Week 1 · Unit 3 · The Chart's Language
Milestone 2 of 3: Meeting the nine
Who Each Graha Is
Identity, rank, and the reason a planet's metal and its taste and its deity all belong in the same list.
Assumes you have done: Units 1 and 2 — the premise, and the nine grahas with their natural nature
Why this matters
This is the part of Chapter 3 that beginners find most tempting to memorise and least useful when memorised. Thirty-odd verses assign each graha a complexion, a deity, a caste, a taste, a season, a tree, a metal, a place. If you treat that as a table to learn, you will learn a table and gain nothing. If you see what is actually going on — and it is one idea, applied thirty times — the whole block becomes obvious, and you stop needing to look most of it up.
Learn
Parashara has told you what the grahas are and how they divide into benefic and malefic. Now he tells you who they are, and he does it in a way that looks like an inventory and is not one.
The two verses that carry the block
Read verses 12 and 13 before anything else, because everything after them is commentary on them.
The Sun is the soul. The Moon is the mind. Mars is strength. Mercury gives speech. Jupiter confers knowledge and happiness. Venus governs potency. Saturn indicates grief.
That is it. Seven words for seven planets, and if you retained nothing else from this unit you would still be in a reasonable position. Every extended signification list you will ever encounter — Sun as father, as authority, as government, as vitality, as the right eye — is an unpacking of soul. Mars as sibling, as soldier, as surgeon, as accident, as land dispute, unpacks strength.
The court
Verses 14 and 15 arrange the nine as a royal court. Sun and Moon are the royalty. Mars commands the army. Mercury is the heir apparent. Jupiter and Venus are the ministers — the two advisers, one sacred and one worldly. Saturn is the servant. Rahu and Ketu are the troops.
This is genuinely useful, and it is useful in a specific way that is easy to overstate. It tells you the kind of thing each graha does. A minister advises; a servant labours; a commander enforces; a messenger carries. When you later ask what a particular planet is contributing to a situation, that role is often the fastest route to a sensible answer.
What it does not tell you is who is winning. A rank is not a strength. We will come back to that in a moment, because it is the single most common way this chapter gets misused.
The long middle, and the one idea inside it
From verse 23 onward, Parashara does something that can feel like padding. Each planet gets a physical description. Then the bodily ingredients are divided up — bone to the Sun, blood to Mars, marrow to Mercury, and so on. Then places. Then periods of time. Then tastes. Then directions. Then trees. Then clothes and metals. Then seasons. Then a division of the world into mineral, vegetable and animal.
Roughly twenty-five verses of what looks like an almanac.
Here is the thing to see. Take Mars and lay its entries side by side. Bitter, among tastes. Fire, among elements. Summer, among seasons. Blood, among tissues. Kṣatriya, among the social orders. Bitter, hot, sharp, defensive, red — these are not five facts about Mars. They are one fact about Mars, said in the five languages that a taste, a season, a tissue, a caste and an element each speak.
Do the same for Jupiter. Large-bodied, phlegmatic, learned. Sweet, among tastes. Ether, among elements. Brāhmaṇa, among the orders. Fat, among the tissues. Gold. Expansive, sweet, spacious, priestly, weighty. One quality again, in five registers.
Once you have seen it twice you cannot unsee it, and the correspondence tables stop being something to learn. They become something to check yourself against. You guess, then you look, and where you were wrong you have learned something real rather than memorised something arbitrary.
Three systems, not one
You have now met three separate ways of sorting the nine grahas, and they do not agree with each other.
Verse 11 sorted them by benefic and malefic. Verses 14–15 sorted them by court rank. Verse 22 sorts them by guṇa: Sun, Moon and Jupiter as Sāttvika, Venus and Mercury as Rājasika, Mars and Saturn as Tāmasika.
Mercury is a benefic and Rājasika. The Sun is a malefic and Sāttvika. Saturn is a malefic, a servant, and Tāmasika — three systems agreeing, which is a coincidence and not a rule.
This matters more than it looks. A great deal of confused Jyotish comes from sliding between these systems: treating a Sāttvika planet as therefore benefic, or a high-ranking planet as therefore strong, or a malefic as therefore Tāmasika. They are three different questions with three different answers. Keep them in separate hands and the chapter is consistent. Merge them and it appears to contradict itself, which is usually the reader’s doing rather than the text’s.
What you are not being asked to do
You are not being asked to memorise this block. If you finish this unit able to say what the seven core significations are, and able to explain why a planet’s metal and its season belong in the same paragraph, you have taken what the unit is for.
The correspondence entries themselves are lookup material. You will meet a handful of them again in practice — the elements, the directions, the seasons come up in later strength calculations, and the bodily ingredients matter when BPHS discusses disease in Week 12. The rest you will consult perhaps twice in a lifetime, and you will consult it, not recall it, and that is the correct relationship to have with it.
