On Ayanamshas ...

[Guest guest]

Something I wrote several years ago which might be of interest to

some of the readers here ...

 

"Swami Yukteshwar Giri in his 1894 work referred to contemporary

astronomical books (presumably ephemeris or panchangs without

specifying which) gave the value of ayanamsha as 20 deg 54 min and 36

sec for the spring equinox of 1894 and identified AD 499 as the year

of coincidence of the two zodiacs. He obviously used a value of 54

sec per year for the annual motion of ayanamsha precession. Modern

astrophysics attributes a value of approximately 50.25 to 50.3

seconds for this quantity (the annual motion of precession of

equinoxes is not a constant term and varies over time in a gradually

cyclical manner). Now, if we divide 20d 54m 36s (=75276 sec; the

value of ayanamsha at vernal equinox of 1894) by 50.28, we get a

value very close to the year 397 which is the year of coincidence

recommended by Dr. B.V. Raman in late 1930s. In 1999, Raman's

ayanamsha gives positions of planets that are about 6 minutes ahead

of Yukteshwar's because of the 3-4 seconds annual differences in the

values of annual motion adopted since 1894. This is a minor

difference and the similarity in values for these two ayanamshas

recommended by these two stalwarts separated by almost fifty to

sixty years is simply remarkable. I am not aware of nor have I read

anywhere if Prof. Raman's ayanamsha was inspired by the value given

by Shri Yukteshwar Giri and was perhaps independently derived by the

Late eminent Prof. Raman.

 

For those individuals who use the Yukteshwar ayanamsha option in

their jyotish software, it would be advisable to check if the value

of ayanamsha turns out to be 20d 54m 36s for vernal equinox of 1894

(March 21/22). Fine tuning of the software value, if permitted, to

bring it to that quoted by Swami Giri would be helpful. Please note

that a minor difference of a minute or less would not introduce a

significant error, so there is absolutely no need to agonize over

minor discrepancies. The inaccurate birth time in most cases would

wipe out any super-precise corrections, anyway!

 

Horoscopes of celebrities are often used as "proof" for this or that

ayanamsha. There are obviously questions that exist around the

accuracy of such birth data, but there is another factor to note.

Celebrities have attained a large degree of success in a field and

their horoscopes would strongly and in more ways than onc indicate

this. Often there are multiple indicators or factors in such charts

and this can actually reduce the usefulness of these charts for

precisely examining cut-offs for ayanamsha and other astrological

parameters like these. Given the multiplicity of factors, one may

arrive at similar outcomes using different ayanamshas etc. In

contrast the charts of ordinary individuals are "cleaner" and more

likely to give a definitive and unambiguous answer. I suggest that

you use these charts for your ayanamsha or other research. Another

problem with celebrity charts is the fact of their private and real

persona and what we know about them. And, this will not be resolved

merely by looking at the arudha alone as has been sometimes stated.

Furthermore, using too many techniques and too many dashas while

fixing the workable value of ayanamsha can be confounding rather than

clarifying, so it is best to use the barely necessary set of rules

and proceed from there and to come back to the chart if the research

goes nowhere and to start with a few more rules, etc. Some of the

rules also sound very precise but a little bit of reflection will

show that they are as clear as mud. Narasimha Rao illustrates this

with a very telling example in his recent book on an integrated

approach to jyotish (Sagar Publications), by describing a formula

describing airy lagnas and transit of venus in certain positions

which ends up in describing that marriage of people born in airy

lagnas can take place when venus transits any of the 12 signs in

zodiac!"