prārabdhā himagau daśā sva gṛhage māna artha saukhya āvahā kauje dūṣayati striyaṃ budha gṛhe vidyā suhṛd vittadā | durga araṇya patha ālaye kṛṣi karī siṃhe sita ṛkṣe annadā kustrīdā mṛga kumbhayor guru gṛhe māna artha saukhya āvahā

A daśā beginning when the Moon is in its own sign brings honor, wealth, and happiness. In Mars's sign it harms the woman (wife). In Mercury's sign it gives learning, friends, and wealth. In a sign of forts, forests, and pathways it brings agriculture; in Leo, the sign of Venus, it gives food; in Capricorn and Aquarius it gives a bad wife; in Jupiter's sign it brings honor, wealth, and happiness.

jñāty urvī īśa jana āśrayaś ca turage pāpaiḥ sad ambhaḥ śaṭhaś ca atyurvī īśa nara indra paṇḍita dhanī dravya ūna bhūpo mṛge | bhūpo bhūpa samo anya dāra nirataḥ śeṣaiś ca kumbha sthite hāsyajño nṛpatir budhaś ca jhaṣage pāpaś ca pāpa īkṣite

If (the Moon in Sagittarius is aspected) by Mercury, he protects his kinsmen; by Jupiter, he is a ruler of the earth; by Venus, he is a support to many people; if aspected by malefics, he is exceedingly arrogant and a rogue. If the Moon in Capricorn is aspected by Mercury, he is a king (and learned); by Jupiter, a ruler; by Venus, learned; by Saturn, wealthy; by the Sun, deficient in wealth (poor); by Mars, a king. If the Moon is in Aquarius, (aspected by Mercury) he is a king; by Jupiter, equal to a king; by the rest (Venus and the malefics), he is devoted to other men's wives. If the Moon is in Pisces, (aspected by Mercury) he knows how to make mirth (is a jester); by Jupiter, a king; by Mercury, learned; and if aspected by a malefic, he is sinful.

khasthe arke avanije rasātala gate yāna prapātad vadho | yantra utpīḍanajaḥ kuje astamayage saura indunā abhyudgame | viṇ madhye rudhira arki śīta kiraṇair jūka aja saura ṛkṣagair yāte vā galita indu sūrya rudhirair vyoma asta bandhv āhvayān

When the Sun is in the zenith (10th house) and the lord of the watery sign has gone to the nadir (the lowest point, 4th), death comes from a fall from a vehicle; when Mars is in such position, death arises from being crushed by a machine; when Mars is at the setting point (7th) together with Saturn and the Moon at the rising point (ascendant), death occurs through (matters of) excrement and blood. When Saturn and the Moon (cold-rayed one) occupy Libra, Aries, or the Saturn-signs, or when the Moon and Sun have waned and passed through bloody (signs), death (is to be predicted) in connection with the sky, the setting, and relatives.

makare putralābhaḥ syātkumbhe dhānyavivarddhanam|h | mīne kalyāṇamāpnoti vṛścike viṣabādhitā

In Capricorn there will be the gain of a son; in Aquarius, increase of grain; in Pisces one obtains welfare; in Scorpio, affliction by poison.

kumbhabhe dhanalābhaḥ syānmakare'pi dhanāgamaḥ | cāpe bhrātṛjanāt|h saukhyaṃ meṣe mātṛsukhaṃ vadet|h

When (the Moon is) in Aquarius, there will be gain of wealth; in Capricorn too, there will be acquisition of wealth; in Sagittarius, happiness from brothers; in Aries, one should declare happiness from the mother.

