Mantreswara: the Phaladeepika · Chapter 3 of 3
Mandi and transits
The shadow points (PD XXV.1–4)
Mantreswara computes several invisible points from the time of day. For a day of 30 ghatikas (12 hours), Mandi rises at the end of the 26th, 22nd, 18th, 14th, 10th, 6th and 2nd ghatika after sunrise on Sunday to Saturday; at night, at the end of the 10th, 6th, 2nd, 26th, 22nd, 18th and 14th ghatika after sunset; the figures are scaled in proportion to the actual length of the day or night (PD XXV.2). Similar figures are given for Yamakantaka, Ardhaprahara and Kala (PD XXV.3–4).
This is one of several different rules for Gulika or Mandi in the classical books: the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra places it at the start of Saturn's eighth of the day (BPHS 3.70); other texts at its end; Mantreswara at these fixed ghatikas.
Transits (PD XXVI)
Mantreswara's transit chapter follows the classical rule of counting from the birth Moon. Mars and Saturn give good results in the 3rd and 6th from the Moon, and all the planets in the 11th (PD XXVI.2).
Saturn's transit, house by house from the Moon (PD XXVI.22–23), in summary:
| From the Moon | Result in the text |
|---|---|
| 1st | illness, and funeral rites |
| 2nd | trouble to wealth and children |
| 3rd | good |
| 4th | loss of spouse, relatives and wealth |
| 5th | trouble to children |
| 6th | good |
| 7th | the spouse suffers; travel |
| 8th | losses and illness |
| 9th | death of a father-like relative |
| 10th | wrong action, loss of honour |
| 11th | good |
| 12th | fruitless business, theft, illness in the family |
What this means for "sade sati"
Mantreswara's table is the classical root of the fear of Saturn's transits. But two points stand out:
- the name "sade sati" and the grouping of the 12th, 1st and 2nd houses as one period of seven and a half years are not in the Phaladeepika (nor in the other classical texts searched);
- by this table Saturn is in a "bad" house nine signs out of twelve — about three-quarters of every person's life. A rule that applies most of the time cannot single out special misfortune.
The transit rules are also limited, in the tradition itself, by obstruction (vedha), by the planets' own ashtakavarga, and by the person's dasha (The Study of Jyotisha, chapter 24).
Summary
- Mandi and the other shadow points at fixed ghatikas of the day and night (PD XXV.1–4) — one of several classical rules.
- Transits from the Moon: Mars and Saturn good in the 3rd and 6th, all planets in the 11th (PD XXVI.2).
- Saturn's results house by house (PD XXVI.22–23); "sade sati" as a name is not in the text, and Saturn is in a "bad" house three-quarters of the time.
Exercises
- On a Wednesday of 30 ghatikas, at the end of which ghatika does Mandi rise?
- In which houses from the Moon is Saturn's transit good?
- Why is "sade sati" not a special misfortune by Mantreswara's own table?
Answers: 1. The 14th (Sunday 26, Monday 22, Tuesday 18, Wednesday 14). 2. The 3rd, 6th and 11th. 3. Because Saturn is in one of the "bad" houses nine signs out of twelve — most of every life — so the 12th, 1st and 2nd are not unusual.