Fwd: astrological combinations in the Valmiki Ramayana

[Guest guest]

vedic_research_institute , " Avtar Krishen

Kaul " <jyotirved wrote:

 

Shri Kedarnath ji,

Namaskar!

 

You have said

<Aspersions of stupidity and lack of knowledge of astrology has been

cast on Valmiki - the blessed soul that made available the Ramayana

available to us.>

 

You are right! Aspersions of stupidity and lack of knowledge of

astrology (actually both astronomy and astrology!) has been cast on

Valmiki! It is for you to find out as to who has done so!

 

I am quoting the exact English translation, including the words in

brackets, as it is, of the relevant shlokas of Book I,(Balakandam)

Chapter/canto 18 of the Valmiki Ramayana from the Gita Press

edition, supposed to be the most authentic edition, as they have not

printed/published quite a few chapters/cantos in the last " Kanda "

presuming that they were spurious! Obviously, it means that what

they have published is without doubt from the original Ramanaya!

Similarly, it cannot be said that they have made the translations in

a haphazard manner since the translators were well equipped scholars

of our shostras!

Hundreds of thousands of copies of the Gita Press Ramayana (both

with Hindi and English translations) have already been sold by them!

 

I may also mention in the passing that the original Sanskrit verses

of the Gita Press Ramayana more or less tally exactly with the one

publihed by Chowkhamba Vidyabhavan, Varanasi, in their 1957

edition! Thus it gets doubly confirmed that the Gita Press edition

is quite an quthentic one:

 

The relevant sholkas are:

(Verses 8 to 11) " On the ninth lunar day (of the bright fortnight) of

Chaitra, the twelfth month after the conclusion of the sacrifices)

when the asterism Punarvasu (presided over by Aditi) was in the

ascendant and (as many as) five planets (viz. the Sun, Mars, Saturn,

Jupiter and Venus) happened to be exalted (appeared in the zodiacal

signs of Mesha or Aries, Makara or Capricornus, Tula or Libra, Karka

or Cancer and Mina or Pisces respectively) and Jupiter in

conjunction with the moon appeared in the zodiacal sign of Karka,

mother Kausalya (the eldest wife of Dasharatha) gave birth to a

highly blessed son named Sri Rama " .

(Verse 13) " (Next) through (the womb of)Kaikeyi (the youngest wife

of King Dasharatha) was born Bharatha, possessed of true valour, who

actually represented a quarter of Lord Vishnu and was adorned with

all (divine) virtues..

(Verse 15) " Bharata of cheerful mind was born when the constellation

Pushya was in the ascendant and the Sun had entered the zodiacal

sing of Pisces; while the twin sons of Sumitra were born when the

constellation Ashlesha was in the Ascendant and the sun had reached

the meridian, touching the zodiacal sign of Karka (Cancer)

(Verse 21) " The king further performed the naming ceremony (with

respect to his sons) on completing eleven days (after the birth of

Lakshamana and Shatrugana or thirteen days after the advent of Shri

Rama, which took place two days earlier)

 

There are quite a few astronomically impossible commbinations in

these sholkas and these are:

1. If the sun of Shri Rama is in Mesha and His Moon in Karka, it

cannot be Shukla paksha Namvmi and also the Moon in Punarvasu

simultaneously.

2. If the sun of Shri Rama is in Mesha and that of Bharata in Mina,

Bharata is either younger by eleven months (and not jut two days) to

Shri Rama or elder to Shri Rama!

3. If the sun of Shri Rama is in Mesha, that of Bharata in Mina and

that of Lakshamana and Shatrugasna in Karka (Cancer) both of them

are younger by four months to Shri Rama and at least three months to

Bharata!

 

Personally, I would not ascribe such a non-sensensical and

meaningless astrological or astronomical knowledge to Valmiki Rishi

but it appears to be the doing of some " followers of Varahamihira

the greatest charlatan " to introduce such interpolations in the

Ramayana just to make a common man subservient to their designs by

telling them that even Shri Rama was " governed " by predctive

jyotishis! For that matter, only a few days back, in the Hindustan

(Hindi edition), one of the jyoitishis had said that Shri Rama's

existence couldnot be doubted since we have His horoscopes in

several Jantris!

