Chapter 104 - On the transits of planets (graha-gocara)

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

1. The truths of Science have for a long time remained scattered for want of arrangement. They will become fit for ready use if arranged and systematised.

2. The influence exercised by the planets (graha) over humans affairs as they move through the signs of the Zodiac is various. I desire to describe their effects in stanzas written in a variety of metres and the learned are requested to excuse this wish in me. (a)

[Note—(a) Each stanza of this chapter is written in a distinct metre and contains the name of the metre also. On account of this restriction the ideas expressed in many stanzas are curious and far fetched.]

3. One who has read the works of Māṇḍavya on the present subject will not like my treatise, and if he likes it at all, he will like it in just the same way as a person will like his wife whom he knows to be unchaste.

[Note—This stanza is written in the Jaghanacapala metre which term also means a harlot.]

4. When the Sun passes through the 6^th, 3^rd and 10^th signs from the sign occupied by the Moon at the time of birth of a person{GL_NOTE::}, the effects will be benefic; when the Moon passes though the 3^rd, 6^th. 10^th, 7^th, and 1^st signs from the Moon, the effects will also be benefic; when Jupiter passes through the 7^th, 9^th, 2^nd and 5^th signs or when Mars and Saturn pass through the 6^th and 3^rd signs or when Mercury passes through the 6^th, 2^nd, 4^th, 10^th and 8^th signs from the Moon, the effects will be benefic. But when Venus passes through the 7^th, 6^th and 10^th signs from the Moon, the effects will be malefic. All the planets (graha) produce benefic effects when they pass through the 11^th house from the Moon.

5. When the Sun passes through the sign occupied by the Moon at the time of birth of a person, such person will suffer from fatigue, from loss of wealth, chest-pain and foot journey. When the Sun passes through the 2^nd house from the Moon, the person will suffer from loss of wealth, discomfort, eye-diseases and deceit. When the Sun passes through the 3^rd house from the Moon, the person will return to his place, will become rich, happy and free from diseases and will destroy his enemies. When the Sun passes through the 4^th house from the Moon, the person will suffer from diseases and will be hindered from enjoying the company of an excellent wife.

6. When the Sun passes through the 5^th house from the Moon, the person will suffer from diseases and from enemies. When the Sun passes through the 6^th house, the person will be freed from diseases, from enemies and from grief. When the Sun passes through the 7^th house, the person will suffer from the fatigues of foot-journey, from chest-pain, from humility and consumption. When the Sun passes through the 8 house from the Moon, the person’s own beautiful wife will not be of use to him.

7. When the sun passes through the 9^th house from the Moon, the person will suffer from accidents, humility, diseases, mental pains and opposition. When the Sun passes through the 10^th house from the Moon, the person will achieve great success and will gain his object. When the Sun passes through the 11^th house, the person will achieve success, will return to his place, will be respected, will become prosperous and will be freed from diseases. When the Sun passes through the 12^th house, the person will gain his object only by the adoption of just and proper means and not otherwise.

8. When the Moon passes through the sign occupied by herself at the time of birth of a person, such person will get meals, excellent bed and clothes. When the Moon passes through the 2^nd house, the person will suffer loss of respectability and of wealth and will also suffer from obstacles. When the Moon passes through the 3^rd house, the person will get clothes, women, and wealth in abundance. When the Moon passes through the 4^th house, the person will have no liking for mountains and will be as cruel as a serpent.

9. When the Moon passes through the 5^th house from the sign occupied by herself at the time of birth of a person, such person will suffer from humility, diseases, pain of mind and obstacles in his path. When the Moon passes through the 6^th house, the person will enjoy wealth, comfort and the min of his enemies and will be freed from diseases. When the Moon passes through the 7^th house, the person will enjoy a carnage, respectability, a good bed, good meals and wealth. When the Moon passes through the 8^th house, the person will live in fear of evils.

10. When the Moon passes through the 9^th house from the sign occupied by herself at the time of birth of a person, such person will suffer from imprisonment, pain of mind, fatigue of body and chest-pain. When the Moon passes through the 10^th house, the person’s orders will be carried out and he will succeed in his work. When the Moon passes through the 11^th house, the person will enjoy prosperity, will get new friends and wealth. When the Moon passes through the 12^th house, he will suffer from injuries received from a bullock.

11. When Mars passes through the sign occupied by the Moon at the time of birth of a person, such person will suffer from troubles. When Mars passes through the 2^nd house from the Moon, the person will suffer from the king, from quarrels, from enemies and from disgrace. He will also suffer from bilious and windy complaints ana from thieves.

