Guest guest Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Introduction to Meenaraja Hora - Written by Sreenadh OG There are many texts about which we may have wrong concepts and wrong understanding, due to various reasons. The 3rd century AD text Meenaraja hora written by Meenaraja is such a text – misunderstood by many as a text of Greek origin or as one that deals with Greek astrology. Let us try to see this text more closely. Srishtou vidhatre jagatam sivaya samharakale stitaye(a)chyutaya Tubhyam namaH sarvagataya nityam trayeemaya yamala bhaskaraya Yaduktavan poorvamunistu sastram horamayam lakshamimam mayaya Tan Meenarajo nipunam swabudhya vichintya(a)rtha chakre(a)shta sahasramatram. (Meenararaja) [i bow to the Sun worshiped in Yamala stream of Tantra (i.e. Sun as Sun and Sun as symbolic representation of the trigunatmaka, omnipresent, everlasting entity the supreme god) who manifests as Brahma in creation, as Vishnu during existence, as Siva in destruction of the universe. I am (i.e. Meenaraja) is here abbreviating the same ancient knowledge (Horamayam; this hora; this text) told by `Purva Muni' (meaning `ancient sage'; i.e. ancient sage of my own parampara; possibly Yavanacharya or Sage Suryacharya) in 1 lakh quotes to Maya (the student of Sage Surya), into 8000 half slokas (i.e. 4000 slokas) using his own ability and intellect] Artha Chakra = Artha Vritta = Half Meter = Half Sloka This very first quote present in Meenaraja hora itself raises many questions. I will discuss some of those questions here. 1. Why should Meenaraja bow to Yamala Baskara? This is because Meenaraja is a follower of Yamala Tantra – a tantric knowledge stream. The word `Yamala' in Sanskrit could mean – two or twine. It is also the name of a Tantric stream of knowledge that believes in idol worship, and worships Siva-Sakti the twine deity. `Baskara' means Sun. Here the Sun is envisioned in 2 ways. 1) As the sun giving light; the reality that is visible to us; the Sun that causes day and night. 2) As the symbolic representation of the ultimate truth; the symbol of the omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal reality – the supreme god; for whom the universe and itself is one and the same; for whom the existence and non-existence is one and the same. It is in this second meaning that Sun is envisioned as one and the same with the supreme creator Brahma at the time of creation, Vishnu the sustainer of existence, and Siva the ultimate destruction. Sun is Siva; Sun is the ultimate Guru. Every knowledge starts from him and ends in him. This is the ancient Tantric path and understanding. Thus Sun is the first source of all knowledge. This vast Tantric understanding could be the very reason for Meenaraja bowing to `Yamala Bhaskara' (Tantric Sun). 2. Why Meenaraja tells us that he is abbreviating a book written by Maya in 1 lakh slokas as taught by Yavanacharya? This is a difficult question. Meenaraja hora and Sphujidhwaja hora contains the same quotes at numerous sections. Many assume that Sphujidhwaja hora was written prior to Meenaraja hora. Possibly Meenaraja is quoting those slokas either from Sphujidhwaja hora or from the ancient text Yavana hora attributed to Sage Yavanacharya. Sphujidhwaja clearly mentions that Yavanacharya is his guru and that the knowledge he presents belongs to Yavana school of astrological knowledge. Whether this Yavanacharya was Ionian or Greek or Indian is totally another question that we will not address here. The point we are interested in is that Meenaraja quotes several slokas that originally belong to the Yavana school of thought. Due to this if we consider Meenaraja hora as a text that belongs to the Yavana school of astrology, then definitely the word `Purva Muni' (ancient sage) mentioned by Meenaraja refers to Sage Yavaneswara. But when did Sage Yavaneswara taught Maya?! As per texts like Surya Siddhanta, Maya is the student of Sage Surya. Sage Surya was a very famous ancient Indian sage who imparted much astronomical and astrological knowledge as depicted in texts like – Surya Siddhanta, Surya Jataka, Surya-Aruna Samvada etc. Sage Surya is considered among one of the 18 propagators of ancient indian astrological wisdom. Maya was the student of this well respected sage. The Indian scholars never considered maya as a