 

It is thus obvious that as far as Valmiki Rishis himself was

concerned, he never bothered about the planetary combinations of

Bhagwan Rama etc. since there was no such fear psychosis then, as

otherwise, if at all he had mentioned the horoscope or at least even

the Janma nakshatra of Bhagwan Rama in the Ramayana himself, he

woulde not have made such a mess!

 

It all proves beyond all the reasonable (and even unreasonable!)

doubts that there was no such malady like " Vedic astrology " in India

at the time of Bhagwan Rama!

With regards,

Avtar Krishen Kaul

 

vedic_research_institute , " prakruthipremi "

<smartxpark@> wrote:

>

> namaste,

>

> Aspersions of stupidity and lack of knowledge of astrology has been

> cast on Valmiki - the blessed soul that made available the Ramayana

> available to us.

>

> One of the aspersion is the the birth star of Bharatha. It is a

great

> tribute to the people - Brahmins of India that have preserved this

> much against possible conflicts with the knowledge they had. They

did

> not junk the greatest document of history of the greatest personage

> we are blesssed to have Sri.Rama.

>

> As a result of this preservation without doctoring there is

> possibility of more truths emanating.

>

> One very significant possibility for research:-

>

> Is the birth of Bharatha in the southern hemisphere? His mother was

> Kaikeyi - Was she a Mayan princess? And did she go to her parent's

> home for delivery?

>

> http://www.astroppo.com/historyastronomy.html

>

> The following web adresss is that of Valmiki Ramayana put up Sri

Desi

> Raju Hanumantha Rao - This site has 6,78,827 visits since October

11,

> 1998.

>

> In this - there is thesis that Bharatha was born 12 months later

> according to a German which is not mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana.

>

> Advances can be made only if the base logical premise is Valmiki

will

> not lie - He is talking about Sri Rama without an agenda except

> abuydaya (prosperity) for the future.

>

>

>

> http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga18/bala_18_frame.htm

>

>

> tato yaj~ne samaapte tu R^itUnaam SaT samatyayuH |

> tataH ca dvaadashe maase chaitre naavamike tithau || 1-18-8

> nakxatre aditi daivatye sva ucCha sa.nstheShu pa.nchasu |

> graheShu kar.hkaTe lagne vaakpataa i.ndunaa saha || 1-18-9

> prodyamaane jagannaatham sarva loka namaskR^itam |

> kausalyaa ajanayat raamam sarva lakSaNa sa.myutam || 1-18-10

> viSNoH ardham mahaabhaagam putram aixvaaku na.ndanam |

> lohitaaksham mahaabaahum rak{}ta oSTam du.ndubhi svanam || 1-18-11

>

> 8, 9, 10, 11. tataH yaj~ne samaapte= then, ritual, on completion;

> R^ituuNaam SaT sam atyayuH= seasons, six, well, passed by; tataH=

> then; dvaadashe maase= in twelfth, month; chaitre naavamike tithau=

> chaitra month [April-May], ninth, day; nakshatre aditi daivatye=

star

> of the day [punarvasu,] [whose presiding is] Aditi; panchasu

graheSu

> swa uccha samstheshu= of five, planets, in their own, highest,

> positing; karkaTe lagne= in Cancer [of Zodiac]; vaak patiH indunaa

> saha= when Speech's, Lord [Jupiter,] is [with] Moon, along with;

pra

> udyamane= when raising – ascending, advancing daytime – abhijit

> lagna; kausalyaa= Queen Kausalya; jagat naatham= worlds', lord

> [Vishnu]; sarva loka namaskR^itam= by all, worlds, adored; divya

> lakshana samyutam= divine, attributes, along with; viSNoH=

Vishnu's;

> artham= epitome of [not half of Vishnu]; mahaa bhaagam= greatly

> blessed one; ikshwaaku nandanam= Ikshvaaku dynasty, delight of;

> lohita aksham= lotus-red, eyes; mahaa baahum= lengthy, armed; rakta

> oSTam= roseate, lips; dundubhi svanam= drumbeat, voiced; raamam=

Rama

> as; putram= the son; ajanayat= gave birth.