12. When Mars passes through the 3^rd house from the Moon, there will be gain of objects from robbers and from children, the person wall become of bright appearance, his orders will be carried into effect, he will get wealth, blankets, metals, gems and the like.

13. When Mars passes though the 4^th house from the Moon, the person will suffer from fever, belly-ache and blood discharges and he will also suffer miseries through association with wicked men.

14. When Mars passes through the 5^th house from the Moon, the person will suffer from enemies, diseases, fears and troublesome children and his appearance will become less bright.

15. When Mars passes through the 6^th house from the Moon, the person will be freed from enemies and quarrels; he will obtain gold, corals and copper and will lead an independent life.

16. When Mars passes through the 7 house from the Moon, the person will suffer from a quarrelsome wife, from diseases of the eye and from belly-ache. When he passes through the 8^th house, there will be bloodshed, loss of wealth and of respectability; and when he passes through the 9^th house, the person will suffer disgrace and loss of wealth and the like; his gait will be slow and he will become weak.

17. When Mars passes through the 10^th house from the Moon, the person will obtain much wealth and when he passes through the 11^th house, he will obtain success and renown and will rule over a province.

18. When Mars passes through the 12^th house from the Moon, the person will suffer from various expenses, troubles, diseases of the eye, from an angry wife and from bilious complaints though he may be born in the family of Indra.

19. When Mercury passes through the sign occupied by the Moon at the time of birth of person, such person will suffer loss of wealth caused by the advice of wicked men, by tale bearers, by imprisonment and quarrels. He will besides receive disagreeable intelligence when in his journey.

20. When Mercury passes through the 2^nd house from the Moon, the person will suffer disgrace and gain success and wealth. When he passes through the 3^rd house the person will get friends and will be afraid of troubles from the king and from his enemies and he will quit his place from his own wicked deeds.

21. When Mercury passes through the 4^th house from the Moon a person’s kinsmen and family will increase and there will be much gain. When Mercury passes through the 5^th house from the Moon, the person will quarrel with his wife and sons and will not enjoy the company of an excellent wife.

22. When Mercury passes through the 6^th house from the Moon, the person will be liked by all and will gain renown. When Mercury passes through the 7^th house, the person’s appearance will become less bright and there will be quarrels. When Mercury passes through the 8^th house, the person will get sons, success, clothes, wealth, will become happy and powerful.

23. When Mercury passes through the 9^th house from Moon, the person will meet with obstacles to his work. When Mercury passes through the 10^th house from the Moon, the person’s enemies will meet with ruin and the person will get wealth, will enjoy the company of his wife and will be dressed in flannel.

24. When Mercury passes through the 11^th house from the Moon, the person will get wealth, comfort, sons, women, friends and conveyance, will be happy and will receive good intelligence. When Mercury passes through the 12^th house, from the Moon, the person will suffer disgrace from his enemies will suffer from diseases and will not enjoy the company of a good wife.

25. When Jupiter passes through the sign occupied by the Moon at the time of birth of a person, such person will lose his wealth and intelligence, will quit his place and will suffer from many quarrels. When Jupiter passes through the 2^nd house from the Moon, the person will have no enemies and will enjoy wealth and women.

26. When Jupiter passes through the 3^rd house from the Moon, the person will quit his place and will meet with obstacles in his work. When Jupiter passes through the 4^th house from the Moon, the person will suffer from troubles caused by his kinsmen, will become patient and resigned and will delight in nothing.

27. When Jupiter passes through the 5^th house from the Moon, the person will get servants, prosperity, sons, elephants, horses, bullocks, gold, towns, houses, women, clothes, gems and good qualities.

28. When Jupiter passes through the 6^th house from the Moon, the person will be so much afflicted at heart that he will take no delight in the agreeable faces of beautiful women, in the music of the peacock and the cuckoo and in houses made pleasant by the frolic of children playing like the young of the deer.

29. When Jupiter passes through the 7^th house from the Moon, the person will enjoy a good bed, the company of an excellent woman, wealth, good meals, flowers, conveyance and the like and he wall be of good speech and intelligence.

30. When Jupiter passes through the 8^th house from the Moon, the person will suffer from imprisonment, diseases, heavy grief, the fatigue of journey and serious illness. When Jupiter passes through the 9^th house from the Moon, the person will become efficient at work and influential and he will get sons, success in work, wealth and grain.

31. When Jupiter passes through the 10th house from the Moon, the person will quit his place and suffer loss of health and wealth. When Jupiter passes through the 11^th house, the person will return to his country and will recover his health and wealth. When Jupiter passes through the 12^th house, the person will suffer grief in his return journey.

