SAVol8June2010Indian.. - Saptarishis Astrology

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the scriptures of Dharma, Samkhya, Paatanjala 1 , Vedanta, Literature, Cookery, Medicine,
Agriculture, Saamudra 2 and Shaakuna 3 have been studied by me. O the King of the Earth! O
Highly Fortunate one! I do not know Jyotisha.
O Gauri! Hearing these words of the vipra the king became angry with him and spoke the
following words to the Janaka who was subsiding on the (money earned from the) people. 4
The King said: O Vipra! Shame on your birth! Shame on your knowledge! Shame on your
race! You do not know Jyotisha which is a part of the Vedas, which helps in performance of
religious duties as prescribed by the Vedas. The vipras who do not know Jyotisha do not
attain to heaven. Those vipras go to hell just like the arrows shot from hand 5 . Who know
even half a shloka or one fourth of a shloka of Jyotisha, those vipras attain to the immutable
Purusha, they do not take birth again in the world. This Jyotisha is the indicator of the vratas
(religious observances). It is the direct cause of dharma. Jyotisha is the indicator of
Samkranti 6 , of Parva and of auspicious and inauspicious time. It is the path treaded by the
ones who attain liberation. Jyotisha is the means for dharma. All gods including Brahma and
Rudra take recourse to Jyotisha. Those who revile Jyotisha suffer torments in the hell named
1 Yoga.
2 Predicting based on the physical characteristics of the body.
3 Study of omens.
4 Chandrashekhars Comment: I think janakaM lokaMbrihataM means the king spoke to Sujanma.
5 In the descriptions of battle scenes in Sanskrit texts it is often mentioned that the arrows pierced the
body of the opponent and entered into the earth or patala. That is what is being alluded to here.
6 When Sun enters into a new sign it is called a Samkranti.