Solar Month or saura māsa [सौर मास]

Solar Month is defined by the time taken by the Sun to transit from beginning of one zodiac sign/ rāśi to the succeeding one in the Zodiac Belt / bha-cakra [भ-चक्र], as seen from the Earth. It is actually the time taken by the Earth to go around the Sun.

The first Solar Month is considered to begin when Sun enters Aries/meśa rāśi [मेष राशि] i.e. enters at zero degree of Aries of the Sidereal Zodiac.

The 1st month, when Sun enters Aries/ meśa rāśi [मेष राशि] is named as caitra/चैत्र, which in the current times begins at around 15th of April.
The Sun would then enter Taurus/vṛṣabha rāśi [वृषभ राशि], and so on….until at the end of the 12 months it would have traversed the 12 zodiac signs and returned back to the zero degree of Aries/ meśa rāśi [मेष राशि].

The table below summarizes the transit of the Sun and the corresponding Months in Hindu and Gregorian Calendars:

Order	Sun enters	Vedic Name	Gregorian Month
I	Aries / meṣa (मेष)	caitra / चैत्र	Apr-May
II	Taurus / vṛṣa (वृष)	vaiśākha / वैशाख	May-Jun
III	Gemini / mithuna (मिथुन)	jyeṣṭha / ज्येष्ठ	Jun-Jul
IV	Cancer / karka (कर्क)	āṣāṛha / आषाढ़	Jul-Aug
V	Leo / siṁha (सिंह)	śrāvaṇa / श्रावण	Aug-Sep
VI	Virgo / kanyā (कन्या)	bhādrapada / भाद्रपद	Sep-Oct
VII	Libra / tulā (तुला)	aśvina / अश्विन	Oct-Nov
VIII	Scorpio / vṛṣcika (वृष्चिक)	kārtika / कार्तिक	Nov-Dec
IX	Sagittarius / dhanu (धनु)	mārgaśīrṣa / मार्गशीर्ष	Dec-Jan
X	Capricorn / makara (मकर)	pauṣa / पौष	Jan-Feb
XI	Aquarius / kumbha (कुम्भ)	māgha / माघ	Feb-Mar
XII	Pisces / mīna (मीन)	phālguna / फाल्गुन	Mar-Apr

The time taken by the Sun to transit respective zodiac signs is variable.
Thus, the period of the Solar Month varies slightly around 30 days (approximately 29-32 days).

The transit of Sun from one rāśi to another is termed as saṁkrānti [संक्रान्ति].
The Sankrantis are named according to the sign into which the Sun enters.
The most popularly known is the Makara-Sankranti, when the Sun enters Capricorn, since this is the beginning of the Uttarayana or the Northward/Upward journey of the Sun in the tilted Elliptic.

More about the Sankrantis and Ayanas of the Sun later…

Motion of Grahas

While Galileo mulled about the relative motion and Einstein amused people by stating that ‘when the station approaches the train…’, little they would have imagined that the ancient Rishis had already appreciated up to 8 different types of speeds of the planets due to their motion perceived relative to our position on Earth.


One can simply remember yourself sitting in a moving train and seeing other trains moving in same or opposite directions and you can recall how the speed of the other train varied as it approached your train and overtook or crossed it. Now, imagine the same situation when you would have sat on a carousel horse and the horses in the inner or outer circles appeared to have moved at varying speeds though their speed was actually constant; and moving away or towards us though they are actually moving in one direction. Similar situation happens when planets are observed from the Earth, as studied in Vedic Astrology.

The planets may appear to sometimes move faster, sometimes slower, sometimes appear to be almost stationary or even move in opposite direction. This is because we are observing Moving Planets from a Moving Earth.

As per Parasara (BPHS: Chapter 27: Slokas 21)


वक्रानुवक्रा विकला मन्दा मन्दतरा समा।
चरा चाऽतिचरा चेति ग्रहाणामष्टधा गतिः॥

vakra, anuvakra, vikala, manda, mandatara, sama;
chara and atichara, these are the eight kinds of motions of the grahas.


