JYOTISH NEWS

August 2000 A Monthly Newsletter from SJVC

Honorary Editor: Sanjay Rath
Email: guru@sjvc.net
Hony. Managing Editor: J Sarat Chander
Email: sarat@sjvc.net

Printed & Published by Sri Jagannath Vedic Center

Head Office: 152B Pocket-C, Mayur Vihar Phase-2, New Delhi, India 110091
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JYOTISH SERVICE
ARTICLE AUTHOR PAGE
By Gauranga Das An Astrological Blasphemy J. Sarat Chander 2
Dharma Is The Foundation Of Pt. Sanjay Rath 3
June 2000: The ISKCON
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© SJVC August 2000 JYOTISH NEWS 2

“A FOUR-YEAR OLD INDIAN GIRL AN ASTROLOGICAL BLASPHEMY

MARRIES DOG TO WARD OFF EVIL J.Sarat Chander
EFFECTS OF SATURN ON THE
ADVICE OF AN ASTROLOGER” The news item about the girl marrying
the dog is not only ludicrous but is
also blasphemous. Practice of such
This was a news item in some of the newspapers. methods is not only sinful but also
The news was forwarded to the SJVC mail list by a punishable by God. The innocence of the small
good Samaritan who was probably peeved at the child and the ignorance of the father are
absurdity of such practices. The news item is understandable, but the advice tendered by the
reproduced below for the benefit of our readers. Astrologer is just outrageous and unpardonable.
He has demeaned the ‘Atma’ in the small child by
MOHANPUR, India, July 14 (Reuters) – A four-year suggesting such a horrible and base remedial
old Indian girl has married a stray dog in a measure to ward off some evils allegedly being
traditional Hindu service and it wasn't a case of caused by Saturn.
puppy love at first sight. The bizarre ceremony was We know, as told by Bhagvan Himself in his
prompted by an astrologer who told the girl's father ‘Gitopadesha’ to Arjun, that all our sufferings are
that the ceremony would transfer the evil effects of due to our own karma. Good Karma leads to good
the planet Saturn from the girl to the dog. The girl, living, and good Karma comes from a strong and
Anju, had suffered several illnesses and had fallen good Dharma imbibed by us right from childhood.
in ponds, fractured bones and burnt her hand in the Bhagwan Himself has thus stressed the importance
kitchen, the father, Subal Karmakar, said. ”The of Dharma and Satvik living in one’s life. To this
astrologer said the evil effect of Saturn can be end, Maharishi Parasara, in his chapter on remedial
countered by marrying the child to a dog'', he said. astrology in his immortal work ‘Brihat Parasara
Anju was married on Monday with Hindu priests Hora Shastra’, has identified the deities associated
chanting hymns in front of 150 of the 250 residents with each of the planets who are to be prayed and
in a village, a cluster of 15 huts amid paddy fields whose blessings are to be sought to tide over
60 km (35 miles) north of Calcutta. difficult times as indicated by them which are
deduced from the Vimshottari and other dasa
Residents of the village, mostly illiterate, enjoyed systems. Maharishi has given us the finest
the feast but ridiculed the ceremony. ”He is mantras, prayers and methods for such prayers to
superstitious but why should I care if he wants to be effective. Besides, there are very many
waste money and give us a feast? I enjoyed the powerful and absolutely Satvik mantras in the Rig
rice, meat, curd, lentil and sweet” said Fakir Chand Veda which are above all and sundry tantrik
Durlab, Karmakar's neigbour. practices whose results are very shortlived.

Vivaha or marriage is given great importance.