32-33. When Venus passes through the sign occupied by the Moon at the time of birth of a person, such person will enjoy excellent perfumes, flowers, clothes, houses, bed, meals and women. When Venus passes through the 2^nd house from the Moon, the person will get sons, wealth, grain and presents from the king; will have a prosperous family, will enjoy flowers and gems and will be of bright appearance.

34. When Venus passes through the 3^rd house from the Moon, the person will become influential, wealthy and respectable and will return to his place and will get clothes. His enemies will meet with ruin. When Venus passes through the 4^th house, the person will get friends and will become greatly powerful.

35. When Venus passes through the 5^th house, the person will become happy, will get kinsmen, sons, wealth and friends and will not suffer defeat by the enemy.

36. When Venus passes through the 6^th house from the Moon, the person will suffer disgrace, will be afflicted with diseases and will be exposed to danger. When Venus passes through the 7^th house, the person will suffer injuries through women. When Venus passes through the 8^th house from the Moon, the person will get houses, articles of luxury and beautiful women.

37. When Venus passes through the 9^th house from the Moon, the person will become virtuous, happy and wealthy, and he will get plenty of clothes. When Venus passes through the 10^th house from the Moon, the person will suffer disgrace and will also suffer from quarrels.

38. When Venus passes through the 11^th house from the Moon, the person will get the wealth of his friends and will also get perfumes and clothes. When Venus passes through the 12^th house, the person will get very few clothes.

39. When Saturn passes through the sign occupied by the Moon at the time of birth of a person, such person will suffer from poison and from fire, will quit his kinsmen, will suffer imprisonment and torture, will travel to foreign lands and live with his friends there; will suffer miseries, loss of wealth and of sons, will suffer also from the fatigues of foot-journey and from humiliation.

40. When Saturn passes through the 2^nd house from the Moon, the person will suffer loss of beauty and comfort, will become weak and will get wealth from other men and he will not enjoy this wealth long.

41. When Saturn passes through the 3^rd house from the Moon, the person will get wealth, servants, articles of enjoyment, camels, buffaloes, horses, elephants, asses and houses. He will become influential, happy, free from diseases and will become greatly powerful and will defeat his enemies in fight.

42. When Saturn passes through the 4^th house from the Moon, the person will be separated from his friends, wealth and wife. He will be always suspecting evil in his mind and will never feel happy.

43. When Saturn passes through the 5^th house from the Moon, the person will be separated from his sons and wealth and will suffer from quarrels. When Saturn passes through the 6^th house from the Moon, the person will be freed from his enemies and diseases and will enjoy the company of women.

44. When Saturn passes through the 7^th or 8^th house from the Moon, the person will be separated from his wife and sons and will travel on foot in a pitiable condition. When he passes through the 9^th house, the person will be all that was stated for Saturn passing through the 8^th house and will besides suffer from hatred, chest-pain, imprisonment and in consequence will not properly observe the daily duties.

45. When Saturn passes through the 10^th house, the person will get work and will suffer loss of wealth, learning and fame. When Saturn passes through the 11^th house from the Moon, the person will become cruel and will get women and wealth. When Saturn passes through the 12^th house from the Moon, the person will suffer much grief.

46. Though a planet (graha) might be benefic to a person, it produces benefic effects only according to the nature of the Daśā periods and the rank of the person in life, just in the same way as the quantity of rain falling into a small cup cannot but be small though the rain be excessive.

47. The Sun and Mars shall be worshipped with red flowers, sandal paste, the Bakula flower (the fragrant flower of Mimusops elengi), gift of copper, gold and oxen to Brāhmaṇas. The Moon shall be worshipped by the gift of a white cow. Venus shall be worshipped with white flowers and by the gift of silver, and sweet and nutritious things. Saturn shall be worshipped by the gift of black substances. Mercury shall be worshipped by the gift of gems, silver and with the Tilaka flower. Jupiter shall be worshipped with yellow flower and by the gift of yellow substances. By the worship of the planets, a person escapes all miseries.

48. Evils indicated by the motion of the planets (graha) may be escaped by the worship of the Brāhmaṇas and the Devas, by expiatory ceremonies, by the recitation of mantras and sacred texts, by the practice of austerities, by gifts to Brāhmaṇas, by the subjugation of one’s passions, by moving in the company of Sādhus, and by conversing with them.

48. The Sun and Mars produce their effects when passing through the first half of a sign; the Moon and Saturn produce their effects when moving through the 2^nd half of a sign. The learned have declared so.

