Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Apakrash and Upagraha Computation in Vedic Astrology

Apart from the 9 planets which is taken in consideration as the Navagrahas in Vedic Astrology, there are also certain sensitive points which arise based on specific computations which are known as Apakrash and Upagrahas. These are also quite crucial in the judgement of a horoscope especially in the case of transits or prasna analysis. The Apakrash Grahas occur based on the degree of Sun in a horoscope whereas Upagrahas are time slots assigned to each of the 7 planets (barring Rahu and Ketu) based on which the degree in which they rise are ascertained.

It is pertinent to note that when calculating the Apakrash Grahas, you don't need to know any other detail except for the longitude degree of the Sun as it's through the position of it only these non luminous points are deduced. Upagrahas on the other hand are considered as the shadowy son's of the planets and arise from the kalavelas assigned to each of the planets where a day is divided into two halves of eight parts each ruled by 7 of the planets from Sun to Saturn with the 8th portion being lord less (At times though it's also said this blank portion is ruled by Rahu). Thus, it is not even necessary to have accurate time of birth for Upagraha computation and we just slot them in the requisite sign in a horoscope as it will rise the same time irrespective of when a native is born across day time or night time based on the time at which each of the planetary portions rise.

Apakrash: (Computed from Sun's Longitudinal degree)
 Dhooma (Mars)
➜ Vyatipata (or Pata) (Rahu)
 Parivesha (or Parivela) (Moon)
 Indrachapa (or Chapa/Indradhanush) (Venus)
 Upaketu (or Dhwaja/Sikhi) (Ketu)

Upagraha: (Computed from portions assigned to each planet in day time and night time)
 Kala (Sun)
 Paridhi (Moon)
 Mrityu (Mars)
 Ardhaprahara (or Ardhayama) (Mercury)
 Yamaghantaka (Jupiter)
 Kodanda (or Karmuka) (Venus)
 Gulika (Saturn)
 Mandi (Saturn)

Apakrash
There are 5 Apakrash Grahas which fall on 5 different points in the 360 degree zodiac. They are all arrived with Sun as the basis and all of them are generally said to be malefic by nature. The calculation of the 5 Apakrash Grahas are as below:

- Dhooma : Sun + 133°20' (or Indrachapa + 180°)
- Vyatipata : 360° - Dhooma  (or Parivesha + 180°)
- Parivesha :  Vyatipata + 180°
- Indrachapa : 360° - Parivesha (or Dhooma + 180°)
- Upaketu : Indrachapa + 16°40' (or Sun - 30°)

Rules in Computing Apakrash:
1) Ascertain the degree of the Sun in the natal horoscope.
2) Convert the degree of the Sun in a sign as per the 360 degree zodiac
3) Apply the formula with the result arrived on previous step to arrive at degree of Apakrash
4) Place the result arrived at of the Apakrash degrees as per 360 degree zodiac to the respective zodiac sign and relevant degree.

Illustration:
Lets compute the 5 Apakrash for a native born on Jun 6th 2019 at 1.10 PM in Chennai, India.
1) Degree of Sun in Horoscope - Taurus 21° 13'
2) Conversion of Sun as per 360 degree zodiac - 51° 13'
3) Apply Formula to arrive at Apakrash Grahas
Dhooma : Sun + 133°20' = 51° 13' + 133°20' = 184°33'
Vyatipata : 360° - Dhooma = 360° - 184°33' = 175°27'
Parivesha : Vyatipata + 180° = 175°27' + 180° = 355°27'
Indrachapa : 360° - Parivesha = 360° - 355°27' = 4°33'
Upaketu : Indrachapa + 16°40' = 4°33' + 16°40' = 21°13'
4) Apakrash Placement in Zodiac sign with degrees
Dhooma - Libra 4°33'
Vyatipata - Virgo 25°27'
Parivesha - Pisces 25°27'
Indrachapa - Aries 4°33'
Upaketu - Aries 21°13'

Note: It must be noted that Dhooma and Indrachapa will always be 180° apart and likewise Vyatipata and Parivesha will also always be 180° away from each other. Also Upaketu plus 30° will always end up being the resultant degree of Sun in the Natal Horoscope. If the total while computing exceed 360° in step 3, we need to subtract 360° from the exceeded total.

