Virendra S. Rathore's Blog, page 3
October 2, 2020
Preface of ‘Prithviraj Chauhan – a Light on the Mist in History’
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Book Release : Prithviraj Chauhan – a Light on the Mist in History
Namaste Everyone,
Prithviraj Chauhan – the household historic name in India that evokes passion and emotions alike; an immortal chapter of India’s bloody yet glorious history. Many have been intrigued with the controversies on historical figures like him? Did you ever wonder what truth lies beyond the layers of exaggeration, bias and myths that fill the whole spectrum of narratives of historical Prithviraj?
This book on Prithviraj Chauhan tries to peel off and present the answer to such questions. Please read and share with near and dear ones who might be interested.
Genre – History, Non-fiction
Formats – Paperback, E-Book
Paperback:
White Falcon Publishing Bookstore – https://store.whitefalconpublishing.com/products/prithviraj-chauhan-a-light-on-the-mist-in-historyAmazon – https://www.amazon.in/dp/1636400191https://www.flipkart.com/prithviraj-chauhan-light-mist-history/p/itm1fb83d5763021
E-Book : Kindle Edition – https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08KHF857P/
ISBN: 978-1-63640-019-8
Pages: 250
Language: Non-Tharoor English
Note: As soon as my cost in publishing is recovered, any & all further author royalty from this book’s sale will be donated to a charity. Charity details & evidence of fund transfers shall follow if/when we cut over to that stage.
Thank you
Twitter- @virendrarathore
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September 28, 2020
September 27, 2020
Prithviraj Chauhan – a light on the mist in History: Update 1
जय माता जी की सा।
प्रकाशन की तिथि – अक्टूबर प्रथम सप्ताह
संस्करण : मुद्रित (पेपरबैक), ईबुक
मुद्रित संस्करण उपलब्धता : वाइट फाल्कन प्रकाशन वेबसाइट, ऐमज़ॉन वेबसाइट, फ्लिपकार्ट वेबसाइट
ईबुक संस्करण उपलब्धता : ऐमज़ॉन किंडल
ISBN: 978-1-63640-019-8
पृष्ठ: 250
भाषा: थरूर-विहीन अंग्रेजी
पर तब तक आइये देखें हम पृथ्वीराज के बारे में कितना जानते है और उस ज्ञान में छोटी छोटी रोचक बातों से बढ़ोतरी भी करेंगे। तो जुड़े रहिये और तैयार हो जाइये पृथ्बीराज के इतिहास की सैर के लिए !!
साभार – वीरेंद्र सिंह राठौड़ (मेड़तिया)
August 24, 2020
Prithviraj Chauhan – a light on the Mist in History
Namaste and a warm welcome to all the readers of this blog!
Prithviraj Chauhan – the household historic name in India that evokes passion and emotions alike; an immortal chapter of India’s bloody yet glorious history. Many have been intrigued with the controversies on historical figures like him? Did you ever wonder what truth lies beyond the layers of exaggeration, bias and myths that fill the whole spectrum of sources of Prithviraj’s history?
My upcoming book on Prithviraj Chauhan tries to peel off and present the answer to such questions.
पृथ्वीराज चौहान – भारत के घर घर में जाना-पहचाना एक नाम, हमारे रक्तरंजित पर गौरवशाली इतिहास का एक अमिट अध्याय।
अधिकतर लोगों ने पृथ्वीराज के बारे में बहुत कुछ सुना पढ़ा है। इसी कही-सुनी में भरी पड़ी है विसंतगतियाँ, मिथक और झूठे प्रपंच, जिन्होंने जनमानस की दृष्टि से उनके ही इतिहास के तथ्यों को ओझल कर दिया। पृथ्वीराज से जुड़े विवादों और उलझनों की परते खोल सत्य के शोधन का मेरा प्रयास जल्दी ही पुस्तक के रूप में पाठकों के सम्मुख होगा।
Stay tuned for updates 
August 1, 2020
Prithviraj Chauhan: A light on the Mist in History – Maps used in the Book
Following are the maps used in my book titled ‘Prithviraj Chauhan: A light on the Mist in History’.
Book is available at –
White Falcon Publishing Bookstore paperback –https://store.whitefalconpublishing.com/products/prithviraj-chauhan-a-light-on-the-mist-in-history
Amazon paperback – https://amazon.in/dp/1636400191
Flipkart paperback – link coming tomorrow
Amazon Kindle – link coming on 29th–30th
[image error]Fig. 1 : Ghori’s route for the 1st invasion of India 1178 AD.
[image error]Fig. 2: Map of proposed Panchapura locations and approximate Chauhāna border in the north with the Ghaznavids/Ghurids.
