Read different
views :
The traditional
ayanāmsa will start decreasing from the maximum value of +27°.
Equations of
sunrise and ascendant (lagna) need accurate value of ayanāmsa, upon which all
important components of religious almanac and horoscopes are based in our
country India.
Xxxxx
Ayanamsa (ayanāṃśa:
from Sanskrit ayana
'movement',
and aṃśa 'component'), also ayanabhāga
(from Sanskrit bhāga 'portion'),
is
the Sanskrit term for many systems used in Hindu
astrology to account for the precession of equinoxes. There are also
systems of ayanamsa used in Western sidereal astrology, such as the
Fagan/Bradley Ayanamsa.
Xxxxx
Starting
First point of Aries.
There is a wide
spread speculation in identifying the correct date of the Ayanamsa or when it
was at exactly 0° of the Zodiac or of the first point of Aries. Many hypotheses
have been put forward each greatly differing from the other. The following
questions need to be addressed in this context before going forward with the
vexed question of Ayanamsa.
1.How and when
was the Precession of the Equinoxes first detected?
2.How has the
problem of the Precession of the Equinoxes teen solved?
3.What has been
the method to work out the exact rate as well as time of the Precession of the
Equinoxes?
In the Vedic
period, the problem of the Precession of the Equinoxes was not immediately
detected; therefore the calendar of those times (observable calendar through
the naked eye) did not show any remarkable change in performance of sacrifices.
However after a
long lapse of 2000 years or more, a seasonal shift was detected by the then
priests and especially their predictions regarding arrival of the rains in a
particular month failing. The apparent reason of the failure of rainfall
predictions was the shifting of seasons due to the Precession of the Equinoxes.
It also altered
the days and months of sacrifices being performed then. In ancient Vedic times,
the Precession of the Equinoxes was also termed as shifting of seasons.
The Ayanamsa of
today as expressly stated by the Calendar Reform Committee as constituted by
Government of India too has been more concerned in bringing about an uniform
pattern for Indian festivals and other social ceremonies more than its
importance in predictive angle. There were many method devised to resolve this
problem. Notably among them was the introduction of intercalary months,
introducing the
luni-solar
calendar and even the Zodiac being divided into 12 equal parts so that the
passage of the Sun through these parts could correspond with particular
seasons. It is clearly mentioned in Vedanga Jyotisha, a small treatise on the
history of astronomy of India covering the Vedic period, a particular point in
the sky known as Varuna was taken into consideration for the measurement of the
phases of the Moon. On the basis of the appearance of the Moon, even thirteen
months were observed in a year.
Vernal
Equinox Date.
In the absence
of any direct evidence to fix the date of the commencement of the Precession of
the Equinoxes,
it was quite
impossible, to work out the exact date of the beginning of the Precession.
However on the basis of indirect references contained in Rigveda, Taittariya
Samhita etc. many hypotheses were put forward to work out a particular value of
the Ayanamsa and many new phrases in the light of advanced knowledge of
astronomy have been introduced such as refractive index, gravitational force,
difference in observable phase, actual phase etc.
But in spite of
having such moderns tools of astronomy,
no satisfactory
answer has been found so far regarding the true value of Precession. Many new
concepts were introduced which only made the issue more complex. The date 499
A.D as the date of the Vernal Equinox or the point of 0° of Aries sign was
worked out by Sri Yukteshwar.
Both Surya
Siddhanta and Aryabhatiya proposed 4,32,0000 years as the total period of a
Maha Yuga. This period was further divided into four segments or Yugas and Kali
Yuga was assigned a total period of 4,32,000 years.
However Sage
Lagadha divided the period into five Yugas, the foremost one being Deva Yuga
followed by Krita Yuga and so on. The supporters of Surya Siddhanta say that 12000
divine years or the years of the gods have been converted into human years by
multiplying 12000 x 360 = 432000 years. It was an intended error to divide the
time unit between God’s day and human days so that Kali era would continue
indefinitely; otherwise the Kali era had ended many times.
