To Dr Raman With Love Series The Wonders of Nadi Astrology

By K. V. Venkataramanan
(Taken From Astrological Magazine Of Raman Saheb !an "#$% &ss'e(
Re)ie*e+ By Ra,en+ra R Shah for Sa-tarishis Astrology

strology is one of the branches of celestial knowledge in which India stands unrivalled. Even the ultramodern American and European astrologers in spite of their much boosted advance in astronomy by which they are attempting to reach other planets, to create artificial moons and such other ambitious ventures, gape in wonder at our ancient Nadi Granthas ( ) which give the correct horoscopes of persons on the basis of the lines in the palm with amazing predictions regarding the past, present and future of the natives concerned. hat is still more wonderful is that some Nadis in the course of the reading give the horoscopes of the father, mother and brothers of the native which actually tally with those already cast. I have heard it said of an Iswara Nadi (!!! !! !!!!) astrologer that he could possess it only for a certain period, after which it should be handed over to another man whose name and birth place were mentioned in the "adi itself. It is really amazing how the details of the orld ar II had been anticipated so clearly in Satyasamhita, ( ) a Nadi work, which must have been written not less than two thousand years ago# $In the year Pramadi ( ) corresponding to English year %&'& when the (un passes through Simha and (aturn Mesha, there will be destruction prevailing in all countries as a result of a terrible war between Hunas meaning the )ritish, *ermans and other hite nations. hen (aturn transits Mesha, +upiter Meena and (un Simha and Kanya, prices of all commodities will soar high. ,ucky traders will become rich overnight while at the same time unlucky though born rich will be reduced to ab-ect poverty. .here will be no rains in several countries resulting in famine, pestilence and suffering. In a few countries there will be e/cessive rains with devastating floods. In the Rama Ravana Yuddha, only one Vimana (Airplane) was used. )ut in this war they will fly like birds in the sky. "ew weapons will be discovered to kill large number of human beings. passes 0111 years, every new year will witness strange events$. hen Kali yuga ()

Another work says that after 0111 Kali, the last 2uarter of Dharma vanishes from the world resulting in the increase of sins, intermingling of castes, decrease in the divinity of Grama Devathas, ( ) etc. After %1111 years of Kali, there will be no Vishnu Avatars in the world. 3n the termination of the war when the people of East Indies were fighting for their Independence a well4known American 5agazine published a prediction from an ancient manuscript said to have been written before the birth of 6hrist, that natives of those islands will attain freedom from the hite race. "eedless to say, those predictions were proved up to the hilt. Astrologers are said to have predicted the birth and glory of +esus 6hrist as well as 7rophet 5ohammed long before their time. In this connection the following account of Sri Adi San ara!harya ( ) by 5r. ". )ul 6handani in an editorial article of "Di#avali" of 6alcutta and reproduced in $8ree India$ issue dated 91th +uly %&:% may be read with interest# $According to the detailed account of the ;eluge contained in the < $havishya Purana% ( ) and other sacred scriptures of =induism, the ,ord would take a colossal form, stand aloft with =is feet in $anares () and Me!!a (the only two places which would survive the ;eluge) getting together there all the faithful of all faiths, times and climes, and gather them up thence to his own bosom thus showing that, for a =indu who believed in the 7uranas, 5ecca not only for general reasons of broad4minded religious sympathy but in the light of this positive and categorical statement, is a sacred place like )anares. $And on the same authority, we may mention too that Adi San ara undertook a pilgrimage to 5ecca in the face of enormous difficulty caused by the ignorant bigotry of the fanatics of his day and that he had therefore to use his supernatural powers, assume the shape of a parrot to fly to 5ecca (which, be it noted, was yet to become the birth place of 5ohammed last of the prophets but had already been singled out for that purpose) and performed #u&a there with the sacred 'ulsi and holy water from .he *anges.> ()hat a great e*am#le +, the ,eeling +, -the wh+le w+rld is +ne ,amily. and -the /mni#resen!e. +, 0+rd1 Adi Shan ara!harya had a l+ng insight within, ,+r Me!!a, the yet2t+23e m+st #i+us #ilgrimage #la!e +, the man ind s+ that he +,,ered his #rayer and h+mage with 'ulsidal and Ganga4al5 - and . Adi Shan araa!haarya had a very 3r+ad sense +, religi+n in his heart 6 the real e*am#le +, versatility and unity +, Indian !ulture 1 2SA Reviewer7