Anju's father was unrepentant. “I did the right thing
for my child. My grandfather had arranged a Maharishi Parasara has referred the Dharmamsa,
marriage of a relative with a dog 40 years ago and commonly known as the Navamsa, to be one of the
the remedy worked''. Villagers said they enjoyed most vitally important divisional chart to not only
the sight of the girl garlanding the dog the way a know the strengths and weaknesses of a person’s
Hindu bride does. Villagers then helped the dog put Dharma, but is also the chart for the study of the
a garland around the bride with its paws. spouse, as any fall in dharma first affects Vivaha
(spouse), the 7th house, which, by being in the 11th
th
The girl's bridal attire, the music and the menu at from the 9 house (Dharma) is its house of
the feast matched a traditional marriage ceremony, fruits/gains. Conversely,
th
any rise or fall in the
villagers said. Police said they were aware of the activities of the 7 house too will lead to the rise or
th
ceremony but not bothered by it.”Nobody has fall of the 9 house i.e., Dharma because it is a
th rd
complained” said Satya Das Ganguly, who heads Upachaya from the 7 as th it is 3 there from
the local police station. “Nobody has been harmed indicating Parakrama of the 7 house (spouse).
and I don't think any law has been violated”.
Vivaha is not just a mere coming together of two
physical bodies, but is essentially a coming
Continued page-3
© SJVC August 2000 JYOTISH NEWS
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
From: Sally Spencer
devichandra234@hotmail.com
What does it mean in a binnashtakavarga for the
sun for example when the rest of the planets are
listed in the rows?
Dear Sally,
Here’s the answer from the author of the article,
Sri P.V.R. Narasimha Rao.
The list of benefic and malefic
houses for each planet with respect
to the eight references ? Sun, Moon,
Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus,
Saturn and lagna ? can be found in
classics. Based on these, we prepare
bhinna ashtakavarga (BAV) of each planet. Each
rasi in the BAV of a planet contains the number of
references with respect to which the planet is
benefic in that rasi. We prepare Samudaaya
Ashtakavarga (SAV) by adding the BAVs of the
seven planets. To get the score in Vi in SAV, for
example, we add the scores in Vi in the BAVs of the
seven planets.
Parasara taught that houses falling in rasis with a
score of 30 or more are fortified and houses falling
in rasis with a score of 25 or less are weakened.
Moreover, planets transiting in rasis with a score of
30 or more tend to produce good results and
planets transiting in rasis with a score of 25 or less
tend to give bad results.
From: Rangarajan
b.rangarajan@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au
Subject: Re: Welcome to Jyotish-news
Dear Moderator: Thanks for your prompt reply. I am
really looking forward to joining the discussion/chat
group in due course of time. I think you are doing
excellent service and I have no doubt that I will be
immensely benefit by my association with your
group and further contribute for better
understanding of Vedic astrology.
With regards,
Rangarajan
From: Ashwin Hirani
Dear Sir,
I have subscribed to your newsletter, but i do not
receive it properly. The mail is empty and it does
not contain anything. Kindly let me know what is the
problem and how can it be sorted.
Regards, Ashwin Hirani
Continued page-4
3
Continued from Page 2
together of two Atmas – the Lagna (self) and the 7 th
(spouse) houses. It is the strength of one’s dharma
which binds the body (Lagna), soul (Atma) and
mind (Mana) to the path of realization. Begetting
children from the marriage is the fruit of marriage
and this is done in order to maintain the tree of
Dharma and provide an opportunity to other such
Atman to come and be born and evolve spiritually
to eventually tread the path of Nirvana/Moksha.
And by resorting to such tamasik practices as the
one in the instant case, we are demeaning the law
of nature and God.
In case of any difficulties in the performance of the
above said karma due to sufferings or other
reasons, it is a must that a person resort to purely
Satvik remedial measures and tries for a yoga with
the Lord who alone can help redeem us from all our
sufferings. To this end, our Guruji Pt. Sanjay Rath
and all of us associated with SJVC strive to be able
to remove all such base qualities and we very
strongly denounce such cheap methods adopted by
Astrologers who are a disgrace not only for
themselves but to the fraternity of Jyotisha as a
whole.
Jyotish is the eye of the Vedas and thus the eye of
Narayan Himself, and the Jyotishas are bestowed
with the blessings of Lord Jagannatha to see the
unseen and guide the misdirected ones back to the
path of Dharma. Instead, if a Jyotisha is found
involved in such false and tamasik practices, the
Lord never forgives him for such a deliberate and
heinous crime – that of misdirecting another Atma.
One of the most essential qualities of a Jyotisha is
righteousness and he is never to stray from this
path. We, therefore, urge upon all our readers to
strongly denounce all such absurd and
blasphemous practices and goad the people to
always stay on and tread the path of Dharma alone
at all times, which is the answer to all our maladies.
To this end, we are publishing in this issue of
Jyotish News an article written by our Hon. Editor,
Pt. Sanjay Rath, laying emphasis on the importance
of Dharma in Marriage. This was also a part of the
lecture given by him in one of the Seminars
organized on the topic by the Brahmin Samaj at
Faridabad in Haryana some time in March 2000. I
do hope that all our readers will benefit from this
excellent article.
© SJVC August 2000 JYOTISH NEWS 4

Continued from page-3

Dear Ashwin,
We have not encountered such a problem from others as of now. Downloads sometimes cause such a
problem. However, to eliminate such problems that could be faced by a subscriber, we at SJVC have
tried to streamline the process and we intend to publish the Jyotish News in PDF very soon, which could
be easily viewed with the Acrobat Reader. This should be solving your problem. However, till this is done,
you can access our Jyotish-News site at egroups.com and download all the issues that you may need.
Regards,
Managing Editor.

