Classical texts of Vedic astrology: BPHS, Phaladeepika, Saravali

Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (BPHS) is framed as a dialogue: the sage Maitreya asks questions and Maharishi Parashara answers. In the opening, Maitreya calls Jyotish 'the supreme limb of the Vedas' and says it has three divisions: Hora, Ganita and Samhita. He then asks about Hora, the general part.

The text closes by saying Parashara learnt the Jyotish Shastra as narrated by Lord Brahma to Narada, and by Narada to Shaunaka and other sages. That is the lineage the book claims for itself.

The R. Santhanam translation used on Skybond runs to 97 chapters. They cover the grahas (planets) in chapter 3, the signs in chapter 4, divisional charts (supplementary charts built from the birth chart) in chapters 6 and 7, the twelve houses in chapters 11 to 24, aspects in chapter 26, strengths and karakas (planets assigned as indicators of specific life areas) in chapter 32, yogas (planet combinations with set meanings) in chapters 34 to 42, dashas (timed planetary periods) from chapter 46 onward and ashtakavarga (a system of points) in chapters 66 to 72, among other topics.

P.V.R. Narasimha Rao (PVR) calls BPHS 'the most authentic and final treatise on Vedic astrology', and his own textbook follows Parashara on basics such as counting houses by whole signs. PVR also writes that the knowledge explicitly taught in most books, including his own, is incomplete or incorrect in places, because much was lost or corrupted over time.

Phaladeepika is by Mantreswara. The wisdomlib edition (translated by V. Subrahmanya Sastri, 1950) describes it as 865 Sanskrit verses across 28 chapters, and says Mantreswara is believed to have lived in either the 13th or the 16th century CE.

Its chapters include definitions (ch. 1), planets (ch. 2), divisions of the zodiac (ch. 3), strengths (ch. 4), profession (ch. 5), yogas (planet combinations with set meanings, ch. 6 and 7), the effects of each sign as lagna (the Vedic ascendant, the sign rising on the eastern horizon, ch. 9), the bhavas (houses, ch. 15 and 16), dashas (timed planetary periods, ch. 19 to 22), ashtakavarga (a system of points, ch. 23 and 24) and transits (ch. 26).

Saravali is by Kalyana Varma, who introduces himself as king of the Vyagrapada region. He writes that Varahamihira's Brihat Jataka stated the essence of the sages' teachings briefly, and that Saravali gathers useful material 'from Yavanas etc.' to be read alongside Brihat Jataka.

The Saravali translation used here has 55 chapters. They run from the signs and planets through yogas (planet combinations with set meanings), the planets in each sign and house, dashas (timed planetary periods) and ashtakavarga (a system of points).

PVR describes Varahamihira as 'relatively modern, as he belongs to 600 AD', and notes some inconsistencies between Parashara and Varahamihira that may have arisen from corruption of texts over time.

Texts differ in places, and Skybond's pages show both views rather than picking a winner. Two examples:

• Rahu and Ketu (the north and south nodes, two shadow points in the Moon's path): PVR gives their exaltation signs as Gemini and Sagittarius, while the BPHS dasha chapter and B.V. Raman give Taurus and Scorpio.
• House systems: PVR uses whole signs, where an entire sign is one house. Raman takes the lagna (ascendant) degree as the middle of the 1st house, so houses can span parts of two signs.

Where a classic disagrees with the default tables, Skybond's lessons add an 'Other texts differ' note.

PVR's advice to students is to understand the teachings of the sages correctly first, then experiment to confirm that understanding.

Skybond teaches from three modern textbooks alongside the classics:

• Vedic Astrology: An Integrated Approach, by P.V.R. Narasimha Rao (PVR)
• Hindu Predictive Astrology, by B.V. Raman
• Light on Life, by Hart de Fouw and Robert Svoboda

Skybond's Learn lessons are drafted with AI from verified sources, then fact-checked and edited by Skybond before publishing.