These eight kinds of motions are understood as follows:


1. vakra (वक्र) = Retrograde Motion

2. anuvakra (अनुवक्र) = Entering the previous rAshi in retrograde motion

3. vikala (विकल) = devoid of motion, or, in other words, Stationary

4. manda (मन्द) = somewhat slower motion than usual

5. mandatara (मन्दतर) = slower than the previous

6. sama (सम) = normal

7. chara (चर) = faster than sama

8. atichara (अतिचर) = entering next Rashi in accelerated motion


Based on these motions, various strengths are assigned to these grahas.

Of the 9 grahas, Sun and Moon, for obvious reason, will never appear to go retrograde; while Rahu and Ketu always appear to go retrograde.

Speeds of Grahas

The grahas, when seen from the earth, move along the zodiac belt, at varying speeds.

Accordingly, each graha will be seen to traverse a rasi (zodiac sign) for a particular amount of time.

e.g. Sun moves at a rate of 1 degree per day.
Thus it traverses a rasi (30deg) in 30 days, which is approximately 1 Solar Month.
The Sun hence goes round the 12 signs of the zodiac / bha-chakra (360 deg) in approximately 12 Solar Months, i.e. 1 Solar Year.
The movement of the Sun from one sign to another is called Sankranti.
Where Makar Sankranti means that Sun enters the rasi Makara (Capricorn).

The Moon goes round the zodiac in 27.32 days, which is also the period of it’s revolution around the earth. This constitutes a Lunar Month.

At this stage, without going into further details about what defines a month or year etc. in astrology, following are the average speeds of the grahas around the zodiac / bha-chakra:

Graha	Completes the round of the zodiac (360 deg) in	Traverses a Rasi (30 deg) in approximately	Moves 1deg in approximately
Sun	1 year	1 month	1 day
Moon	27 ⅓ days	2 ¼ days	1 ¾ hrs
Mars	1.88 yrs	1.88 months	46 hrs
Mercury	88 days	7 ⅓ days	6 hrs
Jupiter	11.86 yrs	11.86 months	12 days
Venus	224.7 days	18 3/4 days	15 hrs
Saturn	29.46 years	2 ½ years	29 ¾ days
Rahu	18.6 years	18.6 months	18.8 days
Ketu	18.6 years	18.6 months	18.8 days

From Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion, we know that the orbits of the planets are elliptical, with Sun at the focus. Hence, the speed of each planet also varies at different points on its orbit – it being slower nearer to the Sun and faster when away from the Sun. This is in accordance with Kepler’s second law of planetary motion, i.e. The line joining a planet and the sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.

Kepler's 2nd Law
Area sweeped between points a and b
is equal to area aweeped between points c and d in equal time.

A closer look at the Kepler’s 3rd law will reveal that farther the planet is from the Sun, the slower it will move. Kepler actually derived a mathematical relationship to that effect.

In the above table, you can notice that the speed of Saturn (that is farthest from the Sun) is slowest, while that of Mercury (that is nearest to the Sun) is the fastest, in the scheme of the Solar System.

However, when you take into account the 9 grahas, you will include Moon, which then becomes the fastest graha seen to be moving in the bha-chakra.

Note that Sun, Moon, Rahu and Ketu are not considered to be Planets, but are Grahas.

Rahu = North Node and Ketu = South Node are the points of intersection of the Moon’s orbit with that of the Elliptic (Sun’s orbit) as seen moving in the skies when you view them from the Earth.


With Earth as the reference point, as studied in astrology, the speeds of grahas are seen to vary, with even the Sun appearing to move faster at times and slower at other times. Remember that the Sun appears to move in the Elliptic, when viewed from the Earth.


The grahas, from geocentric point of view, will also appear to move at varying speed when seen relative to the motion of the Earth. They sometimes appear to move very fast, or even appear to be stationary or moving in reverse direction, much like when you observe a moving train, while sitting in another moving train. This phenomenon is similar to what Galilieo discovered and Einstein refined about Relative Motion.

More about the Speeds of Grahas later…

Zodiac or Bha-Chakra (भ-चक्र)

As seen from the Earth, the 9 graha (ग्रह) travel along a belt like path called the Zodiac or the bha chakra (भ - चक्र).

The Sun appears to move in an Elliptic Path that marks the center line of the Zodiac belt.

