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.

tīkṣṇaḥ sthūla hanur viśāla vadanaḥ piṅga īkṣaṇo alpa ātmajaḥ | strī dveṣī priya māṃsa kānana nagaḥ kupyaty akārye ciram | kṣut tṛṇa udara danta mānasa rujā sampīḍitas tyāgavān | vikrāntaḥ sthira dhīḥ sugarvita manā mātur vidheyo arka bhe

One born when the Moon is in Leo is fierce, with thick jaws, a broad face, and reddish-brown eyes; he has few children, hates women, is fond of meat, loves forests and mountains, and remains angry for a long time over trifling matters. He is afflicted by hunger, thirst, stomach and tooth ailments, and mental distress; he is liberal in giving, valorous, of steady intellect, and very proud of mind, yet obedient to his mother.

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).

mūka unmatta jaḍa andha hīna badhira preṣyāḥ śaśa aṅka udaye | sva ṛkṣaja ucca gate dhanī bahu sutaḥ sa svaḥ kuṭumbī dhane | hiṃsro bhrātṛ gate sukhe sa tanaye tat prokta bhāva anvito naikārir mṛdu kāya vahni madanas tīkṣṇo alasaś ca arige

When the Moon rises (in the ascendant), one becomes mute, mad, dull, blind, deficient, deaf, or a servant. When the Moon is in its own sign or in its exaltation, one is wealthy, has many sons, and is one's own master with a family in the (second) house of wealth. When in the (third) house of brothers, one is cruel; when in the (fourth) house of happiness, blessed with that and with progeny, endowed with the qualities of the said house. One has no enemies, has a soft body; (when in) the fiery (signs) one is passionate, and (when in) the enemy's house one is sharp and lazy.

krūre aṣṭame vidhavatā nidhana īśvaro aṃśe yasya sthito vayasi tasya same pradiṣṭā | sat svarthageṣu maraṇaṃ svayam eva tasyāḥ kanyā aligo hariṣu ca alpa sutatvam indau

If a malefic is in the eighth house, widowhood (results). The age at which death (occurs is indicated) by the navāṃśa in which the lord of the eighth (house) is placed. When the benefics are in their own signs, her own death (is indicated). When the Moon is in Virgo, Scorpio, or Leo, few children (result).

uccāt|h patanabhītiśca svalpadravyasamāgamaḥ | videśagamanaṃ caiva siṃhe svāntargate vidhau

Fall from a high place and fear of falling, the acquisition of little wealth, and also travel to a foreign land—when the Moon is situated within Leo (in its sub-period).

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.

durgāraṇyanivāsaṃ karṣaṇakarmasu ratiṃ mahotsāham | siṃhe śaśī prakurute strīputravivardimaniśaṃ vā || 16 ||

In Leo the Moon brings about dwelling in impenetrable forests, delight in torturing (harassing) deeds, and great vehemence; or [it brings about] strife with wife and son day and night.

siṃhe candradaśāyāṃ jñānadhanāptirmanorathaṃ labhate | svajanaśreṣṭho matimān vikalāṅgho nātiputravān śubhaḥ || 18 ||

In the Moon's daśā in Leo, there is gain of knowledge and wealth, and one obtains his heart's desire; foremost among his kin, intelligent, with a defective limb, not having many sons, (yet) fortunate.

gāmbhīryānvitamān viśālavadano dhīrdharmabhogānvito māyāvī sumukhī kṛpālurabhayodyukārye ciraṃ kṛpyati | kṣutkṣāmaḥ svabalānvito'tivibhavo mātṛpriyo naiṣṭhiko vikrānto vijano'sthiro'lpatanayaḥ siṃhe prasūto naraḥ || 5 ||

With the Moon in Leo, the native is profound and honoured, broad-faced, of wisdom, dharma and enjoyments, cunning, of pleasant face, compassionate, undertaking fearless deeds, slow to anger, lean from hunger, endowed with his own strength, very wealthy, dear to his mother, steadfast, valiant, solitary, unsteady, and with few sons.

karkasthe śaśini kṣamāsutamusvairālokite śauryavā- nāryaśreṣṭhalavirmahīpatiryojīvī sanetrāmayaḥ | bhupaḥ paṇḍitavāg dhanī narapatiḥ pāpī vibhuḥ siṃhage kanyāyāṃ dhaniko vibhuḥ prabhusamo vidvān viśīlaḥ sukhī

When the Moon is in Cancer aspected by Mars, one becomes valiant, noble, excellent, and a king. (When aspected) by Jupiter, one is long-lived but has an eye-ailment, a king, eloquent and learned, and wealthy. (When the Moon is) in Leo, one is a king, sinful, and a lord. (When the Moon is) in Virgo, one is wealthy, a lord, equal to a master, learned, of bad character, and happy.

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.

rājā jyotirviddhanāḍhyo narendraḥ siṃhe candre nāpitaḥ pārthivendraḥ | dakṣo bhūpaḥ sainyapaḥ kanyakāyāṃ niṣṇātaḥ syādbhūmināthaśca bhūpaḥ

When the Moon is in Leo, (one becomes) a king, an astrologer, wealthy, a lord of men, a barber, and a lord of the earth. When (the Moon is) in Virgo, (one becomes) a skilled person, a king, a commander of armies, an expert, a lord of the land, and a ruler.

jisetha pīyūṣamayūkhamālī sūryasya yāte tilakaṃ vasatyāḥ | tadā subhānāṃ phalam ādiśanti sthāne sthitānāṃ ca vivardhamānam ||

When the nectar-rayed Moon, having gone to the Sun's mansion, dwells there as an ornament, then the wise declare an auspicious fruit, growing and increasing for those things established in their place.

