Om Gam Ganapataye Namah Om Rishibhyo Namah Om Sree Gurubhyo Namah Re-defining Tajaka Varshaphal Charts (Annual Solar Return Charts) P.V.R. Narasimha Rao June 15, 2014 (version 1) Warning : All copyrights are reserved with author. This article cannot be reproduced in any form in part or in full, without express permission from the author. Introduction Annual solar return charts based on Sun's return every year to his exact natal position are popular in Vedic and western astrology. Divisional charts of Tajaka varshaphal never worked with any consistency for this author with Lahiri ayanamsa. The discovery of Pushya-paksha ayanamsa and refinement of the definitions of some divisional charts based on an independent interpretation of Parasara and resulting experimentation, made divisional charts work reasonably well with Tithi Pravesha charts, but not with Tajaka varshaphal charts. When this author broke from tradition, went back to a teaching of Maharshi Parasara in “Vishnu Purana” on solar years and re-defined Tajaka varshaphal chart, divisional charts of Tajaka varshaphal started showing more consistent patterns. The new definition will be shared in this article with examples. Acknowledgment The basic idea of this research was inspired by a writing of Sri K.N. Rao, albeit in a different context. In his article “Jaimini Chara Dasa – My approach – 2” in “Journal of Astrology” (please see the internet link http://www.journalofastrology.com/article.php?article_id=317 ), he wrote in 2010 November that a particular pratyantardasa ended on Aug 17 th as per his calculations and on Aug 18 th as per “Jagannatha Hora” software. He showed that his calculation explained the event better. Being also the author of the software in question, this author took a look into the dicrepancy. He noticed that Sri K.N. Rao was using mean tropical solar year (365.242 days), while the default dasa year definition in the software (which can be changed by the users) was true sidereal solar year (365.256 days). The gap accumulates every year and can change dasa dates by a day as one gets older! This made the author think of Tajaka varshaphal charts. Traditionally, they are are based on sidereal solar year (i.e. Sun returning every year to his natal position in the sidereal zodiac). This author questioned it and experimented. That is how this research started. Solar Calendar A solar year is of 365.242 days (tropical) or 365.256 days (sidereal). Tropical solar year is the time period in which Sun traverses the tropical zodiac once. Sidereal solar year is the time period in which Sun traverses the sidereal zodiac once. For casting the varshaphal chart every year, astrologers now-a-days use sidereal solar year, i.e. they find when Sun returns to his natal sidereal longitude. However, this is inconsistent with the teachings of Maharshi Parasara to Maitreya in “Vishnu Purana” chapter 2.8 . Maharshi Pararsara taught Maitreya that a solar year consists of 2 ayanas and that each ayana consists of 3 ritus (seasons). This link to seasons clearly points to tropical zodiac. A solar year based on tropical zodiac ( i.e. the time Sun takes to complete exactly one rotation around the tropical zodiac) is tied to seasons. For example, when Sun enters tropical Aries, day and night are of equal length and it is spring. When Sun enters tropical Cancer, day is the longest and it is summer (in northern hemisphere). When Sun enters tropical Libra, day and night are of equal length and it is autumn. When Sun enters tropical Capricorn, day is the shortest and it is winter (in northern hemisphere). If we take the sidereal zodiac, it is not tied to seasons. When Sun enters sidereal Aries every year, he will be in the vicinity of particular stars associated with sidereal Aries, but the season changes over the years! Not stopping at that, Maharshi Parasara explicitly taught Maitreya that Uttarayana starts when Sun enters Capricorn and the day length is the smallest then. When Uttarayana ends, Sun leaves Gemini and enters Cancer and the day is is the longest then. That makes it obvious that Pararsara is referring to tropical signs here! Sidereal vs Tropical Zodiac As mentioned above, Maharshi Parasara clearly used tropical zodiac when defining solar years in “Vishnu Purana”. When teaching divisional charts in “Brihat Parasara Hora Sastram”, he taught how nakshatras are aligned to rasis and how navamsas map to quarters of naksatras. So he used sidereal zodiac there. This author's conclusion is that both tropical and sidereal zodiacs are needed: • Sidereal zodiac: Used for all matters related to space , i.e. definition of rasi chart and divisional charts • Tropical zodiac: