The Vedanga-Jyotisha is an ancient text on Jyotisha that appears in two editions, one tied to the Rigveda and the other to the Yajurveda. The Rigveda version contains 36 verses, while the Yajurveda recension contains 43 verses, 29 of which are Rigveda verses. Sage Lagadha and sometimes sage Shuci are credited with writing the Rigveda version. The Yajurveda version, which has survived into the contemporary day with a commentary by Somakara and is the most researched form, gives no credit to any single sage.
The Jyotisha literature Brahma-siddhanta, written in the 5th century CE, outlines how to keep time and calendar by using the movement of planets, sun, and moon. To support its theory of orbits, anticipate planetary positions, and calculate relative mean positions of celestial nodes and apsides, this text includes trigonometry and mathematical equations. The text is famous for offering extremely big numbers, such as the current universe’s lifetime being 4.32 billion years.
The ancient Hindu books on Jyotisha focus solely on timekeeping, with no mention of astrology or prophecy. The majority of these ancient works deal with astronomy, albeit only at a basic level. In India, technical horoscopes and astrology principles originated in Greece and developed in the first millennium CE. The Yavana-jataka and the Siddhanta texts, written later in the medieval era, are more astrology-related.
In This Article...
Is astrology mentioned in the Vedas?
Vedic astrology is founded on the notion that the stars and planets have a powerful influence on our life. It is based on the Vedas, India’s oldest system of knowledge. Life is meant for spiritual advancement, according to Hindu scriptures.
Which Vedas contain descriptions of astrology?
The Hymns of Dirghatamas in the Rig Veda are the Vedic origins of the Zodiac.
Many people believe that India learned about the zodiac from Babylonia or even later from Greece. However, there are clear allusions to a chakra or wheel with 360 spokes set in the sky as far back as the Rig Veda, the oldest Vedic literature.
Who was the first to introduce Vedic astrology?
During the Vedic period, India’s first known usage of astrology was documented. Astrology, or jyotia, is classified as a Vedanga, or branch of the Vedic religion’s Vedas. The Vedanga Jyotisha, which contains rules for tracking the motions of the sun and moon over a five-year intercalation cycle, is the only work of this class that has survived. The dating of this work is unknown since its late style of language and composition, which is consistent with the last decades BC, albeit pre-Mauryan, contradicts internal evidence of a far older date in the 2nd millennium BC. Astronomy and astrology developed in tandem in India. During the Vedic era, the sage Bhrigu authored the Bhrigu Samhita, the first treatise on Jyotisha. Bhirgu is one of the revered Saptarishi, or seven Vedic sages, and is known as the “Father of Hindu Astrology.” The Saptarishis are also represented by the Ursa Major constellation’s seven primary stars.
The interplay of Indian and Hellenistic cultures through the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek Kingdoms is linked to the documented history of Jyotisha in the subsequent newer sense of modern horoscopic astrology. The earliest extant treatises, such as the Yavanajataka and the Brihat-Samhita, come from the early decades of the Christian era. The Yavanajataka (“Sayings of the Greeks”), a versification by Sphujidhvaja in 269/270 AD of a now lost translation of a Greek treatise by Yavanesvara during the 2nd century AD under the patronage of the Indo-Scythian king Rudradaman I of the Western Satraps, is the oldest astrological treatise in Sanskrit.
The Samhita (Compilation), written on tree bark pages, is supposed to include five million horoscopes for everyone who has lived or will live in the future. The first known authors authoring treatises on astronomy come from the 5th century AD, which is considered the start of Indian astronomy’s classical period. Aside from Aryabhata’s theories in the Aryabhatiya and the lost Arya-siddhnta, there is Varahamihira’s Pancha-Siddhntika.
Is astrology accepted in Hinduism?
In the modern lives of many Hindus, astrology remains a significant aspect of folk belief. In Hindu culture, newborns are usually named according to their jyotia charts (Kundali), and astrological principles are used to organize the calendar and holidays, as well as to make big decisions like marriage, starting a new business, or moving into a new home. Many Hindus believe that heavenly bodies, such as the planets, have an impact on a person’s life, and that these planetary influences are the “fruit of karma.” In the administration of justice, the Navagraha, or planetary deities, are considered subservient to Ishvara (the Hindu notion of an ultimate deity). As a result, it is thought that these planets can have an impact on human life on Earth.
without fully comprehending its use. The board, along with the drinking containers, would have been presented as an offering to an unknown deity worshipped in the cave.
“This astrologer’s board could have shown up as an offering along with other exceptional items that were either bought or robbed from a passing ship,” Forenbaher speculated. He noted that the drinking cups discovered in the cave had been chosen with care. They were made in another country, and only a few cruder amphora storage vessels were discovered with them.