The zodiac belt has a span of about 8 degrees on either side of this elliptic.



The term zodiac is derived from the Latin word zōdiacus and from the Greek zōdiakos kuklos, that means a "circle of animals".

“Zoon” means "animal" and 6 of the 12 signs of the classical Greek zodiac are represented as animals.
In Vedic Astrology, the term used for Zodiac is bha-chakra. bha = to shine; chakra = wheel.



According to bR^ihat parAshara horA shAstra (BPHS), Chapter III:

शृणु विप्र प्रवक्ष्यामि भग्रहाणां परिस्थितिम्‌।
आकाशे यानि दृश्यन्ते ज्योतिर्बिम्बात्यनेकशः॥ २॥

Listen O Brahmin, I speak of the state of graha that shine;
In the sky there can be seen various luminous bodies.



तेषु नक्षत्रसंज्ञानि ग्रहसंज्ञानि कानिचित्‌।
तानि नक्षत्रनामानि स्थिरस्थानानि यानि चै॥ ३॥

Of these (some) are named the Nakshatras and the others as graha;
Those that are stationery are called Nakshatras.


गच्छन्तो भानि गृह्णन्ति सततं ये तु ते ग्रहः।
भचक्रस्य नगश्व्यंशा अश्विन्यादिसमाह्वयाः॥ ४॥

Those shining (bodies) that move continuously, grasping the Nakshatras, are the Grahas;
The bha-chakra (zodiac) comprises of Ashwini etc. (27) asterisms.


तद्‌द्वादशविभागास्तु तुल्य मेषादिसंज्ञकाः।
प्रसिद्धा राशयः सन्ति ग्रहास्त्वर्कादिसंज्ञकाः॥ ५॥

This (zodiac) divided into 12 parts is correspondingly named as mesha etc.;
(these parts are) known as Rashi; the Graha are named as Sun etc..




Just like a circle, the Zodiac has 360°.

Each Zodiac Sign / rāśi (राशि) thus spans 360/12 = 30°.

The 12 zodiac signs or 12 rāśi (राशि) are:
 

Order	Western Name	Vedic Name
I	Aries	meSha (मेष)
II	Taurus	vR^iSha (वृष)
III	Gemini	mithuna (मिथुन)
IV	Cancer	karka (कर्क)
V	Leo	siMha (सिंह)
VI	Virgo	kanyA (कन्या)
VII	Libra	tulA (तुला)
VIII	Scorpio	vR^iShchika (वृष्चिक)
IX	Sagittarius	dhanu (धनु)
X	Capricorn	makara (मकर)
XI	Aquarius	kumbha (कुम्भ)
XII	Pisces	miina (मीन)

rāśi = heap; and refers to a “heap of stars”.

The groups of stars or Asterisms span the zodiac and are these called nakṣatra (नक्षत्र).


27 nakṣatra (नक्षत्र) span the zodiac hence each nakshatra spans 360/27 = 13°27’

In other words, each rāśi harbors 2 ¼ nakṣatra (नक्षत्र).

The nakṣatra (नक्षत्र) are Fixed Stars. i.e. they appear to be in a fixed position when seen from Earth.


The 9 graha (‘planets’) move through the zodiac belt (grasping the nakshatras) at varying speeds.

Graha vs. Planets

Vedic Astrology considers graha [ग्रह], rather than ‘planets’.

Planets, as we know, are those that revolve around the Sun.

The word “Planet” is derived from Greek word “planeta”, which refers to that which wanders or moves.

Planets are thus considered to be those celestial or astronomical bodies that orbit around the Sun.

Well, Sun is actually a Star…isn’t it.

And, don’t we still teach our children that the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West – only to tell them later that the Sun is stationary and Earth moves around it…Anyways!

According to Vishnu Purana:

अहोरात्र व्यवस्थाकारण भग्वान्रवि ...

the cause of day and night is the Sun God.....

नैवास्तमर्कस्य नोदया सर्वदा सतः।
उदयास्तमनाख्यं हि दर्शनादर्शनं रवेः॥

The Sun neither Sets, nor does it ever Rise,
The rising and the setting (of the Sun) is (in effect) due to it being seen or not seen.

The sages knew that the Sun only appears to move in the sky.

