ARCHNA’ S COLUMN VEDCASTROLOG 101 VaRaHaMIHIRa aNd EVOlUTION Of aSTROlOgY

Dr. S. Archna Murthy is an Astrology Consultant with a PhD (Astrology), M.A (Astrology), M.A Bridge (Astrology in Sanskrit), M.B.A (Singapore), Kovida (Sanskrit) & 18 years of Corporate Experience. She also spreads awareness about Astrology through her YouTube channel ‘Jyotish Shastrm (AstroScience) - Our Legacy’ (57 videos). https://www.facebook.com/JyotishShaastram

Who inspired Varahamihira?

Welcome to this monthly series where you will learn the fundamentals of Astrology in a structured manner. In the previous month’s issue of The Astrological eMagazine (July 2023), Varahamihira’s contribution and the evolution of Vedic Astrology over centuries was covered. We saw that Varahamihira compiled the works of his predecessors. Who were his predecessors and what was their contribution?

In this article, we will focus on key personalities whose contribution to Jyotish Shastram was in the period before Varahamihira. In the history of Vedic Astrology, we make a clear distinction i.e., Pre Varahamihira and Post Varahamihira period.

Varahamihira

Why is Varahamihira important? His period is a milestone in Vedic Astrology. He extracted the summary of the previous Astrologers and invented new methodology in Astrology. He specifically mentions a few key personalities who inspired his works. As ardent learners & followers of Jyotish Shastram, we should at least recognize & acknowledge their valuable contribution.

So, in this article, let’s look at Varahamihira’s predecessors & see their work.

But we know that their contribution was significant as it is noted in Varahamihira’s works.

For people who haven’t heard of Varahamihira, he is considered the Father of Modern Jyotish Shastram. Hence, whoever inspired his work also become equally significant.

These 8 important people have contributed more towards the Predictive aspect of Vedic Astrology which is also called Phalitha Jyotisham. They have given us principles on how to predict your life through horoscope.

Here, we learn about 8 people - Chanakya, Badarayana, Devaswamy, Sidhasena, Jeevasarma, Satyacharya, Manitha & Sphujidhvaja who inspired Varahamihira. Unfortunately, most of their works aren’t available now.

Chanakya

300 Bce

6th Century 1st CE

We start with Vishnu Gupta. He is from the 3rd Century BCE. He is widely known as Chanakya or Kautalya from Pataliputra i.e., modern day Patna. He actually needs no introduction as we all know him as the clever Prime Minister & Mentor or Guru for Chandragupta Maurya.

Why was he called Chanakya?

Vishnu Gupta was the son of Rishi Chanak hence, the name Chanakya. Kautalya was his pen name. He used