The Nine Grahas
February 21, 2019
Divisions of Jyotish
February 21, 2019

The different schools of Vedic Astrology

—— © Dr. Satya Prakash Choudhary

Vedic astrology is a vast ocean and primarily rests on the principles enunciated by Parasara. The Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra (BPHS) is considered a great source book and is Parasara’s magnum opus. Conventional Vedic astrology largely follows what is referred to by some as the Parasari system . Apart from this there are certain other schools of vedic astrology which either use different methodologies or have expanded upon some areas of Parasara’s thought. Jaimini matham (school of thought) is one such. While the BPHS deals with the main principles of Jaimini matham, the definitive text for Jaimini is the Jaimini Sutras by Jaimini. Another school of thought that expands and builds upon certain areas of Parasara’s thought is the Dhruva matham . Satyacharya has evolved a very effective methodology which developed into the Dhruva matham. In addition we have Bhrigu matham based on sage Bhrigu’s ideas. The South Indian nadis have their own school of thought and have left a rich database in the form of manuscripts. In addition to the above mentioned schools and versions, another very popular school is the Tajika sastra. Tajika seems to have gained prominence during the Mughal rule, especially in north India . Certain Urdu or Persian words in Tajika do show the influence of Arabic (medieval) astrology leading one to infer some cross-cultural influences on Jyotish as far as Tajika is considered. In fact the Sahams are in principle, the same as Arabic parts. But one has to very cautious in claiming that Tajika is entirely western in origin since it seems highly probable that earlier Indian astrologers knew both solar returns and progressions too, at least in principle .

The different schools of Jyotish:

  • Parasari
  • Jaimini
  • Dhruva matham
  • Bhrigu matham
  • Tajika
  • South Indian nadis