AVASTA
Zoran Radosavljevic
Avasta simply means “state”. It is a state of a graha, the way it feels and
consequently behaves. We can compare planets with people. Supposing
a man was found in a miserable state, he wouldn’t be able to act in a
healthy and efficient manner. On the other hand, if he feels hale and
healthy, content or alert, his activities and impact on his surroundings would be positive and
evolutionary. Maharishi Parasara has dedicated whole chapter to Avastas, thus, underlining its
importance in Jyotish. He basically divided the Avastas into four groups.

1.Baaladhi Avastha
2.Deepthanadhi Avastha
3.Lajitadhi Avastha, and
4.Sayanadhi Avastha

Maharishi Parashara also mentions three Avastas , derived on the basis of natural friendship
scheme.
BAALADHI AVASTAS
They are 5 in number. These Avastas are calculated on the basis of their position in a sign
degree. They are:

1. Baal – infant – The first 6 degrees in odd sign. Positive effects are negligible.
2. Kumar – boy – From 6 to12 degrees in odd sign. Positive effects are 50%.
3. Yuva – adolescent – 12 to18 degrees in odd sign. Positive effects are 100%.
4. Vriddha –18 to 24 degrees in odd sign. Positive effects are very poor.
5. Mrith – 24 to 30 degrees in odd sign. Positive effects are nil, while negative are 100%.

In the case of even sings, the above order of Avastas is reversed.

DEEPTHANADHI AVASTAS
These Avastas are calculated as per their sign dignity. There are 9 such Avastas. They are:

1. Deeptha - planet in exaltation or in its Mulatrikon sign.

2. Swasth - planet in own sign.
3. Pramudith - planet in a sign of a great friend.
4. Shant - planet in a sign of a friend.
5. Deen - planet in neutral sign.
6. Dukhit - planet in a sign of enemy.
© SJVC August 2000 JYOTISH NEWS 5

7. Khal - planet in a sign of great enemy or debilitation.

8. Vikhal - planet in yuti with a malefic.
9. Kop - combust planet.

However, there seems to be a certain degree of disagreement in other classical texts

about this set of Avastas. Some authors opine differently, and it seems that only Satyacharya
supports Maharishi Parasara’s view. There is even a variation in the names of the Avastas –
such as, a planet in a sign of great enemy is somewhere called “adhidukhit” or “khal”, while it is
called “heen” in debilitation. I find these terms more appropriate, even though this is my own
opinion. I also tend to include bheetavasta (an avasta formed by a planet having a higher speed
than usual) and separate a planet placed in a great enemy sign from a planet placed in a
debilitation sign, for the sake of convenience. This is my own view, and is open to correction
from the learned scholars if I am wrong. The basic evaluation of these Avastas is as following:

Up to deen avastas , the planets give positive results in the decreasing order. The rest of the
Avasthas from Dukhit to Kop are negative.
LAJITADHI AVASTAS

There are six avastas in this set. They are:

1. Lajjitavastha – a planet when placed in 5/101 house together with Sun/Saturn/Mars is

said to be found in this Avasta.

Lajjitavasta is said to give aversion to God, loss of intelligence, loss of a child,

interest in evil speeches and listlessness in good things.

2. Mudithavasta – a planet in a friendly sign, conjunct/aspected by Guru or another

benefic is said to be in this Avastha. It gives comforts, happiness from family
(spouse and relatives), wisdom, learning and destruction of enemies.

3. Garvitavastha – a planet placed in a sign of exaltation or its mulatrikon is said to be in

this Avastha. This Avastha will cause happiness through comforts, regalhood, skill in
arts, continuous financial gains and professional prosperity.