[image error]Fig. 3: Map of Āryāvarta and Khurasan 1190-91 AD
[image error]Fig. 4: Map of forts & places around the battlefield.
[image error]Fig. 5 : Tarain-II, the battlefield close-up.
February 21, 2020
rAjaputra – story of the term and its application
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This is not the only one. Many people ask for proof of Rajputs prior to even 1300-1500 AD.
So let’s use this opportunity to enhance our understanding. What is the story of this term Rajput or rAjaputra?
Literal meaning of rAjaputra is – son of a King or royal child. Earliest recorded reference to this term are in Aitareya, Taittiriya and Sathapatha Brahamanas of the Rigveda (people called rAjaputra include Vishwamitra. Later it appears in Kathaka Samhita and other vedic literature compilations.
Then in Mahabharata, lord Rama and Lakshmana are called rAjaputra.
Shrimad Bhagvatam 1.12.311 calls Abhimanyu’s son Parikshit a rAjaputra.
Next, Kautilya’s arthashAstra 3rd-4th century BCE and Kalidasa’s mAlavikAgnimitram 1st century BCE refer to rAjaputras on multiple occasions.
A silver coin of Amoghabhuti (2nd-1st century BCE) the ruler from Kuninda kshatriya clan contains – “Rajnah Kunindasya Amoghabhutisya Maharajasya“.
Notice that despite taking up a boastful title of Maharaja, the King is still sticking to the traditional clan head title i.e. rAjnah. Because his was a kshatriya clan-based Kingdom held together by his clansmen. This was the norm and not an exception. It continued even in medieval times as we shall see.
Asvaghosha‘s (80-150 A.D.) Saundarananda refers to rAjaputras.
Various buddhist texts call Budhha a rAjaputra.
Early 6th century around 510 A.D. the Kura stone inscription of Toramana mentions rAjaputras.
Numerous Gupta and Lichhavi inscriptions use the term rAjaputra.
In the 569 A.D. Sumandala copper plate of Dharmaraja, an almost independent feudatory of Prithvi Vigraha is referred to a rAjaputra.
Lichhavi king Gangadev’s Shankhamula inscription (567-73 A.D.) refers to rAjaputras Vajraratha, Babharuvarma, and Deshavarma.
The Five Damodarpur copper-plate inscriptions of the Gupta rulers have rAjaputra epithet, such as those of Kumaragupta III 533 A.D.
One of them reads thus – ‘Rajaputra Deva- Bhattaraka uparika Maharaja’.
In the Sanga (Nepal) inscription early 7th century A.D. its dutaka the Chief Minister under Amsuvarman is called rAjaputra Vikramsena.
Many more Nepalese (Lichhavi) inscriptions in Gupta characters found by Italian scholar Raniero Gnoli refer to rAjaputra Jayadeva, rAjaputra Shurasena, rAjaputras Nandavarma, Jishnuvarma and Bhimavarma.
Emperor Harshavardhan gets crowned in 606 A.D. at Kannauj and yet continues for many years with the epithet rAjaputra shilAditya.
Literature like the Harshacharita and Kadambari by BAṇabhaṭṭa (7th century AD) also talk of rAjaputras like Malavs rAjaputra named Madhavgupt. This is also corroborated from his mention later in Apshad inscription of the 8th century.
Then in the 837 A.D. Mandor (Jodhpur) Inscription of Bakula Pratihara uses the term mahArAjini for the queen.
9th century copper plate grants of Bhanja dynasty Orissa have the term ‘rAnaka’ used for princes. It is a distortion of rAjanka / rAjanaka and got further shortened to rAnA over time.
Arabs of 9th century A.D. acknowledge rAshtrakutas aka Vallabh-Raj or Ballah-Raya or Al-Ballahara as the greatest King in India and one of the 4 most prominent Kings in the world. Rathores are descendants of these Rashtrakutas. Copper grant of prince GovindaChandra of Rashtrakuta branch named Gadhavala/Gahadvala, dated 1104 A.D. calls him mahArAjaputra.
1143 AD inscription of his son shows the same title and is in the name of mahArAjaputra rAjyapAladeva.
1134 AD Inscription of Singar/Sengar family who were feudatory of Gadhavalas, is in the name of mahArAjaputra vastarAjadeva.
10th century text from rAshtrakuta rule called Yasastilaka Champu describes rAjput military camps as follows: –
Camp Name – skandhavara
Arsenal in charge – mahAyudhapati
Cavalry in charge – asavapati
Infantry in charge – paikkadhipati
Elephant in charge – pilupati
Soldier description – Dhoti coming up to knees. Loins girt with daggers mounted on handles of buffalo horns. Hair on body. Quivers on either sides of head. Experts in shooting arrows.
