Foundations of Jyotish
Foundations of Jyotish tests whether you can place technical terms, historical texts and school differences correctly, not merely recite planet meanings. The exam expects sidereal (nirayana) astrology, so every chart statement must be anchored to an ayanamsa.
Historical layers
- Vedanga Jyotisha, associated with Lagadha, is primarily calendrical and astronomical; it is not a complete phalita manual.
- The predictive classics include Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (BPHS), Brihat Jataka, Saravali, Phaladeepika and Jataka Parijata.
- Major streams are Parashari (rashis, bhavas, dashas), Jaimini (charakarakas, arudhas, chara dasha), Krishnamurti Paddhati (KP) and Nadi traditions. They are not interchangeable.
Core vocabulary
Graha means planetary significator, nine including Rahu and Ketu; rashi is the sidereal sign; bhava is the house; nakshatra is a lunar mansion; lagna is the ascendant; ayanamsa is the precession offset; dasha and bhukti are planetary periods; yoga is a combination; karaka is an indicator.
Worked example
A tropical Sun at 10° Aries with a Lahiri ayanamsa of 24° becomes 16° Pisces sidereal. If the ascendant is 10° Aquarius, the Sun falls in the second bhava by whole-sign counting, because Pisces is the second sign from Aquarius. With the tropical 10° Aries and an Aries lagna the same Sun would be in the first house. The ayanamsa therefore changes both sign and house judgment.
Mark-losing traps
- Mixing tropical and sidereal longitudes in one chart.
- Treating Rahu and Ketu as physical planets rather than chaya grahas.
- Assuming one school’s house scheme applies to every tradition.
- Dating BPHS as a single autograph text rather than a layered tradition.
- Using lagna only for the ascendant degree when classical texts also mean the rising sign.