4. Kshudithavastha – a planet in an enemy sign, aspected by an enemy or in

conjunction with Shani (Saturn) is said to be in this Avastha. This Avastha will cause
downfall due to grief and passion, physical decline, troubles from enemies and
relatives, financial distress, and eclipse of a mind due to miseries.

5. Trushitavastha – a planet in a watery sign aspected by a malefic is said to be in this

Avastha. Aspect of benefic planets cancel this Avastha. It gives sexual diseases,
wicked deeds, loss of wealth due to one’s own people, physical weakness, miseries
and decline of honour.

6. Kshobitavastha – a planet that is conjunct Sun or a malefic, or is aspected by a

malefic/enemy is said to be in this Avastha. This Avastha causes acute penury, evil
disposition, miseries, and troubles with government.


Please note the Sloka’s 19-23 of chapter 45 in BPHS. Maharishi Parasara mentions planetary placement in 10th
house in this Avastha .
© SJVC August 2000 JYOTISH NEWS 6

One can see that these effects are very specific, and in my own opinion should be supported
with some other indications in a chart.

SAYANADHI AVASTAS

These Avastha are also very specific, and are calculated in a specific way too. Readers are
requested to examine BPHS. There are 12 Avastha in this set, and a special sub-state, which
would determine the manifestation of the Avastha s. Maharishi Parasara has given them a
special attention, while explaining their effects.

I will give their names only, which are:

Sayana, Upaveshan, Netrapani, Prakashan, Gaman, Agaman, Sabh, Agam, Bhojan,
Nrityalipsa, Kautuk, Nidra
AVASTAS DETERMINED ACCORDING TO A NATURAL FRIENDSHIP
1. Awakening – a planet in own or exaltation sign – positive effects 100%.
2. Dreaming – a planet in a sign of friend or a neutral – positive results 50%.
3. Sleeping – a planet in a sign of enemy or debilitation – negative results 100%.

Sage Satyacharya mentions a few interesting points regarding Avasthas . While explaining
Deepthanadhiavastha, he mentions a strength of a planet. Seemingly, he associates planetary
Avastha with a planetary strength. One possible conclusion arises. If a planet is equipped with a
sixfold strength (shadbala) the effects of an Avastha will be felt in full. For example if a planet is
found in Mritavastha, and if shadbala is very high, then the effects of mritavasta will be felt in full.
In case of a low shadbala, the effect of the Avastha will be negligible. A question that naturally
crops up is – What happens when a graha is placed in both good and bad Avasthas ? My humble
experience tells me that everything a graha represents in a chart will be felt and manifested.
Let’s look at the following example.
ILLUSTRATION :

RASHI CHART

In this rashi chart, I shall consider Avastha’s of Venus. Venus is

marked by SU (Sukra). Venus is placed in 5.43 minutes of
Pisces.

For the sake of convenience, let us tabulate the Avasthas:

Basic lordship of Venus:

1. Sixth and eleventh houses from lagna

2. Third and eight house from AL
3. Ninth and fourth houses from Paka Lagna

Let’s analyze Venus antara in Mercury mahadasha.

A main rule for judging antara is reference to Chandra. However, let’s make a basic analysis of
Venus’ placement in 4th house from lagna. As the 11th house lord, it signifies gains, and
fulfilment in the area of 4th house significations, such as comforts, vehicles, homes, mother etc.
As the 6th house lord it carries some problems and obstacles in 4th house affairs. Venus’
shadbala is very high, which means that all things represented by Venus and her Avasthas will
manifest in full. What actually happened during the Venus antaradasa?
© SJVC August 2000 JYOTISH NEWS 7

Avasta Baaladhi Deeptanadhi Lajitadhi Sayanadhi Other

Venus Mrita Deepth, vikhal Garvith Shayana Awakening
Kshudith Dristhi
Mudith
Kshobith

Effect 100% 100% positive Garvitha and Effects: Dental 100%

negative and very Muditha are diseases, be very short positive
negative effects positive while tempered, bereft of
due to a vikhal kshuditha and wealth, seek union with
avasta kshobitha are courtesans, licentious
negative. Effects Due to dristi sub state,
are given in Brihat only 50% will manifest
Parasara Hora
Shastra

1. There was a peaceful time throughout the first part, with gains of comforts, movable assets,
clothes, money and happiness from friends (11th). It is all signified with very positive
avasthas of Venus, her nature, and karakatwas.

