Amsha

see also: muhurta

Gandanta

rikta-sandhi

Positions for Chandra and Lagna

Rules quoted from page 171 , Light on Relationships : The Synastry of Indian Astrology by Hart Defouw, Robert E. Svoboda

DEFINITIONS

गण्ड्. gaṇḍ

• rough-patch, knot, gnarl, a gnarly spot, bubble
• something that sticks out from the surface -- like a cheek-bone, or a button
• buttons on a computer console are called gaṇḍa in modern Skt.

अन्त anta

• = end, final spot, termination, limit

गण्डिका gaṇḍikā

• = little knot in the wood

dhatu [word-root] from Apte Sanskrit Dictionary

• गण्ड्. gaṇḍ = to be rough
• = verb class 1P

Recommended Attitude toward Gandanta - a choppy section

Imagine that one is drifting down a beautiful river in a comfortable secure boat. One becomes accustomed to the hum and purl of the river currents. Sometimes faster, or slower, but overall one feels soothed by the reliable flowing rhythms of the water.

Yet, this lovely river must empty into the ocean!

As the boat encounters the incoming marine tides, the water gets choppy! The sweet little boat may be tossed and heaved by the conflicting currents that physicists call "interference patterns".

It seems that movement is no long flowing swiftly forward, but rather shaking and shuddering from side-to-side, as the ocean waves collide with the riverine impulse, spreading disruption and upset.

But then, the little boat learns to navigate through the shore waves, and soon enough one is floating along on the ocean channels.

Carefully intentional Response to Turbulence

Turbulence occurs in the liminal zones where Jala-rashi mixes with Agni-rashi

• Places where water [jala] mixes with fire [agni] = naturally would require careful handling
• Examples of this sort of transitional fire-water elemental zone could include both lethal scalding geysers and healing medicinal steam baths

Clear Mentality and Spacious Perception

Additionally, within these turbulent zones, Babbling Budha' s conversational explaining turns to Ketu' s Silent Witness. There are mental-health dimensions here, in regard to the defensive feelings of others as they apprehend one's mentality.

• Depending on the qualities of the fourth-pada of the Budha-ruled nakshatra [Aśleṣa-4, Jyeṣṭha-4, Revatī-4] one may be richly gifted in the task of clearly explaining one's psychic perceptions to others.

Awareness of Emptiness

In particular, Ketu provides awareness of emptiness.

• At the tamasic level, emptiness can manifest as stupidity or despair.
• At the rajasic level, emptiness can manifest as a dehumanizing lack of empathy.
• However, at the sattvic level, Ketu can manifest as an immensely uplifting, purely divine apprehension of spaciousness.

Remarkable Potentials

Within the gandanta zones,

• well-chosen vocabulary [Budha] and authentic luminousness of unbounded perception [Ketu] can produce great spiritual teachers.

Benefits of Attention to Communication Skills

The gandanta sections of the preincarnationally-planned life-pathway do demand special attention to the unique psycho-mental mixture that operates in these special zones.

However, gandanta zones are not inherently harmful

• With sufficient intention and attention, gandanta-influenced sections of the path may produce practical benefits of skillful psychic communication.

Solar

• One rashi = 30 degrees counted from 00:00 to 29:59
• one rashi contains 30 deg = 1800 minutes of arc
• all 12 rashi in solar ecliptic = 360 degrees = 21,600 arc-minutes

Lunar

• One nakshatra has four pada [= quarter = one-fourth]
• One nakshatra-pada = 03-deg + 20-min [analog] = 200 arc-minutes
• One nakshatra = 13-deg + 20-min. = 800 arc-minutes
• One rashi = 9 nakshatra-pada
• One rashi = 9 x 03:20 = 1800 arc-minutes = 1800/60 = 30 degrees
• 27 nakshatra within the ecliptic
• 27 x 9 = total 108 nakshatra-pada = 21,600 arc-minutes

Dividing Time

For the purpose of slicing up time, the portions of the ecliptic [rashi, naakshatra, pada] can be divided with a variety of divisors.

For example, divide into sixteenths.

