tri koṇage jñe vibalais tathā parair mukha aṅghri hastair dvi guṇas tadā bhavet | avāg gavi indāv aśubhair bha saṃdhigaiḥ śubha īkṣitaś cet kurute giraṃ cirāt

When Mercury occupies a trine (5th or 9th) and is weak, and the other planets are likewise (weak), there will be doubling of the face, feet and hands. When the Moon is downward-facing (in Taurus) joined with malefics at the junctions of the asterisms, (the child becomes mute); but if it is aspected by benefics, it acquires speech after a long time.

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.

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.

duṣṭiphala(BJ_19) candre bhūpa budhau nṛpa upama guṇī steno adhanaś ca ajage niḥsvaḥ stena nṛ mānya bhūpa dhaninaḥ preṣyaḥ kuja ādyair gavi | nṛsthe ayo vyavahāri pārthiva budhābhis tantu vāyo adhano sva ṛkṣe yoddhṛ kavi jña bhūmi patayo ayo jīvi dṛg rogiṇau

(Phalas arising from aspects.) When the Moon is in Aries and aspected (by Mars and the other planets in order): a king (by Mars), one resembling a king (by Mercury), endowed with good qualities (by Jupiter), a thief and poor (by Venus and Saturn), destitute (by the Sun). When in Taurus, the man is: a thief, respected, a king, wealthy, a servant (by Mars and the rest in order). When the Moon is in Gemini and aspected by Mars and others: a dealer in iron, a man of the realm (king), learned, by Mercury and the rest, a weaver, and poor. When in its own sign (Cancer): a warrior, a poet, learned, a lord of the earth (king), a dealer in iron, and one diseased in the eye (by the planets in order).

meṣe tu raktapīḍā ca vṛṣabhe dhānyavarddhanam|h | mithune jñānasampānnaścāndre dhanapatirbhavet|h

When the Moon is in Aries, there is bleeding affliction; in Taurus, increase of grain; in Gemini, one becomes endowed with knowledge; and (in this way) the lord of wealth comes to be.

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.

vayaso madhyagabhāge candradaśāyāṃ mahāsukhī dhanavān | dvijadevamantrādhibhaviḥ sampanno yuvativallabho bhavati || 14 ||

In the dasā of the Moon [in the sign] of the middle portion [of life, i.e. Taurus], one is exceedingly happy and wealthy. Endowed [with the favor] of Brahmins, gods, and sacred formulas, he becomes beloved of young women.

pūrvārddhasaṃbhṛto jananīmṛtyukaro'tipāpaparataḥ | paścādardhе vṛṣabhe piturviyogaṃ śaśī kurute || 15 ||

Sustained in the first half [of the dasā], it brings about the death of the mother and devotion to grievous sins; in the latter half, the Moon in Taurus brings about separation from the father.

vācālo dṛḍhavigraho'tibalavānalpātmajo naikagaḥ | daivajñastvaritaḥ sukhī kṣayadhano gūḍhātmajo jñānavān naikākī bahuvāk kulīrabhavane jāto'rthavān bhūpateḥ || 2 ||

With the Moon in Taurus, the native is talkative, of firm body, very strong, with few sons, going to many places, an astrologer, quick, happy, of declining wealth, with hidden sons, learned, not solitary, very talkative, and gains wealth from the king.

candre meṣagate kujādisvacarairālokite bhūpati- rvidvān rājasamaḥ samastaguṇavān coro daridro bhavet | nisvastheyanṛmānyabhūpadhanikapreṣyo vṛṣasthe tathā yugmasthe vikalo nṛpaḥ sumatimān dhīraḥ khalo nirdhanaḥ

When the Moon is in Aries and aspected by Mars and the other planets in their own courses: (by Mars) one becomes a king; (by Mercury) learned; (by Jupiter) equal to a king; (by Venus) endowed with all virtues; (by Saturn) a thief and poverty-stricken. Likewise when the Moon is in Taurus: (by Mars) destitute; (by Mercury) steadfast; (by Mercury again/respected) honored by men; (by Jupiter) a king; (by Venus) wealthy; (by Saturn) a servant. When in Gemini: (by Mars) crippled; (by Mercury) a king; (by Jupiter) of good intellect; (by Venus) firm; (by Saturn) wicked and without wealth.

meṣasthe yadi śītagau ca laghubhuk kāmī mahotthāghnajo dātā kāntayaśodhanorucaraṇaḥ kanyāprajo gogate | dirghayuḥ suratopacārakuśalo hāsyapriyo yugmake kāmāsaktamano'ṭanaḥ suvacanaścandre kulīrasthite

If the Moon is situated in Aries, (the native) eats little, is amorous, suffers from afflictions arising from the great (parts), is a giver, and possesses charm, fame, wealth, and brilliance. When the Moon is in Taurus (the bull), he is a father of daughters; he is long-lived, skilled in the arts of love-making, and fond of laughter. When the Moon is in Gemini, his mind is attached to desire, he is a wanderer, and is sweet of speech. When the Moon is situated in Cancer (the crab)...

krūre'ṣṭame vidhavatā nidhaneśvarāṃśe yasya sthite vayasi tasya same pradiṣṭā | satsvarthageṣu maraṇaṃ svayameva tasyāḥ kanyāligohariṣu cālpasutatvamindau

When a malefic is in the eighth house, widowhood is declared for her at the age equal to the navāṃśa of the lord of the eighth house when it is so situated. When benefics occupy the wealth (second) house, her death occurs by her own self. And when the Moon is in Virgo, Scorpio, Taurus, or Capricorn, there is scarcity of progeny.