sage. He was considered as a great scholar after the divine sages; a scholar worth a place among the list – Maya, Manindha, Siddhasena , Devaswami, Jeeva sarma, Rishiputra, Vishnu gupta etc. They were neither as ancient as the sages nor as recent as the scholars like Aryabhata and Mihira of 5th and 6th century AD. May be the sages belongs to a period of BC 1500 – BC 750; the scholars of the middle generation possibly belongs to BC 750 – AD 300 period; and the later day scholars like Mihira to a period after this. Anyway the question of our interest is – How could Sage Yavanacharya be the guru of Maya, when Maya himself has clearly mentioned that his guru was Sage Surya? Clearly Maya is a follower of the Arsha School of astrology as a student of Sage Surya. Definitely was not a follower of Yavana School of astrology. May be there is a confusion – a confusion caused by the fact that Meenaraja was mixing 2 systems. 1) The astrological knowledge presented in Maya hora containing 1 lakh slokas, a text of Arsha School of astrology. Please note that the prime purpose of Meenaraja hora is to present this ancient book by Maya in 4000 slokas in an abbreviated form. 2) The astrological knowledge presented by Yavana School of astrology, as present in Yavaneswara hora and Sphujidhwaja hora. Sage Yavaneswara, the originator of Yavana School of astrological tradition, belongs to BC 1400, and Sphujidhwaja lived around AD 240. We don't know whether Sphujidhwaja lived prior to or after Meenaraja. It is possible that both of them were quoting the slokas of ancient sage Yavaneswara. The major difference in approach of Yavana School with Arsha School is in the use of divisions like Hora, Drekkana etc in totally different ways. Meenaraja hora does not accept anything from the Yavana School that is not in tune with the Arsha School. 3) As the initial quote that prays to `Yamala Bhaskara' (Tantric Sun) indicates, this text Meenaraja hora belongs to the Agama tradition of astrology itself, the Arsha School of astrology. There is nothing in Meenaraja hora that is not in tune with Arsha School of thought. But this is not the case with Sphujidhwaja hora. Whether the word `Purva Muni' refers to Sage Yavana or Sage Surya could be argued upon. But the above points remain true independent of the result of such argumentation. What we learned? Thus in short, Meenaraja hora is written by – 1) A scholar who followed Yamala stream of Tantric knowledge 2) It find references from numerous texts of Yavana School of astrology 3) It is based on, and is - an elaboration effort of Maya Hora, a text of Arsha School of astrology, written by Maya, a student of Sage Surya. It is just natural that – 1) You will not find any reference to Greek or Ionian gods in this text 2) You will find numerous quotes as similar to the quotes as found in Yavaneswara hora, Sphujidhwaja hora, Manindha hora etc 3) We may find numerous quotes that are an abbreviation effort of the subject matter presented in Maya hora. 4) You will find numerous indian concepts and gods mentioned this text. 5) Possibly it will not give importance to the Vedic (Nigama) concept of Nakshatra Chakra, since the text belongs to the Tantric (Agama; Non-vedic) tradition. -- 0 -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Hare rama krishna dear sreenath ji Good article on meena raja .but i hav one diffrnce that is abt the dating of him in AD ,here i think we need to think and explore further as the era he was mentioning is not sure abt which calender and how we can arrive at it as a period in AD . may b some day we may b able to decode it too . thanks ,keep it up . i request astro lovers ,hobbyists and astrologers pls giv neccessary attention to history back ground and understanding of evolution of astrology ,it s rise and decay and again rise etc shud b carefully understood as it is a neccessity of this days .or some dictums with us wont help us furthering our investigations . Astrology was once more devlped than today and we need a joint effort to explore further ,so pls giv ur attention on these aspects too . Once again thanks sreenadh ji for giving this write up also i request him to write those parts in mahabharatha where bhagavan veda vyasa explain s astronomical and astrological aspect of a dangerous destructiv war mentioned by him in coming days for the benefit of astrology and future students . regrds sunil nair om shreem mahalaxmai namah . , "Sreenadh" <sreesog wrote:>> > Introduction to Meenaraja Hora> > - Written by Sreenadh OG> > There are many texts about which we may have wrong concepts and wrong> understanding, due to various reasons. The 3rd century AD text Meenaraja> hora written by Meenaraja is such a text – misunderstood by many as> a text of Greek origin or as one that deals with Greek astrology. Let> us try to see this text more closely.