Upagrahas
The Upagrahas are basically the shadowy son's of the respective 7 planets from Sun to Saturn. Each of the planets rule a time interval of approximately an hour and half during day time and another hour and half during night time. The Ascendant degree rising at the beginning of the time frames ruled by these planets determine the Upagraha calculations. Unlike Apakrash, all Upagrahas are not considered to be malefic. The one main Upagraha considered in horoscope analysis happens to be Saturn's son Mandi which arises out of the time portion assigned to it known as Gulika Kaala. We must however be cognizant of the fact that Gulika and Mandi are not one and the same and that Mandi degree will fall somewhere within the range of the time period provided to Saturn and will always be different when compared to the rising degree of Gulika.

There are two considerations that need to be factored into account while calculating the Upagrahas
1) By dividing the day and night into 8 equal parts ruled by 7 of the planets with one portion being left blank. In the portions ruled by the 7 planets the beginning portion of it is where the respective Upagrahas will rise. This will hold good for all the Upagrahas ruling Sun to Saturn.
2) For Mandi alone, there is a feature which is given in classical texts to compute based on specific ghatikas elapsed. This is exclusively given for computation of Mandi (Saturn's son), As per vedic calendar, time is divided into Ghatikas with each Ghatika comprising of 24 minutes each. Hence there are 60 Ghatikas in a day occurring from sunrise to next day sunrise when day and nights are equal. The day time and night time are usually divided into 30 Ghatikas each but however this will have to be proportionately increased or decreased accordingly as the length of day time or night time is greater or lesser than the aforesaid 30 ghatikas.

Time Frames ruled by the Planets and time of Upagraha Rising:
The following are the portions ruled by the 7 planets in each of the days along with the information of elapsed time intervals in which the Upagrahas rise on each of the days from Sunday to Saturday

Kala - Sun:
Kala happens to be the shadowy son of the luminary Sun. The time intervals ruled by Sun in each of the days are as follows:
Sunday - Day Time 1st part, Night Time 5th part
Monday - Day Time 8th part, Night Time 4th part
Tuesday - Day Time 7th part, Night Time 3rd part
Wednesday - Day Time 6th part, Night Time 1st part
Thursday - Day Time 5th part, Night Time 8th part
Friday - Day Time 4th part, Night Time 7th part
Saturday - Day Time 3rd part, Night Time 6th part

Paridhi - Moon:
Paridhi happens to be the shadowy son of the luminary Moon. The time intervals ruled by Moon in each of the days are as follows:
Sunday - Day Time 2nd part, Night Time 6th part
Monday - Day Time 1st part, Night Time 5th part
Tuesday - Day Time 8th part, Night Time 4th part
Wednesday - Day Time 7th part, Night Time 2nd part
Thursday - Day Time 6th part, Night Time 1st part
Friday - Day Time 5th part, Night Time 8th part
Saturday - Day Time 4th part, Night Time 7th part

Mrityu - Mars:
Mrityu happens to be the shadowy son of Mars. The time intervals ruled by Mars in each of the days are as follows:
Sunday - Day Time 3rd part, Night Time 7th part
Monday - Day Time 2nd part, Night Time 6th part
Tuesday - Day Time 1st part, Night Time 5th part
Wednesday - Day Time 8th part, Night Time 3rd part
Thursday - Day Time 7th part, Night Time 2nd part
Friday - Day Time 6th part, Night Time 1st part
Saturday - Day Time 5th part, Night Time 8th part

Ardhaprahara - Mercury:
Ardhaprahara happens to be the shadowy son of Mercury. The time intervals ruled by Mercury in each of the days are as follows:
Sunday - Day Time 4th part, Night Time 8th part
Monday - Day Time 3rd part, Night Time 7th part
Tuesday - Day Time 2nd part, Night Time 6th part
Wednesday - Day Time 1st part, Night Time 4th part
Thursday - Day Time 8th part, Night Time 3rd part
Friday - Day Time 7th part, Night Time 2nd part
Saturday - Day Time 6th part, Night Time 1st part

Yamaghantaka - Jupiter:
Yamaghantaka happens to be the shadowy son of Jupiter. The time intervals ruled by Jupiter in each of the days are as follows:
Sunday - Day Time 5th part, Night Time 1st part
Monday - Day Time 4th part, Night Time 8th part
Tuesday - Day Time 3rd part, Night Time 7th part
Wednesday - Day Time 2nd part, Night Time 5th part
Thursday - Day Time 1st part, Night Time 4th part
Friday - Day Time 8th part, Night Time 3rd part
Saturday - Day Time 7th part, Night Time 2nd part