The actual Yuga
in fact consists of 12000 years. However due to ascending and descending motion
of time, the total time period assigned to a Yuga was 24000 years.
Sri
Yukteshwar’s work was based on this figure. It is also pertinent to note here
that in olden times the Precession of the Equinoxes was observed on the basis
of Nakshatra to Nakshatra. It is also important to note that the series of
Nakshatras in olden times began with Krittika, not with Aswini.
However with
the arrival of Greeks in India the Nakshatras series was reconstituted and it
started with Aswini Nakshatra. However up to the period of the Greeks in India,
no one used the Rasis or signs as a method to calculate the Ayanamsa. Therefore
it was the era of Sri Yukteshwar in which the transition from Nakshtra-based
calculation to Rasi-based calculation took place.
Sri Yukteshwar
identifies the date of 0″ Ayanamsa i.e. the coincidence of the Niryana and
Sayana Zodiacs based on two assumptions.
.Shri Yukteshwar assumption.
First
Assumption
The fixing of
coincidence of both the Zodiacs was based on the statement of Aryabhata
in Aryabhatiya (Kalakriya Section Verse 10)
षट्यब्दानां
षश्टिर्यदा
व्यतीतास्त्रयष्च
युगपादा ㅣ
त्र्यधिका
विशतिरब्दास्तदेह
यम जन्मनोतीताः
∥
When sixty
times sixty years and three quarter Yugas had elapsed, twenty three years had
then passed since my birth.
Here, three
quarters of Yugas means Krita, Treta and Dwapara had elapsed and it was then
Kali Yuga. It means 3600 years had elapsed since the beginning of Kali Yuga.
Many scholars have taken 3101 B.C. as the beginning of Kali Yuga.
So 3102 – 3600
= 499 A.D.
499 A.D. was
taken as the year in which the compilation of Aryabhatiya was done and die
birth year of Aryabhata is taken to be 499-23 = 476 A.D.
It is stated by
the commentator of Aryabhatiya that the Precession of the Equinoxes was Zero in
499 A.D. Therefore the 499 A.D. was taken as Zero year by Sri Yukteshwar.
Second
Assumption
The second
assumption of Sri Yukteshwar is from his book Holy Science where he mentions in
the introductory chapter that in the year 11501 B.C. the Vernal Equinox was in
Libra sign and the Autumnal Equinox was in Aries. Here Sri Yukteshwar differs
from other astronomers who have placed the Vernal Equinox in Aries sign.
As the
revolution of the of earth against the background of the stars has been taken
to be 24000 years, Sri Yukteshwar divided this period into two halves each one
of 12000 years. It simply means Taurus to Libra signs are covered in 12000
years and from Virgo to Aries again takes 12000 years. Thus the complete Zodiac
is covered in 24000 years.
According to
Sri Yukteshwar, the Vernal Equinox was in Libra sign in the year 11501 B.C.;
therefore, to reach 0° of Aries, the V.E. would take 12000 years. Therefore the
meeting of V.E. with the first point of Aries took place in 499 A.D.
(12000-11501= 499 A.D.) It is to be noted that in the scheme of Yukteshwar, the
following calculations were considered.
(i)
Yuga or the ecliptic rotation around a star
takes 24000 years.
(ii) 24000
years were divided by 12, or 24000 / 12 = 2000 years for each sign of the
Zodiac
(iii) The rate
of Precession was worked out as:-
360 / 24000 =
360 x 60 x 60 / 24000 = 54″
(iv) 24000 /
360 = 66.6666 years or 1° Precession takes place in 66.6666... years.
The rate of
Precession of the Equinoxes as 1° of precession in 66.66... years is close to
the figure mentioned in Surya Siddhanta.
Let us see how
the rate of Precession apart from the above calculations has been computed and
derived.
Rate of
Precession =
(i)
360 / 24000 = 54″
(ii)
(ii) 360/25920 = 50″
As per Surya
Siddhanta, the Precession of the Equinoxes is an oscillating one.