2. The person’s grandmother died, leaving his mother an inheritance. This has brought a grief
to his mother. Venus rules the 8th house from the 4th, and bad houses from AL. Not analysing
D-12 chart and other relevant factor, let’s ascribe only to this to 11th house lordship of Venus
which is giving comforts. By being in mrita avasta, there is a death in a maternal family.

3. An immediate younger sister of the mother fell ill – indicated by the 6th house lordship of
Venus, being placed in bad avasthas. However, it wasn’t lethal since Venus has positive
Avasthas too.

4. The person’s elder sister suffered a terrible accident, and barely survived, however, with life-
long consequences. Venus is 11th house lord placed in mrita and vikhal avasthas. Please
note the position of Mars in the 11th house ruling accidents and placed in mrita avasta too
with strength. It is my opinion, that exaltation of Venus, as well as deeptha and other positive
avasthas prevented sister’s death in this case. Chara Bhratrikarak is Rahu leaving his sister
with terrible mental consequences (rahu rules eclipses).
CONCLUSION
1. It is notable that bad avasthas of Venus gave negative results in sociological aspects of the
bhavas concerned (4th house mother, 11th house elder sister, and 6th house-maternal aunt).
Mrita Avastha of Venus exposed all three persons to death experience. Venus has not given
any significant love relation, even though it is natural karak for love/marriage despite the
mahadasha Mercury, while mercury is lord of 7th house. Bad avasthas of Venus, such as
mrita, vikhal seemed to bring about the same, due to Venus’ high shadbala which
manifested these avasthas in full.
2. Good effects of Venus were given in the domain of her karakatwas, and the person
experienced a rise of comfort, enjoyed stable income, and new equipment was bought such
as stereo, TV, new furniture etc. At the end of Venus antardasa his mother received a flat in
inheritance, which was given to the native. Due to very favourable avasthas and strong
shadbala, Venus didn’t fail to bestow her natural significations, and seemed to protect the
person from big adversities such as ill health etc., (Venus rules 6th house).
3. There is also one thing worth mentioning. Even though, timing can be done more accurately
with the help of pratyantar dashas or gochara, it is interesting to mention that the first half of
© SJVC August 2000 JYOTISH NEWS 8

the antara was very favourable, while the second was not. Venus seems to delightfully
initiate the antardasha first offering her exalted state, deeptha(radiating) avasta, awake and
garvith avastas, revealing her excellent mood in full. Later on, as the anatara was going on,
She started loosing her power, and obviously conquered by bad avastas, she suffered a
breakdown and collapse in her significations.
4. Similarly, each graha is found in certain avastas, describing its physiological, psychological,
emotional, and sociological state. Like in the case of humans, more powerful grahas bring
about their effects more fully and significantly. It seems that Satyacharya’s hint can be very
helpful to examine this area more thoroughly.

DHARMA IS THE FOUNDATION OF MARRIAGE

PT. SANJAY RATH

Bhagvan Sri Krishna teaches that the first signs of the fall in Dharma
is the corruption of women: Extract from: Bhagavat Gita-As it is by Srila
Prabhupada

TRANSLATION

“ When irreligion is prominent in the family, O Kåñëa, the women of the family
become polluted, and from the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Våñëi,
comes unwanted progeny. (BG:1.40) “

Dharma is examined in the ninth house and the one-ninth division of signs is called
Navamsa. Parasara advises us to examine this divisional chart (Navamsa) for spouse as it is the
fruit/gains of Dharma. Thus the 11th sign from the 9th house is the 7th house which shows
gains/increase of Dharma and the 12th sign from the 9th house in the 8th house which shows
loss/decrease of Dharma. Thus, marriage indicates an increase of Dharma while widowhood
symbolizes a destruction of Dharma. In these tense in Hindu wedding the son-in-law is regarded
as Vishnu as his coming to the family has led to an increase in Dharma.

