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.

jātas taulini sauṇḍiko adhvani rato hairaṇyako nīca kṛt krūraḥ sāhasiko viśa arjita dhanaḥ śastra antago ali sthite | sat pūjyo dhanavān dhanur dhara gate tīkṣṇo bhiṣak kāruko nīco ajñaḥ kuvaṇiṅ mṛge alpa dhanavāṃl labdho anya bhāgyair rataḥ

One born when the Moon is in Libra is a tippler, devoted to traveling, a goldsmith, performs base deeds, and is cruel. When the Moon is in Scorpio, he is rash (reckless), gains wealth by people (the Vaiśya class), and meets his end by weapons. When the Moon is in Sagittarius, he is honored by the good, wealthy, sharp (fierce), a physician, an artisan. When the Moon is in Capricorn, he is low, ignorant, a bad trader, of little wealth, and lives devoted to the fortunes obtained from others.

dyūta ṛṇa pāna rata nāstika caura niḥsvāḥ kustrīka kūṭakṛd asatya ratāḥ kuja ṛkṣe | ācārya bhūri suta dāra dhana arjana iṣṭāḥ śaukre vadāny aguru bhakti ratāś ca saumye

When the Moon is in the sign of Mars (Aries or Scorpio), one is addicted to gambling, given to debt and drinking, an atheist, a thief, destitute, attached to bad women, a forger, and devoted to falsehood. In the sign of Venus (Taurus or Libra), one is a teacher, blessed with many sons, a wife, and the acquisition of wealth, and is well-liked. In the sign of Mercury (Gemini or Virgo), one is generous, not heavy (i.e. agreeable), and devoted to religious worship.

jyotir jña āḍhya nara indra nāpita nṛ pakṣma īśā budha ādyair harau tad vad bhūpa camūpa naipuṇa yutāḥ ṣaṣṭhe aśubhaiḥ stry āśrayaḥ | jūke bhūpa suvarṇa kāra vaṇijaḥ śeṣa īkṣite naikṛtī kīṭe yugma pitā nataś ca rajako vyaṅgo adhano bhūpatiḥ

When the Moon is in Leo and aspected by the planets beginning with Mercury, the person born will be respectively: (by Mercury) an astrologer, (by Jupiter) wealthy, (by Venus) a king, (by Saturn) a barber, (by the Sun) a king, and (by Mars) a king. If in the sixth (Virgo) aspected by malefics, he depends on women for support. In Libra, when aspected (by Mercury) a king, (by Jupiter) a goldsmith, (by Venus) a merchant, and by the remaining planets a wicked and cruel man. In Scorpio: a father of twins, bowed down, a washerman, deformed, poor, and a king (respectively).

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.

kanyāyāṃ bhrātṛpūjā va taulike priyakṛnnaraḥ | vṛścike pitṛbādhā syāt|h cāpe jñānadhanodayaḥ

When (the Moon or relevant planet) is in Virgo, there is worship of brothers; in Libra, the person becomes one who does pleasing deeds; in Scorpio, there would be affliction to the father; in Sagittarius, there is a rise of knowledge and wealth.

vṛścike kalaḥ pīḍā taulike hyadhikaṃ phalam|h | kanyāyāmatilābhaśca śaśāṃke mṛgabādhikā

When (the Moon is) in Scorpio there is distress; in Libra indeed (there is) abundant result; in Virgo there is great gain; in Capricorn (there is) trouble from deer (animals).

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.

candradaśāyāṃ jūke strīkṛtadoṣāśca mānahāniḥ syāt | bhavennotsāhī capalo dāridryadaśoʼnto manoduḥkhī || 20 ||

In the Moon's daśā in Libra there arise faults caused by women and loss of honour; one becomes lacking in enthusiasm, fickle, ending in the daśā of poverty and grieved in mind.

tulāyāṃ vipaṇau ratiṃ vidadhate paṇyaṃ ca kṛṣiṃ tathā lābhaṃ vāṇijyajamarthasañcayaṃ vidhuḥ kāntiṃ ca vidyāṃ tathā | nīcasthaḥ kurute nṛṇāṃ ca vipulaṃ duḥkhaṃ dhanakṣīṇatāṃ tatsthāne tu śaśī karoti satataṃ dāridryamapyarthinām ||

In Libra the Moon makes men delight in the marketplace, in merchandise and farming, in profit born of trade and the accumulation of wealth, and grants beauty and learning. When debilitated she causes great sorrow and loss of riches; placed in that house the Moon continually produces poverty in those who seek wealth.