Next comes the part of Chapter 3 you will use every single day.
Read BPHS
This is the source itself. The teaching above prepares you for it; it does not replace it.
सर्वात्मा च दिवानाथो मनः कुमुदवान्धवः ।
सत्त्वं कुजो बुधैः प्रोक्तो बुधो वाणीप्रदायकः ॥ १२ ॥
देवेज्यो ज्ञानसुखदो भृगुर्वीर्यप्रदायकः ।
ऋषिभिः प्राक्तनैः प्रोक्तश्छायासूनुश्च दुःखदः ॥ १३ ॥
12-13. The Sun is the soul of all. The Moon is the mind. Mars is one's strength. Mercury is the speech giver while Jupiter confers knowledge and happiness. Venus governs semen (potency) while Saturn indicates grief.
चक्राणास: परीपहं पृथिव्यां हिरण्येन-मणिना शुंभमानाः । न हिन्वाना सस्ति तिरुस्त इन्द्र परिस्पर्शो अदधात् सूर्येण" सूर्येण by the sun हिरण्येन मणिना शुम्भमाना acting as a great gem of immense lustre, and moving in circular path हिन्वानास: creating all sorts of comforts पृथिव्यां परिस्पर्श अदधात् has kept the earth in its position from all sides नति तिरुः इन्द्र and does not transgress its laws (of motion etc.) This refers, of course to the pull of gravity, of the Sun that keeps the earth in its position. This is however, an astronomical statement unlocked through the key of symbology. It means that the Sun acts as the soul, the pivot and the support of all that exists. If the Sun is strong in a horoscope one will have a matured soul and will make abundant spiritual progress.
*The Moon* : As per **Jataka Parijata** Chapter 2 Sloka 1, the Moon represents 'Chitta'h'The moon is mind. Moon or mind when strong in horoscope gives life and strength as Moon acts as an ascendant and the strength of the Ascendant ensures life and strength. Besides this, “न चक्षुषा गृहीयते नापि वाचा नान्यैर्देवै तपसा कर्मणा वा ज्ञान प्रसादेन विशुद्धसत्वः ततस्तु तं पश्येत् निष्कल ध्यायमानः (**Mundak** 3-1-8) i.e. the Supreme cannot be seen with the eyes, nor can be expressed adequately in words. Nor can he be the object of experience by any of the human senses. Nor even can he be realised by austerities or action. It is only through a pure mind that the knowledge of the Self can be had by man. This means that a pure mind can reflect his glory. Such is the capacity of a pure Moon or mind. Most of the Yogas or Planetary combinations in astrology derive their value and validity through the strength of the Moon. For example, please refer to **Chandradhi Yoga** and **Gaja Keshri Yoga** etc.
Mars: Mars is strength in every field in the body, it is muscular strength. In politics it is the strength of the armed forces. In Psychology it is the strength of the intellect. That is why Mars is called 'Neta'— the General, the Military man.
Mercury: This planet is the significator of speech. What proper, witty answer is to be given to something in proper time, this is the factor of Mercury. In a horoscope if as the Lord of the Second House Mercury is strong and is aspected by a benefic, and at the same time Jupiter is also strong, then the speech, eloquence of the native impresses the intellectuals.
Jupiter: Jupiter is the permanent significator of happiness. If he is the Lord of the 4th House or aspects the Lord of the 4th House and is strong, the native leads a happy life. Jupiter is significator also of such knowledge and learning which has all comprehensiveness and wide expanse. It the Lord of the Ninth House is strong and is aspected by Jupiter or Jupiter himself as Lord of the Ninth House is strong then the native has all comprehensive knowledge.
Venus: Of all the planets Venus is the most refined one. She is the significator of semen. Semen is the most refined substance in our body. Whatever we eat and whatever is formed by it, semen is the finest of it, and Venus is the permanent significator of semen. Therefore, if the Seventh House and Venus are strong semen is strengthened. On the other hand, the reverse of it causes the weakness of semen and the native loses the ability to reproduce.
Saturn: Saturn, if he is the Lord of evil houses or is in his fall, influences the Fourth House, either by its aspect or conjunction, the native is subject to much sorrow, grief and misery in his life. The exalted Saturn is conducive to philosophical thinking and longevity.
रविचन्द्रौ तु राजानौ नेता ज्ञेयो धरात्मजः ।
बुधो राजकुमारश्च सचिवाँ गुरुभार्गवौ ॥ १४ ॥
प्रेष्यको रविपुत्रश्च सेना स्वर्भानुपुच्छकौ ।
एवं क्रमेण वै विप्र ! सूर्यादीन् प्रविचिन्तयेत् ॥ १५ ॥
14-15 Planetary Cabinet: The Sun and the Moon are of royal status and Mars is the army chief; Mercury is the prince apparent and Jupiter and Venus are the ministerial planets. Saturn is servant and Rahu and Ketu form the planetary army. O Vipra, the planets Sun etc. are to be considered in this order.
