so that the

performer can perform the measures suggested. Another point which I

would like to make here is retrogression of planets which is only a

visionary phenomenon as this occurs due to different speeds of the

planets in relation to the earth. The effects on a natal chart are

due to angular position of planets with reference to a particular

place on the earth. Hence, the author is of the firm view that

retrograde planets are to be treated in a normal way as per their

actual longitudes. That is why no special significance has been

attached to retrograde planets during the course of discussions of

various charts in this book.

HOW TO PROCEED FOR ELECTING AN AUSPICIOUS TIME

1.Eliminate the dates when any of the planets is in a state of

combustion. This information is available in the ephemeries under the

heading "helical setting or combustion of planets" for a particular

calendar year.

2.Eliminate the dates when any of the planets is in a state of

debilitation, infancy, old age, in the malefic houses, debilitated in

navamsa and afflicted by the close affliction of the functional

malefics with reference to the ascendant in view.

3.Find out if the Moon on the auspiciously identified dates is in the

nakshatra of a functional benefic planet with reference to the

ascendant and the sub-period of a functional benefic is in progress.

4.Find out the beginning and ending time of the said ascendant.

5.Note down the longitude of the functional malefics.

6.Leave the time represented by five degrees on either side of the

degrees of the functional malefics.For example, if the ascendant has

been elected as Aries and the longitude of functional malefics

Rahu/Ketu is 27 degrees and the longitude of the functional malefic

Mercury is 4 degrees, then, we should finalize the time of muhurata

when the tenth degree rises in the ascendant and this can extend to

the time when the ascendant is of 22 degrees.

We hope the readers will be able to elect an auspicious time with the

above methodology.