• There is a unit of time which = 1/16th of the 360-degree circle-of-ecliptic = 1350 arc-minutes [= 22.5 deg]
• There is a unit of time which = 1/16th of a rashi = 112.5 arc-minutes [= 1.875 deg.]
• There is a unit of time which = 1/16th of a nakshatra = 50.0 arc-minutes [= 0.833 deg,]
• There is a unit of time called nadika, which = 1/16th of a nakshatra-pada = 12.5 arc-minutes [= 0.21 deg.]
• There are 16 nadika in each pada.

Or, divide into sixtieths.

One unit of measure that can be used to define a gandanta zone is a ghatika.

घटिकायन्त्र ghatika-yantra = clock [usually a water-clock]

• There is a unit of time called घटिका ghatika = 1/60th of a nakshatra.
• There are 60 ghatika in one nakshatra.
• One ghatika = 800/60 arc-minutes = 13.33 arc-minutes = approximately 0.2 deg

Exegesis by BPl

BPHS अथ गण्डान्त जात शान्त्यउपाय: [Delhi, Ranjan Pub., 1995 edition, p. 1026-1028]

Chapter-92 [in this edition] specifies different gandanta birth conditions and the traditional Shanti-Upaya for each condition.

Remember that BPHS is not written by a single author or even a coherent group of authors. BPHS is a compilation of many partial manuscripts - some only the merest fragments -- that were recovered during a wide search by a particular committee.

The committee was attempting to collect the widest possible array of Jyotisha-shastra commentaries. The scriptures were stored in a gazillion places all over the Land of Bharata and in the diaspora.

They have been copied and re-copied manually for centuries. With the usual liabilities of hand-copying, there are copy-errors in which a single wrong letter or missing letter can produce a deceptive word-meaning.

Regional rituals - particularly, heritage recipes for upaya - are often added to the original astrological topic. And so on.

As a result, some of BPHS is actual Jyotisha-shastra. Yet, some of this compilation = superstitious fearful cultural barnacle which got mixed in with the authentic vidya during Kali Yuga.

As Yeshua said, it is necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff.

********************

Shloka-1

• immediately declares that rituals performed or travel undertaken during these terrible gandanta will result in death of the person concerned.

• Except for the core truth that all human incarnations must endure a cycle of birth-and-death - i.e., everyone dies - this proclamation is likely an artifact of Kali-Yuga worldview, and can be dismissed.

Shloka-2

• describes Tithi Gandanta तिथि गण्डान्त

Shloka-3 describes Nakshatra-Gandanta नक्षत्र गण्डान्त

• final 2-ghatika of Revati, and the initial 2-ghatika of Dasra [= approximately last 0.5 deg + first 0.5 deg]
• final 2-ghatika of Sarpa, and the initial 2-ghatika of Magha [= approximately last 0.5 deg + first 0.5 deg]
• final 2-ghatika of Shakra, and the initial 2-ghatika of Mula [= approximately last 0.5 deg + first 0.5 deg]

Shloka-4 describes Lagna-Gandanta लग्न गण्डान्त measured by half-ghatika अर्ध गण्डान्त

• final half-ghatika अर्ध गण्डान्त [0.1 deg] of Meena lagna + initial final half-ghatika [0.1 deg] of Aja lagna
• final half-ghatika [0.1 deg] of Karka lagna + initial final half-ghatika [0.1 deg] of Hari lagna
• final half-ghatika [0.1 deg] of Ralicha lagna + initial final half-ghatika [0.1 deg] of Apah lagna

Shloka-5 declares that the zone of अभुक्त मूल [abhukta-Mūla ]

comprises the area of a Great Obstacle महाविघ्न [maha-vighna]

• final six ghatika of Indra and initial eight ghatika of Rakshasa
• [i.e., final 80 arc-minutes = 1.3 deg Jyestha ++ initial 106 arc-minutes = 1.8 deg. Of Mula] [total range = 3.1 deg]

Shloka-6-8 describes the ritual remedial Upaya to be performed by the pujari.

for example, while some might measure gandanta precisely and narrowly as 1/16th of a nakshatra pada, which is about 0.2 degrees on either side, for a total hot-zone of 0.4 degrees,

gandanta is often generalized as 1/16th of a nakshatra = approximately 0.8 degrees [50 arc-minutes] on either side of the boundary = a total hot-zone of about 1.6 degrees.