रक्तश्यामो दिवाधीशो गौरगात्रो निशाकरः ।
नात्युच्चाङ्गः कुजो रक्तो दुर्वाश्यामो बुधस्तथा ॥ १६ ॥
गौरगात्रो गुरुर्ज्ञेयः शुक्रः श्यावस्तथैव च ।
कृष्णदेहो रवे: पुत्रो ज्ञायते द्विजसत्तम ! ॥ १७ ॥
16-17 Planetary Complexions: The Sun, the Lord of the day, is blood-red, the Moon is tawny. Mars whose stature is not high is blood-red while Mercury's complexion is akin to that of grass. O Brahmin shreshtha, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn should be known as tawny, variegated and dark.
वयम्बुशिखिजा विष्णुविडौजः शचिका द्विज ! |
सूर्यादीनां खगानां च देवा ज्ञेया: क्रमेण च ।। १८ ।।
- Planetary Deities: Fire (Agni), Water (Varuna). Kartikeya (Lord Shiva's son following Ganesh), Vishnu, Indra, Shachi (Indrani, Lord Indra's Consort) and Brahma are the presiding deities of the seven planets respectively.
क्लीवौ द्वौ सौम्यसौरी च युवतीन्दुभृगू द्विज ! |
नराः शेषाश्च विज्ञेया भानुर्भौमो गुरुस्तथा ॥ १९ ॥
- Sex of the Planets: O Brahmin, Mercury and Saturn, these two are neuters; the Moon and Venus are females and the remaining three Sun, Mars and Jupiter are males.
अग्निभूमिनभस्तोयवायवः क्रमतो द्विज ! I
भौमादीनां ग्रहाणां च तत्त्वानीति यथाक्रमम् ॥ २० ॥
- Primordial compounds: The five elements (the Panchbhootas), Fire, Earth, Sky (Ether) Water and Air, O Brahmin, are respectively governed by Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.
गुरुशुक्रौ विप्रवणौ कुजार्कौ क्षत्रियौ द्विज ! ।
शशिसोम्यौ वैश्यवर्णौ शनि: शूद्रो द्विजोत्तम ! ॥ २१ ॥
- Planetary Castes : The Varna or Caste of Jupiter and Venus is Brahmin, and O Brahmin Sun and Mars are Kshtriyas or royal planets, while the Moon and Mercury belong to Commercial Community and Saturn belongs to the Shudra Varna.
*Bahmin*; Brahmin means Brahma knowing person that is a person who possesses knowledge and thinking of higher degree about the creator of the Universe, Brahma, and; who has acquired the state of fully enlightened one. There is the word 'विप्र 'Vipra' for a Brahmin in Sanskrit which means 'a pure one'. A Vipra is one who has devoted and entrusted his life to the Almighty. Brahmin loves knowledge, studying and teaching are his actions. Therefore, the original sources of knowledge is Brahmin. Outside India, where there are no castes, Jupiter and Venus represent those persons who are priests, intellectuals in true sense, who are engaged in inventing new things for the benefit of humanity and who lead a pure life. These qualities arise in a person when in his horoscope Venus and Jupiter are in their exaltation. Brahmin is endowed with Sattvika qualities.
*Kshatriya* (क्षत्रिय), the Royal Caste: षत्रिय (Kshtriya) means one who defends, that is those persons who are soldiers and whose function is the internal and external defence of their country and who are capable of punishing the wrong doers. All such persons will be called kshatriya, in Astrology, they are represented by Mars and Sun. In Kshatriya there is the predominance of the Rajsika quality.
*Vaishya*, the commercial community. The Vaishyas are those whose main function is to excute trade and agriculture. A verse in Sanskrit says, "विशुत्याशु पशुभ्यश्च कृष्यादावरुचिः शुचि, वेदाध्ययन सम्पन्नः स वैश्य ईति संज्ञित:" that is, the person who has interest in trade, rearing cattle and doing argicultural work, who is pure and is well read in the Vedas etc. is named as a Vaishya. Thus, all other persons that are engaged in the work of feeding the world are called Vaishyas. The Moon and Mercury are Vaishya by varna or caste and govern Vaishyas or the people of the commercial class.
शूद्र Shudres the Serving Community. Whoever has the instinct or sense of serving others in an eminent degree and who is content in serving others, is shudra. Besides service-loving persons, the flattering and the persons engaged in low level activities also belong to this caste. The representative of such persons is Saturn.
