Vimśottari Daśa: the Numbers Behind It

As I have recently been reading Jyotisha literature more intensively. I would like to share some of the material I find of interest, particularly as not every book is easily obtainable. I was fortunate in coming across a copy of ‘Astrology and Jyotirvidya’ by Viswanath Deva Sarma (published in 1973 and never reprinted it seems). He provides a wonderful overview, complete with tables, on the division of Vimśottari into its Daśas or periods and also provides a unique insight into how the periods came to have the divisions that they have.

In a later article I want to look more closely at how this fascinating system is applied.

First, Vimśottari literally means ’120′. So Vimśottari Daśa simply means the divisions of 120. Quite straight forward. These are the divisions and also their order:

Sun	6 years
Moon	10 years
Mars	7 years
Rahu (North Node)	18 years
Jupiter	16 years
Saturn	19 years
Mercury	17 years
Ketu (South Node)	7 years
Venus	20 years

If you add everything up you arrive at 120. But just why Venus should have 20 years and the Sun only 6 is much more mysterious. But be assured. There is a logic behind it. First where does the number 120 come from? Hindu astrology uses 27 lunar mansions known as Nakśatra. Each Nakśatra is 13 1/3 degrees long.  (13 1/3  × 27 = 360). There are nine ‘planets’ (including Rahu and Ketu). 13 1/3 × 9 = 120.

You might already have noticed that the lunar month, roughly 27 days, is brought in relation to the solar year, 360 days. This is the first clue as to how the divisions are arrived at. We have an interaction between two major divisions of time, that of the Sun (360) and that of the Moon (13 1/3) with the planets (9).

The solar year is composed of 12 months which each have 30 days.  Now if we convert to the lunar month each day is equal to 1 nakśatra which can be divided into 60 danda. (the danda is equal to 60 pala which are equal to 6 prāna which are equal to 10 guru-aksara which are equal to 27 nimeṣa which is equal to one blink of the eye which is roughly a second.)

The crucial step is to bring into relation the time it takes the Sun to make a complete circle of the ecliptic and the time it takes for the Moon to make a complete circle. You could say that a lunar ‘year’ is equal to a solar month. V.K. Sarma describes it thus:

solar period	lunar period
1 year	360 ‘years’
1 month	30 ‘years’
1 day	1 ‘year’
1 danda	6 days

and the reverse:

lunar period	solar period
1 year	1 day
1 month	5 danda
1 day	10 pala

The last two numbers are the ones we want. 6 defines the length of the Sun’s Daśa and 10 that of the Moon. Now all that is left is to determine the periods for the rest of the planets. V.K. Sarma describes it thus: the inclination of the Moon to the axis of the earth is 24 degrees (cosmologically) or 23 1/2 degrees (astronomically). If we subtract the solar and lunar periods from 24 the difference is 14 and 18. 14 and 18 divided in half gives us 7 and 9. So the basic numbers we can work with are 7 and 10 for the Moon; 6 and 9 for the Sun.

I’m going to put the results in tabular form as I think it is easier to understand what happens:

As you can see there are some interesting interactions going on. The two outermost planets make use of the Moon’s major number (10) and the major and minor number for the Sun while the inner planets only use the Moon’s major and minor numbers. Rahu doubles the Sun’s minor number and Ketu uses the Moon’s minor number as does Mars.

Saturn	10 + [(24 - 6) ÷ 2] = 10 + 9 = 19 years	10 9	Moon Sun
Jupiter	10 + 6 = 16 years	10 6	Moon Sun
Mars	(24 – 10) ÷ 2 = 14 ÷ 2 = 7 years	7	Moon
Rahu	18 years	18	Sun
Ketu	14 ÷ 2 = 7 years	7	Moon
Sun	6 years	6	Sun
Moon	10 years	10	Moon
Mercury	10 + [(24 - 10) ÷ 2] = 10 + 7 = 17 years	10 7	Moon Moon
Venus	10 + 10 = 20 years	10 10	Moon Moon

Another Way of Looking at the Lord of the Geniture: Ernest Hemingway again

In my articles on “Looking for the Lord of the Geniture” and on Ernest Hemingway’s Lord of the Geniture I proposed Saturn as Lord. In this article I would like to look at his chart from the Jyotisha perspective. Remember that Jyotisha uses the constellations and not the signs of the zodiac called by the same name. This means that through precession of the equinox the placements, as compared to a tropical horoscope are roughly 23 degrees earlier.

The first thing we want to do is to examine the condition of the ‘personal’ sensitive points of the chart. These are the ascendant, Sun and Moon. Let us begin with the
ascendant. We have a Leo ascendant joined by Mercury and Mars. The first house shows ones entry into the world, ones appearance and the impact of the personality on the
environment. Mercury, lord 2 the natural significator of writing is also lord of the 2nd house, the house of literary gifts. Mercury is joined by impatient Mars, which influences the writing style, making it abrupt and terse. Mercury and Mars are both aspected by Saturn (Mars fairly closely) from one of Mar’s houses, the 4th. So the literary themes, which are basic life themes for the native, will be of conflict and heroism. No steamy romance novels here. The Saturn aspect is rich in complexity. On the one hand Saturn is a friend of Mercury, so he will help with the discipline of getting the daily word quota done. But Saturn is also an enemy of Mars and in Mar’s house. So Saturn and those represented by Saturn will not be perceived as pleasant guests and will probably take on a nagging quality. It should be noted that this doesn’t encourage marital bliss (Hemingway was married four times). The difficulties provided by partnership are reflected in the Navamsa chart which shows among other things the quality of married life. Sun in its own sign in the first aspected by Saturn in its own sign in the seventh. Sun and Saturn are mutual enemies. And the partner will surely perceive the native to be self-centred and egoistic.

