Although it is
essential to have the knowledge of arithmetical calculations to understand
Indian Astrology, but for the benefit of the common people, astrologers have
devised a calendar (Panchang) with the help of which, and simple arithmetical
calculations, one can have knowledge about planets, good or bad for him.
It is not necessary for a common man to be an astrologer in order to
understand the Panchanga. But for a smooth and systematic running of life, one
should know how to interpret 'Phalita'.
Panchang means five organs to
understand the Phalita. These five things are
- Tithi (Date)
- Nakshatra (Group of stars)
- Yoga (an auspicious moment)
- Karan (Half of the part of Tithi)
- Vaar (days of the week)
TITHI
Tithi is
considered as the first phase or portion (Kala) of the 16 phases of the Moon.
The 15 days, commencing from Amavasya (the last day of the dark half of a lunar
month) to Purnima (Full moon), are called the Tithis of the Shukla-Paksha
(brighter phase) and the days commencing from Purnima to Amavasya are called
Krishna Paksha (darker phase).
In Indian Astrology, the calculation of
the Tithis starts from Pratipada (The first day in each half of the lunar month)
of the Shukla-Paksha. They are:
- Pratipada.
- Dwitiya.
- Tritiya.
- Chaturthi.
- Panchami.
- Shashthi.
- Saptami.
- Ashtami.
- Navami.
- Dashami.
- Ekadasi.
- Dwadashi.
- Trayodashi.
- Chaturdashi.
- Purnima.
Similarly, in the Krishna-Paksha, starting from Pratipada
till Chaturdashi, all the dates are same; the only difference being the
fifteenth day which is Amavasya (Moonless night)
These fifteen days have
been given five names.
NANDA |
BHADRA |
JAYA |
RIKTA |
PURNA |
1st day |
2nd day |
3rd day |
4th day |
5th day |
6th day |
7th day |
8th day |
9th day |
10th day |
11th day |
12th day |
13th day |
14th day |
15th-30th |
Friday |
Wednesday |
Tuesday |
Saturday |
Thursday | If the above mentioned days falls on
the given Tithis it is considered as auspicious and the work taken in hand in
successfully accomplished. For example (if, 1st, 6th 11th falls on Friday, 2nd,
7th, 12th falls on Wednesday etc.)
INAUSPICIOUS DAYS The
following days (Tithis) are considered to be inauspicious, and there is a fear
of hurdles, obstructing the accomplishment of the work. The names of these
auspicious days have been given as follows:
- DAGDHA
- VISHA
- HUTASHAN
The dates are considered to be inauspicious if it falls
on the following days
|
SUN. |
MON. |
TUE. |
WED. |
THUR. |
FRI. |
SAT. |
DAGDHA |
12th |
11th |
5th |
3rd |
6th |
8th |
9th |
VISHA |
4th |
6th |
7th |
2nd |
8th |
9th |
7th |
HUTASHAN |
12th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
10th |
11th |
If 12th day and 4th day of the months falls on Sunday and 11th
& 6th falls on Monday and 5th & 7th falls on Tuesday respectively, they
are considered as inauspicious.
NAKSHATRA (CONSTELLATION) A
group of stars is called Nakshatra. Just as the units used for measuring the
distance is miles or kilometers in the same way the space (Akash Mandal) is
measured in terms of Nakshatras (group of stars). The whole space has been
divided into 27 parts and each part has been given the name of Nakshatra. They
are as follows
- ASHWINI.
- BHARANI.
- KRITIKA.
- ROHINI.
- MRIGASHIRA.
- AARDRA.
- PUNARVASU.
- PUSHYA.
- AASLESHA.
- MAGHA.
- PURVA PHALGUNI.
- UTTARA PHALGUNI.
- HASTA.
- CHITRA.
- SWATI.
- VISHAKHA.
- ANURADHA.
- JYESHTHA.
- MOOLA.
- POORVAASHADHA.
- UTTARAASHADHA.
- SHRAVANI.
- DHANISTHA.
- SHATABHISHA.
- PURVA BHADRAPADA.
- UTTARA BHADRAPADA.
- REVATI.
The Indian astrologers believe that the combination of the
last 15 Ghati of 'Uttarashadha Nakshatra' and the first 4 Ghati of the Shravani
Nakshatra i.e. 19 Ghatis in all, constitute the 'Abhijeet Nakshatra' and this
particular Nakshatra is considered to be very auspicious to begin a good work.
(One Ghatika is equal to 24 minutes)
PANCHAKA NAKSHATRA: The
following group of five Nakshatras are considered as having five defects
(Panchakadosha). They are Dhanistha, Shatabhisha, Purvabhadrapada,
Uttarabhadrapada and Revati.
MOOLA NAKSHATRA: A child taking
birth in this Nakshatra, which consists of Jyestha, Aashlesha, Revati, Mool,
Magha and Ashwini Nakshatra are not considered as auspicious. Therefore, for the
pacification of this 'Moola Nakshatra', some specific rites are performed 27th
days after the birth when the same Nakshatra returns. Out of these six
Nakshatras, which constitute Moola Nakshatra, Jyeshtha and Moola are called
'Gandant Moola' and Aashlesha is called as 'Sarpa Moola'.