> > Srishtou vidhatre jagatam sivaya samharakale stitaye(a)chyutaya> > Tubhyam namaH sarvagataya nityam trayeemaya yamala bhaskaraya> > Yaduktavan poorvamunistu sastram horamayam lakshamimam mayaya> > Tan Meenarajo nipunam swabudhya vichintya(a)rtha chakre(a)shta> sahasramatram.> > (Meenararaja)> > [i bow to the Sun worshiped in Yamala stream of Tantra (i.e. Sun as Sun> and Sun as symbolic representation of the trigunatmaka, omnipresent,> everlasting entity the supreme god) who manifests as Brahma in creation,> as Vishnu during existence, as Siva in destruction of the universe. I am> (i.e. Meenaraja) is here abbreviating the same ancient knowledge> (Horamayam; this hora; this text) told by `Purva Muni' (meaning> `ancient sage'; i.e. ancient sage of my own parampara; possibly> Yavanacharya or Sage Suryacharya) in 1 lakh quotes to Maya (the student> of Sage Surya), into 8000 half slokas (i.e. 4000 slokas) using his own> ability and intellect]> > Artha Chakra = Artha Vritta = Half Meter = Half Sloka> > This very first quote present in Meenaraja hora itself raises many> questions. I will discuss some of those questions here.> > 1. Why should Meenaraja bow to Yamala Baskara?> > This is because Meenaraja is a follower of Yamala Tantra – a tantric> knowledge stream. The word `Yamala' in Sanskrit could mean> – two or twine. It is also the name of a Tantric stream of knowledge> that believes in idol worship, and worships Siva-Sakti the twine deity. > `Baskara' means Sun. Here the Sun is envisioned in 2 ways.> > 1) As the sun giving light; the reality that is visible to us; the> Sun that causes day and night.> > 2) As the symbolic representation of the ultimate truth; the symbol> of the omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal reality – the supreme god;> for whom the universe and itself is one and the same; for whom the> existence and non-existence is one and the same.> > It is in this second meaning that Sun is envisioned as one and the same> with the supreme creator Brahma at the time of creation, Vishnu the> sustainer of existence, and Siva the ultimate destruction. Sun is Siva;> Sun is the ultimate Guru. Every knowledge starts from him and ends in> him. This is the ancient Tantric path and understanding. Thus Sun is the> first source of all knowledge. This vast Tantric understanding could be> the very reason for Meenaraja bowing to `Yamala Bhaskara'> (Tantric Sun).> > 2. Why Meenaraja tells us that he is abbreviating a book written by Maya> in 1 lakh slokas as taught by Yavanacharya?> > This is a difficult question. Meenaraja hora and Sphujidhwaja hora> contains the same quotes at numerous sections. Many assume that> Sphujidhwaja hora was written prior to Meenaraja hora. Possibly> Meenaraja is quoting those slokas either from Sphujidhwaja hora or from> the ancient text Yavana hora attributed to Sage Yavanacharya. > Sphujidhwaja clearly mentions that Yavanacharya is his guru and that the> knowledge he presents belongs to Yavana school of astrological> knowledge. Whether this Yavanacharya was Ionian or Greek or Indian is> totally another question that we will not address here. The point we are> interested in is that Meenaraja quotes several slokas that originally> belong to the Yavana school of thought. Due to this if we consider> Meenaraja hora as a text that belongs to the Yavana school of astrology,> then definitely the word `Purva Muni' (ancient sage) mentioned> by Meenaraja refers to Sage Yavaneswara. But when did Sage Yavaneswara> taught Maya?! As per texts like Surya Siddhanta, Maya is the student of> Sage Surya. Sage Surya was a very famous ancient Indian sage who> imparted much astronomical and astrological knowledge as depicted in> texts like – Surya Siddhanta, Surya Jataka, Surya-Aruna Samvada etc.