1. the final [anta] one-sixteenth of the Budha-ruled nakshatra of the jala-rashi [Naga, Kita, Pushan]
2. the first one-sixteenth of the Ketu-ruled nakshatra of the agni-rashi. [Dasra, Makha, Nirriti]

Gandanta

one of the many designations related to sandhi = juncture, transition-zone, or cuspr.

Gandanta areas = six rashi cusps that form the borders

1. between two rashi [Karkata-Simha, Vṛścika-Dhanus, Meena-Mesha]

2. between two Nakshatra [Naga-Magha, Jyeṣṭha-Mūla , Revatī-Aśvini]

Gandanta zones

• Aśleṣā-4 + Magha-1 traditionally called matri-gandanta, believed to harm the mother
• Jyeṣṭha-4 + Mūla-1 traditionally called pitri-gandanta, believed to harm the father
• Revatī-4 + Aśvini-1 traditionally called sva-gandanta, believed to harm the self

Chandra lagna or kundali indriya-lagna is considered to be a weakened when lagna occupies a Gandanta zone

The final 0.8 degrees of the last pada of the jala-rashi

1. final two ghatika = final 48 arc-minutes = final 0.8 deg. Of the final pada of Aśleṣa - Naga

2. final two ghatika = final 48 minutes = 0.8 deg. Of the final pada of Jyeṣṭha - Antares

3. final two ghatika = final 48 minutes = 0.8 deg. Of the final pada of Revati - Pushana

The initial 0.8 degrees of the first pada of the agni-rashi

1. first two ghatika = first 48 minutes [0.8 deg.] of the first pada of Aśvini - Dasra

2. first two ghatika = first 48 minutes [0.8 deg.] of the first pada of Magha - Regulus

3. first two ghatika = first 48 minutes [0.8 deg.] of the first pada of Mula - Nirṛti

• the final 3:20 degrees = final pada = of Aśleṣa - Naga, Jyeṣṭha - Antares, Revatī - Pushana

Budha activates the 4th pada (final 3-min + 20sec portion) of Aśleṣa - Naga, Jyeṣṭha - Antares, and Revatī - Pushan.

• Therefore, the degree of Moon's gandanta-weakness may depend upon Chandra's relationship to Budha in the rashi and navamsha charts.

Old-timer Chandra is friendly toward nosy young inquistor Budha. According to lore, Budha is the offspring of Professor Chandra.

However, young Budha resents old Chandra. According to lore, bantering Budha's true but illegitimate father is actually Shri Chandra.

• Therefore, agandanta Moon combined with a dominant Budha [e.g., Budha in Kanya or Mithuna[ may cause the person to over-verbalize about their emotional fluctuations, resulting in a psychological fixation on delivering the narrative of their problems. This profile may seek a sympathetic listening audience to rehearse their tales of woe.

For example, a weakened gandanta-zone Revati Chandra, where Chandra receives drishti of [uchcha-Budha] in yuvati bhava, can give a relentlessly verbal-analytical spouse who accurately but painfully dissects all the personality weaknesses of the native . A weakened Chandra cannot self-defend.

But such extremes are rare. Normally, gandanta is a minor factor in evaluating the Moon or lagna.

• In practice, the end-zones of Aśleṣa and Revatī - Pushana = rarely poor places for the Moon unless other influences, in addition to gandanta, are empowered to destabilize Chandra.

• The first pada of Mula is notorious for sentimental nihilism - but this is not the result of gandanta. It is the pervasive reality of the pattern called "Mula" = vacuum.

Jyeṣṭha pada-4 = a weakened lunar zone. Chandra Vṛścika = nīcha AND Chandra occupies the nakshatra of His adversarial son Budha

Any lagna can be weakened if it occurs at the end of Aśleṣa, Jyestha, or Revati, if its lagnesha is not strong.