It moves 27°
to the West, retreats again to the zero point, again moves 27° to the East and
retreats again thus making an angle of 108°.
The to and fro
movement of the Equinox is taken as one revolution.
Therefore the
above cited four revolutions of to and fro movements have been taken as 2
revolutions.
In this way
when 108° is divided by 2, the figure obtained is 54″.
Another
inference which is drawn from this kind of oscillating movement of the
Equinoxes is that the maximum value of the Precession of the Equinox cannot
exceed the limit of 27°.
After
reaching the maximum limit, the Aynamsa would automatically become zero.
Yet another
reference which can be drawn from this oscillating hypothesis is that time also
retreats. It means time is not an uniform one-direction phenomenon. It can also
revert back. (Bhartiya Jyothish Sastra Vol.2)
The variation
in the rate of Precession of the Equinoxes invariably depends upon the
revolution of the ecliptic. If the period of revolution of ecliptic is taken to
be 24000 years, the rate is 54″ per year and, 50″ if the period is taken to be
25920 years.
Different
Ayanamsas
Munjala adopted
6°50′ as the Ayanamsa in Saka 854 and declared Saka 444 as Zero Precession year
and adopted 1° as annual rate of Precession of the Equinoxes.
21600+3000=24600
24600 /60 = 410
years
854-410 = 444
or 522 A.D.
Keshava, the
author of Vivaha Vrandavana compiled this work, when the Ayanamsa was 12°
in Saka 1165 or 1243 A.D.
12 x 60 x 60 =
43200
=
43200/50.290966
= 859 years
1243 – 869 =
374 A.D.
43200/ 54 = 800
years
1243 – 800 =
443 AD.
Aryabhata II
took the number of revolutions of the Ayana as 581709 in a Kalpa. According to
his hypothesis, Saka 532 or 610 A.D. is the Zero Precession years.
Arva Siddhanta
took the number of revolutions of the Ayana during a Kalpa as 578159. Taking
one revolution as equal to 96°,the annual rate of precession would come to 2′
52″.
1 Kalpa =
4354560000 years / 578159 = 7532 years.
i.e. one
revolution takes 7532 years. = 360 x 60 x 60 / 7532 = 172 seconds.
The rate of
precession would be 2 minutes 52 seconds per year.
Note: The
figures for the Kalpa vary from Siddhantic text to text.
Venkatesh
Bapuji Ketkar assumed Zeta Piscium to be the Junction star of Revati. He gave
the Ayanamsa as 18° 10’25” for Saka 1800 or 1878 A.D.
Let us see what
his figure says.
18°10’25” =
64800+ 625 = 65400
65400 /
50.290966 = 1300 years
1878 – 1300 =
578 A.D. = 50
65400 / 54 =
1211 years.
1878 – 1211
=667 A./D. = 54″
It is clear
that the Zero Ayanamsa year ranges from 490 A.D. to 667 A.D. with the rate of
Precession annually ranging between 54″ to 60″. And it is quite evident from
the above fact that the date of coincidence changes with change in rate of
Precession.
Thus the year
of coincidence itself becomes an arbitrary factor.
However, the
modern value gives 50.290966 seconds per year and the coincidence of Zodiacs
from 285 A.D. to 490 A.D.
Some
Pertinent Questions.
A few questions
arise in this context.
(i) All
Siddhantic works more or less are similar in determining the time of the
coincidence of Zodiacs as well as the rate of Precession. Did they all make
false assumptions?
(ii) What is
the basis of the modern astrologer to determine the particular year of
coincidence of the Zodiac and the rate of Precession per year?
It is also
clear from the foregoing discussion that the time of coincidence of both the
Zodiacs as well as the annual rate of precession depends upon the value taken.
If the period
of the revolution of ecliptic against the background of tie stars be 24000
years or 25920 years, the date of coincidence would differ by many hundred
years.
Similarly the
rate of Precession per year too changes with the application of different
periods of revolution. If the number of revolutions is taken for 24000 years
the rate of precession comes out to be 54 seconds and 11 of Recession of the
Equinox takes place in 66.6666 years.