> Sage Surya is considered among one of the 18 propagators of ancient> indian astrological wisdom. Maya was the student of this well respected> sage. The Indian scholars never considered maya as a sage. He was> considered as a great scholar after the divine sages; a scholar worth a> place among the list – Maya, Manindha, Siddhasena , Devaswami, Jeeva> sarma, Rishiputra, Vishnu gupta etc. They were neither as ancient as the> sages nor as recent as the scholars like Aryabhata and Mihira of 5th and> 6th century AD. May be the sages belongs to a period of BC 1500 – BC> 750; the scholars of the middle generation possibly belongs to BC 750> – AD 300 period; and the later day scholars like Mihira to a period> after this. Anyway the question of our interest is – How could Sage> Yavanacharya be the guru of Maya, when Maya himself has clearly> mentioned that his guru was Sage Surya? Clearly Maya is a follower of> the Arsha School of astrology as a student of Sage Surya. Definitely was> not a follower of Yavana School of astrology. May be there is a> confusion – a confusion caused by the fact that Meenaraja was mixing> 2 systems.> > 1) The astrological knowledge presented in Maya hora containing 1> lakh slokas, a text of Arsha School of astrology. Please note that the> prime purpose of Meenaraja hora is to present this ancient book by Maya> in 4000 slokas in an abbreviated form.> > 2) The astrological knowledge presented by Yavana School of> astrology, as present in Yavaneswara hora and Sphujidhwaja hora. Sage> Yavaneswara, the originator of Yavana School of astrological tradition,> belongs to BC 1400, and Sphujidhwaja lived around AD 240. We don't> know whether Sphujidhwaja lived prior to or after Meenaraja. It is> possible that both of them were quoting the slokas of ancient sage> Yavaneswara. The major difference in approach of Yavana School with> Arsha School is in the use of divisions like Hora, Drekkana etc in> totally different ways. Meenaraja hora does not accept anything from the> Yavana School that is not in tune with the Arsha School.> > 3) As the initial quote that prays to `Yamala Bhaskara'> (Tantric Sun) indicates, this text Meenaraja hora belongs to the Agama> tradition of astrology itself, the Arsha School of astrology. There is> nothing in Meenaraja hora that is not in tune with Arsha School of> thought. But this is not the case with Sphujidhwaja hora.> > Whether the word `Purva Muni' refers to Sage Yavana or Sage> Surya could be argued upon. But the above points remain true independent> of the result of such argumentation.> > What we learned?> > Thus in short, Meenaraja hora is written by –> > 1) A scholar who followed Yamala stream of Tantric knowledge> > 2) It find references from numerous texts of Yavana School of> astrology> > 3) It is based on, and is - an elaboration effort of Maya Hora, a> text of Arsha School of astrology, written by Maya, a student of Sage> Surya.> > > > It is just natural that –> > 1) You will not find any reference to Greek or Ionian gods in this> text> > 2) You will find numerous quotes as similar to the quotes as found> in Yavaneswara hora, Sphujidhwaja hora, Manindha hora etc> > 3) We may find numerous quotes that are an abbreviation effort of> the subject matter presented in Maya hora.> > 4) You will find numerous indian concepts and gods mentioned this> text.> > 5) Possibly it will not give importance to the Vedic (Nigama)> concept of Nakshatra Chakra, since the text belongs to the Tantric> (Agama; Non-vedic) tradition.> > -- 0 --> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Dear Shri Nairji, Namaste, You are right. For example, the dates of Varahamihira is 124 BCE and that of Aryabhatta-I is 1325 BCE but under the influence of David Pingree's work people like Avatar Krishenji still think that Varahamihira copied from Sphuridhvaja. Regards, Sunil K. Bhattacharjya--- On Fri, 10/31/08, sunil nair <astro_tellerkerala wrote: sunil nair <astro_tellerkerala Re: Introduction to Meenaraja Hora Date: Friday, October 31, 2008, 4:32 PM Hare rama krishna dear sreenath ji Good article on meena raja .but i hav one diffrnce that is abt the dating of him in AD ,here i think we need to think and explore further as the era he was mentioning is not sure abt which calender and how we can arrive at it as a period in AD . may b some day we may b