But enough of digression: let us now pursue our main topic. And first, the natures of the zodiacal signs. On this matter, it is said in the Vāmanatājika: As the results [accruing] to all creatures depend on the zodiacal signs and planets, the natures of the signs beginning with Aries are described first. The twelve signs are said by the wise to be Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquarius are known by the learned as the six fierce signs, and Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces are known as the six gentle signs. The fierce signs are known as male; the gentle signs are known as female. Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn are movable signs; Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are fixed signs; Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces are of a dual nature. Aries, Taurus, Leo, the latter half of Sagittarius, and Capricorn: these signs are known by the learned as having four feet. Cancer and Scorpio are both said to have many feet. Both the signs Aquarius and Pisces are known as having no feet. The signs Gemini, Libra, Virgo and the former half of Sagittarius are said by the sage Yavanācārya18 to have two Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are known as fiery signs; Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are earthy signs; Gemini, Libra and Aquarius are airy signs; Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are known as watery signs. Capricorn, Aquarius and Virgo have half a voice; Libra, Scorpio, Cancer and Pisces are known to have no voice; Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Leo and Sagittarius have a voice. Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces have much progeny; Gemini, Taurus and Aquarius are said to be middling; and Leo, Capricorn, Virgo, Aries, Libra and Sagittarius, to have few. As this name or epithet is in the plural, an alternative translation would be ‘by the which to base an emendation. the classical Āyurvedic terminology comprising three humours (doṣa): the fiery signs are dry, very hot, and correspond to bile; the earthy signs are dry, somewhat cooler, and correspond to wind (replacing the Graeco-Arabic humour of black bile); the airy signs are moist, hot, and correspond to a mixture of humours (to make up for the missing humour of blood); while the watery signs are moist, cool, and correspond to That is, east, south, west, north. Although several of the colour terms used in this stanza have more than one meaning, comparison with the parallel passage in Samarasiṃha’s Karmaprakāśa 1.7 makes the Leo, Sagittarius and Aries are dry, yellow-hot, of bilious temperament; Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are dry, hot and cool, of windy temperament; Gemini, Aquarius and Libra are hot, moist of body, of equally mixed temperament; Cancer, Pisces and Scorpio are moist, [The four signs reckoned] by repetition thrice over from Aries are ever known to the learned as princes, commoners, menials and Brahmans, [respectively], and as the directions beginning with the east.20 Cancer, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Aries, Taurus: these rise with their hinder parts. The rest are known to rise with their heads. Pisces is said to do both. Those rising with their heads are strong in the daytime; the others are said to be strong at night. The own ninth-part of a sign is called the best of its class. Next, Samarasiṃha states the colours of the signs [in the Tājikaśāstra]: yellow, variegated, and brown are the colours of [the twelve signs] Then, Samarasiṃha himself describes [in the Tājikaśāstra] which among the The six [signs] beginning with Capricorn rise crookedly because [their] measure of time is short; the six beginning with Cancer rise evenly because [theirs] is long; [the six signs beginning with] Aries and Libra, Although no zodiacal sign rises completely perpendicular to the horizon even at the terrestrial equator, as the ecliptic (and therefore the band of the zodiac) is inclined to the celestial equator, for places of observation further north or south, the signs with longer ascensional times rise in a more upright fashion than those with shorter ascenthe translation given is the most likely meaning. The verse as a whole, as well as Balabhadra’s explication of it, can only refer to the tropical zodiac, although this is not explicitly stated. In that zodiac, the six signs from Capricorn to Gemini rise in a shorter time than the average two hours per sign, while the remaining six signs take more than two hours each to rise. Aries and Libra themselves do not share the same rising time, as Aries shares the shortest rising time of all with Pisces, whereas Libra shares the longest with Virgo. However, the two halves of the zodiac beginning with Aries and Libra, respectively, do correspond exactly in terms of rising times. meṣādirāśīnāṃ saṃjñāntaram uktaṃ varāheṇa | B G a.c.; śede N; dādaśa K T than āryā, is taken from BJ 1.17 by the same author; LJ 1.18a should properly read kendracatuṣṭayakaṇṭaka-. Either Balabhadra or an early copyist appears to have conflated the two stanzas, which are similar in both subject and composition. Balabhadra is referring to the sun’s equinoctial shadow (akṣabhā), measured at noon on the equinox using a standardized gnomon (śaṅku) 12 digits (aṅgula) high. A midday shadow of the same length thus implies a solar elevation angle of exactly 