NAKSHATRA (CONSTELLATION)

A group of stars is called Nakshatra . Just as the units used for measuring the distance is miles or kilometers in the same way the space (Akash Mandal) is measured in terms of Nakshatras (group of stars). The whole space has been divided into 27 parts and each part has been given the name of Nakshatra. They are as follows

ASHWINI.
BHARANI.
KRITIKA.
ROHINI.
MRIGASHIRA.
AARDRA.
PUNARVASU.
PUSHYA.
AASLESHA.
MAGHA.
PURVA PHALGUNI.
UTTARA PHALGUNI.
HASTA.
CHITRA.
SWATI.
VISHAKHA.
ANURADHA.
JYESHTHA.
MOOLA.
POORVAASHADHA.
UTTARAASHADHA.
SHRAVANI.
DHANISTHA.
SHATABHISHA.
PURVA BHADRAPADA.
UTTARA BHADRAPADA.
REVATI.

The Indian astrologers believe that the combination of the last 15 Ghati of 'Uttarashadha Nakshatra' and the first 4 Ghati of the Shravani Nakshatra i.e. 19 Ghatis in all, constitute the ' Abhijeet Nakshatra ' and this particular Nakshatra is considered to be very auspicious to begin a good work.

(One Ghati is equal to 24 minutes)

PANCHAKA NAKSHATRA

The following group of five Nakshatras are considered as having five defects (Panchakadosha). They are Dhanistha , Shatabhisha , Purvabhadrapada , Uttarabhadrapada and Revati .

NAKSHATRA

A child taking birth in this Nakshatra, which consists of Jyestha , Aashlesha , Revati , Mool , Magha and Ashwini Nakshatra are not considered as auspicious. Therefore, for the pacification of this 'Moola Nakshatra', some specific rites are performed 27th days after the birth when the same Nakshatra returns. Out of these six Nakshatras, which constitute Moola Nakshatra, Jyeshtha and Moola are called ' Gandant Moola ' and Aashlesha is called as ' Sarpa Moola '. 

ADHOMUKHA NAKSHATRA

As the name of this Nakshatra implies, works like digging a well, or lying a foundation is considered as auspicious. This particular Nakshatra is itself constituted by Nakshatras. They are: Moola , Aashlesha , Vishakha , Kritika , Purvaphalguni , Purvashadha , Purvabhadrapada , Bharani and Magha


DAGDHA NAKSHATRA

For commencement of any work, this Nakshatra is considered as inauspicious. Therefore, commencing any work in this Nakshatra is prohibited if the days on which, this Nakshatra falls are as under-

Sunday - Bharani
Monday - Chitra
Tuesday - Uttarashadha
Wednesday - Dhanishtha
Thursday - Uttaraphalguni
Friday - Jyeshtha
Saturday - Revati

YOGA (COMBINATIONS)

There are 27 Yogas in all. They are as under:

1) VISHAKUMBHA, 2) PREETI, 3) AAYUSHMAN,

4) SAUBHAGYA, 5) SHOBHANA, 6) ATIGANDA,

7) SUKARMA, 8) DHRITI, 9) SHOOLA, 10) GAND,

11) VRIDDHI, 12) DHRUVA, 13) VYAGHAATA,

14) HARSHANA, 15) VAJRA, 16) SIDDHI,

17) VYATIPAATA, 18) VARIYAANA, 19) PARIGHA,

20) SHIVA, 21) SIDDHA, 22) SADDHYA, 23) SHUBHA,

24) SHUKLA, 25) BRAHMA, 26) INDRA,

27) VAIDHRITI.


KARANA

Half of the part of a Tithi is called a Karana i.e. There are two Karanas in a Tithi. There are 11 Karanas altogether.

They are:

1) BALA, 2) BAALAVA, 3) KAULAVA, 4) TAITIL, 5) GARA, 6) VANIJA, 7) VISHTI , 8) SHAKUNI, 9) CHATUSHPADA, 10) NAAGA, 11) KINSTUGHNA

The first 7 of these Karanas are movable (Chara) i.e. it cannot be predetermined as to on which dates, these are going to occur, but the last 4 Karanas are fixed (Sthira), and hence can be predetermined.

VISHTIKARANA is also called ' Bhadra ' and commencing any work during this time is prohibited. Bhadra is marked very clearly in every panchanga.
 

VAAR (DAYS)

There are 7 days i.e. Sunday (Ravivaar), Monday (Somavaar), Tuesday (Mangalvaar), Wednesday (Budhvaar), Thursday (Brihaspativaar), Friday (Shukravaar) and Saturday (Shanivaar). The counting of days begins from the sunrise of the first day to the sunrise of the second day. In astrology, this system is known as ' AHORATRA ', which means day and night taken together. Omitting the first letter 'A' and the last three letters 'T','R','A', the word ' HORA ' is coined from which, the English word 'HOUR' originated. There are 24 HORAS in all.
Now the question arises, why is the day coming after Sunday is named Monday , Why not other day. To understand this, we will first have to understand the positions of the planets, in the space. In astrology, the respective position of the planets are given as under -

Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon .

Therefore, Saturn is the highest or the farthest planet. Below the Saturn is Jupiter, below Jupiter is Mars, below the Mars is Sun, below the Sun is Venus, below Venus is Mercury, and below Mercury is Moon. All the planets are revolving around the Sun in their respective orbits. Since there are 24 Horas in a day combined with night, therefore, each Hora consists of an hour. The 'Lord' of each Hora is a planet from the nearest lower orbit .

The Lord of the first HORA is the Sun. In the beginning of the creation, the Sun was visible first of all and for that very reason, it has been considered as the lord of the first Hora and also the first day has been named after it. The next Hora is named after 'Shukra' ( Venus, which is the lord of the second HORA , and whose orbit is just below the Sun. The lord of the third Hora is 'Budha' (Mercury) whose orbit is just below that of Shukra (Venus). The lord of the fourth Hora is the Moon (Chandrama), whose orbit is below that of Venus and so on. In this way, the lord of the 24th HORA is again Mercury and the Moon (Chandrama). The following chart clearly shows the positions of the planets (horizontally) in order, and the days of the week (vertically) in order. From the Hora chart, it is quite clear that the Moon is the lord of the first Hora (Hour) of the second day(Monday), hence the next day after Sunday is called Monday. Similarly, the lord of the first Hora of the third day is Mars (Tuesday), the lord of the first Hora of the fourth day is Mercury (Wednesday), the lord of the first Hora of the fifth day is Jupiter (Thursday), the lord of the first Hora of the sixth day is Venus (Friday) and the lord of the first Hora of the Seventh day is Saturn (Saturday).
Therefore, the name of the days in order are Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

GENTLE DAYS
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are considered as the 'gentle' days. These days are considered auspicious for commencing any good work.
 

CRUEL DAYS
Tuesday, Sunday and Saturday are considered as 'cruel' days. Saturday is considered an auspicious day for undergoing operation. Thursday is considered auspicious for starting education. Wednesday is considered auspicious to start any business

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