.he above article not only vindicates the claim of =induism as the 5other of ?eligions but also lends support to the statement of some "orth4Indian scholars who assert the e/istence of Alla 8#anishad in =indu scriptures to which even 5ahatma *andhi once made a passing reference in the <Hari&an$ weekly. ?everting to our sub-ect, Nadi astrology seems to deal with a secret branch reflecting as it does the divine process of creation, preservation and destruction that is going on eternally in nature owing to varying planetary influences that repeat themselves in a cyclic order in the ever revolving heel of .ime. =indus in ancient times computed eternity in terms of kalpas each of which is a period containing :,'91,111,111 human years. .his long stretch of time is -ust a daytime to )rahma, the 6reator. =is night lasts for a similar period, so much so two al#as ( ) make a dina ( i.e. day), '@1 dinas make one year, %11 years constitute the longevity of $rahma. .hese %11 years are divided into two parts each of which is called a Parartha ( ) con4 taining 01 years of $rahma. ('his Nadi grantha has its r++ts in SuryaSidhdhanta, the great Vedi! heritage +, India in the ,ield +, Astr+n+my and Mathemati!s5 Siddhanta; Madhyamaadhikaar- Shl+ as :: t+ :; 0et us 9+m#are and en&+y the Grand S!ale +, Measurement +, 'ime as des!ri3ed in Surya

: : 11 : 12 : 15 16 : 17
(ee the English .ranslation

%%..he .ime called Murta, begins with Prana (a portion of time which contains four seconds) and the time called Amurta begins with 'ruti (A very small portion of time which is the %A'0B01th part of a second). .he time which contains si/ #ranas is called a Pala and that which contains si/ty Palas is called a Ghati a5 %9..he .ime which contains si/ty Ghati as is called a Na shatra Ah+ratra (A sidereal day and night) and A "akshatra 5asa (a sidereal month consists of thirty Na shatra Ah+ratras. .hirty Savana (.errestrial) days ( A terrestrial day being reckoned from sun4rise to sun4set) makes a Savana 5onth, %'..hirty lunar days make a ,unar month, and a solar month is the time which the (un re2uires to move from one sign of the zodiac to the ne/t. A solar year consists of twelve solar monthsC and this is called a day of *ods. %:.An Ah+ratra (day and night) of the *ods and that of the ;emons are mutually the reverse of each other, (viz. a day of night of the *ods is the night of the ;emonsC and conversely a night of *ods is the day of the ;emons). (i/ty Ah+ratra, multiplied by si/, make a year of the *ods and ;emons. %0.and %@. .he time containing twelve thousand years of the *ods is called 9haturtuga (.he aggregate of the four yugas, Krita, 'reta, Dwa#ara and Kali. .hese four yugas including their Sandhya and Sandhyansas contain :,'91,111 solar years. .he numbers of years included in these four small Dugas are proportional to the numbers of the legs of Dharma (virtue 7ersonified) %B..he .enth part of :,'91,111 the number of years in a great yuga, multiplied by :,',9,% respectively make up the years of each of the four Yugas, Krita and others, the years of each Duga include their own si/th part, which is collectively the number of years of Sandhya and Sandhyansas. (.he periods at the commencements and e/pirations of each Yuga5) -'ranslati+n 3y Pandit $a#u Deva Shastri and 0an!el+t )il ins+n. See the !+m#a!tness +, the Sans rit 0anguage, in the a3+ve Shl+ as5 0et us #resent the a3+ve shl+ as in ta3ular ,+rm t+ understand the Grand S!ale +, Measurement5
1 !!!! ! !!! ! Year +, G+ds = 360 !!! !!! ! s+lar years

12000

!!!! ! !!! ! Years +, G+ds

= 1

!!!!! !!! = /ne Set +, 9haturyuga i5e ,+ur

Yugas :<=== x 360 = >?,<=, === !!! !!! ! s+lar years = 1 !!!!!! = +ne Mahayuga (1/6)
Measure of End Period