nṛpatiṃ nṛpaguṇayuktaṃ janayati candraḥ sauryasaṃsthitaḥ | svagṛhe sukhitasubhagaṃ nayavinayaparākramākrāntam || dhanakanakavastrayoṣidratanānāṃ bhājanaṃ śrīṃ kurute | karkaṭake pitṛto vedyājananāyakaṃ kāntam ||

The Moon, when situated in the sign of the Sun (Leo), produces a king endowed with royal qualities; when in his own house (Cancer) he makes one happy, fortunate, and possessed of statesmanship, modesty, and prowess. In Cancer (from the father's side) he makes one a receptacle of wealth, gold, garments, women, and jewels, prosperous, a leader of men, and handsome.

sthūlaṅgo mandaromā pṛthuvadanagalo hrasvapiṅgākṣiyugmaḥ sodare ṣaṭ kṣupipāsājaṭhararadarujā pīḍito māṃsabhakṣaḥ | dātā tīkṣṇo dyuputro vipinanagaratimātṛvadyaḥ suvakṣāḥ vikrāntaḥ kālāpa śaśabhṛti ravibhe sa kavergambhīradṛṣṭiḥ || nṛpatisapatnaṃ kurute prokṛṣṭaguṇaṃ mahāsyadaṃ vīram | raviṇā dṛṣṭaḥ siṃhe pāparataṃ viśvataṃ candraḥ

One with a stout body, scanty hair, a broad face and neck, a pair of short tawny eyes, six brothers, afflicted by hunger, thirst and pains of the stomach and teeth, a meat-eater, generous, sharp, a son of the Sun (Saturn or Mars), to be addressed amid forests, cities and mothers, broad-chested, valiant—when the Moon is in the sign of Leo, in the constellation of the Sun (ruled by the Sun), he has a deep gaze. The Moon, seen by the Sun in Leo, makes one an enemy of kings, endowed with excellent qualities, of great speed, heroic, and given to evil deeds and roaming everywhere.

senāpatiṃ pracaṇḍaṃ narayuvatisutārthavāhanopetam | janayatyuttamapuruṣaṃ svekṣitendurmāḥ siṃhe

When the Moon is in Leo, aspected by its own lord, it produces a fierce commander of an army, an excellent man endowed with men, young women, sons, wealth and conveyances.

strīsaktaṃ kṣīrabhojitaṃ strīvaśayaṃ yuvatisevakaṃ siṃhe | kurute budhena dṛṣṭo dhanasukhabhogānvitaṃ candraḥ

The Moon in Leo, aspected by Mercury, makes one attached to women, fed on milk, subject to the control of women, a servant of young women, and endowed with wealth, comfort and enjoyments.

abhijātaṃ kulaputraṃ bahuśrutaṃ guṇasamṛddhaṃ ca | kurute narendratulyaṃ gurucandramasau siṃhe

Jupiter and the Moon in Leo make one well-born, a son of good family, learned in much, abounding in virtues, and equal to a king.

pramadāvibhavairyuktaṃ rogiṇamapi yuvatisevakaṃ kurute | suratavidhijñaṃ prājñaṃ śaśī harau śukrasahitaḥ

The Moon, joined with Venus, makes one—even if diseased—endowed with the wealth of women, a servant of young women, learned in the methods of love-making, and wise.

iti siṃhe rāśiḥ | lokanamasyaṃ subhagaṃ vanagiridurgeṣu randhragṛhavāsam | suragurubhavane karoti raviṇekṣitaḥ karam

Thus (the Moon) in the sign Leo. (The Moon) makes one honoured by the world and fortunate; (placed) in forests, mountains and fortresses, dwelling in secret places; in the house of the preceptor of the gods (Jupiter) being aspected by the Sun, it makes one a tax-collector.

atiśayarūpaṃ chalitaṃ priyaṃvadaṃ vāhanādyamatidhīram | janayati sitena dṛṣṭo manimatha pārthivaṃ siṃhe

When (the Moon) in Leo is aspected by Venus, it produces (a person) of surpassing beauty, given to deceit, sweet-spoken, possessed of vehicles and the like, very firm, owning jewels, and even a king.

durgāraṇyanivāsaṃ kṣeṇagarahakamasetukamāntam | siṃhe śaśī prakurute strīputravivādamaratiṃ ca

When the Moon is in Leo, it makes one dwell in a fort or forest, brings about loss, harm and dissolution (lack of bridge/support), and causes quarrels with wife and children as well as discontent.

kanyākhyavṛṣabhasiṃhe śītaramayūkhe'lpaputra syāt | putrabhavane śubhayute nirīkṣite vā tathaiva syāt

When the cool-rayed Moon is in the signs called Virgo, Taurus, or Leo, one has few sons; and if the house of sons is joined with or aspected by benefics, it would likewise be so.

durgāraṇya-nivāsaṃ karṣaṇa-gṛha-karma setu-karmāntam | siṃhe śaśī prakurute strī-putra-vivāda-ratiṃ ca ॥ 14 ॥

In Leo the Moon brings about dwelling in a fortress or forest, the work of ploughing, house-building, and the work of building bridges, as well as quarrel and attachment concerning wife and sons.

aṣṭamarāśigateṅkurguruāśiniśca kuṃbhasiṃhasaṃsthitayoḥ ǀ siddhapadasthitatovāninipattirmityamadyasasyasya ǁ 5 ǁ

When the lord of the eighth sign is reached, and Jupiter and the Moon are situated in Aquarius and Leo, or placed in a perfected position, there is the accomplishment of an abundant grain harvest.

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.