... Exhibiting patterns of reinterpretation of cultural narratives [Budha], by means of either harkening to the old roots [Aslesha] or delivering transformative instructions [Jyestha] or explaining an expanded worldview [Revati]

A devoted mother, who will "do anything" within her power in order to help her child, is normally part of the routine-challenging Gandanta mechanism. However, complications to Chandra-Jyeṣṭha can harm the mother's effects.

[visionary-charitable Aśleṣa -4 = Meena navamsha] [26:40 until 30:00 Karkata]

• Satyagraha 1869-1948 Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi [visionary-charitable Aśleṣa-4] [ātmakāraka ] [9-ideology-belief] No graha in Magha-1. Aslesha is reputed for never letting go. Invoking the most profound rhythms of ancient Bharati ancestry [Soma] MG used hyper-moral conduct [Chandra-yuti-Rahu] to break the colonial subjugation routine. Often called the Mother of the Indian Independence movement, mG's mom was unswervingly dedicated to her son and to the common folk.

• Note: MG's Chandra appears to occupy a degree of 29:57, undeniably a gandanta zone. However, Chandra intakes no Parashari drishti. Aside from the suffering which he willingly and consciously undertook, mG was not afflicted by "outside" forces. Neither was his mother harmed in the so-called matri-gandanta [except perhaps that mom was a junior-wife].

• On Golden Pond 1937- drama-fitness Jane Seymour Fonda [visionary-charitable Aśleṣa-4] [ātmakāraka ] -- [Chandra in classroom-8 self-reinvention, upheaval] Nothing in Magha-1. Wishing to break the patriotic cultural habits of dehumanizing war and mistreatment of women, JSF became relentlessly outspoken. Despite misogynistic backlash, her anti-war efforts bore fruit after many decades. [Mom died by suicide, Jane's age 12]. Chandra-8 mutual-drishti with class-conscious nīcha-Guru-2, prominent family.

• Silly Love Songs 1942- Beatle Paul McCartney [visionary-charitable Aśleṣa-4] [ātmakāraka ] -- [Chandra-yuti-Mangala-nīcha ] [Chandra in classroom-8 self-reinvention, upheaval] Rhythm and melody were the familiar, soothing, customary means. Gandanta Chandra sought to break the routine of cruelty by advertising vegetarianism, advocating animal-rights, and helping to de-criminalize marijuana. [Mom died by cancer, paul's age 14] Chandra intakes drishti from Shani.

[fantasizing-charitable Jyeṣṭha -4= Meena navamsha] [26:40 until 30:00 Vrischika]

• USA-Congress 1943- Newt Gingrich [fantasizing-charitable Jyeṣṭha-4] [1, personality] Nothing in Mūla-1 NG's mom struggled with bipolar disorder. At her age 16, naewt was born into unstability. Yet, mom fervently supported her son and their bond remained close [Chandra-1] Chandra rules 9-faith, and Soma intakes drishti from Guru+Rahu-9. NG believed that he had a destiny to break the customary ideological routines and change the world [9]. However, the size of the morally hypocritical gap between his ideological pontification vs. his vovolatile personal life became too great, and little was accomplished. Chandra intakes drishti from Shani, budha, rahu, and Guru.

• POTUS-45 Play to Win 1946- Beauty Pageants Donald Trump [fantasizing-guiding Jyeṣṭha-4] [5 politics, entertainment] Nothing in Mūla-1. DJT's mom was hospitalized during his childhood, and she remained emotionally unavailable afterward [nīcha-Chandra-yuti-Ketu]. In public, mom dutifully if ambivalently supported her financially predatory husband and sons. Chandra rules the Karkata lagna, containg Shani-Shukra. DJT needed to break the customary routines of gambling, entertainment, and politics [5]. He solved errors of speculation with bankruptcy [Ketu] Dismissed as a clown by most political pandits, dJT got elected POTUS-45. Yet, his inincoherent politics were unsustainable [Ketu]. Generally, Ketu excels at breaking things up, but the Akashi cannot leave a lasting legacy of intelligent change. Chandra intakes drishti from Rahu-uchcha, surya, and Mangala.