Yuga

Measure

God years

(1/12)
400 300 200 100

(1/12)
400 300 200 100

1 (Krita) 4 x 1200 2 3 4 (Treta) (Dvapar) 3 x 1200 2 x 1200

4800 3600 2400 1200

(Kali) 1 x 1200

'he same measurements +, time are given in Srimad $hagavatam als+5 It is very ast+nishing that th+usands years ag+, with+ut any instruments and the te!hn+l+gies #revalent t+day, sim#ly 3y the insight and visuali@ati+n +, the $ramhand, the divisi+n +, time is d+ne ,r+m su!h a nan+ s!ale t+ Ma!r+ s!ale.4SA ReviewerE Every Kal#a is sub4divided into Manvantharas ( ), yugas (), years, months, days, etc., until it is reduced to a breathing time called suvasas ( ) consisting of inhalation and e/halation. According to Sastras, with e/halation proceeds creation or Srishti ( ) and with inhalation takes place 0aya () or destruction. In other words all births can take place during that minute period taken for e/halation and deaths in that of inhalation. 3ur sages have found out by intuition that according to the past karma, as many as ',@11 births with varying characteristics can take place in a day at the rate of one birth for a vighatika. .hese basic times of births are called Nadi amsas or cosmic units which reflect the nature of Prara3dha Karma ( ) of the natives born in them. 3f these, only a limited number of human births (each depending upon the week day, nature of the sign and se/ of the natives concerned) can take place in a day. .he detailed life4readings of these human births are chronicled by our sages in the Nadi Granthas. 3ur scriptures say that all souls e/cepting those that have attained moksha are sub-ected to the cycle of births and deaths, as a result of the karmas done in countless number of lives

since the beginning of a Falpa, so in this life man succeeds or fails in his undertaking according to the momentum of his past karmas. .hat is why our sastras en-oin daily before the commencement of any spiritual act the performance of San al#a as a purificatory ritual to destroy the past sins from the beginning of the current kalpa so as to render our undertaking fruitful. It is for this reason that astrology is praised highly as the eye of the Gedas by our scriptures. Even estern astrologers admire the Nadi Granthas of our Maha Rishis5 (ays (epharial, that great English astrologer# $In India this particular line of research has long since been carried out to a condition bordering on perfection. It is to be found embodied in the famous Nadi Granthas such as Su ra Nadi and others of e2ual repute. In these Kad&ans, which consist of original or copied writings e/ecuted on the #almyrah leaves by means of the stylus, the influence and nature of various degrees are given with great precision, separate phalam being given for every %1th part of the degree of si/ minutes of space measured on the ecliptic>. 3ur sages ac2uired such wonderful knowledge not by e/perimental research and obser4 vation by the naked eyes, but by their intuition born of yogic practice and devotion to *od. 3ur sastras prescribe two methods of attaining knowledge. 3ne is by the e/ternal process by observing closely the ob-ects of nature -ust as what our modern scientists do. .he other is the internal way of yoga by which one directs his attention inward on the soul or atman by knowing which he attains the whole world of knowledge, inasmuch as the soul is only a reflection or epitome of Para3rahma ( ). In other words, what is true of macrocosm is also taking place in 5icrocosm. .hese two methods are illustrated in the Purani! incidents of ,ord Ganesha and Su3rahmanyam, the two divine sons of (iva. 3nce when sage Narad presented a fruit as an offering to the *od, the two sons clamoured to have itC whereupon Siva held a competition declaring that whosoever went round the world and came first would have it. Su3rahmayam with his impressive personality and brisk movement mounted his vehicle peacock and flew round the world. In the meantime, while Ganesha with potbelly and dull appearance hit upon a clever idea by which he went round his mother and claimed the fruit saying that she is the ;ivine 5other of all the worlds. *od Siva gave the fruit to Ganesha. .he inner idea underlying the incident is that Ganesha represents the *reat y+gi, who is ever engaged in the communion with his atman 2uite oblivious of the e/ternal world. =e attained the ocean of knowledge more 2uickly through the short cut of yoga than his brother who attained the same by the e/ternal method. .he Nadi Granthas are based on the short and secret cut of astrological knowledge. .he sages have found out the knowledge of al#a, yugas, etc. and the method of

Pranayama which is the basis for yoga practice. According to these calculations , ' swaras or breaths make one Prana, @ bavas one su shma ghati a and @1 su shma ghati as one su shma dina5 In Kali yuga, Prana goes up and down 9%,@11 times a day which is known as A&a#a Gayatri. Every time when the 7ran goes up and comes down, it is called samvatsaras, so much so there are 9%,@11 samvatsataras in a day. )y dividing the above the number of swasas in the su shma dina we get 91 which is called a (ushmatine. )y multiplying 91 with the total number of samvatsaras we get the number of years for Kali Yuga #
21600 20 3 6 60

(ukshana time. 20 21600 432000 years for Kali yuga.