45°, the gnomon and its shadow forming two equal sides of a right triangle. This angle subtracted from 90° gives 45° as the terrestrial latitude of the place of observation. (Where the two sides are of unequal length, the terrestrial latitude may be found by the formula 90 - tan-1 (12∕s), where s is the length of the shadow.) I am indebted to S.R. Sarma for explaining the details of this Sanskrit convention. Assuming a tropical zodiac, the figures given by Balabhadra do match a terrestrial latitude of 45° north (about as far distant from the equator as Turin in Italy). It seems safe to assume that Balabhadra calculated this example theoretically, without reference to any place known to him personally. A pala is approximately 24 seconds of clock time. The first eleven of these are Sanskritized Greek names: Kriya from Κριός; Tāvuri from Ταῦρος; Jituma from Δίδυμοι; Leya from Λέων; Pāthona from Παρθένος; Jūka from Ζυγός; Kaurpya from Σκoρπιός; Taukṣika from Τοξότης; Ākokera from Αἰγόκερως; and Hṛdroga Although the time cannot become [very] short or long when the degree of latitude is small, it does become so when the degree of latitude is great. For example, where the shadow of latitude is twelve digits,24 the rising [times in] palas of the [six signs] beginning with Capricorn are: And the rising [times in] palas of the [six signs] beginning with Cancer are: From this it can be understood that the rising times of [the signs] beginning with Cancer are much greater than [those] of [the signs] beginning with Capricorn. [In the Tājikaśāstra], Samarasiṃha himself states the purpose of If the moon is increasing within the expansive signs that rise evenly, then there is increase in that year; if the reverse, decrease. Varāha[mihira] gives synonyms of the signs starting with Aries [in BṛhajHe himself states the designations of the angles and other [places, in LaghuFor [the places] following the ascendant, descendant, tenth and fourth [places, which are called] angles, quadrants or cardines, the designation is ‘succedent’, and [the places] following those are designated from Ὑδροχόος. Antyabha means simply ‘the last sign’; however, antya could possibly be a pseudo-etymologized form of Ἰχθύες. Kendra, paṇaphara and āpoklima are all Sanskritized Greek technical terms: κέντρον, ἐπαναφορά and ἀπόκλιμα, respectively. The basic meaning of κέντρον, as of Sanskrit kaṇṭaka, is ‘sharp point, goad’. The translation follows the received text of Laghujātaka 1.18a rather than the confused version of the text witnesses. siṃho vṛṣaḥ prathamaṣaṣṭhahayāṅgatauli| pittoṣṇaśītādiprayojanaṃ rogakartā yatra rāśau ityādi ṣaṣṭhabhāve rogaHe also states the mūlatrikoṇa27 houses of the planets [in Bṛhajjātaka 1.14]: Leo, Taurus, the first [or Aries], the sixth [or Virgo], Sagittarius, Libra and Aquarius are the trikoṇa houses [of the planets reckoned] from the This concludes the natures of the zodiacal signs. Next, the purpose of [knowing] the natures of those signs. Concerning this, the purpose of the signs designated as having two feet or four feet, [belonging to] day or night, should be understood to relate to the results of the places, which will be described below. The purpose of [designating] the signs male or female should be understood to relate to strength by position, as in [the statement by Samarasiṃha in the Tājikaśāstra]: ‘Male planets in male signs, and female planets in female signs, are strong’. The purpose of [designations] such as bilious, hot and cold is to discover the location of an illness from the sixth house, as in [the statement in Varṣatantra 10.15]: ‘In the sign where the [planet] causing the illness is [located]’, and so on. The purpose of the directions of the signs is to discover the direction of a journey. The purpose of [designations] such as movable signs should be understood to relate to the consideration of meals, as in [the statement] ‘When a movable [sign] rises, one eats once’.29 The purpose of [designations of] the signs as living in water and so forth should be understood to relate to hunting, as in [the statement of Varṣatantra 18.34] ‘From the planets and signs called watery being strong, they declare a water hunt’. The purpose of [designations of] the signs such as fiery should be understood to relate to such cases as there being danger from fire when a fiery sign is in the eighth house. The purpose of [designations] such as Brahman and other castes, or as fierce and gentle and so forth, should be understood [as in] the statement by Samarasiṃha [in the Tājikaśāstra]: ‘Age, dimension and castes30 should be known by means of conjecture from the ascendant’. For example, in judging [the question] ‘How will I gain this year?’, gain of substance of the same colours Literally, ‘root-triangle’. This specifically Indian dignity system is similar to but not identical with the Hellenistic signs of planetary ‘joys’; see Gansten 2018. Namely, in the order of the days of the week, as usual in Indian sources: the sun, the Source unknown. Other Tājika works differ, stating that a movable sign rising indicates three or ‘many’ meals. and so on should be predicted through [a person] of the same estate as [the sign in] the eleventh house [or] the ascendant, one endowed with the same fierce or gentle nature and so on, with the same [number of] offspring, who talks correspondingly much or little. This concludes the purpose of [knowing] natures of the zodiacal signs.