• Friends 1969- drama-fashion Jennifer Aniston [imaginative-charitable Jyeṣṭha-4] Nothing in Mūla-1. Estrangement from a betraying mother due to [nīcha-Somana-yuti-Kuja] for Kanya nativity. Needs to break the customary routines of media-messaging [3] + marketplace profits [Chandra rules 11] Starting as a dramatist, JA became a top earning producer-businesswoman [3] in television and cinema. However, the emotional trust which was destroyed by her jejealous mother took its toll on her marriages. Chandra intakes drishti of Rahu-7.

[visionary-charitable Revatī-Pashu -4 = Meena navamsha] [ vargottamsha]

• Starry Messenger 1564-1642 Galileo Galilei [visionary-conceptual Revatī-4] [vargottamsha] -- [ātmakāraka ] [uchcha-Shukra-yuti-Chandra] famed lutist and singer Nothing in D-1 Aśvini-4. Galileo's mom would have been a quiet woman, due to Chandra-12; however [Chandra-12 parivartamsha Guru-4-uchcha] shows the mom provided the intuitive [12], foundational support for his life. After she was widowed, mom lived with Galileo until her own death. Galileo had a need to break the customary routines of cosmic understanding [Meena, 12] . Although he died in captivity [12] having been disputed and punished by the priestly indoctrinators, he greatly succeeded in expanding the Big Picture concept [Meena]. Along with intake of drishti from Guru, chandra has parivartamsha yoga with Guru.

• Ave Maria 1935-2007 tenor Luciano Pavarotti [imaginative-charitable Revatī-4] [ātmakāraka ] -- [vargottamsha] Nothing in Aśvini-4. Despite the long delay in his ability to earn money, LP's impoverished parents supported his passion for musical performance. LP had a need to break the customary routines of formal operatic theatre [5]. LP sang outside of the opera-house, on television, in sports arenas. He went commercial, he went public, he went far outside the stuffy, antiquated limits of ethnic Italian opera culture. LP popularized opera-music [Revati] and made it familiar to the world. He also generated big charities [Meena] for children [5]. Although treated with contempt by haughty conservatives, LP succeeded in revitalization of Italian opera and spreading its musical scope. Chandra intakes Parashari drishti from Surya and Guru.

EXAMPLES of GANDANTA CHANDRA in NAKSHATRA OF KETU pada-1

... Exhibiting patterns of either moral looseness or moral strictness, which challenge the Ancient Ways, along with a devoted mother, who will "do anything" within her power in order to help her child.

CHANDRA in [innovative-pioneering Aśvini-1] [00-00 until 03-20 Mesha] [vargottamsha]

• POTUS-29 Teapot Dome 1865-1923 Warren G. Harding = [Aśvini-1 Chandra-9] + Revatī-4 Ketu-8]. WGH's mom held a respected position as a rural midwife; she later became a licensed physician [Asvini]. Handsome and articulate, wGH was a raging philanderer who lived with unrecognized heart disease, which caused bouts of severe debilitation. WGH was the puppet of a corrupt political machine. As POTUS, he admitted that he lacked the qualifications necessary to lead the nation. WGH was morally impure [Chandra]. Yet, wGH supported Native American citizenship [Chandra] and women's suffrage [Chandra] These new entitlements broke the Meena-Yuga routine [weak Chandra] and became law under the next POTUS, Calvin Coolidge .

CHANDRA in [inventive-pioneering Magha-1] [00:00 until 03:20 Simha]

• POTUS-27 Dollar Diplomacy 1857-1930 William Howard Taft [Somana-yuti-Kuja] both in Magha-1 but nothing in Aśleṣā-4. WHT's mother was very well educated, earning her bachelor's diploma in 1845. Mom vigorously promoted [Kuja] the judicial-political careers first of her husband [WHT's dad] and then of her son [WHT], creating a Taft Dynasty which endured for a century in USA national leadership. Mangala lagnesha-rogesha brought WHT into scenes of war, ethnic conflict, rampant bribery, and institutionalized graft. He suffered serious health problems including obesity [rogesha Kuja]. Yet WHT completed his career with dignity as Supreme Court Chief Justice, and his reputation was never tainted by scandal.