ADHOMUKHA
NAKSHATRA: As the name of this Nakshatra implies, works like digging a well,
or lying a foundation is considered as auspicious. This particular Nakshatra is
itself constituted by Nakshatras. They are: Moola, Aashlesha, Vishakha, Kritika,
Purvaphalguni, Purvashadha, Purvabhadrapada, Bharani and Magha
DAGDHA
NAKSHATRA: For commencement of any work, this Nakshatra is considered as
inauspicious. Therefore, commencing any work in this Nakshatra is prohibited if
the days on which, this Nakshatra falls are as under- Sunday -
Bharani Monday - Chitra Tuesday - Uttarashadha Wednesday -
Dhanishtha Thursday - Uttaraphalguni Friday - Jyeshtha Saturday -
Revati
YOGA (COMBINATIONS) There are 27 Yogas in all. They
are as under 1) VISHAKUMBHA, 2) PREETI, 3) AAYUSHMAN, 4) SAUBHAGYA, 5)
SHOBHANA, 6) ATIGANDA, 7) SUKARMA, 8) DHRITI, 9) SHOOLA, 10) GAND, 11) VRIDDHI,
12) DHRUVA, 13) VYAGHAATA, 14) HARSHANA, 15) VAJRA, 16) SIDDHI, 17) VYATIPAATA,
18) VARIYAANA, 19) PARIGHA, 20) SHIVA, 21) SIDDHA, 22) SADDHYA, 23) SHUBHA, 24)
SHUKLA, 25) BRAHMA, 26) INDRA, 27) VAIDHRITI.
KARANA Half of the
part of a Tithi is called a Karana i.e. There are two Karanas in a Tithi. There
are 11 Karanas altogether. They are: 1) BALA, 2) BAALAVA, 3) KAULAVA, 4) TAITIL,
5) GARA, 6) VANIJA, 7) VISHTI, 8) SHAKUNI, 9) CHATUSHPADA, 10) NAAGA, 11)
KINSTUGHNA The first 7 of these Karanas are movable (Chara) i.e. it cannot be
predetermined as to on which dates, these are going to occur, but the last 4
Karanas are fixed (Sthira), and hence can be predetermined.
VISHTIKARANA is also called 'Bhadra' and commencing any work
during this time is prohibited. Bhadra is marked very clearly in every
panchanga.
VAAR (DAYS) There are 7 days i.e. Sunday
(Ravivaar), Monday (Somavaar), Tuesday (Mangalvaar), Wednesday (Budhvaar),
Thursday (Brihaspativaar), Friday (Shukravaar) and Saturday (Shanivaar). The
counting of days begins from the sunrise of the first day to the sunrise of the
second day. In astrology, this system is known as 'AHORATRA', which means day
and night taken together. Omitting the first letter 'A' and the last three
letters 'T','R','A', the word 'HORA' is coined from which, the English word
'HOUR' originated. There are 24 HORAS in all. Now the question arises, why
is the day coming after Sunday is named Monday, Why not other day. To understand
this, we will first have to understand the positions of the planets, in the
space. In astrology, the respective position of the planets are given as under
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon.
Therefore,
Saturn is the highest or the farthest planet. Below the Saturn is Jupiter, below
Jupiter is Mars, below the Mars is Sun, below the Sun is Venus, below Venus is
Mercury, and below Mercury is Moon. All the planets are revolving around the Sun
in their respective orbits. Since there are 24 Horas in a day combined with
night, therefore, each Hora consists of an hour. The Lord of each Hora is a
planet from the nearest lower orbit. The Lord of the first HORA is the Sun.
In the beginning of the creation, the Sun was visible first of all and for that
very reason, it has been considered as the lord of the first Hora and also the
first day has been named after it. The next Hora is named after 'Shukra' (Venus,
which is the lord of the second HORA, and whose orbit is just below the Sun. The
lord of the third Hora is 'Budha' (Mercury) whose orbit is just below that of
Shukra (Venus). The lord of the fourth orbit is the Moon (Chandrama), whose
orbit is below that of Venus and so on. In this way, the lord of the 24th HORA
is again Mercury and the Moon (Chandrama). The following chart clearly shows the
positions of the planets (horizontally) in order, and the days of the week
(vertically) in order. From the Hora chart, it is quite clear that the Moon is the lord of
the first Hora (Hour) of the second day(Monday), hence the next day after Sunday
is called Monday. Similarly, the lord of the first Hora of the third day is Mars
(Tuesday), the lord of the first Hora of the fourth day is Mercury (Wednesday),
the lord of the first Hora of the fifth day is Jupiter (Thursday), the lord of
the first Hora of the sixth day is Venus (Friday) and the lord of the first Hora
of the Seventh day is Saturn (Saturday). Therefore, the name of the days in
order are Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
GENTLE DAYS: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are
considered as the 'gentle' days. These days are considered auspicious for
commencing any good work.
CRUEL DAYS: Tuesday, Sunday and
Saturday are considered as 'cruel' days. Saturday is considered an auspicious
day for undergoing operation. Thursday is considered auspicious for starting
education. Wednesday is considered auspicious to start any business.
|