In Dwa#ara yuga the human beings take twice the time of Fali yuga for completing a breath. (o the years of Dwa#ara yuga is got doubling the Kali yuga years. In 'hreta yuga, the human beings take ' times the time of Kali yuga for completing a breath. =ence the number of years for 'hreta yuga is got by multiplying Fali yuga years by '. (imilarly by multiplying the Kali yuga years by :, the years for Krita yuga is obtained. .he effects of ayanas, rithus, eclipses and such other e/ternal phenomena are felt and perceived by the sages during their yoga. .hey have identified (un with Pingala Nadi and 5oon with Ida in their bodies. 8ttarayana. hen Vayu (air) passes through Pingala to Ida it is called hen it passes hen hen it passes from Ida to Pingala, it is Da s3inayana.

through the -unction between Ida and 7ingala, it is called "ew 5oon or Amavasya. it passes through M++ladhara !ha ra it is called Vishuvam. the seat of Kundalini it is called lunar eclipse. Kundalini it is called solar eclipse.

hen it flows from Ida to

hen it passes from 7ingala to the seat of

6oming to the origin of astrology, we learn from $rihat Parasara H+ra that it was first revealed by *od Parameswar to =is consort Parvathi for human welfare. .he All4 5erciful *oddess taught it to )rahma who imparted the same to the 5aharshis during their penance. =indu religious literature is of two kinds one is called $ A#+urasheyam$ () which contains the Vedas and Smritis. .hey appear from Parameswara from al#a to al#a without any change. .he other kind of literature is known as $ P+uresheyam$
()like Itihasas, Puranas, Smritis, Astrology which differ in slight details from

al#a to al#a, yuga to yuga, etc. (o much so the Nadi Granthas of one Kali yuga may not be e/actly the same as those of another Fali yuga. .he available Nadi Granthas are disconnected fragments of sages bearing the same name but belonging to different yugas,

all of which were pieced together by the latter day astrologers with their own interpolations and errors. ithout divine grace, it is not possible to find out the true Nadi appropriate to the present Fali yuga and the individuals concerned. Nadi astrology contains certain important rules not found in any of the published works under public notice. 8or instance, once when I happened to meet a Galluva astrologer, he 2uoted some strange astrological verses in .amil to the effect that $(ukra aspects the @, B and Hth house from its place, and ?ahu 'rd and %%th house in the anti4clockwise direction>. Although I could not believe it at first, later during my
Saturn Lagna Rahu

investigations of some Nadi readings, I found the rules illustrated therein. Another important fact about the Nadi Granthas is that they follow only the Va ya system of calculations regarding planetary positions. I have heard from old and e/perienced astrologers who have handled both the Va ya and the modern dri system that the dasa 3hu this of horoscopes, cast as per modern ephemeris do not tally with results. (ometimes the balance dasa at birth between the two

RASI
J upiter Sun Merc Ketu

Venus

Mars

Moon

systems differ to the e/tent of ' years in which case, the Va ya system is nearer actuality than the dri system. ,et me illustrate the above facts by taking some Nadi readings of living horoscopes. .he following is a reading from $righu Samhita with the nativeIs remarks enclosed within brackets here and there testifying to the accuracy of the predictions. .he native is a highly educated and devout scholar, veteran -ournalist and author of several books living in the northern tip of our country. =is birth details# )orn on %@ %94%&1H on ednesday at 91 ghatis after sunrise. )efore giving the reading me say something about the circumstance under which the "adi reading was taken. .he native got the reading from )righu (amhita under the possession of a layman who was not an astrologer or scholar. hen native gave the horoscope to him he searched for hours in his voluminous book weighing more than H1 lbs. .he native helped him in his search. hat was written there was read over to him and he copied it from there. .he following is .the true copy rendered into English#4 <.he manuscript is very old. .he pages of the book are very crispy, the writing is obliterated. It is very difficult to read it because of its dimness. .here was a note on a page purporting to say that the 5(( was brought back from 6hina in the reign of Akbar and was translated from 6hinese in (anskrit, and Arabic as well.#