• Faith 1963-2016 singer-songwriter George Michael [Chandra Magha-bhava-12] [Magha-Somana-yuti-Kuja-Yoni] Nothing in Aśleṣā-4. GM personal iniquity was often in the entertainment headlines, spanning illegal drug misuse, lewd sexual conduct, and drunk driving convictions. Nevertheless, his devoted mother [a theatrical dancer] vigorously promoted [Kuja] GM's musical gifts from childhood, and his [often anonymous-12] philanthropic generosity was widely praised.

CHANDRA in [inventive-pioneering Mūla-1] [00-00 until 03-20 Chandra-Dhanus]

• POTUS-14-pair 1806-1863 Temperance Jane Appleton Pierce [pushing-champion Mūla -1] + [Guru-yuti-Rahu not in Mūla-1]Nothing in Jyestha. Situation complicated by Guru+Rahu. JAP had severe depressive grief following the deaths of her three young sons. She managed this terrible sorrow by becoming a preachy [Dhanus] hyper-moralizer. Typical of gandanta-Chandra, JAP sought to break the customary routines. She wanted to stop chronic alcoholisn and domestic abuse [anti-Chandra] by making liquor illegal in USA. A national leader of the Women's Christian Temperance Movement, JAP campaigned relentlessly for zero-tolerance prohibition [Mula] [which became law in 1920]. Yet, her alcoholic husband POTUS-14 Franklin Pierce lost his party's support due partly to his drinking, and he died of liver cirrhosis.

• the first 3:20 degrees * first pada * of Aśvini, Magha, Mula

These three portions are all ruled by weird, dispersing, earth-alienated, psychic Ketu.

• The Moon is not especially comfortable in fiery rashi generally; Professor Chandra craves the kapha element of water.

• If Ketu is over-active in the nativity, then Chandra or lagna in the first 3:20 * first pada * of Aśvini, magha and Mula may be emotionally or physically upset from being subjected to excess heat.

Mūla

Aśvini and Magha are helpful to humanity even though they behave in an eccentric way. Mula indicates smooth operators. Mula born are philosophy-talking wanderers who have little commitment to humanistic aims despite their doctrinal bluster.

Mula points the way through the psychic pipeline to our galactic sun.

At present levels of Dvapara-Yuga consciousness, the psychic information which comes to us over the Mula bandwidth is socially and materially disorienting to most folks.

• However, those with adequate psychic interpretive facilities will recognize Ketu's signals as reliable indicators of the"breaking up" phase of the coagulation-scatter cycle which governs all manifestation of life-form in the universe.

The final 3:20 = Mula pada-4 can be a confused, mystical, Ketu-wandering place for Chandra or lagna unless the person is otherwise grounded through high social or intellectual confidence (, strong benefics in kendra or trine).

Hidden weakness

Otherwise healthy Graha -- not only Chandra and Lagna but also the individual Graha - which happen to be gandanta may give a weird twist to the affairs of the bhava within their rashi and navamsha during their periods.

• The twist is caused by hidden weakness .

• Weakness when manageable presents opportunities for growth.

Often there is throughout the life a considerable masking of this hidden weakness via denial or skillful rational management -- until the gandanta planet's period pushes the weakness through the denial barrier and up to the surface consciousness.

Nakshatra Gandanta are believe to harm (rikta) oneself, one's own parents, and one's brothers

Rashi Gandanta are believed to harm the family overall

Tithi Gandanta broadly harms the parents. Tithi gandanta = final pada = final two ghatika of

• New Moon day
• 5th day after new moon * Panchami
• 10th day after new moon * Dasami
• Full Moon day

Due to this transitional time in human history, there is still a great deal of misogynistic cultural baggage attached to Jyestha positions in feminine nativities.

This fear-based superstition is left-over from the tamasic sludge of Kali Yuga.

Any graha in Jyestha – and especially Budha – becomes “outspoken” because pro-active Mangala rules the rashi and proclaiming Budha rules Kita nakshatra.

Therefore traditionally Jyestha graha are considered damaging for women but strengthening for men.

There' s no data evidence of this being true, except as a cultural belief.

In fact, most prediction commentaries are re-hashings of cultural belief, not based on much evidence at all.

Gender is a cultural construct. When culture changes, as it is doing now at the dawn of the Kumbha Yuga, the ideal traits of gendered identities may change also.

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