Used for all matters related to time , i.e. definition of months, seasons, ayanas and years. Tajaka Varshaphal Definition Tajaka varshaphal chart is cast every year when Sun is exactly at the same tropical longitude as at birth. Judgment A Tajaka varshaphal chart can be judged just like the natal chart, except that it is effective for just one year. Rasi chart can be used along with all divisional charts. One need not use various Tajaka methods for judging this chart and can use standard Vedic astrology methods in rasi and divisional charts. Rasi Chart vs Divisional Charts : Rasi chart is like a combination of all floormaps of all floors in a multi-storey building, while divisional charts are like different floors. If the northeast corner has something in the combined floormap, it may be in any floor. Similarly, if the 5 th house is strong in rasi chart, it may show childbirth, promotion in job, academic distinction, successful mantra sadhana etc and we can check the 5 th house in D-7, D- 10, D-24, D-20 etc (respectively) for further insights. Indications in rasi chart may be weak, but have to be strong in the corresponding divisional chart. The writeup “Unified Nakshatra Dasa Approach” at http://www.vedicastrologer.org/articles defines a method of picking the best nakshatra dasa in a chart. This works well in natal charts and Tithi Pravesha charts, but does not work well in Tajaka varshaphal charts. This author has not yet found a dasa system that works reliably. Replicating Calculations You can download “Jagannatha Hora” software from http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/jh and select Pushya- paksha ayanamsa. In addition, you will need to set some divisional chart calculation options to follow this write-up. Some divisional charts are computed incorrectly by people now-a-days. In the main menu of “Jagannatha Hora” software (version 7.67 or higher), you can select “Preferences”, “Related to Calculations” and “Set Calculation Options as recommended by author”, to set divisional chart calculations as used in this write-up. Comparison We will see a few examples that contrast: (a) The old definition (return to natal sidereal longitude), Lahiri ayanamsa & standard definitions of divisionsl charts (b) The new definition (return to natal tropical longitude), Pushya-paksha ayanamsa & reformed definitions of divisional charts Example 1: Academic Distinction Birthdata : 1970 April 4, 5:50:40 pm (IST), Machilipatnam, India (81e08, 16n10) Event : He stood first in his state in 12 th grade exams with a record score in May 1987 and also got admission to Indian Institute of Technology. Education is seen from siddhamsa (D-24) chart. Rasi & D-24 charts with the 2 approaches above are shown below. In the old rasi chart, the 5 th house is not particularly strong, with 4 th and 11 th lord Mars in it. But lagna lord aspects 5 th and 5 th lord is with 9 th lord. There are some signs, but not strong. In the old D-24 chart, the 5 th house of distinction and recognition contains nodes. The 5 th lord Mercury aspects the 5 th house, but he is debilitated. Lagna lord is weak in an adhisatru rasi. Overall, the chart does not strongly explain academic distinction. In the new rasi chart, lagna lord is in 5 th with 9 th lord and gives a raja yoga. That 5 th lord and yogakaraka Saturn has 79% aspect on 5 th house. The 5 th house is quite strong. In the new D-24 chart, the lagna lord Jupiter is exalted in the 5 th house and that is a clear combination for academic success, recognition and fame. Lord Moon is also placed in a mitra rasi. A functional benefic in the 8 th house gives sudden results of a beneficial nature. Example 2: Childbirth Birthdata : 1970 October 5, 12:32:20 pm (IST), 80e21, 15n49 Event : He had a child in 2000 September. Saptamsa (D-7) chart shows progeny. Rasi & D-7 charts using the 2 approaches are shown below. In the old rasi chart, lagna lord is in 5 th house, aspected by Jupiter. Though 5 th lord is in an inimical sign and not particularly strong, this can indicate childbirth. In the old D-7 chart, lagna lord Sun is in marana karaka sthana in the 12 th house. The 5 th lord of children, Jupiter, is retrograde in an inimical sign and 5 th house does not have any strong associations. Overall, there are no clear indications of childbirth in the year. In the new rasi chart, lagna lord Saturn is in 5 th house (longitude-wise). Though debilitated, he is retrograde and gets neecha bhanga. The 5 th lord Venus is closely conjoined with 7 th lord Moon (within 7º) and gives raja yoga. Overall, 5 th house is strong enough. In the new D-7 chart, lagna lord Moon and 5 th lord (and yogakaraka) Mars are in own signs.