Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: बृहत् पराशर होरा शास्त्र;
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: '; abbreviated to BPHS) is the most comprehensive extant
Śāstra
''Shastra'' (, IAST: , ) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'zAstra'' The wo ...
on
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
horoscope
A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...
Parāśara
Parāśara (Sanskrit: पराशर; IAST: ) was a maharshi and the author of many ancient Indian texts. He is accredited as the author of the first Purana, the Vishnu Purana, before his son Vyasa wrote it in its present form. He was the gr ...
, the origin and date of the original composition is unknown. The most popular version of the BPHS consists of 97 chapters, a 1984 translation by R. Santhanam.
Nomenclature
'bṛhat parāśara horā śāstra' (बृहत् पराशर होरा शास्त्र) can be loosely translated to examples such as 'the great book on
horoscopy
A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...
by Parashara' or 'Great Parashara's manual on
Horoscopic astrology
Horoscopic astrology is a form of astrology that uses a horoscope, a visual representation of the heavens, for a specific moment in time in order to interpret the inherent meaning underlying the alignment of the planets in astrology, planets at th ...
':
* 'bṛhat' (बृहत्) means 'great, large, wide, vast, abundant, compact, solid, massy, strong, mighty' or 'full-grown, old' or 'extended or bright (as a luminous body)' or 'clear, loud (said of sounds)'.
* 'parāśara' (पराशर) is the name of a
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
Maharishi
Maharishi is a Sanskrit word, written as "महर्षि" in Devanagari (formed from the prefix mahā- meaning "great" and r̥ṣi - sage, poet or a singer of sacred hymns), indicating members of the highest order of ancient Indian sages, po ...
('great
Rishi
''Rishi'' () is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" or ...
')
* 'horā' (होरा) means '
horoscope
A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...
or
horoscopy
A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...
'; also means "hour" or "time", from Greek(''ώρα'').
* '
śāstra
''Shastra'' (, IAST: , ) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'zAstra'' The wo ...
' (शास्त्र) means 'compendium', 'book', 'manual', 'rule', 'instruction', 'science', and 'advice'.
Summary
The Jyotiṣa - Vedic Astrology - is one of the Vedāṅga or six disciplines linked with the
Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
horoscopic astrology
Horoscopic astrology is a form of astrology that uses a horoscope, a visual representation of the heavens, for a specific moment in time in order to interpret the inherent meaning underlying the alignment of the planets in astrology, planets at th ...
, personal horoscopes, etc.)
* ''Siddhānta'': Mathematical
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
Saṃhita
Saṃhitā literally means "put together, joined, union", a "collection", and "a methodically, rule-based combination of text or verses".Horā, used, for example, to determine the appropriate and most auspicious times for various events and ceremonies (i.e. depending on the anticipated planetary and star movements and positions).Flood, Gavin. Yano, Michio. 2003. ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism.'' Malden: Blackwell.
Origin and authenticity
J. Gonda states that at 'some time after 600 C.E.">Common_Era.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Common Era">C.E.was written the ''purva-khanda'' of what was to become known as the ''Brhatparasarahora'' [''Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra''], ascribed to Parashara... [it] is deeply indebted to the [Brhajjataka of Varāhamihira, Varahamihira]; it has also borrowed two verses from Yavanajataka, Sphujidhvaja... and its existence is presupposed by the author of the ''uttara-khanda'', which was commented on by Govindasvamin in ca. 850 .E. Therefore, the ''purva-khanda'' must have been written between ca. 600 and 750... but before 800'.
Additionally
Bhaṭṭotpala
Utpala or (') is the name of a 10th-century Indian commentator of Vārāha Mihira's ''Brihat Samhitā''. ''Brihat Samhitā'' is a Samhitā text of (Indian astrology and astronomy) . Samhitā is one of three branches of (Samhitā has many other ...
(circa 900 C.E.) was a Vedic astrologer that 'in his commentaries he wrote that though he had heard of he''Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra'', he had never seen it. Thus we know it was lost for at least nine hundred years, until new manuscripts emerged from the early 20th century (see below).
As such, there are doubts in regards to the authenticity of various manuscripts of the ''Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra'' (BPHS) that emerged centuries later. One concern raised is the apparent admission by Sitram Jha in his 1944 publication of the BPHS that he changed and removed elements of the manuscript. Another concern raised by Vedic Astrologers such as Shyamasundara Dasa 'that casts doubt on the veracity of the modern BPHS is the complete lack of any ancient commentary on the text. The oldest commentary known to me is that of Devacandra Jha's Hindi commentary from the first half of the 20th century, that is, less than 100 years old'.
Editions and translations
According to R. Santhanam and J. Gonda, the following are the modern translations (and manuscripts) of the ''Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra'' (BPHS):
Notes and references
References
*
David Pingree
David Edwin Pingree (January 2, 1933, New Haven, Connecticut – November 11, 2005, Providence, Rhode Island) was an American historian of mathematics in the ancient world. He was a University Professor and Professor of History of Mathematics ...
, ' in J. Gonda (Ed.) ''A History of Indian Literature'', Vol VI Fasc 4 (1981)