Military titles – senani, thakkura, kottapAla
Feudal titles – rAjA, rAjakula, mahAsAmanta, mahAmandalika
Most of these titles are common with Pratiharas as well.
Given below is part of the Chamba copper plate inscription of Vidagdha Verman of 960 AD regarding a land grant in village Sumangala. Inscription names all concerned functionaries and state officials etc of the village Sumangala in a huge list. Notice the terms in line 7 – rAja-rAjAnaka-rAjaputra-rAjAmAtya-rAjasthAneeya. Clear indication of these being land owning gentries with administrative or military skills. Vidagdha Verman was a Suryavanshi rAjaputra of Mushana dynasty (moshuna gotra).
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Similar list with terms like rajanyaka-rajani-ranaka-rajaputra are found in many other inscriptions like those of Vallalasena and LakshamanSena.
The kathAsaritasAgara of Somadeva around 1070 AD writes of two men Shiva and mAdhava. Of them mAdhava is described as a rAjaputra. Throughout the story this mAdhava has no connection with being a prince. He is just a land holder and yet called rAjaputra.
Kadmal plates of Vijayasimha Guhilot 1083 AD mention that a messenger named ranadhavala, son of sagamdA was a Chauhan rAjaputra.
Udayagiri cave inscriptions near Bhopal dated end of 11th century AD mention land grants by many minor paramAra chieftains like rAjaputra dAmodara jayadeva, rAjaputra Sodha, rAjaputra vAhilavAhada.
Paldi inscription of 1116 AD says that Saulanki rAjaputra Sri sAlakhArana was the son of rAjaputra Sri Upala.
These cases above clearly indicate proliferation of the term rAjaputra regardless of whether one was a prince, chieftain or neither – just an official.
Nadol copper plates of 1161 A.D from South Rajasthan proclaim the local Chauhan lineage’s progenitor Kirtipal Chauhan as rAjaputra.
Delhi Shiwalik inscription of Vigraharaja Chauhan 1163-4 A.D. mentions – rAjaputra SallaksanapAla was serving as mahAmantri.
Lalrai inscription 1176 AD from south Rajasthan speaks of Chauhan princes Lakhanapal and Abhaypala as rAjaputras and rulers of the region.
Jaypura (Bihar) inscription of 12th century AD calls a Gupta dynasty’s Krishnagupta as rAjaputra.
Hemachandra’s Trishashti ShalAkA Purusha Charita of 12th century AD refers to numerous personalities of rAjaputra descent.
Another case of connotation proliferating from individuals to groups is Kalhana‘s (12th century A.D.) Rajatarangini. It uses the term rAjaputra a lot of times in numerous contexts. For actual princes, as well as for the general land holders. For example, one verse describes the King Ananta being followed by a host of ‘bands of rAjaputra horsemen, soldiers and damaras’. Even by stretch of imagination these bands of rAjaputra horsemen can’t be all princes (how many could be there anyway). Because the immediately previous verse uses the term Nrapatmajah for princes.
Jalor Stone Inscription of SamaraSimhaDeva 1182 AD refers to Rajaputra Jojila Chauhan.
Firstly, all the above mentioned was not an exhaustive list but just some examples. Secondly, it becomes an even larger list if we were to include occurrences of other closely associated terms in vogue that came out similarly – Rawal from rAjakula, Rajanya, rAjini (women), mahArAjini, also rAjanaka, rAjanka ranaka, rAnA, Rao, Rawat (from rAjaputra) etc.
If present date Brahmins are descendants of Vasishtha, Bharadvaja, Mudgala, Kaushika. Then how come Rajputs are not descendants of Vedic Kshatriyas. Did the latter disappear in thin air? Various Kshatriya clans rose and fell in northwest India from the vedic times and are recorded since Panini. The medieval Rajput clans are just a continuation with a different term i.e. Rajaputra. Following is just one point in time snapshot of ancient Kshatriya clans straddling the entire north and west of India. Notice that one is even named rAjanya, suggesting that the whole warrior clan was of royal pedigree.
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From the highly centralized system of ruling with Mauryas to the decentralized Gupta empire. There came a huge change which became precursor to format of medieval Kingdoms. Imperial centre (native as well as foreign origin) would just exact tributes from smaller Kingdoms, require their armies in campaigns and leave them be with local sovereignty. Thus, an oscillation between – subdued local Kingdoms paying regular tributes when Imperial centre is strong. And revolting, tribute-withholding local Kingdoms when Imperial centre was weak. This formed the bedrock of upcoming feudalism or state level focus in a politically divided India. Thus, the clans who were prominent in each of these kingdoms gradually attached their loyalty and focus only to their own local Kingdom and its ruler; not the Imperial centre.