able to decode it too . thanks ,keep it up . i request astro lovers ,hobbyists and astrologers pls giv neccessary attention to history back ground and understanding of evolution of astrology ,it s rise and decay and again rise etc shud b carefully understood as it is a neccessity of this days .or some dictums with us wont help us furthering our investigations . Astrology was once more devlped than today and we need a joint effort to explore further ,so pls giv ur attention on these aspects too . Once again thanks sreenadh ji for giving this write up also i request him to write those parts in mahabharatha where bhagavan veda vyasa explain s astronomical and astrological aspect of a dangerous destructiv war mentioned by him in coming days for the benefit of astrology and future students . regrds sunil nair om shreem mahalaxmai namah . ancient_indian_ astrology, "Sreenadh" <sreesog wrote:>> > Introduction to Meenaraja Hora> > - Written by Sreenadh OG> > There are many texts about which we may have wrong concepts and wrong> understanding, due to various reasons. The 3rd century AD text Meenaraja> hora written by Meenaraja is such a text – misunderstood by many as> a text of Greek origin or as one that deals with Greek astrology. Let> us try to see this text more closely.> > Srishtou vidhatre jagatam sivaya samharakale stitaye(a)chyutaya> > Tubhyam namaH sarvagataya nityam trayeemaya yamala bhaskaraya> > Yaduktavan poorvamunistu sastram horamayam lakshamimam mayaya> > Tan Meenarajo nipunam swabudhya vichintya(a) rtha chakre(a)shta> sahasramatram.> > (Meenararaja)> > [i bow to the Sun worshiped in Yamala stream of Tantra (i.e. Sun as Sun> and Sun as symbolic representation of the trigunatmaka, omnipresent,> everlasting entity the supreme god) who manifests as Brahma in creation,> as Vishnu during existence, as Siva in destruction of the universe. I am> (i.e. Meenaraja) is here abbreviating the same ancient knowledge> (Horamayam; this hora; this text) told by `Purva Muni' (meaning> `ancient sage'; i.e. ancient sage of my own parampara; possibly> Yavanacharya or Sage Suryacharya) in 1 lakh quotes to Maya (the student> of Sage Surya), into 8000 half slokas (i.e. 4000 slokas) using his own> ability and intellect]> > Artha Chakra = Artha Vritta = Half Meter = Half Sloka> > This very first quote present in Meenaraja hora itself raises many> questions. I will discuss some of those questions here.> > 1. Why should Meenaraja bow to Yamala Baskara?> > This is because Meenaraja is a follower of Yamala Tantra – a tantric> knowledge stream. The word `Yamala' in Sanskrit could mean> – two or twine. It is also the name of a Tantric stream of knowledge> that believes in idol worship, and worships Siva-Sakti the twine deity. > `Baskara' means Sun. Here the Sun is envisioned in 2 ways.> > 1) As the sun giving light; the reality that is visible to us; the> Sun that causes day and night.> > 2) As the symbolic representation of the ultimate truth; the symbol> of the omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal reality – the supreme god;> for whom the universe and itself is one and the same; for whom the> existence and non-existence is one and the same.> > It is in this second meaning that Sun is envisioned as one and the same> with the supreme creator Brahma at the time of creation, Vishnu the> sustainer of existence, and Siva the ultimate destruction. Sun is Siva;> Sun is the ultimate Guru. Every knowledge starts from him and ends in> him. This is the ancient Tantric path and understanding. Thus Sun is the> first source of all knowledge. This vast Tantric understanding could be> the very reason for Meenaraja bowing to `Yamala Bhaskara'> (Tantric Sun).> > 2. Why Meenaraja tells us that he is abbreviating a book written by Maya> in 1 lakh slokas as taught by Yavanacharya?