Chaturthamsa Varga By Ernst Wilhelm www.astrology-videos.com Bhaga: Destiny / Fortune Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra states that the Chaturthamsa is to be used for knowing one’s Bhaga “fortune / destiny.” Bhaga literally means portion or share and refers to one’s share in the world, which is their destined fortune. Just how much of the world a person is to enjoy is dependent to a large degree upon the Chaturthamsa. The Chaturthamsa is easily calculated. Each Rasi is divided into 4 parts of 7.5 degrees. The first part is ruled by the same Rasi, the other three parts by the Rasis in the 4th, 7th and 10th from the first Rasi. The presiding deities are the Sanat Kumaras with Sanaka ruling the first fourth of a Rasi, Sananda ruling the second fourth of a Rasi, Sanat-Kumara ruling the 3rd fourth of a Rasi and Sanatana ruling the last quarter of a Rasi. CHATURTHAMSA DEITIES “The seven Great Rishis, the Primeval Four, and the Manus are also modifications of My nature, born of My thought, and endowed with (creative) powers like Mine. From these progenitors come all living creatures on earth.” -Bhagavad Gita 10;6 “The Primeval Four mind-born sons of Brahma the Creator are Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanat-kumara. Symbolically they are the firstborn differentiation of Spirit from which creation evolves. They are the pure creative Nature of God, Maha-Prakriti or Holy Ghost. As their very names imply, they are the Lord’s eternal (Sanatana, “everlasting’) consciousness of bliss (Sanandana, “having joy”), that exists from the beginning (Sanaka, “former ancient”), and is ever new (Sanat-kumara, “ever a youth”). These sons of Brahma remained ever pure, innocent youths, declining to create progeny. Yet all things evolve from this Bliss (Ananda); for inherent in Maha-Prakriti, along with the Lord’s eternal joy, are the three gunas or attributes of creation- sattva, rajas, and tamas. These qualities are equilibrated in a quiescent state in Maha-Prakriti. But when rajas, the activating attribute as Brahma the Creator is roused, it enlivens also sattva, the nourishing quality (Vishnu the Preserver), and tamas, the degenerative quality (Siva the Destroyer; dissolution, the inevitability of all things in the realm of change and illusion). The will of God to enjoy His bliss through many forms sends forth His Ananda as four fundamental creative ideas impinged in these three gunas: (Aum) vibration; (kala) time, the idea of change; (desha) space, the idea of division of the One Eternal Being; and (anu) atom, the idea of particles for the manifestation of form.” – Paramansa Yogananda; Commentary on above sloka The following table shows the presiding deities of the Chaturthamsas, as well as their meanings from the Gita commentary: First Chaturthamsa Second Chaturthamsa Third Chaturthamsa Forth Chaturthamsa Sanaka Sananda Sanat-kumara Sanatana “Former ancient” “Having joy” “Ever a youth” “Everlasting” Exists from Beginning Consciousness of bliss Ever new Eternal 1 The Chaturthamsa reveals that for something to be truly fortunate it must be either: 1. Existing from the beginning, something that one has always had and always will have. 2. It must give great happiness. 3. It must always have something new to offer. 4. Once established, it must last. Knowledge meets all four of these requirements, so all of us astrologer are fortunate! Real Estate has these 4 pints in manner relative to earthly existence: Land has existed from the beginning, it is a cause of happiness, endless things can be done with it, so ever new, and finally, it lasts. Real estate is the most important consideration of the Chaturthamsa, for it is the most fortunate thing to own. Most people, however, who purchase a home, do not actually own it, the bank owns it, and so they are not all that fortunate. A good Chaturthamsa gives real estate that a person actually owns. 1. Grahas falling in the first Chaturthamsa indicate those things that a person has always had as part of their life from their earliest memories. This Chaturthamsa is the same rasi as the rasi in question, it is the first from that Rasi. 2. Grahas falling in the second Chaturthamsa indicate those things that can give the greatest joy. This Chaturthamsa is the 4th Rasi from the Rasi in question. 3. Grahas falling in the third Chaturthamsa indicate those things that always have something new to offer. This Chaturthamsa is the 7th Rasi from the Rasi in question. Planets in the third Chaturthamsa are always able to adjust to something new. 4. Grahas falling in the 4th Chaturthamsa last forever, even after periods of terminations and endings, something lasts and that something is what we are meant to take onto the next step of our lives and that which is indicated by Grahas in the 4th Chaturthamsa. Planets in the 4th Chaturthamsa will be in Durvasa Drekkanas, so these are planets of transition and what is kept from that transition is indicated in the Chaturthamsa. This Chaturthamsa is the 10th Rasi from the Rasi in question. Other than these Deities, there is nothing given in the classical texts in regards to the Chaturthamsa. It is a completely ignored Varga and the only completely ignored Varga in the first set of Vargas (Vargas 1-12). It is likely that this Varga has been ignored because in traditional Hindu culture, a person was usually stuck with the fortune of the family that they were born into. They also rarely changed residence, most often living in their family home. For this same reason, ancient texts say next to nothing in regards to moving or relocating to another city. MOST IMPORTANT GRAHA IN THE CHATURTHAMSA The Chaturthamsa is the fourth Varga and so the fourth Graha, Mercury, is the most important to consider in the Chaturthamsa. Mercury represents each person’s share in life. Why Mercury? Because Vishnu is the presiding deity of Mercury and in Vaishnava philosophy, it is Vishnu who manifests himself as everything in the world, thus whatever one has in life, it is Vishnu. Mercury in the Chaturthamsa, therefore, represents the Vishnu each person has in their life as measurable concrete fortune. IMPORTANT BHAVAS IN THE CHATURTHAMSA 4th Bhava: The primary Bhava to consider in the Chaturthamsa due to the Chaturthamsa being the 4th Varga. The 4th Bhava in the Chaturthamsa represents the most fortunate things available to the person and their capacity to enjoy the fortune which they are given. 2 1st Bhava: Adding up all the numbers in 4 yields the number 10, adding 1 + 0 gives 1 and so 1st Bhava is an important secondary Bhava to consider in the Chaturthamsa and since the Lagna is always important to consider, it is particularly important to consider in the Chaturthamsa. The Lagna in the Chaturthamsa represents the fortune of the body that one is born with. Being born in a human body is, from a spiritual point of view, very advantageous, regardless of the wellbeing, abilities or beauty of the body. In a material sense, a healthy, beautiful and strong body is a fortunate thing to have. So always check the Lagna in the Chaturthamsa anytime you are looking at anything in respect to the body. The Lagna also represents the path of a person in the world and just how fortunate this path is is revealed with the help of the Lagna in the Chaturthamsa. 7th Bhava: Squaring 4 yields the number 16, adding 1 + 6 gives 7 and so the 7th Bhava is an important Bhava to consider in the Chaturthamsa. The 7th Bhava represents the fortune of interchange with others through trade and marriage as well as the interchange with the public, all of which offer great possibilities in fortune. Fortunate is a person who is successful in business, well wed, and respected and adored by the public. The 7th is also the 4th from the 4th and so particularly important in the Chaturthamsa. After considering Mercury and these three Bhavas to access the general condition of the Chaturthamsa so as to understand the individual’s base level of fortune, all the other Grahas and Bhavas should be studied in order to see which things the individual is most fortunate with. 3.