Guptas were perhaps the first native Empire to rule such an increasingly de-centralized setup lacking any semblance of a united politico military nationality. With this, armies everywhere became more clan based, fragmented. Further, land grants from Imperial centre thus started going by default to the clan based hereditary successors. Parting from ancient republics the various kshatriya clans wherever they were, evolved into Kingdoms and the land ownership was private now. Of course new clans kept replacing old ones as usual. All these transformations continued throughout Gupta rule, Harshavardhan and show complete with the appearance of Pratihars in domination. By the time of Guptas already, the princes were regularly using hierarchical titles like mahArAjaputra DevabhAttarak.
Harshavardhan had driven out the last remnants of pre-Islamic foreign origin rulers. Thus before the dawn of Arab invasions broke. Entire North India was under the sway of Kshatriya ruled Kingdoms. where the dominant ones were Mukharis of Kannauj, Pushyabhutis of Thaneswar and Maitrakas of Vallabhi.
The time in history when Pratihars emerged to prominence is the same when the term Rajput i.e. rAjaputra started to get applied in community connotation. It is after the Arab invasions which catalysed another phase of new kshatriya clans replacing the old ones into prominence. A question arises. Why are early Islamic invaders noting their opponents as Rana’s, Rais and not Rajputs. Answer is that it takes time for a term to gain social currency for people to apply to a whole community and doesn’t happen overnight. First the spoken languages like Prakrit and Apabhramsa adopt the change and then the classical ones like Sanskrit. But what were the catalysts of this process and why only these people of North and West India?
Northwest India was at the forefront of constant invasions from Millenias, not just in Islamic era. With Imperial centres coming and lapsing. The numerous kashatriya clans that straddle these lands at least since Panini’s time, were obviously more keen on self-reliance, sovereignty and standalone setup for their own preservation. Because they fought on all sides all the time.
The identity of medieval rAjputs as a community was however iron cast in the furnace of one such grand invasion by Arabs in the 8th century (also the core of my contention with the oxymoron called muslim Rajput). Chewing the elsewhere victorious Arabs then, was a big achievement for the currently presiding kshatriya clans in north India. They were led by nAgabhatta PratihAra, with Chauhans, Guhilots and Chalukyas in supporting role. While the bigger Kingdoms splintered around that whirlwind. The clans led by kshatriya feudal chieftains succeeded those larger empires/kingdoms of past in their own limited capacities. From the rubble of Arab storm, we see fully hereditarily operated smaller Kingdoms, now thriving & rising further. Their titles became beacons of their leadership, resistance and prestige.
Powers like Pratihars, Chauhans, Paramars, Chalukyas, Guhilots etc which rose after this epoch were fully clan based Kingdoms in military as well as administration. With the completion of heredity trumping ancient republic structures in politico- military operations of people. This is how the term rAjaputra gradually gained credence for application to wider groups (kshatriyas clans that got popular Arabs onwards) later known as rAjputs.
It is foolhardy to expect Kings before 650 A.D to use the title rAjaputra. Back then we had monarchies at higher levels and tribal republics at lower levels. The very term rAjaputra was by its etymology a psychologically deep assurance to the Hindu prajA; that kshatriya descent people are still taking care of the kingdom and upholding dharma. When would you need it the most by turning rAjaputras from individuals to groups, if not with the onset of Islamic dark age in India?
December 26, 2019
House confirmation from chart details
DOB – Dec 04, 2019
TOB – 2328 hours
POB – Jaipur, Rajasthan
Gender – Male
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Image above shows the main details for this child from Jagannatha Hora. As you can see in the list on right, lagna is at Leo 7 degrees 57 minutes. Moon is at Aquarius 23 degrees and 07 minutes.
Upper left chart is the main chart we usually see and call as rashi chart or lagna chart.
Lower left is the bhava chalit chart which shows the correct bhava/house for the planets. Notice that the Moon has gone to 8th house. To verify manually, start counting from the diamond box where As (ascendant) is written and go counter clockwise. You will see that Moon is in the 8th box.
Conclusion – although Moon is in the 7th rashi (sign) from the lagna. But it is in the 8th bhava (house) from lagna.
Now, there are multiple school of thoughts in astrological community on how to calculate these houses. Each has a slightly different take. I will show you the houses derived by 3 most popularly known and followed systems.
