condemning the bible of astrology - Mohan Jyotis

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends Messrs Sreenadh and Menon,

I wish you had given the source of information

regarding "Yavana" Jyotishis being kings of Gujarat

etc. and having become outcasts and mlechhas Without

that information, it is just a mere conjecture.

 

The facts of the matter are:

 

Bhatotpala, in his commentary on Brihat Jatakam 7/9

says, "Yavanaeshswara Sphujidwaja had made another

work on astrology immediately after the start of Shaka

Era. Varahamihira has also written the opinions of

the predecessors of Yavaneshwara. I have not seen the

astrological wroks of earlier Yavanacharyas but I have

seen the wrok of Sphujidwaja". It means that the

Yavanajataka of Sphujidwaja was availalble at the time

Varahamihira (fifth century AD and also Bhatotpala

(eighth century AD). Similarly, Alberuni says on page

158 of his Alberuni's India Vol. I, "There is another

book larger than this (i.e. Kalyan Verma's Saravali)

which comprehends the whole of astrological sciences,

called Yavana, i.e. belonging to the Greeks".

 

Pt. S. B. Dikshit has said on page 637 (Hindi

translation) of Bharaitya Jyotish, "Bhatotpala has

called Sphujidwaja as Yavaneshwara and the shlokas he

has quoted as from Yavanas are from that very book.

This work is in Sanskrit. There is also available a

work by Minaraja. It is also known as Vridha Yavana

Jatakam. It has been said in that book (i.e. Vridha

Yavana Jatakam) that the work of astrology of one

hundred thousand verses that Maya had been revealed to

Maya by earlier jyotishis have been compressed into

8000 by Minaraja. Bhatotpala has quoted (chapter 1/5)

the forms of Rashis etc. have been taken t\from

Minaraja's book but thee are several other verses that

are not available in Vridha yavana Jataka. It means

the work of Sphujidwaja is different from tht of

Minaraja adn the other Yavanacharyas of ages prior to

Varahamihira are also other Yavanas besides the two

i.e. Sphujidwaja and Minaraja".

 

Now about the Yavnajataka from the libaryof Nepal King

having been manipulated by David Pingree:

A work titled "History of Astronomy in India" has been

published by Indian national Science Academy. It

contains a collection of several research papers by

prominent scholars. S. N. Sen,Secretary, Ramakrishna

Cultural Mission of Calcuta and also formerly

Registrar , Indian Associateion for the Cultivation of

Science, Calcutta, has this to say on pages 100-102 in

the chpater "Surve of studies in European Languages"In

1959, Pingree reported briefly on a Greek linear

planetary text written in Sanskrit, which provides a

definite evidence of Babylonan methods and parameters

in an astrological context. The text in question is

the Yavana Jataka of Sphujidwaja dated AD 269/270, and

contains in its last chapter 'astronomical

instructions' intended to improve upon, or sustitute

for, thjose of the Vasishtha Sidhanta.. Fragments

concerning the movements in arcs of Jupiter, Mars and

Saturn are quoted, their translations given, and

compared with BGabyulonian elements. Pingree

concluded

'...for the superior planets it has been demosntrated

that the mehtods in use among those Greek astrologers

who transmitted their learning to India in the second

century after Christ were still closely related to

those developed in Mesopatamia in the Seleuciid

period'.

 

 

 

> vedic astrology, "Sreenadh"

> <sreelid> wrote:

>

> Dear Menon,

> You are right in pointing out this fact. The Yevana

> stream of

> astrological thought has a great Guru-Sishya

> parampara and should be

> respected. They include-

> 1. Yevaneswara (Considerd as Rishi)

> 2. Spujidhwaja Yevana (An Indian King of Gujarath)

> 3. Meena Raja Yevana (Also known as Vridha yevana -

> Gujarath king?)

> 4. Sritha Keerthi (A Hindu King)

> 5. Haraji (Who wrote the Manasagari Jathaka

> padhathi - A Gujarathi

> Brahmin)

> Most probably the family lost caste and that is why

> they are

> mentioned as 'Mlescha' by many. But of course we

> should admit that

> they have some connection out side India, which is

> indicted by the

> words they used, and also due to the fact that the

> people lived out

> side India were known as 'Mlescha' at the time of

> Manusmrithi. The

> name of Yevanewara who lived prior to Alaxandar was

> included in the 18

> Rishis (by Parasara, Kasyapa and many others) who

> are the founders of

> the great astrological wisdom.

> Love,

> Sreenadh

>

>

> "Kochu Menon" <kochu1@>

> Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:51 am

> RE: [vedic astrology] Re: condemning the

> bible of astrology -

> Mohan Jyotishi kochu1tz

> Offline

> Send Email

>

> is this that simple?? I wonder

>

> Satyaacharya speaks of yavana in the sloka -

>

> na kumbha lagnam shubhamaaha satya

>

> naa nyadhaaH yavannaH vadanti

>

> and in Varaha Hora

>

> Mihira says referring to drekkana swaroopas

>

> iti yavanopadishtam; iti yavanairudaahridam

>

> IMHO these references are to

>

> Sphoorjjitadhwaja Yavanaraja and his descendants and

> not to Greeks.

>

> This great King of Gujarat wrote Yavana Jataka,

> vruddha yavana jataka

> etc. Till a copy was found in Nepal Maharaja's

> library, the books were

> deemed lost. It was published by Harvard U. The

> publisher claimed it

> is "Greek Astrology" on the basis of the author's

> name being Yavana

> Raja. The introduction in the original text mentions

> his lineage and

> that he is a King in present day Gujarat.

>

> Later there are indications that the family lost

> caste - that maybe

> the reason for referring to this lineage as Mlecha.

>

> I am not an expert. These are random thoughts.

>

> --- End forwarded message ---

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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