9

Significance of Sun Sun is Warrior

|l h Viix Mxxnx&
There are many slokas that provides the lists of significance appli-
cable to sun. Starting from the age-old tradition of Skanda hora VkE <ix V OiSSi
(Jyotishmati Upanishad) all the texts mention and classify the signifi- V hbE nx&
cance accordingly. But the problem with ancient classification of sig- xi ixi V i <i{
nificance is that they dont serve the modern requirement of a ready <xnkx j xkE =Si
reference. The slokas are scattered and the while dealing with a par- vi V xvJi +n&
ticular subject the associated significance of various planets are men- M Ih x Ji i
tioned together. To emphasis this statement some quotes from Skanda kEi VnIh&
hora about some of the significance are given below. Since this text is - Exn
supposed to deal only with the significance of Sun this strategy and [Jupiter and Venus are Brahmins. Jupiter signify swatic brahmins and
classification is not suitable for our purpose. Therefore, I will- Venus signify all the other brahmins (Both signify spirituality). Sun is
1) Quote some Skanda hora slokas to emphasis the authentic nature king and Mars the commander in chief (Both signify warriors). Sun
of the subject under discussion (significance of sun) signify the supreme king and Mars small kings or commanders for re-
gions. Moon and Mercury are Vaisyas (Both signify Businessmen).
2) Provide some lists from medieval texts about the same.
Moon is swatic Businessmen (those who do uncorrupted and sincere
3) Classify and deal with the subject in the modern way. business) and Mercury ragasic businessmen (those who do commer-
cial business and employ all kinds of methods to be successful). Swatic
Skanda Hora about significance of planets businessmen is one who does serving of cows etc (i.e. One who do big
Sun is the King and socially useful business as a value added service) and Ragasic
businessmen is one who give much importance to agriculture and other
xE V V S i business (i.e. One who do all kinds of small commercial business aimed
i& Ijv{x i nkO i& at his own benefit)] Saturn, Rahu and Ketu are servants or workers
+ xi S VM and that is why they are not mentioned in this sloka. These planets are
| xn <x u |{ i ** categorized as Sudras (One who work under somebody for livelihood)
- Exn
[Sun and Moon are kings. They are the natural lords of the zodiac Sun and Body
(since they represent the duality Kala Purusha and Prakriti; Siva-Sakti. +Mx vi& xEE\VS S
Sun is the lord of one half of the zodiac from Leo to Capricorn and C S VV S j vi&
Moon is the lord of the other half of the zodiac from Cancer to Aquarius - Exn
in reverse order). It is said that the rulership of signs are donated to [Muscle, born, meat and skin are hot (fiery) in nature. Semen, proteins
other planets by them. Mars is the supreme commander of army, Mer- and born marrow are cold (soft) in nature] Sun, Saturn, Mars, Rahu
cury is the prince, Jupiter and Venus Ministers, Saturn paid servant, and Ketu signify hot (fiery) nature. Moon, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury
and others (such as Rahu and Ketu) servants of servants] signify cold (soft) nature.
 10

The above quotes emphasis the ancient authorities and the method The method of derivation
of description and classification used by sages. Not only most of the
ancient rishi horas but also the medieval texts deal with significance in To understand the possible significance of sun and to derive more
the same manner. This method of presentation does not suit with our significance that should be attributed to sun, a better understanding
requirement. (i.e to discuss only the significance assigned to sun in about the mechanism of significance derivation is necessary. How and
detail). why these many things are attributed to sun? The method is straight
forward. Let us see how this list evolved.