First is the equal houses system:-
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At the bottom centre, you can notice some tabs in the software. I have moved from key details to the Houses tab now. Extreme right has a menu where I have selected the Equal Houses method of defining bhavas/houses.
Now, at the list of details in top centre. In the first column named Houses, lookup the 8th house. See the values against it that define its boundaries. It begins from Aquarius 22 degrees 57 minutes and ends at Pisces 22 degrees 57 minutes. 22’57 is 15 degrees away from our lagna degree 07’57. Then, recall where our Moon was – Aquarius 23 degrees and 07 minutes. Meaning Moon has slipped into 8th house by 10 minutes. A close one, but 8th means 8th. See far right in that row and you will find Mo (Moon) written. Confirmation that Moon is in 8th house.
So, next we move on to the second method of house derivation – Shripati padhati.
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Again, see that I’ve got it selected in that menu on right. For each method you can also keep seeing bottom left Bhava Chalit chart for graphical confirmation of what is seen in the details list in same screen. Lets continue. So in the list of details here again. We lookup the 8th house. Notice that the house boundaries are slightly changed based on this method. But our Moon remains in the 8th house in this method as well.
Lastly, the third method called Placidus house system which is also used in KP (Krishnamurthy Padhati) branch of vedic astrology.
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Take your time to confirm that Moon has the same story as far as the house is concerned.
Now lets go to Astrosage. First I’m showing here the bhava chalit chart from Astrosage. Because this is the chart to see houses remember?
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I’ve pointed witn an arrow in bottom right. Moon is in 8th house. Again, count manually in counter clockwise direction, starting from the ascendant (top centre box having number 5). Go till the box having Mo written in it. You would have counted 8 boxes. That is our confirmation that Mo (Moon) is in 8th house. This was a graphical display.
Now we’ll see the data in list of details just like we did in Jagannatha Hora. Following is the Chalit Table from Astrosage.
[image error] See that I’ve highlighted the 8th house row here and given its starting boundary – Aquarius 22 degrees 42 minutes. Finally lets check where Moon is according to Astrosage. See below.
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Moon is at Aquarius 23 degrees and 07 minutes. Which comes after Aquarius 22 degrees 42 minutes where 8th house began.
Someone might ask – which ayanamsha did you use?
I have used both variations of the most commonly used Lahiri ayanamsha as well as used the recently developed KP ayanamsa. All show the Moon in 8th house consistently.
October 29, 2019
How to name your child with Astrology and Sanskrit
So the joyous moment of child birth arrives and grips you. There’s celebration, goosebumps, sprinting in the hospital and what not. And then with the exasperated energies finally settling. Gradually (over next few days to months) a new discussion dawns upon the family. Name!
What would be the name of this adorable little member. In many cases this becomes the first decision regarding the life of the newborn.
All cultures have some guidelines toward this important selection. Here in Bharat-varsha, our ancestors laid out the most elaborate systems governing all dimensions of life. Obviously they didn’t miss the subject of naming a newborn. The author will share his experience; how they stumbled around, learned what the ancestral knowledge offers and went through this process. If this could even make you recognize the importance of choosing a proper name. They’ll consider the effort to have met accomplishment.
Before we begin…
Important Note: The author is not an astrologer (not even half of it). They only pursue astrology as a hobby and are sharing their experience, understanding. What follows is not a prescription to be swallowed.
The Principle – Sanskrit and the energy of sounds
What’s in the name Shakespeare? Well, a lot. Lets start with the bare bone approach. A name is just a word (or a conjunction of words) used to identify a person. Name will (hopefully) identify them in a considerably unique and suitable fashion. A name in any language is made up of some alphabets and vowels, with hopefully a meaning that conveys a message, ancestry etc.
With the Hindu tradition, this is where the story rather begins. The consonants (व्यंजन) and vowels (स्वर) are codified sounds. Sounds are carrier of vibrations. Vibrations are nothing but energy at a specific frequency. So, in short, the name has everything to do with energy. That’s a lot in the name, isn’t it? Moving on…
When a person’s name is uttered, the energy specific to that name is transmitted by the speaker. So it becomes imperative to see what kind of energy it is and whether it is compatible to that person or not. Hence comes the role of astrology. Because which energy the person is more attuned to and which can throw him out of balance, can be gauged most comprehensively via the system of Indian Astrology aka Jyotish. The portal known as horoscope comes handy in that context. To see how the sounds and astrology are mated. We shall go over two methods here that this novice author has learned and applied.
