Category: Jyotiṣa

The Sun Signs – Zodiac
Dvādasa Āditya- The twelve Sun Signs: For one reason or the other, whether it be the conquest of the Normans or the birth of Christ, the starting date of the year has been varying as calendars come and go. In the scheme of Vedic astrology, the solar calendar consists of twelve houses of 30 degrees each covering the total span of 360 degrees. These are called the twelve Sun Signs (dvādasa āditya).

Shankaracharya’s Prayer
ॐ नारायणः परोऽव्यक्तादण्डमव्यक्तसंभवम्।
अण्डस्यान्तस्तित्वमे लोकाः सप्तदीपा च मेदिनी॥
om nārāyaṇaḥ paro’vyaktādaṇḍamavyaktasambhavam|
aṇḍasyāntastitvame lāokaḥ saptdvīpā ca madinī||
Om: Nārāyaṇa is beyond (much above) the unmanifest. The brahmāṇḍa  (cosmic egg) evolves from the unmanifest. The brahmāṇḍa contains all the worlds including this earth with its seven islands.
This prayer of Ādi Saṅkara has been taken from a smriti and gives the ultimate objective of every birth in this world at least.

Rebirth or mokṣa
Bṛhat Parāśara Kārakādhyāyaḥ
सर्ववार्ताधिकारी च बन्धकृन्मोक्षक्रत् तथा॥८॥
sarvavārttādhikārī ca bandhakṛnmokṣakrat tathā
sarva- whole, entire, all every; vārtta- having means of subsistence, practising any business or profession, karma; adhikāra-m. authority, government, rule, administration, jurisdiction; ca-and; bandha-m. binding, tying, fetter, arrest, imprisonment; kṛntana-n. cutting, cutting off, dividing; mokṛa-m.

Kārakāṁśa
One of the important principles of our tradition is to treat the Kārakāṁśa as Aries and examine the planets in the houses from it. Reason being that the ātmakāraka is akin to the jīvātmā (or jaḍātmā in the case of inanimate beings) which is similar to the Paramātma in its basic nature but lacks the purity and energy of the latter. In a sense, the creature is like the creator, in almost every respect. The ātmā is a spark of light symbolized by agni tattva and the Sun as the naisargika ātmakāraka.

Aśleṣā 3rd Pada: Zola Budd

South African-British athlete called the world’s fastest woman. A wisp of a girl at 5’2″ and 83 pounds, she proved herself a distance runner of world-class when she broke Mary Decker’s record.

However, the Moon is in Aśleṣā nakṣatra at 23°21’ in the 3rd pada. This is not Abhukta portion (last 0°50’) of the nakṣatra and danger to life may not exist. However, for a female nativity, this shows “Danger to Father, Patri-lineage” besides danger to “female in-laws”. Zola Budd became long estranged with her father who was later murdered.