Jyotish. Andrew Mason

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ the planet’s nutation slowly shifts the apparent position of the Sun backward against the stars at each of these juncture points.

14.Ayana = solstice and amsha = portion.

15.Worship of the twenty-eight asterisms (and other heavenly bodies) played a significant role in the Esoteric Buddhism founded in China. For more information see Brill (2013).

16.Use of Arabic Lunar Mansions in alchemy gained some ground during the renaissance for electional astrology. Today they are little used by astrologers in the west. For more information see Bartlett (2008).

17.The origins of Jyotish Shāstra are commonly attributed to a number of sutras in Kāuçika Sūtra (Atharva Veda); these early references to the planets, Nakshatras and other celestial phenomena appear mainly in the form of Mhurta (electional astrology) but are nonetheless prolific.

18.The Saṁhitā (science) of astronomy is sometimes presented as Karaṇa: planetary calculation only, Siddhānta/Tantra: planetary positions and the structure of the universe, etc., Jataka/Horā: individual horoscopes and later Tājik: celestial timing and the study of fortuitous events.

19.Might also be termed the mapping (geography) of space just as Bhūgola is the mapping or geography of Earth.

20.More specifically, Mhurta = 48 minutes.

21.Nimitta requires skilled guidance by one already proficient in this form of divination.

22.From the Greek πλανηται = wanderers.

23.Parasara recounts how nine aspects of the god Vishnu incarnated into each of the grahas. To the Sun, lord Rama; to the Moon, Krishna; to Mars, Narasimha; to Mercury, the Buddha; to Jupiter, Vamana; to Venus, Parashurama; to Saturn, Kurma; to Rāhu, Varāha; and to Ketu, Matsya.

24.See Kirk (2013).

25.Saṃhitā = a collection/an authoritative work.

26.Hero, warrior and semi-mythical Emperor/King heralding from India’s ‘golden age’. Vikramāditya is commonly agreed to be Chandragupta II (late 4th to early 5th century CE).

27.Ujjayini City is situated in the modern-day state of Madhya Pradesh (India). Ujjayini was taken as prime meridian for the calculation of solar/luna positioning.

28.Navaratnā, literally meaning ‘nine jewels’, in this instance nine wise and learned men: Varāhamihira (astrologer), Dhanvantarī (Āyurvedic Physician), Kālidāsa (poet), Vetālabhaṭṭa (scientist/philosopher), Saṅku (map maker/geographer), Ghaṭakarpara (architect), Vararuchi (Sanskrit scholar), Amarasiṃha (poet/author) and Kṣapaṇaka (Jain scholar).

29.The royal insignia is believed to represent Varaha (the third avatar of Vishnu) who rescued the submerged Earth from below the primal waters.

30.Devotee of the Sun and honoured as the source of all his Earthly knowledge.

31.Historically; Varāhamihira is thought to have lived between the years 450–570 CE; his ethnicity of Persian decent. The Islamic historian and scholar al-Bīrūnī (Abû Raiḥân), c.973–1048, notes Pañca Siddhântikâ to have been composed five hundred years prior to his own time, somewhat corroborating these dates. Varāhamihira (a polymath) is credited with a number of important written works including: Pañca Siddhântikâ (astronomy), Brihat Jātaka (astrology) and Brihat Saṃhitā (natural earth sciences).

32.A compendium of astrological information obtained from Indian, Greek, Roman and Persian sources, these Siddhânta (texts) being: Paitāmaha, Romaka, Vāsishṭha, Pauliśa and Sûrya.

PART I

      SETTING UP SHOP

      Zodiacal belt key: Central horizontal line = ecliptic, large white stars = Yogatârâ, alternating vertical bands = 27 Nakshatras. SE = spring equinox, SS = summer solstice, AE = autumnal equinox and WS = winter solstice. As of 2015 the spring equinox is approximately 9° 16′ Pisces; its closest Yogatârâ is α Pegasi in Purvabhadra Nakshatra.

1

       AYANĀṂŚA

      A few years back I ran into an old colleague and we got talking amongst other things about Jyotish. Knowing his great enthusiasm for astrology I enquired if he’d come across anything new and exciting. Immediately he began to download a whole barrage of statistics, techniques and other assorted goodies. Pausing briefly, he unexpectedly said the word Ayanāṃśa. Having more than a passing interest I asked him to expand on the topic, intrigued to hear his comments.

      He went on to explain that as a longstanding member of a Vedic Astrological Association, he’d recently returned from its annual get-together. The weekend event had been a mixture of lectures by both home-grown and international speakers. The event had also been a chance to stock up on books, CDs, magazines and demos of the latest Jyotish software.

      The final afternoon, he explained, had offered back-to-back lectures titled 11th House of Gain or The Question of Ayanāṃśa. Greatly intrigued by the sound of the Ayanāṃśa lecture, my friend had then made his way toward the appropriate lecture hall, only to be mowed down by a mass of charging delegates speeding toward the adjacent lecture. Recovering from this surge of bodies (heading in the opposite direction), he peered nervously into the room, wondering if he was to be the only one crossing its threshold.

      Upon entrance he was relieved to see a handful of Ayanāṃśa devotees sprawled along the front row, trying uncomfortably to make the room seem a little more occupied than it was. He then went on to give me a great synopsis of the whole presentation as related by its speaker, saying, ‘I found the whole thing pretty remarkable; it brought up in my mind a great number of misgivings. Toward the close of the discussion I really started to wonder how I’d ever missed its profundity. After all, it is value that determines all end results, yet curiously it hardly seems to get a mention.’

      He continued, chuckling, ‘I guess it just goes to show where some folks are with Jyotish, tripping over the fundamentals like Ayanāṃśa to get a profitable seat in the 11th House. Seems to me to be a perfect example of “me-ing” taking precedence over “be-ing”, at least in the world of some Jyotish acolytes.’

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO AYANĀṂŚA

СКАЧАТЬ