Parashara: the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra · Chapter 1 of 9

#Parashara and the book

#The sage and the dialogue

Parashara is one of the great sages of Indian tradition: the father of Vyasa, and the narrator of the Vishnu Purana. The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra ("the great book of horoscopy of Parashara", BPHS) presents itself as his teaching, given to his pupil Maitreya in the form of question and answer. It is the book on which most modern Indian astrology rests: the Vimshottari dasha, the sixteen divisional charts, the six-fold strength, the lordship rules and many yogas all come from it.

This book sets out that teaching in the BPHS's own order, in plain English.

#What historians say

The history of the BPHS is complicated, and a student should know it:

• The core. The historian David Pingree dated the first part of the text to about 600–750 CE and the second before about 800, noting that it computes precession from 522 CE, borrows heavily from Varahamihira's Brihat Jataka, and copies two verses from the Greek-derived Yavanajataka.
• Uncertain transmission. Varahamihira's commentator Bhattotpala (about 900) is reported to have said he had heard of a Parashara text but not seen it; there is no ancient commentary on the BPHS as we have it.
• The printed editions. The text was first printed in 1905 (Venkateswara Press, Bombay). The modern editions differ: Sitaram Jha's Sanskrit edition of 1944, on which R. Santhanam's widely used English translation (1984) is based, has 97 chapters; a Tamil edition has 36; an older English version 25. Jha's edition is reported to have altered and removed material.

So the BPHS as printed today is a modern recension of an early medieval core. Some chapters — those resembling the Jaimini system, the Kalachakra dasha, and the remedy chapters — may be later additions.

None of this lessens its importance: it is the book Indian astrologers actually use. But "Parashara says" means, honestly, "the modern BPHS says".

#How this book cites it

References are to chapter and verse in Santhanam's numbering: "BPHS 34.11" is chapter 34, verse 11. They come from the research behind this website, which read Santhanam's translation in an online transcription and checked doubtful places against the printed book. No public-domain English translation exists, so this book paraphrases; it does not quote.

#The book's own cautions

Two passages are worth knowing from the start:

• The BPHS describes the qualities a reliable astrologer needs: knowledge of mathematics and grammar, ethics, self-control and logic (BPHS 27.39–40).
• It admits that even great sages could not be certain of their predictions, because the planets' motions are subtle — and offers the ashtakavarga as a way to reduce that uncertainty (BPHS 66.7–11).

#The plan of this book

#Summary

• The BPHS presents Parashara's teaching to Maitreya; it underlies most modern Indian astrology.
• Its core dates from about 600–800 CE (Pingree); the printed text is a 20th-century recension, varying between editions.
• This book cites Santhanam's numbering and paraphrases.
• The BPHS itself asks for a disciplined astrologer (27.39–40) and admits uncertainty (66.7–11).

#Exercises

1. Who is Maitreya in the BPHS?
2. Why does this book say "the modern BPHS" rather than simply "Parashara"?
3. What does BPHS 66.7–11 admit?

Answers: 1. Parashara's pupil, to whom the teaching is given. 2. Because the core is about 600–800 CE, while the printed editions (from 1905, especially Jha's of 1944) differ and contain changes and probably later additions. 3. That even great sages could not be certain, because planetary motions are subtle.