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.

vyūḍhorasko'tidātā ghanakuṭilakacaḥ kāmukaḥ kīrtiśālī kāntaḥ kanyāprajāvān vṛṣasamanayano haṃsalīlāpracāraḥ | madhyānte bhogabhāgī pṛthukaṭicaraṇaskandhajānvāsyajaṅghaḥ sāṃghaḥ prāyo'sya pakṣe kvacid api śubhagatiḥ kṣāntiyukto gavīndau || kṣaṇakamatikarmakaraṃ dvipade catuṣpade saṃruddhaṃ ca | prāyogikaṃ prakurute vṛṣabhe ravivīkṣitaścandraḥ

He has a broad chest, is very generous, has thick curly hair, is amorous, full of fame, handsome, blessed with daughters, has eyes like a bull's, moves with the grace of a swan; in middle and later life he enjoys pleasures; he has broad hips, feet, shoulders, knees, face and shins, well-built, and in most respects his condition is at some times auspicious, and he is endowed with patience when the Moon is in the sign of the bull (Taurus). The Moon, aspected by the Sun and placed in Taurus, makes one a ploughman and a doer of difficult deeds, occupied with two-footed and four-footed creatures.

atikāmaṃ bhujago yuvatikṛte naṣṭasāramitrajanam | hṛdayaharaṃ nārīṇāṃ matimantaṃ śaśī vṛṣe kurute

The Moon in Taurus makes one excessively passionate, indulgent for the sake of young women, having lost wealth and friends, charming to the hearts of women, and intelligent.

prājñaṃ vākyavidhijñaṃ pramuditamiṣṭaṃ samastabhūtānām | janayati budhena dṛṣṭaḥ śaśī vṛṣasthonupamaguṇayuktam

The Moon situated in Taurus, aspected by Mercury, makes (one) wise, knowledgeable in the rules of speech, cheerful, dear to all beings, and endowed with incomparable virtues.

sthiraputradārasuhṛdaṃ mātāpitṛbhaktimantamatinipuṇam | dhārmikamativikhyātaṃ gavi gurudṛṣṭaḥ śaśī kurute

The Moon in Taurus, aspected by Jupiter, makes one having steady sons, wife and friends, devoted to mother and father, very skillful, righteous and greatly renowned.

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.

|| iti raviḥ || dākṣiṇyarūpadhanabhogayuteḥ pradhānaḥ candre karkaṭavṛṣabhājagate vihaṅge | unmattanīcabadhiro vikaṭaśca mūkaḥ śeṣe naro bhavati kṛṣṇatanuविṃśeṣāt

Thus the Sun. When the Moon is placed in the houses of Karka or Vṛṣabha, the man is foremost in courtesy, beauty, wealth and enjoyment; but in the remaining (signs) of the dark-bodied (Moon), the man becomes mad, base, deaf, deformed and dumb.

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.

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.

iti meṣe || samakṛṣṇatanus tundaḥ pūrvamaghāntye'ntyakarmau khāt | nīcaḥ prakṛtiviruddho viṣamākṣinirīkṣaṇo vṛṣasāde

Thus in Aries. (In Taurus:) the person born has an even, dark body and a (prominent) belly; (something is said about) Pūrvaphalgunī, Maghā's end, and the last actions from the sky; he is base, contrary in nature, and looks with uneven eyes, when (the Moon is) in the decline of Taurus.

dākṣiṇyarūpadhanabhogaguṇaiḥ pradhānaḥ candre kulīravṛṣabhāgate vilagne | unmattanīcabadhiro vikalaśca mūkaḥ śeṣe naro bhavati kṛṣṇatanurviṃśeṣāt || 14 ||

When the Moon is in the ascendant in Cancer (Kulīra) or Taurus, (the man) is eminent through courtesy, beauty, wealth, enjoyments and (good) qualities; in the remaining (signs) the man becomes mad, base, deaf, deformed and dumb, and of a dark body in great part.

mīnodaye 'ṃśe navame pañca-viṃśati-lisike | gavi saumye sva-tuṅga-sthe śeṣair āyuḥ paraṃ bhavet ॥ 21 ॥

When Pisces rises in the ninth degree, with twenty-five degrees, in Taurus, in a benefic [sign], placed in its own exaltation, the full lifespan would result from the remaining [planets].

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.