The Sun is a significator of Dharma and hence Maharishi Jaimini teaches that the Sun can
never be a malefic for Upapada (Arudha of 12th house symbolizing the Vivaha Mandapa2[1]).
Rahu is the greatest enemy of the Sun and causes its eclipse. Thus Rahu symbolizes
destruction of Dharma and also widowhood. Saturn is an enemy of the Sun and significator of
the 8th house (ruling widowhood/break in marriage) whereas Jupiter is a friend of the Sun and
saves marriages by giving children. In fact Chanakya3[2] Niti4[3] teaches that a person who is not

2[1]
Vivaha means marriage and mandapa means the place where this is solemnized through Vedic rituals.
3[2]
Kautilya better known as Chanakya was the able administrator and Minister of Chandragupta
Maurya. His work on administration named “Artha Shastra” is the greatest of of kind.
© SJVC August 2000 JYOTISH NEWS 9

desirous of having children should not marry. Venus (ruling semen) shows sexuality and
physical beauty whereas Mars shows the destruction of semen /preservation and indicates
Brahmacharya5[4] thus Mars causes the first error (dosha) on the significator of natural
procreation. Ketu is always opposite to Rahu and both Parasara and Jaimini teach that it causes
marriage. In fact it indicates the bestiality in man which is controlled by worshipping Lord Shiva
as Pasupati6[5]. The Moon is a significator of mother hood and will surely give marriage whereas
Mercury the bastard son of the Moon indicates Adharma or children etc. born outside marriage
and thus, obstructs or break the purity of marriage relationship. Thus, Jaimini teaches that if
Moon & Mercury are in mutual trines in the Navamsa the character may fall and marriage vows
maybe broken while if Mercury is aspected by Jupiter (the pure representative of Vishnu) then
purity prevails and marriage vows will be kept.

Scorpio is the natural eighth house of the zodiac and if Mercury & Venus are in Scorpio
Navamsa then the person is of very loose morals. In this manner the various rules/dictums given
in the classical literature can be understood.

ILLUSTRATIONS
(Some Birth details are with held for obvious reasons)

Chart1: Female born on 31st January 1951.

Chart 1 is the Navamsa of a
Lady born in a Brahmin family.
The sixth Lord Mars is in the
ninth house aspected by Rahu.
Rahu also eclipses the Sun and
Moon in Lagna. Thus fall in
Dharma is to occur. Ketu,
signifying sexuality is in the
seventh house as the 7th Lord
Jupiter and seventh house are
both afflicted by Saturn (a dire
malefic signifying and ruling the
8th house). Both Venus and Mercury are in Scorpio (specific combination for Low morals). The
second house from Navamsa Lagna is Cancer, which is aspected by Mars & Venus by Rasi
drishti. Thus all planets point at one thing–fall of Dharma and excessive uncontrolled sexuality.
This Lady has lost all morals and has had all sorts of men in her life.

Chart 2 : Female born on 30th May 1954 at 7:40’ PM at Delhi, India.

In Chart 2 The Lagna is subject to Papakartari Yoga between Rahu, Mars and Saturn
indicating a life of some kind of bondage. The ninth Lord Moon is ill placed in the sixth
house showing a fall in Dharma. Venus in the 8th house is also very evil for marriage. In
the Navamsa, Saturn is in Capricorn aspected by Ketu (Rasi Drishti) indicating either
adultery or Tapaswi (Sanyasi) depending on whether Jupiter is strong.

4[3]
Niti means code of conduct or behavior.
5[4]
celibacy
6[5]
Pasu: Animal; Pati: Lord; Thus pasupati means Lord of all animals including man.
© SJVC August 2000 JYOTISH NEWS 10

Jupiter is afflicted by Rahu’s

aspect both in Rasi and
Navamsa and is placed in a
Dusthana (8th & 12th) in both
Rasi & Navamsa. Thus Jupiter
is afflicted. In the Navamsa it is
under Papakartari Yoga
between Saturn & Rahu. In
female horoscopy Jupiter is the
significator of husband and
unless this is strong, married life
will not be present or not happy.

Venus is in the second house

aspected by Mars from the eighth
showing ability (or talent) for all
kinds of sex. Both debilitated Moon
and Mercury are in Scorpio
indicating excessive illegal
sexuality and conjoined with Rahu
shows the extensive nature of
these activities. Her life is a sad
story of exploitation and rape
finally leading to the infamous
profession of prostitution.

VEDIC REMEDY
There are various remedial measures given for solving marriage problems like delay in
marriage, divorce etc. Some of them are very tamasic like black magic and others give
temporary results. When it is clearly established that Dharma alone protect the purity/marriage
then the highest and surest remedy lies in increasing Dharma. Bhagwan Vishnu sits in the ninth
house of Dharma and worshipping him with the Astakshari mantra “OM NAMO NARAYANAYA”
or meditating with the mantra “ OM TAT SAT” is the best remedy. In addition, a gemstone of the
Lord of ninth house (in Rasi Chart) and fasting on days ruled by the Lord of Upapada can be
prescribed.