On the other
hand if the number of revolutions are taken for 25920 years, then the rate of
recession of the Equinox becomes 1° in 72 years.
In this way the
annual rate of Precession of the Equinox and date of coincidence become the
factors dependent upon the arbitrary choice of the model preferred by the
astronomer or astrologer.
Motion of
Sun Important.
However
modern astrologers who take 50.2 seconds as the standard rate of annual
Precession of the Equinoxes are not aware of the fact that this rate does not
match with the motion of the Sun or the distance travelled by the Sun.
In other
words they have not considered the motion of the Sun in Tropical years and in
Sidereal years. Let us see how the length of the year in respect of Tropical
years and Sidereal years affects the rate of Precession.
And this is
the reason which explains why Siddhantic works had taken higher value of
Precession.
Another very
important point which is worth considering is fixing a particular Nakshatra for
the measurement of the Equinoxes.
In Surya
Siddhanta, Zeta Piscium has been considered to be the star group of Revati
Nakshatra and identified as Yogatara. For considering Zeta Piscium as the star
group of Revati constellation, two conditions were considered :-
(it The star’s
proximity to the ecliptic
(ii) Its
brightness so that it can easily be identified.
These two
conditions were also applied in the case of Chittra Nakshatra which forms the
basis of Lahiri Ayanamsa.
In fact, Revati
or Zeta Piscium was not near the ecliptic at the time of its adoption. It was
really 30° North of the ecliptic which cannot be said to be near. Secondly, the
existence of Zeta Piscium is a matter of controversy. In the case of Chitta or
Spica Nakshatra, it was said to be exactly at 180° in Libra in 285 A.D. In fact
the value was less than 180°. It means that it was in Virgo sign than in
Libra. But this fact was ignored by Lahiri.
In fact the
selection of any particular star is also the choice of the astronomer.
You can take
any point as a fixed one provided it should be recognized easily
and it should be near the ecliptic.
Courtesy :
Modern Astrology (Dr. Arastu Prabhakar, MSc., MBA, Ph.D)
Xxxx
Ayanamsa (Sanskrit ayanāṃśa:
ayana "movement"
+ aṃśa "component"), also ayanabhāga
(Sanskrit bhāga "portion"),
is
the Sanskrit term in Indian astronomy for the amount
of precession.
In astrology,
this is the longitudinal difference between the Tropical (Sāyana) and Sidereal
(Nirayana) zodiacs.
In astronomy
too, this is the difference between the length of a tropical year (365.2422
rotations of the earth) and
a sidereal year
(365.2563 rotations) required to complete one orbit relative to the sun
(tropical) or stars (sidereal).
Overview
Ayanamsa is
now defined as the angle by which the sidereal ecliptic longitude of a
celestial body is less than its tropical ecliptic longitude.
Ayanamsa is
mostly assumed to be close to be 24° today, according to N. C. Lahiri 23.85° as
of 2000. This value would correspond to a coincidence of the sidereal with the
tropical zodiac in or near the year 285 AD, roughly compatible with the
assumption that the tradition of the tropical zodiac as current in Western
astrology was fixed by Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
To be precise,
the so-called "Lahiri Ayanamsha" is a misnomer because N. C. Lahiri
borrowed this Chitra-pakshiya Ayanamsha from its inventors Ketkar Brothers who
propounded this idea three decades before him, and Lahiri never claimed any
credit.
But he
popularized it due to his influence on Pt Jawaharlal Nehru who allowed Lahiri's
ideas to dominate in reforming national calendar of India.
According to
this theory, the sidereal position of Spica
(alpha-Virginis, assumed to be the ancient
Chitra) should be exactly 180 degrees as stated in Suryasiddhaanta, while both
sidereal and tropical zodiacs should coincide at the time of zero ayanamsha.