> > This is a difficult question. Meenaraja hora and Sphujidhwaja hora> contains the same quotes at numerous sections. Many assume that> Sphujidhwaja hora was written prior to Meenaraja hora. Possibly> Meenaraja is quoting those slokas either from Sphujidhwaja hora or from> the ancient text Yavana hora attributed to Sage Yavanacharya. > Sphujidhwaja clearly mentions that Yavanacharya is his guru and that the> knowledge he presents belongs to Yavana school of astrological> knowledge. Whether this Yavanacharya was Ionian or Greek or Indian is> totally another question that we will not address here. The point we are> interested in is that Meenaraja quotes several slokas that originally> belong to the Yavana school of thought. Due to this if we consider> Meenaraja hora as a text that belongs to the Yavana school of astrology,> then definitely the word `Purva Muni' (ancient sage) mentioned> by Meenaraja refers to Sage Yavaneswara. But when did Sage Yavaneswara> taught Maya?! As per texts like Surya Siddhanta, Maya is the student of> Sage Surya. Sage Surya was a very famous ancient Indian sage who> imparted much astronomical and astrological knowledge as depicted in> texts like – Surya Siddhanta, Surya Jataka, Surya-Aruna Samvada etc.> Sage Surya is considered among one of the 18 propagators of ancient> indian astrological wisdom. Maya was the student of this well respected> sage. The Indian scholars never considered maya as a sage. He was> considered as a great scholar after the divine sages; a scholar worth a> place among the list – Maya, Manindha, Siddhasena , Devaswami, Jeeva> sarma, Rishiputra, Vishnu gupta etc. They were neither as ancient as the> sages nor as recent as the scholars like Aryabhata and Mihira of 5th and> 6th century AD. May be the sages belongs to a period of BC 1500 – BC> 750; the scholars of the middle generation possibly belongs to BC 750> – AD 300 period; and the later day scholars like Mihira to a period> after this. Anyway the question of our interest is – How could Sage> Yavanacharya be the guru of Maya, when Maya himself has clearly> mentioned that his guru was Sage Surya? Clearly Maya is a follower of> the Arsha School of astrology as a student of Sage Surya. Definitely was> not a follower of Yavana School of astrology. May be there is a> confusion – a confusion caused by the fact that Meenaraja was mixing> 2 systems.> > 1) The astrological knowledge presented in Maya hora containing 1> lakh slokas, a text of Arsha School of astrology. Please note that the> prime purpose of Meenaraja hora is to present this ancient book by Maya> in 4000 slokas in an abbreviated form.> > 2) The astrological knowledge presented by Yavana School of> astrology, as present in Yavaneswara hora and Sphujidhwaja hora. Sage> Yavaneswara, the originator of Yavana School of astrological tradition,> belongs to BC 1400, and Sphujidhwaja lived around AD 240. We don't> know whether Sphujidhwaja lived prior to or after Meenaraja. It is> possible that both of them were quoting the slokas of ancient sage> Yavaneswara. The major difference in approach of Yavana School with> Arsha School is in the use of divisions like Hora, Drekkana etc in> totally different ways. Meenaraja hora does not accept anything from the> Yavana School that is not in tune with the Arsha School.> > 3) As the initial quote that prays to `Yamala Bhaskara'> (Tantric Sun) indicates, this text Meenaraja hora belongs to the Agama> tradition of astrology itself, the Arsha School of astrology. There is> nothing in Meenaraja hora that is not in tune with Arsha School of> thought. But this is not the case with Sphujidhwaja hora.> > Whether the word `Purva Muni' refers to Sage Yavana or Sage> Surya could be argued upon. But the above points remain true independent> of the result of such argumentation.> > What we learned?> > Thus in short, Meenaraja hora is written by –> > 1) A scholar who followed Yamala stream of Tantric knowledge> > 2) It find references from numerous texts of Yavana School of> astrology> > 3) It is based on, and is - an elaboration effort of Maya Hora, a> text of Arsha School of astrology, written by Maya, a student of Sage> Surya.> > > > It is just natural that –> > 1) You will not find any reference to Greek or Ionian gods in this> text> > 2) You will find numerous quotes as similar to the quotes as found> in Yavaneswara hora, Sphujidhwaja hora, Manindha hora etc> > 3) We may find numerous quotes that are an abbreviation effort of> the subject matter presented in Maya hora.> > 4) You will find numerous indian concepts and gods mentioned this> text.> > 5) Possibly it will not give importance to the Vedic (Nigama)> concept of Nakshatra Chakra, since the text belongs to the Tantric> (Agama; Non-vedic) tradition.> > -- 0 --> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.