Therefore let us look at some of the available ancient and medieval
lists that deals with significance of sun alone. Sun is the owner of the zodiac
It is based on the movement of sun that the ecliptic is divided in to
Some lists signs. Similarly it is based on the movement of moon that the zodiac is
Spujidhwaja hora provides us a list of various significance of sun. divided into asterisms (Nakshatras). Thus both of them are the owners
x{]hixhEx of zodiac (or better ecliptic). Sun is the life giver, the fundamental source
of energy behind life. Thus its radiant, vibrant and energetic nature
xG]E`pEh |SiE&
make it a proper candidate to symbolically represent Siva the male
- VnvV
counter part of creation - the energy, the agnostic essence. Time which
[Sun signifies Kings (Government and people in power), Forests, Moun- is another mystery must be part of this impossible to understand mys-
tains, Gold, Copper, Lion, Fire, Leopard, Poison, Woolen cloth, Thrown tery and that is why Siva is Maha kala (the undivided eternal time). In
(Kingly furniture), uncooked meat, Desert, Fire wood and wealth] astrology this Siva element is termed Kala purusha. Thus sun symboli-
Phaladeepilka (By sage Mantreswara) also provide such a list. cally signifies Siva, Kala purusha, eternal time, manmade divisions of
time, energy, light rays, sharpness, radiance, heat, survival, life, the
i h {i SiJ |i{ rhythm (of movement, music, sound, dance etc), movement, authority,
v i V V |E rulership, power, leadership, male, father, protector (thus in womens
E xMMi E|k horoscope signifying husband), spirituality, god, soul and temple. Simi-
nlx Eli viIhiE larly Moon being the other tool used for the division of ecliptic as
- n{E Nakshatras (asterisms), becomes the other ruler. Thus it is the proper
[Sun signifies copper, gold, father, benefic results of forefathers, spiri- candidate to symbolically represent the female counterpart of Siva.
tual well being, power and position, courage, valor, government service, Thus it signifies Prakriti (nature), Sakti, Matter or space. Thus it signi-
light, things related to god Siva, travel through forests hills and moun- fies (as opposed to sun) body, female, mother, cold, nature, plants and
tains, fire worship, temple, radiance, energy, accuracy and precision] trees, beauty, kindness, love, submission, followers, heredity, lineage,
matter, shapes without edges (round), mind, thoughts and world. Moon
Even these lists do not serve our purpose of understanding the sig- signifies the stuff with which the universe is made up of. It evolves
nificance in a properly classified manner. To solve this problem, let us from Siva and merges into Siva to become Sadasiva (the ultimate real-
create a better list (taking references from the words of sages) and ity), where no classifications such as Space and time, Matter and en-
classify the significance of Sun accordingly in a modern way for a ergy, creature and creation, law and law giver. The ultimate is beyond
better understanding. the space-time continuum. Space-time continuum is stuff itself, i.e. the
Prakriti (the original nature) which is a combination of matter and divis-
 11
ible time. Siva is beyond and eternal time and unknown essence part of
it. This is one line of logical derivation for significance of Sun. Thus sun
is everything male, everything energetic, everything essential for the
universe to manifest - symbolically representing the ultimate. All these
significance derivations are derived from and is based on the founda-
tion stones of astrology such as Brahma vidya (search of the ultimate),
Duality (Siva-Sakti), Pancha boota throam (the concept of five basic
constructs such as Sky, Air, Fire, Water, Earth), and the division of
zodiac. Therefore the first rule of significance derivation is, (Rule -1)
the significance of planets should be derived based on the founda-
tion stones of astrology such as Brahma vidya (search of the ulti-
mate), Duality (Siva-Sakti), Pancha boota throam (the concept of
five basic constructs such as Sky, Air, Fire, Water, Earth), and the
division of zodiac
Sun is the ruler of Leo sign
In the process of zodiac division, the rulership of Leo sign is as-
signed to sun. Therefore everything Leo can signify is signified by sun
as well. (How Leo got all these significance is another question, which
wont be discussed here). Leo (and thus sun) signifies Lion, Forest,
hills and mountains, energy, dangers and survival, courage, forest dwelling
cruel animals (especially with sharp claws, horns etc), forest dwelling
barbarous and cruel people, uncivilized people, uncooked meat, weap-
ons of forest dwellers (such as bows and arrows, swards and daggers,
spears etc), difficult to cross hurdles (forts, pits, mountains), challenges,
powerful opposition, hunger, thirst, dry lips, stomach (Leo is the stom-
ach of kalapurusha), medicinal plants, plants with acidic or burning ef-
fect, acids, poison, chemicals with strong sharp effects etc
Sun signifies stomach, because Leo is the stomach of kala purush
(starting from Aries). If Aries is considered as Lagna (Kalapurusha
Horoscope), 5th house is Leo and it represents children. Thus Leo (and
thus Sun) signifies the children. This is why sun is also like Jupiter the
significator of children as well. Since sun signifies male this specially
signifies male child. In Kalapurusha horoscope 5th house (Leo) signi-
fies vedic and non-vedic hymns. Thus sun signifies vedic and non-vedic
hymns that are used for fire worship (homa). Fifth house of Kalapurusha
horoscope (Leo) signifies memory, intelligence, intuition and will power.