“It almost appears that someone was bringing out wine there, pouring it, and then tossing the amphora away because they weren’t good enough for the gods, or to be deposited in the sanctuary,” Forenbaher said.
The phallic-shaped stalagmite, which may have formed naturally on the site, appears to have served as a focal point for these offerings and rituals held in the cavern. Forenbaher cautioned that all stalagmites resemble phallic to some degree and it’s difficult to know what meaning it had to the inhabitants in the cave. “It surely meant something important,” he remarked.
“This is a place where things that were valued locally, were deposited to some kind of supernatural power, to some transcendental entity or whatever .”
What is the Bhagavad Gita’s take on astrology?
We shall discuss the significance of each of the 18 teachings in the Bhagwad Geeta in this post, which will help everyone understand the true significance of this wonderful epic.
Shree Krishna told Arjun the Geeta over 7000 years ago on the auspicious day of Ekadashi. This historic event occurred on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
In the Bhagwad Geeta, there are 700 shloks that describe bhakti yoga, gyan yoga, and karma yoga. This clarifies how to live a stress-free existence and how to simply acquire Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha through our labor.
What Bhagavad Gita teaches us
Lord Krishna sings the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, a heavenly hymn. Despite the fact that it is 5,151 years old, it is still completely new and relevant in today’s world. That is why it serves as a global source of inspiration for everyone. There isn’t a single altered or enlarged version of the Gita, even after all these years. It has withstood the test of time and circumstance. It is really practical, and the reasoning process is quite scientific.
Nobody desires stress, anxiety, restlessness, sadness, grief, or bereavement, but no one is exempt. All of these things have a real presence in our lives. So read the Gita and attempt to live according to its instructions. The Gita teaches you a unique way of life that relieves your stress and allows you to live a joyful existence. Apart from being a religious text, the Gita is also a text of life. It is a faith-based and devotion-based style of living. It is sufficient to read the Gita, yet it contains much more. It is waiting for you to experience it. Live your life as if you were Gita. “Seekho jeene ka dhang, Jiyo Gita ke sang (live with the Gita, learn the righteous way of life.)
Gita has three primary yogas that teach us about the totality of existence. Materialistic hedonism is a way of life that does not look beyond the body. It’s life’s hollowness. And we are faced with stress, worry, and grief as a result of our materialistic lives and hedonism. ‘Mamanusmar,’ responds Lord Krishna in the Gita, when asked how this life can be complete without divine light. Always keep him in mind when you’re doing anything. The goal is to fill your life with energy through connecting with the Almighty. A life of inaction is a life of hesitancy. As a result, Gita advocates for a life that has been awakened. It preaches self-awareness. The Gita’s Gyan Yoga is the right application of intellectual faculties. Life can only be good if there is wisdom. When we lose our wisdom, our lives begin to fall apart. And your demise is unavoidable. That is why Gita believes: “Budhinashat pranashyati budhinashat pranashyati budhinashat (loss of wisdom is loss of life force.)
It’s past time for us to mentally straighten up so that our ideas don’t generate stress and lead us to tumble, but rather become our vital vitality. It’s a distinct possibility. And the Gita’s Bhakti Yoga is there to help. Consider the strain, pressure, decision-making flip-flops, and other emotions we struggle to overcome in our minds, and you would wonder how this is a good life. Gita comes to the rescue once more, this time as a treatment for indecisiveness and a weak mental condition. As a result, it is not an exaggeration to describe the Gita as a remedy rather than only a sermon. The idea for the Karma Yoga Gita is clearly clear: rather than making a tyag of karma, execute your karma with a sense of tyag. It implies to stay true to your responsibilities; focus on your responsibilities rather than your rights. In reality, the Gita is an excellent source of inspiration for a healthy, enlightened, and optimistic mindset. Take the correct route. Gita is the life’s geet. Let your song be one of peace and love.
The Bhagavat Gita makes no mention of astrology or numerology. In basic terms, it talks about an idea of absolute truth. Because the concept transcends words and concepts, a human being’s sole option is to act in line with dharma principles. Dharma is the principle that keeps all beings alive. Those who seek to preserve the dharma must act in accordance with the dharma’s principles, despite the fact that their actions are influenced by time and place. As a result, rather than becoming engrossed and concerned about the situation in which a human being finds himself, there is a need to maintain a presence of mind in order to act in a manner that preserves dharma while also not expecting any result from the action performed and with a sense of duty imposed on the person. Thus, conduct that preserves dharma is the proper action, while action that destroys dharma is the wrong action. Given the event and time, the required action determines the duty of every person in the world. Arjuna has numerous worries and queries, therefore Krishna’s instruction covers the details of karma yoga (yoga of selfless action), jnana yoga (yoga of wisdom), and bhakthi yoga as briefly as possible in the second chapter (Sankhya yoga – yoga of logic or rationale) (yoga of devotion).