>

> On completion of the ritual six seasons have passed by and then in

> the twelfth month, on the ninth day of chaitra month [April-May,]

> when the presiding deity of ruling star of the day is Aditi, where

> the ruling star of day is punarvasu, the asterism is in the

> ascendant, and when five of the nine planets viz., Sun, Mars,

> Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus are at their highest position, when

> Jupiter with Moon is ascendant in Cancer, and when day is

advancing,

> then Queen Kausalya gave birth to a son with all the divine

> attributes like lotus-red eyes, lengthy arms, roseate lips, voice

> like drumbeat, and who took birth to delight the Ikshwaku dynasty,

> who is adored by all the worlds, and who is the greatly blessed

> epitome of Vishnu, namely Rama. [1-18-8, 9, 10, 11]

>

> By this configuration of stars the supreme merits of Rama are

> indicated. atra saÕvastara mukha utt˜yaõa vasanta caitra m˜sa þukla

> pakÿa deva nakÿatra diva abhijit lagna puõya nakÿatr˜d utk®ÿ÷a k˜le

> kark˜÷aka lagne uccasya graha pañcake guru candra yoge þrŸ r˜ma

> utpatti× | tasya sarva utk®ÿ÷at˜m sakala kaly˜õa guõa abhiramat˜m

> sakala þiÿ÷a ˜draõŸya sampattim mah˜ par˜kramam ca s¨citam |

> dharmaakuutam.

>

> The words viSNoH artham half of Vishnu- are to be taken as half of

> the fruit of ritual where Vedic ritual itself is pervaded by

Vishnu.

> The fruit of ritual is obtained in the shape of dessert, and

Kausalya

> consumed half of it, but it is not half of Vishnu as he is

> illimitable.

>

> Verse Locator

>

> kausalyaa shushubhe tena putreNa amita tejasaa |

> yathaa vareNa devaanaam aditiH vajra paaNinaa || 1-18-12

>

> 12. Kausalya; a+mita tejasaa= one with unlimited resplendence; tena

> putreNa= by that, son; devaanaam vareNa= among gods, the best one;

> vajra paaNinaa= by Thunderbolt, in hand [wielder - Indra]; adithiH

> yathaa shushubhe= Lady Aditi, as with, shone forth.

>

> Kausalya shone forth with such a son whose resplendence is

unlimited,

> as with lady Aditi who once stood out with her son Indra, the best

> one among gods. [1-18-12]

>

> Verse Locator

>

> bharato naama kaikeyyaam jaj~ne satya paraakramaH |

> saakSaat viSNoH caturtha bhaagaH sarvaiH samudito guNaiH || 1-18-13

>

> 13. satya paraakramaH= truthfulness, as his valour; saakshaat

viSNoH=

> manifest, Vishnu's; chatur bhaagaH= fourth, component; sarvaiH

guNaiH

> samuditaH= with all, merits, embodied with ; Bharata; naama

> kaikeyyaam jaj~ne= named, to Queen Kaikeyi, born to.

>

> Queen Kaikeyi gave birth to Bharata, one embodied with all merits,

> and whose truthfulness itself is his valour and who is fourth

> component of manifest Vishnu, namely Rama. [1-18-13]

>

> The fraction indicated here like 'one fourth of Vishnu' etc may be

> reckoned as the share of the dessert consumed by the queens, but

not

> as a cleaved portion of Vishnu as he is an indivisible entity. Here

> it is half of one-fourth i.e., one-eighth of dessert given to

Kaikeyi.