What is the condition of the Sun and Moon? Not so good. The Sun lord of the 1st is in the 12th house and unaspected. This shows isolation. The Moon is with Rahu, the north node, in the 5th, also unpleasant. This is only mitigated by an aspect from Venus. The Moon in the 5th encourages imaginative skills and this certainly helps him as an author. But the Moon as lord of the 12th doesn’t necessarily bring a happy and stable emotional life. True there are moments of beauty and inspiration (Venus) but there are also sudden dark and tempestuous moments as well (Rahu).

Now back to our question about the Lord of the Geniture. In the above chart we once again have three main contenders; Mercury, Mars and Saturn. According to the Jyotish method of weighting the strength of a planet (shad balla) Mercury is immensely strong. It is true that Mars and Mercury are strong by their placement in the 1st house. But, and I think this weighs strongly, Saturn, the only other angular planet, is the planet which has
enormous influence on the first house. He actively aspects the first house and its planets but is not aspected in turn. So in the Jyotic chart I would suggest that Saturn is the Lord of the Geniture, just as I suggested he was in the western chart. Of course, as always, I
welcome arguments that might favour the Moon or Mars.

Charts

You may have wondered why in my last article I spent so much time discussing a chart layout. Well yes I did say that I wanted to get you, dear reader, comfortable with reading what might be an unusual chart format. But there is more.

In the day of the computer we make calculations, that would otherwise take us an hour or more (depending on the calculations) to do by hand, in seconds. We might even have a page or two of printout to immediately jump into. The novice is instantly overwhelmed. The more experienced know what to ignore or they might find themselves drawing out a chart by hand including only that information that seems to be relevant at the time. The instant chart, to be useful, requires that the astrologer recalls what it represents. It is a potent symbol that needs to be approached with a certain respect.

Now back to the south Indian chart. A blank chart is a window. When filled in it is a representation of an instant of time. You view it from a vantage point that verges on omnipotent. When you begin to concentrate on it you are in effect suffusing the chart with the light of your consciousness and in a certain respect merging with the cosmic picture that it represents. Each chart form is a gesture.  It reflects a different approach. A round chart as compared to a square one is a qualitatively different representation. And it is helpful to try to capture this difference as an image, maybe even linking to mythical imagery that makes the mind more receptive. to its message. The south Indian chart for example can be likened to the carapace of a tortoise and from there the connection with the mythical tortoise that supports the cosmos is instantly there. The relation is reciprocal as it becomes clear why the tortoise in the myth carries the cosmos. The carapace is domelike, much like the dome of the sky, and the ‘boxes’ like the boxes of the signs and houses that subdivide the heavens. To ground the whole in reality it wouldn’t hurt to visit a few real tortoises and observe their movement and character!

South Indian Chart Format

As I am planning a series of articles on hindu astrology / vedic astrology / jyotisha (please choose your favourite definition ) some ground work needs to be done. Today I would like to introduce the chart form I plan to use. There are three different chart forms used in vedic astrology. I am choosing the one that gives a clear overview of the chart and which is the farthest away from western astrological practice, for a better shift from one system to the other.

The south Indian chart is a fixed chart. The signs always remain in the same place. It is the ascendant or lagna that moves. To help get oriented I have indicated where Aries is located. Aries will always be in the second box from the top left. The signs also move clockwise, contrary to western practice. So Taurus will be in the third box from the top left and Sagittarius in the lower left box.

I’ve placed the planets in the signs or their domicile, exaltation, detriment and fall. You will notice a certain symmetry, especially in the domicile chart.

If you divide the domicile chart down the middle you will find that the outer planets are all on the left side while the Sun Moon and inner planets are all on the right side. There are some other interesting interrelationships. For example the common signs are always in the corners with the fixed signs behind and the cardinal signs following. I find the chart supports the symbology in a most satisfactory manner. The dual or common signs in the corners look in two directions. The cardinal signs, following clockwise motion, move away and so show themselves as moving signs. The fixed signs, with reference to the corner signs, demonstrate a reluctance for movement. Examine all of the charts and I am sure you will find other interesting symmetries.

Profection

Profection is another traditional predictive technique. Basically the ascendant (and all other significant points are moved one sign forward for each year of life). It can be considered a form of progression and provides additional detail to the new solar year. It is always used in combination with the natal chart. As it is connected to the solar year, it can be used in combination with the solar return.

Profection in Vedic astrology is intimately connected with the solar return. The jyotish solar return is called the varshaphala; literally yearly (varsha), effects (phala). There the only sensitive point that is profected is the ascendant or lagna. This is called the muntha. The muntha plays a very important role in determining the lord of the year. Quite often it is the lord of the year.

While we are discussing the varshaphala I might as well mention immensely interesting use of the terms (or hudda dasa) for determining sub-periods of the year*. The terms – the egyptian terms are used – are divided proportionally for 360 degrees. For example Aries has the following terms:

• first six 6 degrees belong to Jupiter = 72 days
• next six 6 degrees belong to Venus = 72 days
• next 8 degrees belong to Mercury = 96 days
• next 5 degrees belong to Mars = 60 days
• last 5 degrees belong to Saturn = 60 days

So if the ascendant of the solar return is at 7 degrees Aries, the birthday being on the 1st of January, the planetary periods for the year would be:

• Venus for the first 72 days, beginning Jan. 1st
• Mercury for the next 72 days
• Mars for the next 96 days
• Saturn for the next 60 days
• Jupiter for the rest of the year

Of course this system should be used for a jyotish interpretation as the planetary periods and sub-periods play a more predominant role in prediction. Firdaria would roughly be a similar, though by comparison more crude equivalent.

* for more detail please refer to K S Charaka’s book ‘Predictive Techniques in Varshaphala’