Although
Suryasiddhaanta and other ancient texts state that ayanamsha was zero in 499 AD
(Mesha Sankranti), N C Lahiri insisted on Spica's identification as Chitra and
concluded that Spica was the nearest bright star adjacent to 180 degrees, hence
resting on Spica he concluded that tropical position of Spica being zero in 285
AD must be the zero point of Ayanamsha too.
S.K Kar– Sept
1954
"Actually
the current orthodox Panchangas (the Chaitra Panchangas also) or Panjikas Show
Apr 13 or Apr 14 as the beginning of the sidereal Nirayana year.
Due to the
accumulated error of about 3 1⁄2 degrees in the motion of the sun,
i.e. 3 1⁄2 days in the calendar date; but if we are to correct the
position, the Nirayana sidereal year should begin on Apr 10 or 11 i.e. a
concession of 20 degrees should be given instead of 23 degrees.
Astrological
Magazine, February 1955
"The
Calendar Reform Committee has proposed the adoption of 23d 15m 0s as Ayanamsa
in order to avoid opposition from the public.
The Chaitra
school too has come into being in order to avoid public opposition.
Neither of
these, however, is in conformity with the truth."
S.K.Kar on
Chitra paksha Ayanamsa
"The
followers of Chitra Paksha Ayanamsa have no valid and authoritative document in
their favour for accepting a precessional concession of about 23d 15m for the
present."
Sri Lahiri and
Professor Vaidya pointed out that if any change is introduced in the ayanamsa
at this stage, The calendar for Four years so far calculated will require a
thorough revision involving a great amount of labour and time. It was, however,
agreed that if the difference be small such as one or two minutes of arc, the
labour involved in the revision would not be much.
"If Sri
N.C Lahiri Ayanamsa is correct, then why did Sri N.C Lahiri agree to change one
or two minutes of Arc in his Ayanamsa? Why did he mention about Labour and
recalculation of Panchangas?"
The sidereal
ecliptic longitude of a celestial body is its longitude on
the ecliptic defined with respect to the
"fixed" stars.
The tropical
ecliptic longitude of a celestial body is its longitude on the ecliptic defined
with respect to the vernal equinox point.
Since the
vernal equinox point processes westwards at a rate of about
50".29 per year (the rate has been accelerating) with respect to the fixed
stars, the longitude of a fixed body defined with respect to it will increase
slowly. On the other hand, since the stars "do not move" (this
ignores the effect of proper motion) the longitude of a fixed body defined
with respect to them will never change.
Traditional
Vedic astrology (Jyotisha) uses a system of sidereal longitude. When the
practitioners of these schools of astrology use modern astronomical
calculations to determine the position of celestial bodies, they need to take
into account the difference caused by the different reference point used in
specifying the longitude, and this they call the ayanamsa.
Some orthodox
schools of Vedic astrology reject modern astronomy and still base their
computations upon traditional texts and treatises, mostly following the Surya
Siddhanta or treatises based on it.
They use
ayanāmsa according to Surya Siddhānta, in which ayanāmsa rises from 0°
to +27° during 1800 years, then decreases to 0° and further to −27°, thereafter
rising again, thus oscillating within a rage of ±27° instead of cyclically
moving in a circle as modern concept of ayanāmsa suggests.
Manjula
advocated a cyclical concept of ayanāmsa, but it could not gain currency among
almanac makers.
In West Theon
(ca. 4th century AD) was the earliest known advocate of Surya Siddhāntic type
of ayanāmsa (although Theon said trepidation varied within a rage of ±8° only :
Surya
Siddhāntic trepidation was deduced by multiplying 90° with 0.3,
Theon
multiplied 27° again with 0.3 to get 8° ).
This
oscillating type of ayanāmsa, known as trepidation, was a favourite of Indian,
Arab and European astrologers and astronomers till the time of Copernicus.
Modern science
does not support the idea of trepidation or oscillating ayanāmsa.
490 AD is
regarded as the zero date of this type of ayanāmsa according to Surya
Siddhānta, Aryabhatiya and other ancient treatises.
Thus the present
value of traditional ayanāmsa is nearly +22.64°, which is less than modern the
value of about +24°.