>

> Verse Locator

>

> atha laxmaNa shatrughnau sumitraa ajanayat sutau |

> viirau sarva astra kushalau viSNoH ardha samanvitau | 1-18-14

>

> 14. atha= then; Queen Sumitra; viiraau= valiant ones; sarva astra

> kushalau= all, weaponry, experts; viSNoH= Vishnu's; artha= essence,

> epitome; samanvitou= those that are embodied with; Lakshmana;

> Shatrughna; sutou ajanayat= to sons, gave birth.

>

> Queen Sumitra then gave birth to two sons who are the embodied

> epitomes of Vishnu, namely Lakshmana, and Shatrughna, who are

valiant

> ones and experts in all kinds of weaponry. [1-18-14]

>

> Verse Locator

>

> puShye jaataH tu bharato mIna lagne prasanna dhIH |

> saarpe jaatau tu saumitrI kuLIre abhyudite ravau || 1-18-15

>

> 15. prasanna dhiiH= level, headed one – guileless, fair-minded;

> Bharata; pushye miina lagne jaataH= under Pushyami star, in Pisces

> [of Zodiac,] born; saumitrii= sons of Sumitra [Lakshmana,

> Shatrughna]; saarpe kuliire= under star presided by serpent

> [aaSreSa,] in Cancer [of Zodiac]; abhyudite ravau= when rising, of

> Sun- when sun is rising, i.e., on next day of Rama's birth, tenth

of

> Chaitra; jaatau= they are born.

>

> The fair-minded Bharata is born under Pisces where puSyami is the

> star of day, and the sons of Sumitra, namely Lakshmana and

Shatrughna

> are born under Cancer, where aaSreSa is the star of the day and

when

> sun is rising. [1-18-15]

>

> Rama is born on the ninth day of Chaitra month, and Bharata is born

> in the earlier part of next day the tenth of Chaitra, earlier to

his

> younger brothers, and then Lakshmana and Shatrughna are born on the

> later part of the day.

>

> 'Pushya is the name of a month; but here it means the eighth

mansion.

> The ninth is called Aslesh, or the snake. It is evident from this

> that Bharata, though his birth is mentioned before that of the

twins,

> was the youngest of the four brothers and Rama's junior by eleven

> months' Schlegel. The eleven-month gap between Rama and Bharata is

> unapparent in the words of verse. This may be from some other

version

> of Ramayana.

>

> Verse Locator

>

> raaj~naH putraa mahaatmaanaH catvaaro jaj~nire pR^ithak |

> guNava.ntaH anuruupaaH ca rucyaa proSTha padopamaaH || 1-18-16

>

> 16. guNavantaH anuruupaaH cha= virtuous ones, charming, also;

> ruchyaa= by brilliance; proSTapada upamaaH= [like puurva bhaadra,

> uttara bhaadra] stars, in simile; mahaatmaanaH= great souls; such;

> raajnaH putraa= kings', sons; chatvaaraH= four of them; jaj~nire

> pR^ithak= born, separately.

>

> Thus there are four great-souled sons of Dasharatha, born on

separate

> instances, who are virtuous, charming, and by brilliance they are

in

> similitude with two stars of each of the asterisms called puurva

> bhadra and uttara bhaadra. [1-18-16]

>

> The word proSTa is cow; pada feet; the feet of a cow. It is also

the

> name for the asterisms puurvaa bhaadra, uttara baadra , containing

> stars in the wing of Pegasus, each of which will have two stars,

and

> all the four stars make a perfect square. Like the pairs of stars

the

> brother also move in pairs – Rama, Lakshmana – Bharata, Shatrughna.

>

> The epithet mahaa aatmanaH high-souled ones is though negligible

for

> peripheral reading, it is explained as: Rama is one such, as he

> undertakes sva dharma anuSThaana ; Lakshmana by his sheSatva

> j~naana ; Bharata by his bhagavat paara tantrya ; and Shatrughna by

> his bhaagavata paaratantrya.

>

 

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