As a result, the book is about life management rather than religion or theistic themes. Faith, astrology, numerology, and occult sciences are all belief systems that do not and should not affect an activity that, if not done correctly or when required, will undermine the life principle’s sustainability. Despite the existence of chapters describing absolute truth and the visual exhibition of universal being (essentially a fraction of dimensionless limitless universe is described, these are only to explain to Arjuna and us that there is something intrinsic, inherent, all pervading consciousness existing, which is subtler than subtlest and grosser than grossest). A believer will accept such an explanation, and a rationalist will be able to verify it via profound contemplation. To put it another way, a person can be of any faith or none at all. In my humble opinion, the Bhagavath Gita advises all of us to fulfill our responsibilities and to surrender the results of our actions to a supreme being (if we believe in one), nature, or the passage of time.
The Bhagavad Gita makes no mention of astrology, as numerology was unknown and unpracticed in India at the time the Gita was written.
Sankhya Shastra or Numerology are not mentioned in any of the Indian vedic writings or scriptures. Although the Zoroastrians influenced and contributed to Chaldean numerology, which is still practiced around the world today, the only reason for its omission is that by the time the Babylonian kingdom and the Sassanids rose to power, the Vedic people would have moved to the Gangetic plains from the Iran plateau, and thus would have missed Numerology or Sankhya Shastra. Despite the fact that the numerals used and adopted in Pahelvi (Iran’s Zend Avesta) and Sanskrit are identical.
Hindu astrology has far too many variations; each Indian province has its own take on the subject. The Lunar and Solar Calendars are the two major differences in the panchanga creation. The North Indian calendar is based on the lunar calendar, while the South Indian calendar is based on the solar calendar. If we consider Varahamira, Parashara, Kalidasa, Gopala, and Ratnakara to be prominent astrologers who use the Lunar Calendar, there are also Nandhi, Agastya, Bhrigu, Vishwamitra, and Atri from the south who use the Solar Calendar. Many modern astrologers have also provided us with numerous variations, such as the KP system, Lal Kitab, and KN Rao, among others. There are hundreds of homegrown indigenous conventions for charting astrological maps and making predictions, which goes without saying.
In Vedic ideas, as well as Hindu views in general, astrology is undervalued. In fact, in our scriptures, we doubt the very existence of gods; in fact, a whole chapter of Tharka is devoted to the subject. As a result, those who are familiar with the Vedas and our Scriptures will not trust Astrological predictions or give advise to others.
- The first rule of astrological forecasts is that you should never foretell the future for beggars or kings, because the prognosis will be the same for both, and their lives will be extremely similar.
- The second criterion is to understand that Astrology is only suitable for average individuals, as the predictions are only for average people. If the person in question is exceptional, the prediction will not be acceptable.
- The third guideline says that anyone can change their destiny by changing their willpower and confidence, or if the native changes his character or leaves his karmabhumi (country), then astrology predictions are useless.
This is why those who are well-versed in the Vedas or Hinduism are unconcerned by Astrology. Also, in all of our ancient neethi myths, astrologers and soothsayers are portrayed as frauds and deceivers (moral stories).
Astrology and astronomy are both great. “Vedanga” is a Vedic section. Astrology is primarily concerned with numbers such as day, hour, second, year, and so on. Without these numbers, no human can comprehend the concept of any CALCULATION in this universe.
To tell you the truth, no one like hearing about divination. Even the most adamant atheist wishes for something to be predicted about his future. Indian astrology is more than just planets and numbers; it is the essence of the finest knowledge, flawless thinking, and most often the divine words that come from ancient sages and seers. While many astrologers fail in their predictions due to a lack of understanding of the various calculations and rules, astrology, which is part of the divine Veda, is mostly beyond the common man’s rudimentary understanding and knowledge. As a result, understanding this Vedanga necessitates the assistance of a blessed specialist who can reveal the divination.
Hinduism is a way of life, as is astrology, which is also a part of life, and let me repeat the golden phrase, “ASTROLOGY NEVER FAILS, BUT ASTROLOGERS DO FAIL.”
According to the Gita, there is no such thing as fate, and we reap the fruits of our karma. So, why are people wearing stones, performing puja for graha shanti, or having astrologers repeat a mantra to alleviate their problems? Is there any significance to this if I believe in the Gita?
Lord Krishna teaches two seemingly opposing notions, Karma and Destiny, through the Bagvad Githa. Although these two beliefs appear to be diametrically opposed, they are essentially two sides of the same coin.