50. Mercury produces his effects throughout the period of his motion through a sign.

51. When Jupiter passes through the middle of odd signs, he produces miseries even to the righteous and when he passes through the 6^th house, he also reduces the person to a condition of misery.

52. When a benefic planet (graha) is aspected by a malefic planet or when a malefic planet is aspected by a benefic planet or when a benefic planet and a malefic planet occupy a sign together, in all the above cases the effects will be the same.

53. The good effects assigned to a planet will fail if such planet (graha) occupies his depression sign or an inimical sign or if he be aspected by an inimical planet—and a person can as little enjoy them as the blind can enjoy the beauties of a woman.

54. Saturn will produce effects in just the same way as the Sun—just as the Āryāgīti (metre) follows the rules of the Vaitālī metre and the Māgadhīgāthā follows the rules of Āryā.

55. If Saturn be an Aṣṭāṅgata planet or if he be about to disappear by conjunction with the Sun, he will not produce miseries to the righteous.

56. The Moon partakes of the character of the planet who occupies the same house with her—just in the same way as the face assumes the character of the mind.

57. If the planets (graha) occupy malefic places, a person will lose his importance i.e. become light just in the same way as the 5^th letter of all the four feet and 7^th letter of the 2^nd and 4^th feet become short—these restrictions apply to the Anuṣṭupa metre (in which this stanza is written.)

58. Planets occupying benefîc places always produce good effects and a person, though low-born and of reprehensible conduct, becomes respectable in the world.

59. If planets do not occupy benefîc places, all that a person may do to promote his welfare will only prove injurious to him just in the same way as the ceremony of exorcism of the ghost injures a person when not properly conducted.

60. A king who starts on a journey when the planets (graha) are in benefîc places will gain his object though he might possess little power.

61. On a Sunday and when the Sun occupies an Upacaya sign (the 3^rd, 6^th, 10^th and 11^th houses) shall be done any work or business connected with gold, copper, a horse, dried sticks, bones, skin, woollen blankets, hills, the bark of trees, nails, serpents, thieves, weapons, forest, service under a tyrannical prince, sacred bath, medicine, white silk, articles for sale, shepherds, impenetrable paths, cures, stones, works of art, pure articles, well-known objects, valiant fight and works connected with fire. The same work shall be done when the Sun occupies the rising sign.

On Mondays or when the Moon occupies the rising sign or when she occupies one of the Kendras shall be done any work or business connected with jewels, conch shells, pearls, productions of water, silver, sacrificial rites, sugar canes, articles of food, women, milk, milk-trees, the branches of trees, crops of wet low lands, liquids, Brāhmaṇas, horses, the work of cooling, homed animals, the cultivation of lands, the summoning of a commander of armies, the king, popular favour, the demons, phlegmatic substances, elephants, flowers and clothes.

On Tuesdays shall be done any work or business connected with mineral mines, gold, fire, corals, weapons, theft torture, forests, impenetrable places, command over armies, trees of red flowers, all red substances, bitter substances, pungent substances, works of art, serpents, ropes, young men that live by dealing in these, physicians, Buddhist ascetics, working by night, white silk, cheating and foppery.

On Wednesdays and when Mercury occupies the rising sign, shall be done any work or business connected with emeralds, lands, perfumes, clothes, plays, knowledge of science, skill in work, literary performances, arts, magical formulae, metallic work, law suit, acts of ability, articles for sale, practice of austerities and Yoga practice, messengers, promotion of long life, deceit, lies, bathing, objects either long or short, dependence on other men for help and important works.

62. On Thursdays shall be done any work or business connected with gold, silver, horses, elephants, oxen, physicians, medicinal plants, the Brāhmaṇas, the Pitṛs and the Devas, umbrellas, fans, ornaments, kings, temples, alms-houses, auspicious deeds, science, beautiful objects, fruitful objects, truthful words, the practice of austerities, sacred fire and wealth.

63. On Fridays shall be done any work or business connected with painting, clothes, spermatic drugs, friendship with prostitutes, buffoonery, the pleasures of the youth, beautiful places, crystals, silver, enjoyment of flowers, perfumes and the like, conveyances, sugar canes, autumn crops, cows, tradesmen, fanners, medicine and the productions of water.

On Saturdays shall be done any work or business connected with a buffalo, a goat, a camel, black metal, a servant, an old man, any low deeds, a bird, a thief rope works, wicked persons, pot-shreds and obstructions.

64. Thus have been described the effects of the motions of the planets (graha) through the signs of the Zodiac by Varāha-Mihira in a variety of sweet metres after examining the science of prosody.