The prediction of the future based on the study of the positions of the stars has been present in the culture of humanity. No matter where you are in the world, there will always be a group of people who will be dedicate themselves to study the zodiac. India, in addition to having one of the most amazing civilizations on the planet, has its own Hindu horoscope.
The first references date from 1500 before Our Era, recorded in ancient religious texts of the Hindu culture. These books were known by the name of “Vedas”, which translated into the English means knowledge. Similarly, the Hindu horoscope comes from Vedic astrology or Jyotish in the Sanskrit language, meaning “Body of heavenly light.”
Subsequently, the influence of Western astrology shows its strong presence between 150BC and 140AD, as could be seen in old books belonging to the Greek astronomer, geographer and mathematician Hipparchus of Nicea, who lived between 190 and 120BC.
However, in 664AD, the Muslim invasions after the death of Mohammed, the Arabs controlled Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria, achieving not only the control of the territory, but the destruction of ancient astrological knowledge.
At present, the Hindu horoscope maintains its mysticism but based on medieval classical astrology through the compilation of the texts of Sārāvalī of Kalyāṇavarman, from 800AD.
One of the most striking features of the Hindu horoscope is the vision of sidereal astrology from the planetary and non-astral perception, different from the horoscope we are inclined to on this side of the planet. It also has 12 different signs that are related to the Western horoscope.
For this reason, every sign of Hindu astrology has its counterpart in the Western zodiac. Meṣa (Aries); Vṛṣabha (Taurus); Mithuna (Gemini); Karka (Cancer); Siṃha (Leo); Kaniá (Virgo); Tula (Libra); Vrischika (Scorpio), Dhanus (Sagittarius); Makara (Capricorn); Kumbha (Aquarius) and Mīna (Pisces), make up the signs of the Hindu horoscope.
The reason for the denomination of each sign is intertwined with the origin of the Hindu culture. However, there is a physical process related to the mismatch of the earth called equinoctial precession. Astronomically, this natural movement of the earth is the slow and gradual change of the orientation of the axis of rotation of the earth in a direct way and translation in an indirect way.
Unlike the Western horoscope, the Hindu one is divided, as if it were an organizational chart, into three segments or areas with different functions, studies and interpretations of the stars and constellations, totally different from one another.
One group is in charge of the study of the astronomical characteristics of the celestial bodies called “The Siddantas“; the other group is related to atmospheric phenomena such as natural catastrophes or economic movements, wars or epidemics called “The Samhitas“, and finally there are the “Phalitha Jyothisha“, who are dedicated to predictions according to the individual’s astral chart.
ALFA