dharmātmā guṇavān viśālahṛdayo mandasmito dāravān | kleśātmā krayavikrayeṣu kuśalo hāsyapriyo jñānavān | bandhūnāṃ hitakṛtsutairvirahitaḥ sthūletaro vā dhanī devākhyo dravabhojano'nyatanayo jātastulāyāṃ bhavet || 7 ||

With the Moon in Libra, the native is righteous, virtuous, broad-hearted, of gentle smile, having a wife, of toilsome nature, skilled in buying and selling, fond of laughter, learned, a benefactor of kinsmen, bereft of sons, stout or lean, wealthy, godlike, fond of liquid food, and reared by another.

taulisthe himagau budhādiśubhadairālokite syāt kramād bhūpaḥ svarṇakaro vaṇikkujaravicchāyāsunairvañcakaḥ | kīṭasthe śaśini dvimātṛpitṛko rājapriyo nīcakṛ- drogī nirvaniko nṛpālasaciyo dṛṣṭe budhādigrahaiḥ

When the Moon is in Libra and aspected by Mercury and other benefics that confer auspiciousness, the person becomes, in order, a king, a goldsmith, a merchant, and a deceiver of the shadow-life by Mars and the Sun (i.e., cruel ones). When the Moon is in Scorpio and aspected by Mercury and the other planets, the person has two mothers and fathers, is dear to the king, base in conduct, diseased, without wealth, and a minister of the king.

siṃhasthe pṛthulocanaḥ suvadano gambhīradṛṣṭiḥ sukhī kanyāsthe viṣayāturo lalitavāgvidyādhiko bhogavān | taulisthe'mraviprabhaktinirato bandhupriyo vittavān kīṭasthe śaśini pramattahvadayo rogī ca lubdho'ṭanaḥ

When the Moon is in Leo, one is broad-eyed, fair-faced, deep of gaze, and happy. When it is in Virgo, one is afflicted by sensual desire, of charming speech, rich in learning, and given to enjoyments. When in Libra, one is devoted to the worship of gods and brahmins, fond of relatives, and wealthy. When the Moon is in Scorpio, one is distracted in heart, sickly, greedy, and a wanderer.

candre bhaumagṛhe kujādikathitatriṃśāśakeṣu kramāt duṣṭā dāsyasatī suśīlavibhavā māyāvinī dūṣaṇī | śukrarkṣe bahudūṣaṇānyapatiga pūjyā sudhīviścutā jñarkṣe cchasavatī napuṃsakasamā sādhvī guṇāḍhyotsukā

When the Moon is in a sign of Mars (Aries or Scorpio), in the trimsamsa divisions reckoned in order beginning with Mars and the others: (the woman is) wicked, a servile yet chaste woman, well-conducted and prosperous, deceitful, and one given to fault-finding. When (the Moon is) in a sign of Venus (Taurus or Libra): one with many faults, devoted to a husband other than her own, honored, of good intellect though fallen. When (the Moon is) in a sign of Mercury (Gemini or Virgo): one full of cunning, like a eunuch (sexless), virtuous, and rich in qualities and eager.

adhanaṃ vyādhitamaṭanaṃ paribhūtaṃ bhogaviprayuktaṃ ca | asutamasāraṃ jūke janayati ravivīkṣitaścandraḥ

The Moon in Libra (Tulā), aspected by the Sun, produces a person who is poor, diseased, a wanderer, despised, deprived of enjoyments, childless, and without substance.

dṛṣṭo budhena candraḥ kalāvidagdhaṃ prabhūtadhanadhānyam | gurubhavākyaṃ vidvāṃsaṃ deśakhyātaṃ tulādhare kurute

The Moon, aspected by Mercury, makes one skilled in the arts, possessed of abundant wealth and grain, of weighty speech, learned, and renowned in the land, when in the sign of the balance-holder (Libra).

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.

sitabhāge sitacche yopidrakhānnapānadhanasaukhyam | janayati budhena candro vādyajñaṃ nṛttageyaparam

The Moon in the portion of Venus, or aspected by Venus, produces enjoyment of women, food, drink and wealth; the Moon together with Mercury makes one skilled in music and devoted to dancing and singing.

paranīcaṃ gate candre kṣīṇo yogo mahīpateḥ | nāśamāyāti rājeva daivajñapratilomagaḥ

When the Moon, being weak, has gone to the depression-sign of another, the yoga of the king meets destruction, like a king who goes against the astrologer.

īrṣyānvitā sukhaparā ramyāḥ sitacandrayor diśendoś ca | sukhitāḥ kalāsu kuśalā guṇaśatasahitā vinītāḥ syuḥ

Those (born when) the (Moon is in such positions) of Venus and the Moon are filled with jealousy, devoted to pleasure, and charming; (under the influence) of the Moon they are happy, skilled in the arts, endowed with hundreds of virtues, and well-mannered.

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.