In Vedic texts, the term used is graha [ग्रह].

Graha means that which can ‘seize’ or ‘get hold of’ or ‘grasp’ – can cause grahṇa [ग्रह्ण].

As per BPHS {bṛhat parāśara horā śāṣtra - बृहत् पराशर होरा शाष्त्र}:

गच्छन्तो भानि गृह्णन्ति सततं ये तु ते ग्रहः

i.e. those which move through the zodiac, while getting hold of, are called ‘graha.

What does a graha grasp?

As the graha moves through the skies (as seen from the earth), it is seen to move over (appearing to get hold of) a particular constellation (nakshatra or lunar mansion) seen in the sky.

Grahas as per Vedic Astrology are: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu.

As per BPHS:

अथ खेटा रविश्चन्द्रो मङ्गलश्च बुधस्तथा।
गुरुः शुक्रः शनी राहुः केतुश्चैते यथाक्रमम्‌॥

Remember, that ‘graha’ are being defined keeping in view their movement in the skies, across the zodiac consisting of constellations, as being observed from earth – i.e. a Geocentric View. The Earth, hence, doesn’t figure in the list of ‘graha’.

Thus, when you observe from earth, the Sun also “appears” to move in the sky across the zodiac, as does the Moon.

The Sun and The Moon, we know, do not fall into the definition of what we know as a ‘planet’, nor do Rahu and Ketu.

What are Rahu and Ketu then?

Rahu (North Node as per Western Astrology) and Ketu (South Node as per Western Astrology) are not physical bodies, but mathematical points on the zodiac, formed at the intersection of the orbit of the Moon and the apparent orbit of the Sun, as observed from the earth.

More about these later as the concept is related to Solar and Lunar Eclipse.

kuṁḍalī [कुंडली] – the horoscope - 1

kuṁḍalī [कुंडली] is the chart drawn that captures the position of the grahas [ग्रह] in the skies at a particular time.

- janma kuṁḍalī [जन्म-कुंडली] or the Natal Horoscope is the record or map of the ‘planetary’ positions in the zodiac at the time of one’s birth.

- praśna kuṁḍalī [प्रश्न कुंडली] is the map of ‘planetary’ positions in the zodiac at the time of asking a particular query.

Likewise, a kuṁḍalī or chart can also be drawn for various other purposes like finding

- muhūrta i.e. for fixing auspicious times for marriages, ceremonies, inaugurations etc.

- weather changes, natural calamities etc.

It is important to understand as to what constitutes a “planet” in Vedic Astrology.

JYOTISHA - the branches

Ancient jyotishAs classify jyotiṣa in a varying manner and into several divisions.
Reference to the classification or branches of jyotiṣa can also be found in “praśna mārga”.

3 skandha	6 āṅga	Involves
gaṇita (गणित)	gola – गोल (Spherical Body)	Observational Astronomy
	gaṇita – गणित (Mathematics)	Mathematical aspects of Astronomy and Astrology
saṁhitā (संहिता)	nimitta - निमित्त or śakuna – शकुन (Omens)	Study of and Predictions based on omens and gestures
horā (होरा)	jātaka – जातक (Natal Horoscopy)	Based on Planetary positions at time of birth
	praśna – प्रश्न (Horary Astrology)	Based on (time of) question asked
	muhūrta – मुहूर्त (Electional Astrology)	Involves fixing auspicious timing for various events like marriage, inauguration etc.

saṁhitā also deals with medinī śāstra (मेदिनी शास्त्र) i.e. Mundane Astrology, which deals with predictive astrology of territorial regions and events such as earthquakes, weather changes including storms, rains etc.

horā may also deal with part of nimitta.

siddhāṁta [सिद्धांत] refers to the mathematical and astronomical part.

Sages have also classified it as:
- Astronomy, Horoscopy and saṁhitāa OR
- gaṇita, horā and sakhā (mathematical aspects of astrology).

Astrology can also be classified into:

1) pramāṇa - प्रमाण (proof):
- includes gaṇita skandha and
- deals with Mathematical Aspects of Astrology

2) phala - फल (fruit/result):
- includes other 2 skandha and
- deals with Predictive Aspects of Astrology