Thus sun is the significator of memory, intelligence, intuition and will
power as well. Leo (Lion) is undraped and thus sun signifies quadru-
peds (4 legged animals) and four wheelers (like car etc). This is how
sun becomes the significator of vehicles (like Venus). Thus in sun sig-
nifies stomach, children, vedic and non-vedic hymns used for fire wor-
ship, quadrupeds, vehicles etc thus extending our list of significance.
These are some of the significance of sun that are not well known.
Leo has many names. Skanda hora gives the synonyms of Leo sign
as MxpS meaning, Lion, Deer (A kind of big deer), King of
animals are the other names of Leo sign. Here the statement, Leo sign
signifies a kind of very big deer is important. Brihat prajapatya clari-
fies the meaning of the word with the words +l M]{
meaning here leya means a kind of very big deer. This is how Sun
(Lord of Leo) becomes the significator of deer and any other sharp
horned animals. Essentially Leo being a quadruped sign this also indi-
cates that sun and Leo can signify almost any four legged wild animals.
In all the above derivations you could clearly see that the rulership of
Leo sign cater to the significance assigned to Sun in many ways. it.
This is another line of logical derivation for significance of Sun.
Actually there is a give an take between the ruler of any sign and
the sign itself. For example when the significance of Leo sign is consid-
ered, all the significance of Sun will be assigned to Leo as well (sun
being the ruler of Leo sign). In the same way, when significance of sun
is considered, all the significance assigned to Leo sign will be assigned
to sun as well (Leo imparts its characteristics to its ruler, i.e. Sun).
Thus the second rule of significance derivation is, Therefore the first
rule of significance derivation is, (Rule -2) the significance of planets
should be derived based on the signs for which rulership is as-
signed to it.
Astrology being a straight and simple subject there no third rule for
significance derivation. There remains some more things to be clarified
about the various significance of sun (all of them also falls under the
first rule), which I am dealing with in the next section.

Sun as symbol of the ultimate
It is said that n{ & meaning Sun is the symbol of the direction of East, indicates Grishma ritu (June and July), orange color.
ultimate symbolically represented as sound, i.e. Ohm (Pranava). Thus
sun is the significator of sound as well (like Jupiter). It is because of
this special importance of sun as the significator of sound, Mihira started
Brihajjatakam with the praise of sun and prayed S x&
nvi meaning bless us with words. This unique significance of
sun is also not well known.
Sun is the significator of soul, and thus can signify pure conscious-
ness as well (both being the same). Sun signifies the ultimate agnostic
reality that is without any name or form. Thus any concept of the ulti-
mate represented by various names such as Allah, Yehova etc present
in various religion can be signified by Sun.
Sun and Moon represents life and breath. The ecliptic is composed
of 12 x 30 x 60 = 21600 minutes. Similarly a day of a human being is
composed of 21600 breaths as per yogic and tantric systems. The time
span of a single breath of a healthy individual would be, (24 x 60 x 60)
/ 21600 = 4 seconds. As per ancient indian astrology the human body
and the zodiac (the solar system) is in rhythm, and there is the subtle
thread of biological clock governing both. Everything is a pulsating en-
tity. This is life, this is the law, and this is the destiny. Thus breath
pattern plays an important role in the rhythm of our human biological
clock and in shaping our destiny. Anyone who brought the breath pat-
tern under control is unaffected by astrology and for such an enlight-
ened individual astrology is of no use. Sun and Moon signifies the eclip-
tic and the rhythm of the solar system, signifies siva and sakti the duals,
and thus become the appropriate candidate to become the significator
for breath pattern. That is why the breath through the right nostril is
termed Surya nadi and the breath through the left nostril is termed
Chandra nadi by the ancient sages. That is, sun signifies the breath
through the right nostril, and Moon signifies the breath through the left
nostril.
Extend the list
There are several other significance of sun that needs to be men-
12
tioned and is derived either using the first rule or second. Sun rules the
Sun signifies master, administrative head, government, right eye, spleen,
throat, brain, sharp fevers, sun-stroke, head diseases, magnanimity,
ambition and over ambition, bossing over others, optimism, respect for
elders, ego, pompous and proud, anger (angry nature), independent busi-
ness financed by father, Business over taken from father, teeth ache or
teeth related trouble, foreign exchange and currency, pepper, saffron,
government loans, gold bonds, reserve bank, stock exchange, dry wood,
thorny trees and many more.
By now we have a good understanding of the varied and vast items
sun can signify. Let us proceed to classify the same in an easy to refer
manner.
Classification of Significance of Sun
Remember that no classification would be perfect, and also that all
classifications are wrong. At length, how much things we can classify?