Rea+ing ren+ere+ into .nglish

A number of Rishis and Munis assembled in the ashrama of $righu situated on the banks of 'hunga3hadra, lay prostrate before him. Su ra their spokesman asked him as under#4$If one is born on the H th day of Paush Krishna Pa sha, ednesday in the 8ttara Phalguna star 91 ghaties past in Mesha ,agna with ?ahu in 'rd, *uru in the 0th, 5oon in the @th, 5ars in the Bth, (ukra in the Hth, (un and 5ercury in the &th, and (aturn in the %9th house, what is the name of the yogaJ hat are the conse2uences of the planetary combinationJ hat will be the condition of his familyJ 4sons, daughters, wife, brothers, pa4 rentsC what will be his profession and occupationC what about his happiness and privationsJ 7lease let us know his virtues, his birth place, his previous life> )righu said#4 $ .his planetary combination makes I Patan+nmu hI ( ) yoga. In his previous life the native was a Kshatriya, a warrior. =e lived in an island known as Indra. =is name began with the letter M. =e belonged to a high family. =e was full of sentiments, a noble soul and an e/perienced yogi. =e was blessed with sisters, brothers. =e was very fond of visitors, Athithis. =e was keen to serve Sadhus, $rahmans5 =e was running an aushadhalaya (hospital), a clinic furnished with a large number and wonderful yantras (instruments). =e was an e/pert in pharmacology. =e was a millionaire, courageous and a leading aristocrat. =e used to give thousands of rupees as free gift. =is home was full of brothers and sons. =e got a very calm sweet4tempered, religious4minded and virtuous wife. =e travelled widely in his own country as well as foreign countries. =e used to attend his aushadhalya selflessly. )ut under the influence of Fali yuga, he committed a heinous sin. =e burnt alive the home and wife of a )rahmin his opponent. .he )rahmin cursed him. After many births and rebirths he was born at Falikattam. =e recited Fali mantra and after his death he went to Dharmal+ . )ut the Dharmara& at the suggestion of 9hitra Gu#ta ordered him to be sent to 9handra Mandal5 After transmigrating through many y+nies ()irths), he is born in India at a place whose first letter is K(L situated between Falindi and (hatadm ((utle-). K;L will be the first letter of his name. (.he nativeLs name certainly began with I;L) and that of his father. .he native will be born in )rahmin family. (Des). In his childhood he will suffer from boils. =e will be married at the age of %@. =e will have brothers4 elder and younger. =is mother will live long (she still being about B0). =is father will pass earlier. (=e passed away in %&90 5arch). Elder brothers will die earlier. (one passed while the native was 0 and the other at the age of %& i.e. %&9B 5ay). .he native will have keen intellect, ripe e/perience. =e will be a master of 9 or ' languages. (Des, the native knows English, =indi and Mrdu besides a little bit of )engali, *u-arati and (anskrit.) =e will go far away from his native place. (.he native studied at 6alcutta up to ).A. and got service at ,ahore and remained there for more than %H years. After partition of the country, he could

not get ample scope for him in his native place). .he native will be busy and respected. =e will be an author of several books. =e will be an e/pert in a strange system of medicine. =e will be blessed with sons and daughters. =e will have will have first male child after '1. (.he native got the first male child in August, %&:1 at the age of '9.) =e would work as a news disseminator. (.he native was an editor of well4known =indi daily). .he number of male and female children will be e2ual. (.he native has ' sons and ' daughters). =e will have untold suffering under the influence of Su ra5 =e will face disappointments again and again, undergo physical as well as mental sufferings during this period. )y reciting alimantras ((tanzas for Faali) as he did in his previous life or by reciting Ga&endra M+ sha he will be relieved of all the troubles. )y so doing the poverty will be undone. =e will rise after :& and will be at his height at the age of 09. =e will attain Va Siddhi (=is every uttering will come true). =e will die in his B0th year in the month of 9haitra, %st part dark fortnight (unday. .hen he will take his birth in a )rahmin family in )engal where he will be a landlord. In this birth, he will become free from all sins. (o much for the reading which has proved correct, as the native has written to me regarding the same in a letter which I am not giving for want of space. (ince the reading has proved correct, it automatically follows that the planetary position given in "adi should also be correct. .here is one important point to be noted in this connection. In the horoscope of the Nadi, Genus is placed in the Hth house resulting in suffering to the native during its period in *uru 5ahadasa. )ut none of the modern ephemeris e/cepting that of .=E A(.?3,3*I6A, 5A*ANI"E with ayanamsa based on Surya Siddhanta, gives the "irayana position of Genus in Grischika. (uch indeed are the wonders of Nadi astrology which will never reveal its divine secret unless one approaches it with a pure and prayerful mind. ,ast but not the least, I e/press my profound thanks to the learned Editor of T/. ASTRO0O1&2A0 MA1A3&4. for asking me to contribute a special article for this Annual "umber. 5ay the *reat *oddess bless him with long life, health, wealth and happiness to espouse the cause of Indian culture in general and astrology in particular.