Method 1 : the Sound – Zodiac tango
The Samskritam varnamAlA is a potent and complete tool to achieve our goal here. Each Samskritam sound given in the table below, is mapped to a 3 degrees & 20 minutes wide part of the zodiac and is actually quarter of a constellation. Also known as the नक्षत्र पद. Since the zodiac is also divided into signs (राशि), thus the sound can also be seen as belonging to a particular sign in the zodiac. As can be seen at 3rd column in the table below.
Though the most widely known and followed tradition in India is to see in newborn’s horoscope the nakshatra pada where Moon is located. Based on that they pick the corresponding Samskritam sound and assign it to be the beginning sound of the person name. However, our subject matter today is a more pervasive approach than just the starting letter. So, we’ll avoid weighing in on what the internet is already filled with.
Sound Zodiac mapping table (apologies, unable to trace source for due credit) [image error]
Application:-
The horoscope (also called ‘chart’) of a person is like a portal, telling us how the person is capable of receiving energy inputs. Every horoscope is well disposed to certain frequencies of energy and is ill disposed to some others. So, in brief our objective here is – to create a alignment between the sounds of the name and the chart of the person. In such a way that the name triggers the well disposed energies in the chart and not the malefic ones.
Let us take a proposed name, say Umang (उमंग) and see if it fits an example chart here.
Umang is made of 4 sounds – U, M Ng(anusvAr) and G. In the devanAgari script these would be written as – उ , म , ङ and ग.
Now we’ll look up these sounds in the sound-zodiac mapping table above. The results are:
उ – Maps to the 3rd pada of nakshatra named KrittikA. It spans 3°20″ to 6°40″ in Taurus.
म – I couldn’t find an exact match. So, I have picked the nearest sound मा which maps to the 1st pada of MaghA nakshatra. It spans 0°00″ to 3°20″ in Leo.
ङ – 3rd pada of Arda nakshatra. It spans from 13°20″ to 16°40″ in the sign Gemini.
ग – I couldn’t find an exact match. So, I have picked the nearest sound गा which maps to the 1st pada of DhanishthA nakshatra. It spans 23°20″ to 26°40″ in Capricorn.
Now we turn our attention to the horoscope.
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We’ll have to juxtapose the the zodiac locations derived so far from the name, into the chart above. Why? One of the reasons is, we want to see as a basic test whether these nakshatra padas fall at good houses of the horoscope or not. To do that we need to find bhava (house) boundaries for this chart i.e. bhava chalit. Using the Shripati (Porphyry) method of house definition, following are the house assignments for our zodiacal ranges of this example.
3°20″ to 6°40″ in Taurus – 7th house.
0°00″ to 3°20″ in Leo – 10th house.
13°20″ to 16°40″ in Gemini – 9th house.
23°20″ to 26°40″ in Capricorn – 4th house.
Note: This house marking requires the exact ascendant degree as main input parameter. It will be easily available in any astrology software/website as you feed in the birth data.
As you can see, this name activates only the relatively auspicious houses in the chart i.e. the kendra and trikona bhava. Try to avoid picking a name whose sounds trigger the locations in 6th, 8th or 12th house of the horoscope.
To summarize, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that every time this name is used/recited; the native’s 4th, 7th, 9th and 10th houses of the chart are triggered. Not a bad idea at all!
Retrospectively, if you want to reverse engineer. You can start from the horoscope instead. See the most beneficial points in the chart. Starting from there, reach the corresponding sounds and try to build a name that involves them. Or at least derive the sounds which can clearly instigate maximum trouble in the chart, to keep them out of the picture completely.
Method 2 : the Sound – Planet scheme
This time, we are going to map planets with the sounds. Following is the table used for such mapping.
[image error]
It was shown in one of the videos of Mr Deepanshu Giri’s YouTube channel – LunarAstro.
The clue for this schema is said to have come from Manusmriti.
You can also refer to similar classifications taught by other astrologers like Simon Chokoisky – https://youtu.be/QyKiOdv9VFI?t=576
[image error]
If the illustrations I’ve used might be confusing (I’m so lazy). To make things clearer, this method basically maps the planets to the various categories of consonants, vowels, semi vowels etc. Let us see how.
Many of you might know already that the consonants of Samskritam varNamAlA (all 25 of them) are already identified into 5 groups (varga) of 5 consonants each. Each of the 5 vargas is associated with one of the 5 major planets Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. For example Mercury associates with all the 5 consonants of the Ta (ट) varga as shown above.
Then come the semi-vowels i.e. non-classified consonants (अवर्गीय व्यंजनानि). These are mentioned to the right side in Mr. Simon’s illustration above. Such as य, र, ल, व्, श, ष, स, ह etc. They all belong to Moon as is also mentioned in Shri Deepanshu Giri’s slide.