After 2299 AD,
the traditional ayanāmsa will start decreasing from the maximum value of +27°,
while modern
value will keep on increasing.
Equations of
sunrise and ascendant (lagna) need accurate value of ayanāmsa, upon which all
important components of religious almanac and horoscopes are based in India.
The ayanamsha
describes the increasing gap between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs.
The ayanamsa,
changes continually through the Precession of the Equinoxes at the rate of
approximately 50" a year, is currently about 24° (Lahiri).
Western
Astrologers Fagan and Bradley computed it at 24 degrees in 1950; however, there
are various values in use in India.
While the
general consensus among Western siderealists is that the star Alcyon represents
the first point of Aries, differences arise because of the indefinite ancient
boundaries of the constellation of Aries.
Indian
definition of astrological signs is not based on constellations but on equal
angular division of sky, which makes it difficult to define signs in terms of
stars and constellations.
Xxxxx
What is
ayanamsa?
Ayanamsha,
or ayanamsa is the exact difference in degrees between the moving vernal
equinox and the exact sidereal zero Aries point.
There are
differing values; the Lahiri, Raman, etc, determined by different criteria.
It's basically
the exact degree offset of the tropical zodiac from the sidereal zodiac.
In practice I
find the Raman is the most useful, especially for timing of dasha.
What is your
opinion of the astrologer PVR Narasimha Rao, his software Jagannatha Hora and
his delineation of pushya paksh ayanash.
My experiments with astrology was largely
inspired by him. My learning, approach and practice has been largely fashioned
by his ways. He does charge for his consultations and has a service motive
which is inspiring. His book and software made Indian Astrology much easier
accessible.
PVR is the person
who brought me to astrology and he is also the one who proved a catalyst for my
exit as an astrologer. I learnt from him and now I have moved away from it
because of him. PVR is a very very learned man (this is not a reference to his
Academic education) when it comes to Astrology. His choice of Ayanamsha is his
personal discretion. I read his Paper promoting the Pushypaksha Ayanamsha long
time back, but, it appeared to make sense, though the Proof of the pudding is
in the eating.
The Concept of
Ayanamsha needs to be understood before we discuss PVR in this respect. The
concept of Sidereal Astrology is followed by Indian Astrologers.
This has been
the traditional practice and has been attested to in Surya Siddhanta by Arya
Bhatta.
However, people
also claim that Traditions of Tropical Astrology were also present in India.
Scholars differ on this however, they are all unanimous that there is some
distinction between a Tropical and a Sidereal system of Astronomy. Even though
a Tropical Year is only just a few minutes smaller than a Sidereal year, but
over the period of hundreds (if not thousands) of years, the difference is
massive.
So far, all
scholars are in accord. Now, the point of influx for a Tropical year will start
at 0'' Aries. So, its not hard to fix the Point where Aries will start. But,
where does the sidereal year start, or, where to Fix 0'' Aries in Sidereal
system?
This is not an
astrological question per se, this is a Astronomical question.
However,
astronomy doesn’t concern itself so much with Zodiacs as we may imagine.
They are
concerned with Constellations (and/or Lunar Mansions). some of these have been
identified in ancient times and have lasted till date, so, there is some sort
of agreement to that as well.
However, a
zodiac sign is a 30 Degrees arc and a Constellation /Star is merely a point on
the sky, how to fix it against the backdrop of 30'' on the sky?
This is where
the concept of Ayanamshas come in. It is a reference start point for the Cosmic
Zodiac.
In India we use
Lahiri's Ayanamsha, which a statistician has set for us to be followed. It was
based on a traditionally used Chitrapaksha Ayanamsha where the Chitra (a
specific star in it) was considered fixed at a given degrees (180'').
Pushypaksha
Ayanamsha also presupposes the placement of a certain star at a certain degree
as shown in traditional texts. Other learned astrologers have all suggested
their own preference for ayanamshas; some like Prof. B V Raman proposed his own
ayanamsha. Some corrections on Lahiri ayanamsha are also in practice.
xxxxxx