OM TAT SAT

UNDERSTANDING THE SAPTAMSA

Gauranga Das
Child birth assumes a great significance in marital life as children are the
gains or the fruits of marriage and, therefore, the seventh divisional chart
known as the Saptamsa assumes greater significance so far as the birth of
children is concerned. Timing the birth of children, their health and all such
information could be deduced from the Saptamsa. Problems in child birth
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also could be solved from an in depth analysis of the Saptamsa. It is, therefore, essential to
know the lords of the Saptamsha in greater detail. The names listed in the Brihat Parasara Hora
Shastra (BPHS) probably refers to the seven oceans circumambulating the seven islands of the
Bhu-Mandala. The characteristics of each of the portions will reflect the characteristics of the
Deities worshipped on those islands. This information pertaining to the Bhu-mandala comes
from the 5th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.

Maharishi Parashara lists the lords of the seven Saptamshas of a Rasi as follows:

Kshara, Ksheera, Dadhi, Ghrita, Ikshurasa, Madhya and Shuddha Jala being the order in odd
signs, and the reverse in even signs. In the description of the universe given in the Puranas, we
find the following account: The Bhu-mandala, or the planetary system of the Earth is divided into
seven islands, which lie in concentric circles. The central island (of which our Earth is a part) is
called Jambudvipa, the next one is Plaksha, then Shalmali, Kusha, Krauncha, Shaka and finally
Pushkaradvipa forms the last and widest circle. In between every two islands there is an ocean,
each of different substance. Jambudvipa is surrounded by Ksara-uda, or salt-water ocean,
Plakshadvipa by Ikshu-rasa, or sugarcane juice, Shalmalidvipa is surrounded by Sura, or liquor,
then the next is Ghrita (clarified butter), Kshira (milk), Dadhi-manda (emulsified yogurt) and
Suddha-uda (sweet water). The names of these oceans are closely similar to the names of the
seven Saptamshas."

So Kshara refers to Jambudvipa, the middle island, which is surrounded by it. Jambudvipa is
further divided into nine continents, where the different forms of the personality of Godhead are
worshipped. In Bhadrasva-varsha Hayagriva (the incarnation with a horse-head) is worshipped.
In Ilavrta-varsha Sankarsana (Lord of false ego) is worshipped. In Hari-varsha Nrisimhadeva
(the lion-headed incarnation) is worshipped. In Ketumala-Varsha Kamadeva or Pradyumna
(Cupid) is worshipped. In Ramyaka-varsha Matsya (the fish incarnation) is worshipped. In
Hiranmaya-varsha Kurma (the tortoise-incarnation) is worshipped. In Uttarakuru-varsha
Varahadeva (the Boar incarnation) is worshipped. In Kimpurusa-varsha Lord Rama is
worshipped. And in Bharata-varsha Nara-Narayana is worshipped. So these deities all relate to
the Kshara portions.

Ikshurasa surrounds Plakshadvipa, the next island, in which Lord Surya (the Sun-god) is
worshipped.

Madhya would refer to Sura, or the liquor ocean, which surrounds Shalmalidvipa where Soma
(the Moon-god) is worshipped. This is why intoxicants influence the mind, which is ruled by
Soma.

Ghrita is the ocean of ghee (clarified butter), which surrounds Kusadvipa where Agni (the fire-
god) is worshipped.

Ksheera is the ocean of milk, which surrounds Kraunchadvipa where Varuna (the god of
rain/water) is worshipped.

Dadhi is the ocean of yoghurt, which surrounds Sakadvipa where Vayu (the wind god) is
worshipped.
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Suddha Jala is the ocean of sweet water, which surrounds Puskaradvipa where Brahma (the
creator) is worshipped.

More details about these islands could be read and understood from the Srimad Bhagavatam,
which is very interesting. On may wonder why does the Saptamsa refer to sons and grandsons?
This is, perhaps, due to the fact that it was Maharaja Priyavrata, who divided the Bhu-mandala
into these seven islands with the wheels of his chariot, and then gave their rulership to his seven
sons, who in turn divided each island into seven parts and gave the rulership of each part to one
of their sons in turn. They also had seven sons each. Maybe other Puranas have more details
on this.