Finally the vowels which fall on the left side in Simon’s illustration. Vowels are all under the Sun.
So here again, as we did the last time. We can pick a proposed name and lookup for its sounds. As to which planets are getting triggered; the beneficial ones or the trouble makers. Again, we can also start with the chart instead, classify the planets in good vs bad dignities. Then move on with name selection via sounds that belong to the chart’s well dignified planets only.
To cover the already discussed example. उमंग consists of:
उ – belongs to Sun who is in this example chart, is in own sign i.e. the 11th lord in 11th house. 11st is an Upachaya house, so +ve for natural malefics.
म – of Saturn who is the yogakaraka here & sits in the 3rd house. Upachaya is +ve for natural malefics.
ङ – belongs to Mars who is the 2nd and 7th lord combust in the 11th house, having friendly sign of Sun. Upachaya is +ve for natural malefics.
ग – Mars the 2nd and 7th lord combust in the 11th house, having friendly sign of Sun.
On closer look we can notice that the picture is not perfect this time. Mars being 2L and 7L in badhaka sthana with badhakesh. This can trigger’s Mars’ marakesh properties during his Vimshottari mahadasha, antardasha etc. But beyond this one factor, the name otherwise again comes with auspicious influences only.
Conclusion –
There are all sorts of factors influencing the decision and/or available choices for the name. Such as – the meaning of the name, child’s gender, socio-cultural environment, religion, family members’ preferences, parents’s own notions of the kind of progeny they desire to raise. No wonder that making good with all the factors in one name becomes a herculean task.
But opining strictly in our context. If one is able to zero in on a name that passes both the tests elucidated above with reasonable success. There is a good chance of it being the best possible name for the newborn under consideration. The author wants to remind his viewers again, of the make or break importance of energy in this context. Just keep in mind as golden rule to – follow the energy.
And yes, happy name hunting!
How I named my child
So the joyous moment of child birth arrives and grips you. There’s celebration, goosebumps, sprinting in the hospital and what not. And then with the exasperated energies finally settling. Gradually (over next few days to months) a new discussion dawns upon the family. Name!
What would be the name of this adorable little member. In many cases this becomes the first decision regarding the life of the newborn.
All cultures have some guidelines toward this important selection. Here in Bharat-varsha, our ancestors laid out the most elaborate systems governing all dimensions of life. Obviously they didn’t miss the subject of naming a newborn. I will share my experience; how I stumbled around, learned what the ancestral knowledge offers and went through this process. If this could even make you recognize the importance of choosing a proper name. I’ll consider the effort to have met accomplishment.
Before we begin…
Important Note: I am not an astrologer (not even half of it). I just pursue astrology as a hobby and am sharing my experience, understanding. What follows is not a prescription to be swallowed.
What’s in the name Shakespeare? Well, a lot. Lets start with the bare bone approach. A name is just a word (or a conjunction of words) used to identify a person. Name will (hopefully) identify them in a considerably unique and suitable fashion. A name in any language is made up of some alphabets and vowels, with hopefully a meaning that conveys a message, ancestry etc.
With the Hindu tradition, this is where the story rather begins. The consonants (व्यंजन) and vowels (स्वर) are codified sounds. Sounds are carrier of vibrations. Vibrations are nothing but energy at a specific frequency. So, in short, the name has everything to do with energy. That’s a lot in the name, isn’t it? Moving on…
When a person’s name is uttered, the energy specific to that name is transmitted by the speaker. So it becomes imperative to see what kind of energy it is and whether it is compatible to that person or not. Hence comes the role of astrology. Because which energy the person is more attuned to and which can throw him out of balance, can be gauged most comprehensively via the system of Indian Astrology aka Jyotish. We shall go over two methods here that I’ve learned and applied.
Method 1 : the Sound – Zodiac tango
The Samskritam varnamAlA is a potent and complete tool to achieve this goal. Each Samskritam sound given in the table below, is mapped to a 3 degrees & 20 minutes wide part of the zodiac and is actually quarter of a constellation. Also known as the नक्षत्र पद. Since the zodiac is also divided into signs (राशि), thus the sound can also be seen as belonging to a particular sign in the zodiac. As can be seen at 3rd column in the table below.
Though the most widely known and followed tradition in India is to see in newborn’s horoscope the nakshatra pada where Moon is located. Based on that they pick the corresponding Samskritam sound and assign it to be the beginning sound of the person name. However, our subject matter today is a more pervasive approach than just the starting letter. So, we’ll avoid weighing in on what the internet is already filled with.