In books on Mundane Astrology it has been pointed out that when a particular planet is debilitated specially and is oppressed, it brings calamity to the persons of that community whose representative he is. The planets have influence on the horoscope also in the same manner. Thus when in a horoscope Jupiter and Venus are strong and the Ascendant is also influenced by them, the native gets in him the rising or boosting of qualities associated with Brahmins. The same rule is to be applied with regard to other Varnas or castes.
जीवसूर्यन्दवः सत्त्वं बुध-शुक्रौ रजस्तथा ।
सूर्यपुत्र-धरापुत्रौ तमः-प्राकृतिकौ द्विज ! ॥ २२ ॥
- O Brahmin, the luminaries, (the Sun and the Moon) and Jupiter are Sattwika Planets, Venus and Mercury are Rajsikas; while Mars and Saturn are Tamsika ones.
*Rajsika*: Persons endowed with or having the predominance of Rajo guna are called Rajsika. This tendency is the offspring of desires, longings and attachment with the worldly things. The predominance of this tendency increases the desire of bhogas (or Consumption) and man's efforts are directed towards the attainment of these things. When a Rajoguni gives alms he has also a desire that its effects (फल) should come to him manifolded (in increased amount). Avarice and appetite for worldly things are born of Rajoguna. When in a person's body, having suppressed the qualities of Sattwa and Tamoguna, Rajo guna performs its function in the body, mind, soul and senses of the person concerned, have the longing or keen desire of enjoying worldly things and sexual intercourse and are inclined towards doing varied things and there is in them frivolousness, absence of peace and avarice etc. The desire of wealth and riches is avarice due to which a person is always engaged in or occupied with, thinking and planning of the ways of increasing his wealth. When engaged in earning wealth he gives up the sense of the righteous and the wicked, the moral and the immoral and has the desire of having possession even over the things of others. He feels the need of various kinds of Bhogas and there is the rise in his mind of the feelings of performing various kinds of deeds. His mind becomes unstable and frivolous and then there is the beginning of actions in conformity with these feelings.
*Tamsika* : Persons having the predominance of Tamoguna are called Tamsika. Causing absence of consciousness in the soul and senses and the breeding of attachment in them is the main function of Tamoguna. Tamoguna increases darkness of the intellect which in its turn increases Tamoguna. Tamoguni (man with Tamoguna) suffers the deterioration of the ability to distinguish between what should be done and what should not be done. There is an increase of sleep, indolence lack of light (of the intellect) and Apravriti (अप्रवृत्ति) (lack of the desire of doing the righteous deed, nay, the lack of the desire of beginning it, is called Apravriti). When a person begins to neglect his duty, his mind gets enamoured of things, he does not have the memory of the things, he begins to remain indolent, he has the absence of the power of judging things and, he lacks the power of understanding a thing, then it is to be understood that there is an increase in him of the Tamoguna.
If, in a horoscope, the luminaries, (the Sun and Moon) and Jupiter are strong, the native has the beginning of Sattwika gunas in ample measure. In the Dasas or periods of these planets there is special increase of the Sattwika tendencies. The Rajsika tendencies are increased by the strength of Mercury and Venus and the tendencies that are Tamsika is the function of Mars and Saturn. In the respective Dasas or periods of Rajsika or Tamsika planets the native gets the enhancement of Rajsika and Tamsika gunas respectively.
Description of the Planets :
Show the full passage — 18 verses, 1 diagram
मधुपिङ्गलदक्सूर्यश्चतुरस्त्रः शुचिर्द्विज ! ।
पित्तप्रकृतिको धीमान् पुमानल्पकचो द्विज ! ॥ २३ ॥
- Description of the Sun The Sun has honey coloured eyes, square body, he is of clean habits, is bilious, intelligent, manly and has limited hair on his head.
बहुवातकफ: प्राज्ञश्चन्द्रो वृत्ततनुर्द्विज !|
शुभदङ्मधुवाक्यश्च चञ्चलो मदनातुरः ॥ २४ ॥
- Description of the Moon : O Brahmin, the Moon is very windy and phlegmatic. She has round body and is learned. She has auspicious looks and sweet speech, is fickleminded and very lustful.
करो रक्तेक्षणो भौमश्चपलोदारमूर्तिकः ।
पित्तप्रकृतिक: क्रोधी कृशमध्यतनुर्द्विज ! ॥ २५ ॥
- Description of Mars: O Brahmin, Mars is Cruel, has bloodred eyes, is fickleminded, liberal hearted, bilious and has thin waist and thin physique.
