Professional Documents
Culture Documents
in
Vedic Astrology
&
Modern Astronomy
By
AJ’ay Walgude
Since churning the ocean was a very big job, the Devatas sought the help of the
Asuras. The king of the serpents Vasuki was to become the rope, while a hill named
Mandrachal offered to become the pivot. Lord Vishnu, in the form of a tortoise,
became the base and the churning process began. The Devatas held the tail of
Vasuki and the Asuras held the head. Various things came out, during this churning
of the ocean. There was a pot of Vish (
, the poison) which created havoc in all
the three worlds. Lord Shiva drank the poison to save the world, but he did not let
the poison go beyond his neck which became blue in color. That is why Lord Shiva is
also called 'NeelKant' ("one with a blue neck").
Ketu:
Ketu, a headless entity (not a planet or a
celestial entity), is as shadowy as Rahu
though not as bad as Rahu. It is considered
as the one who helps the cause of
liberation from cycle of life (i.e. Birth and
death) hence called as Moksha-Karka. It
characterizes spiritual knowledge,
knowledge of self, non-attachments to the
worldly desires. It provides psychic abilities
and makes the person master of healing
arts.
While this is true, as it is said it can be
more destructive if not placed at right
places in native’s horoscope. It's neither
feminine nor masculine, wind-dominated,
(Photo courtesy: http://www.sanatansociety.com)
aged, powerful at night, animalistic,
k tñ:Øb:i j : m:n*: :! + ö+ i ö+ :ò
ös:hÐk tñ:v:ðn:m:H . . obsessive, compulsive and unconscious in
behavior.
Puranic Mantra:
p:l :aS:p:Ø
\ p:s:ö
k aS:öt :ar k ag:Ò
h m:st :k m:Î . Some of the properties associated with
r :ò
dÓör :ò
dÓat m:k öG::ð
r öt :ök tñ:Ø
ö) N:m:amy:hm:Î . .
Ketu are,
Favorite Color: Smoke colored; Favorite
I pray to Ketu, who has the appearance of
Palaasha flower, the head of stars and
day: Saturday; Favorite gemstone: Cat’s
planets, fierce and terrifying eye; Favorite deity: Lord Bhairav
Rahu
In Hindu mythology, Rahu is a snake that swallows the sun or the moon causing
eclipses. He is depicted in art as a dragon with no body riding a chariot drawn by
eight black horses. This immortal head as described above occasionally swallows the
sun or the moon, causing eclipses. Then, the sun or moon passes through the
opening at the neck, ending the eclipse.
It is considered as Shudra Graha, which
rules illiteracy and uncultured people. . It
is considered as a bad planet which
signifies thieves, witches, magicians, jails
etc. People dealing in occult especially
black magic or tantric studies are deeply
influenced by this plant. Though it is
considered at the inauspicious plant but if
places at the right positions is said to
grant success, unexpected gains and
enhances one's powers. Since it is a
shudra graha it craves for pleasures and is
never satisfied with the gains.
When scholars studied this phenomenon in detail there are no reference found in any
of the classical texts like Brihat Parashar Hora Shastra, Brihat Jatak, and Saravali
etc. While the debate continues about whether its real or no it simply forms a
interesting astronomical combination which we will touch up in the later part of the
paper.
So far what we have really learnt is Rahu and Ketu are two invisible entities in Indian
Astrology. They are enemies of the Sun and the Moon, who at certain times of the
year (during conjunction or opposition) swallow the Sun or the Moon causing either a
solar or a lunar eclipse. In Sanskrit this is known as grahanam or seizing.
The story in the introduction might sound childish but believe me it is a very
powerful metaphor for what actually happens when an eclipse takes place. To
understand this metaphor it’s worth travelling back to school days to understand
when eclipse (Lunar or solar) happens.
These two points are exactly opposite to each other. And the line joining them is
called as lunar node axis. The lunar nodes are represented by a horseshoe symbol.
The horseshoe is open on the bottom for the north node and open on the top for the
south node.
Now let’s go back to the astrology where we discussed Rahu and Ketu, their
description and properties and the very function i.e. occasionally swallows the sun or
the moon, causing eclipses.
Based on the above astronomical explanation about nodes, it’s a no brainer to map
these nodes to Rahu and Ketu. Since these nodes are positions of mathematical
calculations, therefore, they are referred as invisible or shadow planets. From an
astrological perspective as well this is taken care of by mentioning that since these
are not planets, they only modify the influences of the other planets.
Conclusion
• The ancient Hindu observers of the sky were aware of the cause of the solar
and lunar eclipses and so described the process in the language of metaphor.
• There is no evidence of Kalsarpa yoga in any known ancient documents of
Indian/Hindu Astrological reference books. According to the known the
astrologer K. N. Rao, it should be treated as one of the biggest frauds in
astrology
• Talking about the Kalsarpa yoga, i.e. all planets between the lunar node axis
is a great celestial event and needed to be further studied
References:
http://www.pantheon.org/areas/folklore/folktales/articles/rahu.html
http://www.sanskrit.org/www/Astronomy/Rahu.html
http://www.planetarypositions.com
http://www.trambakeshwar.com/kalsarpa.htm
http://www.indianetzone.com/2/ketu.htm
http://www.indianetzone.com/2/Rahu.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_node
http://www.gcse.com