Kodanda - Venus:
Kodanda happens to be the shadowy son of Venus. The time intervals ruled by Jupiter in each of the days are as follows:
Sunday - Day Time 6th part, Night Time 2nd part
Monday - Day Time 5th part, Night Time 1st part
Tuesday - Day Time 4th part, Night Time 8th part
Wednesday - Day Time 3rd part, Night Time 6th part
Thursday - Day Time 2nd part, Night Time 5th part
Friday - Day Time 1st part, Night Time 4th part
Saturday - Day Time 8th part, Night Time 3th part

Gulika - Saturn:
Gulika happens to be the shadowy son of Saturn. The time intervals ruled by Jupiter in each of the days are as follows:
Sunday - Day Time 7th part, Night Time 3rd part
Monday - Day Time 6th part, Night Time 2nd part
Tuesday - Day Time 5th part, Night Time 1st part
Wednesday - Day Time 4th part, Night Time 7th part
Thursday - Day Time 3rd part, Night Time 6th part
Friday - Day Time 2nd part, Night Time 5th part
Saturday - Day Time 1st part, Night Time 4th part

Mandi - Saturn:
Mandi also happens to be the shadowy son of Saturn but the rising point is different than that of Gulika. This is based on the Ghatikas elapsed during day and night.
Mandi is said to rise after the following time intervals during day time and night time
Sunday - Day Time After 26th interval, Night time after 10th interval
Monday - Day Time After 22nd interval, Night time after 6th interval
Tuesday - Day Time After 18th interval, Night time after 2nd interval
Wednesday - Day Time After 14th interval, Night time after 26th interval
Thursday - Day Time After 10th interval, Night time after 22nd interval
Friday - Day Time After 6th interval, Night time after 18th interval
Saturday- Day Time After 2nd interval, Night time after 14th interval

Rules in Computing Upagrahas:
1) Ascertain whether a person was born during day time (sun rise to sun set) or during night time (sun set to next day sun rise)
2) If day time born, note the sun rise and sun set time of the day and if born in night time, note the sun set time and next day sun rise time.
3) Ascertain the length of duration of the day time or night time in minutes duration
4) Next divide the duration length into 8 equal parts or kaalas.
5) Next check the week day in which the native was born which could be any day between Sunday to Saturday.
6) See the portion ruled by the planet which will be one of 8 equal parts .
7) Figure out the time frame ruled by the planet which will be spanning a duration of approximately an hour and a half.
8) Mark the start, middle and end of this time slot ruled by the planet. The beginning rising time is most crucial but however it would also be prudent to mark the middle and end time as a check point.
9) Convert duration of the sunrise and sunset in Ghatikas and multiply with the elapsed portion of Upagraha by 24 which is value of a Ghatika in minutes divided by base denominator of 30 ghatikas. This is performed only for Mandi calculation.
10) Cast the horoscope for the rising time of the Upagrahas and note where the degree of the Ascendant (Lagna) falls. This would be the degree of the Upagrahas in the horoscope.