वपुः श्रेष्ठः श्लिष्टवाक् च ह्यतिहास्यरुचिर्बुधः ।
पित्तवान् कफवान् विप्र ! मारुतप्रकृतिस्तथा ॥ २६ ॥
- Description of Mercury : O Vipra, Mercury possesses an attractive physique and the ability to make pun or to speak words having double meaning, sense of humour. He has a blend of all three humours of Bile, Phlegm and wind (vaat).
बृहद्गात्रो गुरुश्चैव पिङ्गलो मूर्द्धजेक्षणैः ।
कफप्रकृतिको धीमान् सर्वशास्त्रविशारदः ॥ २७ ॥
- Description of Jupiter : Jupiter is large bodied, has honey coloured eyes, and hair, is phlegmatic intelligent and learned in all Shastras (classics).
सुखी कान्तवपुः श्रेष्ठः सुलोचनो भृगो सुतः ।
काव्यकर्ता कफाधिक्योऽनिलात्मा वक्रमूर्धजः ॥ २८ ॥
- Description of Venus : O Bhrigusut (the son of Bhrigu) ! Venus is joyful, charming in physique, has beautiful brilliant eyes, is a poet, is phlegmatic and windy and has curly hair.
कृशदीर्घतनुः शौरिः पिङ्गदृश्यनिलात्मकः ।
स्थूलदन्तोऽलस: पंगु खररोमकचो द्विज ॥ २९ ॥
- Description of Saturn : O Brahmin, Saturn has an emaciated and long physique, honey coloured eyes, is windy in temperament, has big teeth, is indolent, lame and has coarse, rough hair.
धूम्राकारो नीलतनुर्वनस्थोऽपि भयंकरः ।
वातप्रकृतिको धीमान् स्वर्भानुस्तत्समः शिखी ॥ ३० ॥
- Description of Rahu and Ketu: Rahu has smoke like blue body, lives in forests and is horrible. He is windy in temperament and is intelligent. Like Rahu is Ketu.
अस्थि रक्तस्तथा मज्जा त्वग् वसा च ।
स्नायुरेषामधीशाश्च क्रमात् सूर्यादयो वीर्यमेव द्विज ! ॥ ३१ ॥
- Primary Ingredients: Bones, blood, marrow, skin, fat, semen and muscles are the primary ingredients, O Brahmin, and the lords of these are respectively the Sun and the other planets.
देवालयजलं वन्हिक्रीडादीनां तथैव च ।
कोशशय्योत्कराणां तु नाथा: सूर्यादयः क्रमात् ।। ३२ ।।
- Planetary Abodes: Temple, watery place, place of fire, sport ground, treasure house, bed room and spot for filth - the lords of these are respectively the seven planets from the Sun onward.
अयनक्षणवारर्तुमासपक्षसमा द्विज ! |
सूर्यादीनां क्रमाज्ज्ञेया निर्विशक द्विजोत्तम ! ॥ ३३ ॥
33.Planetary Periods : Ayana, Muhurtha, a day (day and night) Ritu, month, fortnight and year-O excellent Brahmin, these are the periods allotted to the planets respectively from the Sun onward to Saturn.
2. When the Sun remains in six signs beginning from the sign Cancer this is called Dakshinayana. It is called Yamyayana यांयायन also.
Saumayayana is the day of the Gods and Yamyayana is that of the Asuras. All auspicious actions are to be done during Saumayayana. In the period of Saumayayana the Sun has bright and pure rays and is auspicious. During the period of Yamyayana he becomes weak due the Sun's defective rays. In this period the movement of the Sun is towards the South. The Lord of Ayana is the Sun.
Muhurtha One Muhurtha is of 2 gharis or 48 Minutes (1Ghari = 24 Minutes) some writers, out of illusion, have divided day duration into 15 parts and one part is regarded as Muhurtha. This has become a blind tradition and it is a very fatal tendency. This has been done by the religious essayists because, due to their ignorance of the mathematics of Time, they have made 15 divisions of the day duration and and have made Kutuya and Rantiya etc Muhurthas. This is clearly unreasonable, because on our Earth, day duration goes on getting lesser or greater. What arrangement will these essayists make at such places. Therefore, the muhurtha must be regarded as a period of 2 gharis. The Lord of Muhurtha is the Moon,
Ahoratra (Day and Night). Duration of a day and a night is termed as Ahoratra i.e. 24 hrs or 60 gharis make an Ahoratra. Its Lord is Mars.
Ritu (Seasons) The Ritus are six
| | Ritu | Situation of the Sun | Lunar Month | | | 1. | Shishir | Capricorn, Aquarius | Magh, Phaigun | | 2. | Basant | Pisces, Aries | Chaitra, Baisakh | | 3. | Greeshma | Taurus, Gemini | Jyeshta, Ashadha | | 4. | Varsha | Cancer, Leo | Shravan, Bhadrapada | | 5. | Sharad | Virgo, Libra | Ashwina, Kartika | | 6. | Hemant | Scorpio, Sagittarius | Margh Shirsha, Pausa |
Therefore, Ritu is of about two months, because Ritu is the time taken by the Sun in crossing two signs. The Lord of Ritu is Mercury.