śaukre'nnapānamatulaṃ saukhyaṃ candro vināśaṃ ca | pariṇatavanitāprītiṃ sauragṛhe preṣyakarmaratim || 15 ||

In Venus's [sign] the Moon [gives] incomparable food and drink, comfort, and also destruction; in Saturn's house [it gives] the affection of a mature woman and a fondness for servile work.

kumbhe candradaśāyāṃ pravartane kṣīṇavṛttirabhyāse | bahukarmabhogī capalaḥ kustrīsakto gudodarārtiḥ syāt || 25 ||

In the Moon's daśā in Aquarius, in his engagements (the native is) of diminished livelihood in practice; an enjoyer of many menial labours, fickle, attached to a vile woman, and afflicted with diseases of the anus and belly.

dīrghāṅghro ghaṭajo ghaṭākṛtitanuḥ pracchannapāpe rato vācālo bahuputravāniha sukhī pūrvārthahīno'ṣṭanaḥ | saddveṣyo badhiro rugārtahṛdayaḥ serṣyo'lasātmā śaṭhaḥ kāmī vyagramatiḥ svakarmavacanaiḥ kleśī parārthānvitaḥ || 11 ||

With the Moon in Aquarius, the native is long-legged, of body resembling a pot, devoted to concealed sin, talkative, with many sons, here happy, bereft of ancestral wealth, hateful to the good, deaf, of disease-afflicted heart, jealous, of lazy nature, deceitful, lustful, of distracted mind, troubled through his own acts and words, and intent on others' wealth.

kumbhasthite niśānāthe śubhadṛṣṭe yaśodhanaḥ | jātaḥ paravadhūlolaḥ pāpakheṭanirīkṣite

When the Moon is situated in Aquarius and aspected by benefics, one born will possess fame and wealth. If aspected by malefic planets, he becomes lustful toward other men's wives.

saumyāṅgo rucirekṣaṇaḥ kulavaraḥ śilpī dhanuḥsthe vidhau gītajñaḥ pṛthumastako mṛgagate śāstrī parastrīrataḥ | kumbhasthe gataśīlavān budhajanadveṣī ca vidyādhiko mīnasthe mṛgalāñchane varatanurvidvān bahustrīpatiḥ

When the Moon is in Sagittarius, one has a pleasant body, charming eyes, is foremost in his family, and skilled in the arts and knowledgeable in song. When the Moon is in Capricorn, one has a broad head, is learned in the scriptures, and is attached to other men's wives. When in Aquarius, one is lacking in good conduct, is hostile to wise people, yet excels in learning. When the Moon (bearer of the deer-mark) is in Pisces, one has an excellent body, is learned, and is the husband of many women.

lagnātputrakalatrabhe śubhapatiprāpte'thavā'lokite candrādvā yadi sampadasti hi tayorjñeyo'nyathā|sambhavaḥ | pāthonodayage ravau ravisute mīnasthite dārahā putrasthānagataśva putramaraṇaṃ putro'vaneryacchati

If the houses of children and wife counted from the lagna are occupied or aspected by benefic lords, prosperity indeed exists for those two; otherwise their attainment is to be understood differently. When the Moon is in the ascending sign of Aquarius (the rising of the water-pourer) and Saturn (the son of the Sun) is situated in Pisces, it destroys the wife; and when situated in the house of children, it brings about the death of children—the son grants protection of the earth.

kuṃbhe'nyadāranirataḥ kṣitipo narendro veśyāpatirnṛvaparo himagau nṛmānyaḥ | antye'ghakṛtpaṭumatirnṛpatiśca vidvān doṣaikadṛgduratikṛcca kujādidṛṣte

If (the Moon is) in Aquarius, the king is devoted to other men's wives; (in Capricorn) the lord of men becomes a master of courtesans, devoted to men. In the last sign (Pisces) one becomes a doer of sins, of keen intellect, a king and learned; but when aspected by Mars and the others, he becomes one whose vision is faulty (defective in one eye) and a doer of evil deeds.

kurute śaśī dhanāḍhyaṃ priyavākyaṃ vāhanairyutaṃ śukre | viṣayaratiṃ sukharatahitaṃ bhāskarirāśau hitaṃ mātuḥ