Let’s start with the first premise, destiny. Destiny is predetermined; it is something or an occurrence that cannot be avoided or reversed.
Krishna claims that He has already slaughtered the Kauravas and that Arjun would simply play a supporting role in their demise.
In other words, whether Arjun fights the wars or not, the Kauravas were doomed to die. Why were they doomed to die? as a result of their karma
The Kauravas’ karma was oriented toward adharma, and Lord Krishna was born to remove adharma and restore dharma. War would not have occurred if the Kauravas had rectified their karma, and so many lives would not have been lost.
The Kauravas, on the other hand, did not change their habits. Because they were shackled by particular beliefs or ways of thinking. Because his father was the king, Duryodhan believed he was the rightful king. He believed the Pandavas were attempting to unfairly steal his kingdom. By hook or by crook, he believed it was ethical or proper to steal what was rightfully his. This mindset or way of thinking caused him to act unethically, resulting in his downfall and death for himself and his loved ones.
In other words, our beliefs, thoughts, and actions/karmas will produce specific outcomes. Our karmas, and hence our fate, do not alter since we do not change our beliefs or thoughts.
As a result, our fate is inextricably linked to our karma. Arjun had an option in whether or not to fight in the war. He had no control over the war’s outcome.
Only our karmas are under our control; we have no influence over our fate. However, our fate is determined by our karma.
For example, we have no control over whether we will be born rich or poor. However, we have influence over how we labor to develop our life.
When we are driving on the road, we have only one option: to drive safely. However, we may still be involved in an accident that is beyond our control.
If one loses his legs in an awful event, there is nothing that can be done. He can, however, think and act in ways that will allow him to enjoy a decent life. That is under his command.
As a result, Karma, like fate, plays a role. The person most likely lost his legs as a result of his previous karma.
Let’s have a look at Puja and Mantra chanting. We will have to bear the fruits of our karma if we believe Lord Krishna. We will be punished for our wrongdoings and rewarded for our good ones. We don’t have a choice in the matter.
What Puja and Chanting Mantra can accomplish is either lessen the effect or provide you with the strength and mindset to conquer the obstacles. It’s the equivalent of carrying an umbrella in the rainy season. Wearing stones and Graha Shanti can have the same effect.
King Dasharath accidentally killed Shravan and was cursed by his parents as a result. “Like we are dying, you will die mourning for your kid.” Dasharath, despite his good intentions, was unable to become a father. He believed he would never be a father and would die without a child. Finally, a rishi told him that he was cursed to die in his grief over his son. You must first have a son in order to die yearning for him. Do the ‘Putraishti yagya’ as well.
This narrative is actually about fate and karma, as well as the consequences of Puja on our life.
Lord Krishna also advises doing your karma without regard for the outcome. The best yoga for releasing your soul from the cycle of birth, disease, death, and rebirth is this one.
Is astrology mentioned in the Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, or other Hindu holy texts? If so, what is the general message about astrology and its application in everyday life being conveyed?
- Most people mistakenly refer to it as Vedic Astrology, despite the fact that it has nothing to do with Veda. In Veda, astrology is rarely mentioned as a method for predicting the future. There are references to astronomical phenomena like as eclipses, seasons, constellations, and so on.
- The majority of Vedic astrological literature were written in India during a period of foreign cultural and political invasion, according to the so-called pandits.
- Publishers pushed the use of the term “Vedic” with Astrological publications to give the impression that they were ancient texts dating back to the Kali-inception. yuga’s (3102 B.C.). This has been directed by obvious economic interests, which have been echoed by professional astrologers, as well as amateur astrologers’ ignorance.
- Brihat Parashara Hora Sastra is one of the most highly valued works, with evidence that it dated from the 7th and early 8th centuries. Do we believe Vedanta began in the 78th century?
- The authors of these texts were mostly Yavanas (Indo-greeks) who utilized pseudonyms similar to Rishis of Vedic periods in order to gain more respect with power.
- The kings of ancient India used to patronize people with skills and talents in areas that were thought to be beneficial to the realm. We can confirm the royal interest by analyzing numerous yogas of classical texts.
- In the same way that many other subjects have evolved over time, predictive astrology has evolved into a form that may suit the curiosity and interests of the general public. From spiritual and regal interests to more everyday topics, there is something for everyone.
- The BPHS has only recently surfaced, with various sources claiming to be legitimate but including varying numbers of chapters and other details.
The following illustrates how individuals who followed the Yavana authors attempted to profit under the guise of reinstating sage views. This is an excerpt from the book “Bhaava Kutuhalam.”
Despite the fact that we disagree with its claim to be a part of Vedanta, we do not dismiss its value or utility. We simply mean that calling it Vedic isn’t accurate. Instead, it’s more accurate to refer to it as Indian Astrology.