**Masa :**The time from one sunrise to another sunrise is called one sawan day. In the same way 30 sawan days make one Sawan Masa. Its Lord is Mercury.
Paksha: Paksha is equal to the half of the Sawan Masa. From Shukla Pratipada (the first day of the Moon rise) to Amavasya tithi - this period is called one Lunar Month. In one Lunar month the Moon completes her one rotation in all the 27 Nakshatras. One lunar month has two Pakshas Shukla and Krishna. From the Pratipada of Shukla Paksha to its Pauranmashi (Full Moon) remains the Shukla paksha and from (Pratipada of the Krishna paksha) to Amavasya remains the Krishna paksha. The Lord of the Paksha is Venus.
Varsha : It is quite obvious what Varsha is. Its Lord is Saturn.
The use of these time periods of the planets may be made in Horary Astrology (प्रश्न ज्योतिष) and in Dasha and Antardasha of the planets. These may be related to the maturity of the occurrence of an event. For example, if the planet, Sun is a factor in the occurrence of an event, then the fruitation of that event will occur in or with in 6 months. We ourselves make use of these time periods as per method of **Astrological Magazine**. Thus, first the lagan and navamamsh of the prashna samaya (Hora) is determined. From the Navamamsh Lagna is found out by counting the situation in House of Navamamsh pati. This number will give the number of the Ayana. Now, suppose the Sun is Navamamsh pati and the Sun is in the third house from Navamamsh then the success with regard to the question will be got after 3 Ayanas or within 3 Ayanas (180 days).
कटु - क्षार - तिक्त - मिश्र - मधुराम्ल - कषायकाः ।
क्रमेण सर्वे विज्ञेया: सूर्यादीनां रसा इति ॥ ३४ ॥
- Planetary Tastes: Pungent, saline, bitter, mixed, sweet, aciduous and astringent should be known as the tastes of the planets respectively from the Sun onward.
बुधेज्यौ बलिनौ पूर्वे रवि-भौमौ च दक्षिणे ।
पश्चिमे सूर्यपुत्रश्च सित-चन्द्रौ तथोत्तरे ॥ ३५ ॥
निशायां बलिनश्चन्द्र-कुज-सौरा भवन्ति हि ।
सर्वदा ज्ञेयो बली ज्ञेयो दिने शेषा द्विजोत्तम! ॥ ३६ ॥
कृष्णे च बलिनः क्रूराः सौम्या वीर्ययुताः सिते ।
सौम्यायने सौम्यखेटो बली याम्मायनेऽपरः ॥ ३७ ॥
वर्षमासाहहोराणां पतंयो बलिनस्तथा ।
शमंबुगुशुचंराद्या वृद्धितो वीर्यवत्तराः ॥ ३८ ॥
35-38. Planetary strengths : Mercury and Jupiter are strong in the East ,the Sun and Mars are so in the South, Saturn in West while the Moon and Venus have strength in the North. And O Brahmin Shrestha! the Moon, Mars and Saturn are endowed with strength during night, whereas Mercury is strong during both day and night. The rest (i.e. the Sun, Venus and Juptier) are strong only in day time. During Krishna Paksha (the dark half of the Month) the malefics are strong. While the benefics acquire strength in the Shuklapaksha (the bright half of the month). And during Saumayayana are strong the benefics while the malefics are so in Yamayayana. The lords of the year, month, day and hora (planetary hour) are stronger than the other in ascending order. Again Saturn, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, the Moon and the Sun are also stronger than the other in the ascending order.
सूर्यो जनयति स्थूलान् दुर्भगान् सूर्यपुत्रकः ।
क्षीरोपेतांस्तथा चन्द्रः कटुकाद्यान् धरासुतः ॥ ३९ ॥
पुष्पवृक्ष भूगोः पुत्रो गुरु-ज्ञौ सफलाफलौ ।
नीरसान् सूर्यपुत्रश्च एवं ज्ञेयाः खगा द्विज! ॥ ४० ॥
39-40 Relation of the Planets to Trees : The Sun rules the growth of the strong, tall trees having stout trunks, Saturn, useless thorny trees, the Moon milky trees (like rubber yielding trees), Mars bitter ones (like lemon plants), Bhriguputra Venus floral plants, Jupiter fruitful ones and, O Brahmin, Mercury is to be known as governing the growth of fruitless ones.