If want to classify every thing in the world, what groups or classes you
can make? Will it be perfect? No! It is impossible! The universe is not
a fragmented thing, it is a unified reality. Astrology is a holistic subject,
and so actually it tries to prepare the mind to go beyond all classifica-
tions, even though initially uses classifications. Preparing the mind to
receive the feel of truth that is beyond classification is the whole pur-
pose of using classifications in beginning. Initially classifications help a
lot in avoiding the mishap of missing the path and system of approach
and method of derivation. Remember that listing significance was not
at all supported by or used by sages. But in this modern era this be-
comes essential, to approach the subject systematically; to be in line
with our modern study method. Thus this effort.
Quolities
Proud, anger, ego, possessiveness, kindness, cruelty, memory, intelli-
gence, intuition, spiritual well being, power and position, courage, ve-
lour, adventure, radiance, energy, accuracy, precision, sharpness, heat,
authority, rulership, power, leadership, spirituality, challenges, powerful
opposition, hunger, thirst, Sound, heat, sweating, wise words, spiritual-
 13
ity, magnanimity, ambition and over ambition, bossing over others, opti-
mism, respect for elders, pompousness.
Individuals
Father, Fathers brother, Teachers, Gurus, Paternal or Maternal
Uncles, Forefathers, Kings, Government, people in power, Administra-
tive authorities, male, protector (thus in womens horoscope signifying
husband), forest dwelling barbarous and cruel people, uncivilized people,
children, son, captain or the leader, politician.
Body parts
Head, Eyes, brain, Stomach, dry lips, right eye, spleen, throat, teeth,
claws, nails, born, skin (usually of wild animals).
Diseases
Diseases related to any other above said body parts, Cataracts, Night
blindness, Blindness, Bulging eyes, Jaundice, Fever, sharp fevers, sun-
stroke, head diseases, teeth ache or teeth related trouble.
Profession
Government service, master, administrative head, government, in-
dependent business financed by father, Business over taken from fa-
ther.
Games
Sward fighting, Shooting, Fights that use sharp muscle power com-
bined with techniques (karate, kungfu etc), marathon, challenging races
(car race etc).
Environment
Forests, Mountains, Desert, Dry grassy land, Play ground, Stadium,
travel through forests hills and mountains, fire worship, temple, survival
of the fittest, life in nature, dangers and survival, difficult to cross hurdles,
forts, pits, star, sun, solar system, universe, absence of water, ancient
desert cultures.
Trees and Plants
Thorny trees, medicinal plants, plants with acidic or burning effect,
Burned or destroyed wood, big trees struck by lightning.
Animals
Lion, Deer, Forest animals with claws and horns, Leopard.
Things
Gold, Copper, Fire, Poison, Woolen cloth, Thrown (Kingly furniture),
uncooked meat, Fire wood, wealth, light, things related to god Siva,
radiation, Electro-magnetic waves, heat rays, bright white light, Yellow
color, orange color, red color, manmade divisions of time, rhythm (of
movement, music, sound, dance etc), movement, weapons of forest
dwellers, bows and arrows, swards, daggers, spear, acids, poison, chemi-
cals with strong sharp effects, vehicles, four wheelers, foreign exchange
and currency, pepper, saffron, government loans, gold bonds, reserve
bank, stock exchange, dry wood, proteins, vitamins.
Time
Eternal time, divisions of time, hour, Rithu (seasons), months, sign (2
hours), Ayana (6 months), astrology (study of time and destiny), bio-
logical clock, circadian rhythm
Subjects
Astronomy, astronomical mathematics, geometry, politics, journal-
ism, metallurgy, processing of fire power (weapon creation, fire works,
explosives), study of aeronautics (air-planes, fighter planes, rockets etc).
Devine
Siva, Maha Kala, Sadasiva, Kala purusha, Purusha, Ohm (Pranava),
Eternal Time, creation, law, law giver, agnostism, Supreme god, divinity,
the ultimate reality, the essential (crux), core, vedic and non-vedic hymns,
homa (fire worship), Allah, Jehovah.
Others
Breath through right nostile.
 14

This is not at all a complete list of the possible items sun can signify.
Go on improving and extending this classification so that our under-
standing improves and thus the classifications will become more use-
ful.
Does all this give an idea about the vastness of items and qualities
Sun can signify? May be yes, or may be not. But use them at least to
cover the fundamentals. If it helps at least one individual my effort is
not in vein.
- End-