Illustration:
Lets compute all the Upagrahas for a person born on Jun 6th 2019 at 1.10 PM in Chennai, India.
1) Native born time - Day time
2) Since day time born - Sun rise time 5:45 AM and Sun set time 6:30 PM
3) Length of duration - 12 hours 45 minutes = 765 minutes
4) Average duration - 765/8 = 95.625 minutes rounded to 96 minutes
5) Check weekday - Thursday
6) Part ruled by 7 Planets :
Sun - 5th part
Moon - 6th part
Mars - 7th part
Mercury - 8th part
Jupiter - 1st part
Venus - 2nd part
Saturn - 3rd part
7) Figure time period ruled by all the planets -
Sun - 12:09 PM to 1:45 PM
Moon - 1:45 PM to 3:21 PM
Mars - 3:21 PM to 4:57 PM
Mercury - 4:57 PM to 6:33 PM
Jupiter -  5:45 AM to 7:21 AM
Venus - 7:21 AM to 8:57 AM
Saturn - 8:57 AM to 10:33 AM
8) Mark Start Time, Middle Time and End Time of all Planets -
Sun - Start time 12:09 PM, Middle time 12:57 PM, End time 1:45 PM
Moon - Start time 1:45 PM, Middle time 2:33 PM, End time 3:21 PM
Mars - Start time 3:21 PM, Middle time 4:09 PM, End time 4:57 PM
Mercury - Start time 4:57 PM, Middle time 5:45 PM, End time 6:33 PM
Jupiter - Start time 5:45 AM, Middle time 6:33 AM, End time 7:21 AM
Venus - Start time 7:21 AM, Middle time 8:09 AM, End time 8:57 AM
Saturn - Start time 8:57 AM, Middle time 9:45 AM, End time 10:33 AM
9) Check the rising time for Mandi based on Ghatikas elapsed (Start Time + Length of Duration in Ghatikas*Specific end duration of Ghatika /30 ghatikas*24 minutes per each Ghatika)
Mandi - 5:45 AM + 31.875*10/30*24 = 5:45 AM + 255 minutes = 10:00 AM
P.S: 31.875 is obtained by dividing 765 minutes which is total sunrise time by 24 minutes per Ghatika
10) Rising Ascendant of Upagrahas as per points 7 and 8 above for Mandi
Kala - Leo 20° 29'
Paridhi - Virgo 14° 16'
Mrityu - Libra 7° 44'
Ardhaprahara - Scorpio 0° 17'
Yamaghantaka - Taurus 20° 51'
Kodanda - Gemini 13° 10'
Gulika - Cancer 4° 57'
Mandi - Cancer 19° 29'

Note: The small difference in beginning time portion ruled by planet and rising time of upagraha is on account of rounding off time in minutes to the nearest decimal place. Calculations at a seconds level can yield more accurate results. For checking the rising degree of Ascendant, Traditional Lahiri Ayanamsa has been utilized. Sunrise time is considered based on the equation of 'The center of Sun's disk being truly on the eastern horizon'

Summary:
Listed below are the zodiac signs and respective degrees in which the Apakrash and Upagraha will rise as per the attached worked out illustration:
Apakrash:
1)Dhooma - Libra 4°33'
2) Vyatipata - Virgo 25°27'
3) Parivesha - Pisces 25°27'
4) Indrachapa - Aries 4°33'
5) Upaketu - Aries 21°13'
Upagraha:
6) Kala - Leo 20° 29'
7) Paridhi - Virgo 14° 16'
8) Mrityu - Libra 7° 44'
9) Ardhaprahara - Scorpio 0° 17'
10) Yamaghantaka - Taurus 20° 51'
11) Kodanda - Gemini 13° 10'
12) Gulika - Cancer 4° 57'
13) Mandi -  Cancer 19° 29'

Information:
It can be inferred that there are a total of 13 bodies comprising of Apakrash and Upagrahas. There are views stating that both the female planets Moon and Venus don't have Upagrahas and hence they should not be counted as part of the scheme. However since there is a time slot allocated to these planets based on when they rise, they have also been factored into account. Another opinion is that Gulika and Mandi are one and the same and there are also views that Gulika rises during the beginning whereas Mandi rises at the middle period of Saturn's time. This is not true as when the calculations are performed independently based on elapsed Ghatikas, the time differs somewhat from the exact mid point of Saturn's time zone. However it is clear that Mandi's time also will fall within the portion pigeonholed for Saturn.

The Apakrash are 5 in number and they are all based on the Sun's degree. If we look at things from a helio centric perspective, the planetary order is as Mercury -> Venus -> Earth -> Mars -> Jupiter -> Saturn -> Uranus -> Neptune -> Pluto. The planets before and after Earth namely Venus and Mars are considered and have been given the names Dhooma and Indrachapa. The Moon always revolves around the earth and hence Parivesha is considered for the Moon and the 2 nodal points of the Moon are Rahu and Ketu which have been assigned Vyatipata and Upaketu respectively.

The Upagrahas are 8 in number comprising of all the planets ruling the days of the week namely Sun for Kala, Moon for Paridhi, Mars for Mrityu, Ardhaprahara for Mercury, Yamaghantaka for Jupiter, Kodanda for Venus and Gulika for Saturn. Mandi happens to be another son of Saturn and rises within the slot assigned for Saturn but at a slightly different time.

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