The Moon (placed in the sign) of Venus makes one wealthy, of pleasant speech, and endowed with vehicles; (in the sign) of Saturn it makes one attached to sensual objects, joined with the pleasures of enjoyment, and beneficial for the mother.

atimalinamatiṃ ca śūraṃ nṛparūpaṃ dhārmikaṃ kṛṣikaraṃ ca | kurute dinakaradṛṣṭo ghaṭadharasaṃsthaḥ kṣapānāthaḥ

The Moon situated in Aquarius and aspected by the Sun makes one of very impure mind, yet valiant, having the appearance of a king, righteous, and engaged in agriculture.

kumbhe'tisatyavākyaṃ mātṛgurudhanairviyuktamarasaṃ ca | viṣamaṃ parakāryarataṃ karoti bhaumekṣitaścandraḥ

The Moon in Aquarius, aspected by Mars, makes one very truthful in speech, deprived of mother, preceptor and wealth, devoid of taste (or dispassionate), uneven (or harsh), and devoted to the affairs of others.

śayanopacārakuśalaṃ nītividhijñaṃ priyaṃ ca yuvatīnām | tanuvibhavasukhaṃ puruṣaṃ karoti budhavīkṣitaḥ śaśī kumbhe

When the Moon is in Aquarius and aspected by Mercury, it makes a person skilled in the art of bed and dalliance, knowledgeable in the rules of polity, dear to young women, and one whose body, wealth and happiness are slender.

grāmakṣetratarūṇāṃ varabhavanānāṃ varāṅganānāṃ ca | kurute bhoginamāryaṃ sādhu guruvīkṣitaḥ śaśī kumbhe

The Moon in Aquarius, aspected by Jupiter, makes one noble and an enjoyer of villages, fields, trees, fine houses, and excellent women.

saure prapannaḥ prāpnoti pumān kharoṣṭramahiṣān | kuṭṭāṃ jaradgavīṃ vā kuṭutusthitikhalakodravādīṃś

When (the Moon) has arrived at Saturn's (sign/portion), a man obtains donkeys, camels, and buffaloes, a hut or an old cow, and things lying about in disorder, husks, kodrava grain and the like.

kumbhasyāṣṭamabhāge trikoṇasaṃsthe (pica) niśānāthe | jāto bhavalavaśyaṃ rājā śubhadaḥ samastalokasya ||

When the lord of night (Moon) is in the eighth part of Aquarius, situated in a trine, the one born is surely a king, bestowing good upon the whole world.

sukha-dhana-mānāny āśaṃsi jīva-gṛhe diśati śītāṃśuḥ | pariṇata-vayaḥ-sama-rūpā saura-gṛhe vardhakī vāpi ॥ 13 ॥

The cool-rayed [Moon] grants hopes of comfort, wealth, and honor in Jupiter's house; in Saturn's house, a [daśā] resembling advanced age, or else carpentry/old age.

saurārgṛhe tadrtaṃ śaśini saṃyukte vilasinīṃ jātā | mātrā sākaṃ kulaṭā krūragrahaṃ vīkṣite bhavati ||19||

In the house of Saturn, that being true when the Moon is joined, she is born a courtesan; aspected by a cruel planet, she becomes wanton together with her mother.

śanaireṇaitena yutesthitāvā śaśīhitarujā viṣṇvalakṣaṇaḥ ||29||

Joined with or standing upon Saturn, the Moon afflicted brings disease, marked by misfortune. ||29||

candre sarvakhagekṣite tu sumahābhāṇḍaṃ labhec chrīkaraṃ sūryarkṣe yadi hemajaṃ rajatajaṃ sthūlendurāśau sthite | bhaumarkṣe yadi tāmrajaṃ budhagrahe ratnāḍhyakaṃ jīvabhe śailaṃ śukragṛhe tu mṛṇmayam idaṃ tallauhajaṃ mandabhe || 47 ||

If the Moon is aspected by all the planets, one obtains a very great vessel (bhāṇḍa) that brings prosperity. If [the Moon stands] in the Sun’s asterism the vessel is made of gold; when it is placed in the Moon’s own sign it is a large one of silver; if in Mars’ asterism, of copper; in Mercury’s, one richly set with jewels; in Jupiter’s asterism, of stone (śaila); in Venus’ house, of clay; and in Saturn’s asterism, of iron.