राहुश्चाण्डालजातिश्च केतुर्जात्यन्तरस्तथा ।
शिखिस्वर्भानुमन्दानां वल्मीकं स्थानमुच्यते ॥ ४१ ॥
चित्रकन्या फणीन्द्रस्य केतोश्छिद्रयुतो द्विज! |
सीसं राहोर्नीलमणिः केतोर्जेयो द्विजोत्तम् ! ॥ ४२ ॥
गुरोः पीताम्बरं विप्र ! भृगोः क्षौमं तथैव च।
रक्तक्षौमं भास्करस्य इन्दोः क्षौमं सितं द्विज! ॥ ४३ ॥
बुधस्य कृष्णक्षीमं तु रक्तवस्त्रं कुजस्य च ।
वस्त्रं चित्रं शर्नेविप्र ! पट्टवस्त्रं तथैव च ॥ ४४ ॥
41-44 Other Matters : (Caste, Cloth, Metal etc.) 0 Brahmin, Rahu is of the outcaste while Ketu is of mixed caste. Ketu, Rahu and Saturn have their place as anthills. The clothes of Rahu are multicoloured and those of Ketu are rags. (Clothes having holes). The metals of Rahu and Ketu are respectively lead and blue gem. And O Vipra, Jupiter has Saffron, Venus Silken the Sun red silken, the Moon white silken, Mercury black silken, Mars red and Saturn multicoloured robes.
भृगोर्ऋतुर्वसन्तश्च कुजभान्वोश्च ग्रीष्मकः ।
चन्द्रस्य वर्षा विज्ञेया: शरच्चैव तथा विदः ॥ ४५ ॥
हेमन्तोऽपि गुरोर्ज्ञेयः शनेस्तु शिशिरो द्विज! ।
अष्टौ मासाश्व स्वर्भानो: केतोर्मासत्रयं द्विज! ॥ ४६ ॥
45-46 Planetary Seasons: The Season of Venus is Basant, of Mars and the Sun Greesham, of the Moon Varsha, of Mercury Sharad, of Jupiter Hemant and of Saturn Shishir. And O Dwija (Brahmin) Rahu has 8 Months while Ketu 3 Months.
राह्वारपंगुचन्द्राश्च विज्ञेया धातुखेचराः ।
मूलग्रहो सूर्यशुक्रौ अपरा जीवसंज्ञकाः ॥ ४७ ॥
- Dhatu, Moola and Jeeva Divisions: Rahu, Mars and Saturn and the Moon are lords of Dhatu, the Sun and Venus of Moola. While the remaining planets Mercury, Jupiter and Ketu rule over Jeevas.
ग्रहेषु मन्दो वृद्धोऽस्ति आयुर्वृद्धिप्रदायकः ।
नैसर्गिक बहुसमान् ददाति द्विजसत्तम! ॥ ४८ ॥
- Of all the planets Saturn is the eldest. But he is the bestower of, O Dwijasattam (Excellent Brahmin) of greater number of years of life in Naisargika Dasha.
Practice
Verses 12–13 give each of the seven a one-word or one-phrase signification. What are they?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: Sun — the soul. Moon — the mind. Mars — strength. Mercury — speech. Jupiter — knowledge and happiness. Venus — potency. Saturn — grief.
Two verses, and arguably the highest-value two verses in the chapter. Every longer list of significations you will ever meet for these planets is an unfolding of one of these words. Learn these seven and you can reconstruct a great deal of the rest; learn a hundred keywords instead and you will still be looking things up in Week 10.
Source: BPHS 3.12–13
Parashara says Mars rules bitter tastes, the fire element, the season of summer, a Kṣatriya caste, and blood among the bodily ingredients. What is the single idea that makes all five of those the same statement?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: Each is what Mars's basic nature — heat, force, sharpness, the capacity to cut and defend — looks like in that particular domain.
This is the whole trick of verses 23–48, and once you have it the block stops being a table. A graha in Parashara's system is not a list of unrelated attributes; it is one quality expressed across every register that exists — body, food, weather, society, metal, place. Bitterness is what Mars tastes like. Summer is what Mars feels like. Blood is what Mars is made of. You are not being asked to memorise five facts. You are being shown one fact five times.
Without looking it up: Parashara assigns each graha a place — a temple, a watery place, a place of fire, a sports ground, a treasure house, a bedroom, and a spot for filth (verse 32). Which do you expect belongs to Venus, and why?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: The bedroom.
Venus governs potency, pleasure, beauty and desire, so the room where those matters belong is Venus's. You reasoned your way to that without the table — which is exactly the point of this unit. Try the same move on the treasure house before you check: whose is it likely to be? Now look.
Source: BPHS 3.32
Verses 14–15 rank the grahas as a royal court: Sun and Moon as royalty, Mars as army chief, Mercury as heir apparent, Jupiter and Venus as ministers, Saturn as servant, Rahu and Ketu as the army. Does that ranking tell you which planet is strongest in a given chart?
