Jyotiṣa Scope
In this lesson we learn about what is vedāñga jyotiṣa and its scope.
Vedāñga Jyotiṣa
Objective of the lesson is to know how big is this subject and to realize that jyotiṣa is as vast as the universe. Everything that is created finds its place in symbols and significations. Please take a printout of the slides and keep them with you while listening to this lecture so that you can make notes immediately as you go through the slides. Let me give you an example of a student who got into a detailed discussion with a pandit and later
Vāra: Weekday
Vāra & Vāreśa: Weekday
अथ सप्त वाराः। atha sapta vārāḥ |
Translation: We speak of the seven weekdays
आदित्यश्चन्द्रमा भौमो बुधश्चाथ बृहस्पतिः।
शुक्रः शनैश्चरश्चैव वाराः सप्त प्रकीर्तिताः॥
ādityaścandramā bhaumo budhaścātha bṛhaspatiḥ |
śukraḥ śanaiścaraścaiva vārāḥ sapta prakīrtitāḥ ||
Trasnlation: Sun (āditya), Moon (candramā), Mars (bhauma), Mercury (budha), Jupiter (bṛhaspati), Venus (śukra), Saturn (śaniścara) are the givers of the seven (sapta) weekdays (vāra). The weekdays are simply named after the planets by adding the suffix ‘vāra’ or ‘day’ after the name of the planet/lord.
Example: Ravi (Sun) + vāra (day) = Ravivāra or Sunday. In this manner all weekday names
Long Course
BPHS takes 5 months to read, max! why does this course need 5 years?
Every subject has levels of knowledge and the same book can be taught at different levels. I studied Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’ for my 10th Grade and am pretty sure that the Masters level students in English Literature who study the same book would be doing more justice to it. Consider the pronunciation of words.
When I was four, I dropped a book on the floor and my mother taught me to pick it up and place it back. Then to touch the book and say ‘विष्णु’