Sound Zodiac mapping table (apologies, unable to trace source for due credit) [image error]
Application:-
The horoscope (also called ‘chart’) of a person is like a portal, telling us how the person is capable of receiving energy inputs. Every horoscope is well disposed to certain frequencies of energy and is ill disposed to some others. So, in brief our objective here is – to create a alignment between the sounds of the name and the chart of the person. In such a way that the name triggers the well disposed energies in the chart and not the malefic ones.
Let us take a proposed name, say Umang (उमंग) and see if it fits an example chart here.
Umang is made of 4 sounds – U, M Ng(anusvAr) and G. In the devanAgari script these would be written as – उ , म , ङ and ग.
Now we’ll look up these sounds in the sound-zodiac mapping table above. The results are:
उ – Maps to the 3rd pada of nakshatra named KrittikA. It spans 3°20″ to 6°40″ in Taurus.
म – I couldn’t find an exact match. So, I have picked the nearest sound मा which maps to the 1st pada of MaghA nakshatra. It spans 0°00″ to 3°20″ in Leo.
ङ – 3rd pada of Arda nakshatra. It spans from 13°20″ to 16°40″ in the sign Gemini.
ग – I couldn’t find an exact match. So, I have picked the nearest sound गा which maps to the 1st pada of DhanishthA nakshatra. It spans 23°20″ to 26°40″ in Capricorn.
Now we turn our attention to the horoscope.
[image error]
We’ll have to juxtapose the the zodiac locations derived so far from the name, into the chart above. Why? One of the reasons is, we want to see as a basic test whether these nakshatra padas fall at good houses of the horoscope or not. To do that we need to find bhava (house) boundaries for this chart i.e. bhava chalit. Using the Shripati (Porphyry) method of house definition, following are the house assignments for our zodiacal ranges of this example.
3°20″ to 6°40″ in Taurus – 7th house.
0°00″ to 3°20″ in Leo – 10th house.
13°20″ to 16°40″ in Gemini – 9th house.
23°20″ to 26°40″ in Capricorn – 4th house.
Note: This house marking requires the exact ascendant degree as main input parameter. It will be easily available in any astrology software/website as you feed in the birth data.
As you can see, this name activates only the relatively auspicious houses in the chart i.e. the kendra and trikona bhava. Try to avoid picking a name whose sounds trigger the locations in 6th, 8th or 12th house of the horoscope.
Retrospectively, if you want to reverse engineer. You can start from the horoscope instead. See the most beneficial points in the chart. Starting from there, reach the corresponding sounds and try to build a name that involves them. Or at least derive the sounds which can clearly instigate maximum trouble in the chart, to keep them out of the picture completely.
Method 2 : the Sound – Planet scheme
This time, we are going to map planets with the sounds. Following is the table used for such mapping.
[image error]
It was shown in one of the videos of Mr Deepanshu Giri’s YouTube channel – LunarAstro.
The clue for this schema is said to have come from Manusmriti.
You can also refer to similar classifications taught by other astrologers like Simon Chokoisky – https://youtu.be/QyKiOdv9VFI?t=576
[image error]
So here again, as we did last time. We can pick a proposed name and see for its sounds. As to which planets are getting triggered, beneficial ones or the trouble makers. Again, we can also start with the chart instead, classify the planets in good vs bad dignities. Then move on with name selection via sounds that belong to the chart’s well dignified planets only. To cover the already discussed example. उमंग consists of:
उ – belongs to Sun who is in own sign i.e. the 11th lord in 11th house. Upachaya is +ve for natural malefics.
म – of Saturn who is the yogakaraka & sits in 3rd H. Upachaya is +ve for natural malefics.
ङ – belongs to Mars who is the 2nd and 7th lord combust in the 11th house, having friendly sign of Sun. Upachaya is +ve for natural malefics.
ग – Mars the 2nd and 7th lord combust in the 11th house, having friendly sign of Sun.
Here the picture is not perfect due to Mars being a marakesh in badhaka sthana with badhakesh. But beyond this one factor, the name again comes with auspicious influences only. Sun the badhakesh is in good dignity, so obstacles will rough up but eventually bring the native to a positive closure.
Conclusion – There are all sorts of factors influencing the decision and/or available choices for the name. Such as – the meaning of the name, child’s gender, socio-cultural environment, religion, family members’ preferences, parents’s own notions of the kind of progeny they desire to raise. No wonder, that making good with every factor becomes a herculean task. But opining strictly in our context. If one is able to zero in on a name that passes both the tests elucidated above. There is a good chance of it being the best possible name for the newborn under consideration. The author wants to remind his viewers again, of the make or break importance of energy in this context. Just keep that in mind.
And yes, happy name hunting!