Show the answer and why
Answer: No — it describes each planet's characteristic role, not its strength in any particular chart.
Second time this week the course has asked you to hold apart a classification and a strength claim, and it will not be the last. The cabinet tells you what kind of function a graha performs — Saturn does the labour, Mercury carries the message, Mars enforces. It says nothing about how well it can perform it here, in this chart. A servant in a strong position outperforms a minister in a wretched one, and Parashara has an entire apparatus, starting in the next unit, for deciding which is which.
Apply it to a chart
Chart A — Rama, the teaching chart — A strikingly clean chart from a classical source, followed from Week 1 to Week 13. · about 14 min
Not placed: Mercury, Rahu, Ketu — the source this chart comes from does not say where they go, and nothing has been supplied to fill the space.
| Graha | Sign | House | Degree | Nakshatra | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | Aries | 10 | degree not recorded | — | exalted |
| Moon | Cancer | 1 | degree not recorded | — | own sign |
| Mars | Capricorn | 7 | degree not recorded | — | exalted |
| Mercury | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jupiter | Cancer | 1 | degree not recorded | — | exalted |
| Venus | Pisces | 9 | degree not recorded | — | exalted |
| Saturn | Libra | 4 | degree not recorded | — | exalted |
| Rahu | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ketu | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lagna | Cancer | 1 | degree not recorded | — | lord Moon |
Here is Chart A for the first time — Rama, from the Ramayana. It is the chart you will come back to every week for the rest of the course. Look at it before you read the note underneath, and notice how much of it is missing.
- List the grahas this chart actually places, and the sign each one occupies. There are six of them, not nine.
- Take the Sun in Aries. Using verses 12–13 only, write one sentence about what a well-placed Sun would be positioned to give. Do not use anything you know about Rama.
- Do the same for Jupiter in Cancer and for Saturn in Libra. One sentence each, from verses 12–13 alone.
- Now the important part: three grahas are not placed at all. Write down what you cannot say about this chart because of that, and keep the list. You will use it in Week 4.
Check your understanding
Answer from memory first. Looking back at the reading before you try turns a memory test into a copying exercise.
Which two grahas does verse 22 call Sāttvika along with Jupiter?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: The Sun and the Moon — the two luminaries.
Venus and Mercury are Rājasika; Mars and Saturn are Tāmasika. It is worth noticing that this is a third independent classification of the same nine bodies, sitting alongside benefic/malefic and the cabinet ranks — and that the three do not line up. Mercury is a benefic but Rājasika. Saturn is both malefic and Tāmasika, which is the one case where two systems agree, and agreement in one case is not a rule.
Source: BPHS 3.22
A month from now you want to know what direction Parashara associates with Saturn. Where do you look, and roughly where in it?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: Chapter 3, the correspondence block — verses 35–38 give planetary directions.
Saturn is strong in the West, if you want the answer. But the answer matters less than the retrieval: knowing that the whole correspondence block sits in Chapter 3 between verses 23 and 48 means you can find any of it in under a minute for the rest of your life, without having carried a single entry in your head.
Source: BPHS 3.35–38
Verse 48 says Saturn is the eldest of the planets and yet gives the greatest number of years in Naisargika Daśā. Why is that not a contradiction?
Write your answer down before opening the explanation.
Show the answer and why
Answer: Age and the length of a period are different things; being the oldest is not the same as being the shortest-lived.
It is also your first forward reference. Naisargika Daśā belongs to the longevity material in Week 7, and Parashara mentions it here, seventy chapters early, because it is a fact about Saturn. Get used to this: BPHS constantly drops a line about a technique it will not explain for another forty chapters. Note it and move on — a forward reference is not a gap in your understanding.
Source: BPHS 3.48
What you carry forward
Two things grow across the whole course. This unit adds to both.
To your chart-analysis process
- Still nothing — the process opens in Week 2, once you can describe a chart. What this unit gives you is the vocabulary the first steps will be written in.
To your field manual
- The seven core significations, from BPHS 3.12–13: Sun — soul. Moon — mind. Mars — strength. Mercury — speech. Jupiter — knowledge and happiness. Venus — potency. Saturn — grief.
- Before looking up a signification, try to derive it from the graha's core nature. You will usually be close, and the times you are not are the ones worth remembering.
- The cabinet ranking (3.14–15) describes function, not strength.
By now you should be able to
- State in one phrase what each of the seven main grahas fundamentally signifies
- Explain why Parashara groups a planet's taste, season, metal and deity together
- Derive a plausible signification for a planet you have not been told, and check it
- Say what the cabinet ranking does and does not tell you