Article by Daya Shanker

The author has titled his monumental work on Vimshottari & Yogini Dashas as “Hindu Dasha System”. However I would prefer to call it “Aarsh Dasha System” i.e. The Dasha System propounded by our seers.

I have come across two pertinent questions in several astrological conferences about the “Aarsh System of Timing the Events”, to have been ascribed to the natal position of Moon in any horoscope. The first pertinent question is, “Why all the Dasha Systems are based on the natal position of Moon and not the other planets or sensitive points in horoscopes? This is a similar question to one asked for transit also i.e. “Why the Gochar (Transit) results are prescribed with respect to the natal position of Moon and not the planets as well as sensitive points in horoscopes?”

Many a scholars have given justification for such a system evolved by our great Seers. The learned author of this wonderful book is also having his definite justification & suitable answer to the question mentioned above. However, I feel, that the answer should come to me & for all from the Seers themselves. The answer I got for question from our Seers takes me to the lord Brahma desirous of creating the Universe. It is his sale self resolution devine which creates the whole Universe and I see it. The whole creation is due to his great resolve (,dks·ga cgqL;ke) to create the Universe, & this great resolution rests in his great Mind (Manas). From the same Manas (Mind), the Moon is originated, “Chandrama Manaso Jatah….”(panzek eulks tkr%—-). Only Moon is originated from the Mind of Brahma & other Planets are originated from the other respective parts of Virat Purush e.g. the Sun is originated from Chakshus, The Eyes absolute of Virat Purush, etc.

Since the great resolution, the absolute cause of the creation, the Universe and the Moon, both are the subject matter of “Manas” of Virat Purush, the Brahma, who else other than Moon could have been ascribed the regulator of the play of creation through time? I perceive the Moon to be at par with resolution of Brahma to create the Universe with great desire, “Eko Aham Bahu Syam” (,dks·ga cgq L;ke) because of their being Homogeneous & thus accept the Moon to regulate all the regulators of creation including Time and vow my head to the supreme wisdom of our seers to evolve the system of timing events in Astrology keeping in view of the position of Moon at birth and not the other planets.

Probably, the readers may have difficulties in understanding, “that it was Moon only through which the life could be transported to earth in our galaxy from the other galaxy around 12 Lac years back. Till “Jyotirved” again emerges, the readers may have the aforesaid workable rationale for the evolution of Dasha System of our Seers for all practical purposes.

This is how, not only Dasha systems, the Bhartiya Progression system are based on the particular position of Moon in Nakshatras at the time of birth of a native but the system of delinealing results of transits (Gochara Phalas) was also evolved based on the Position of Moon in Rashi for a native in the Nativity (Horoscope). Lateron, the system of Astakavargas has also been evolved keeping certain other objectives in view apart from transit results.

Nevertheless, whether it is Astakavarga system or the system of Gochara Phalas, the main objective of our seers in evolving these appears to be the public interest & welfare in general and thus the element of generality is much more in these systems. The system of Dashas, is undoubtedly supreme in the sense, that the element of generality, even in the cases of twins becomes negligible in view of the cuspal charts being different for both the natives (in case of twins) and if there is no difference in the cuspal charts even, at least I, as an astrologer, would like to accept that element of generality and also the fact that I am not destined to decipher the difference of destinies & events of lives of those particular twins.

Well, how to delineate the different results in cases of twins etc., is not the prime object of the present book but it definitely helps an astrologer in it in a great way. In most of the anthentic versions of “Brihat Paaraashar Hora Shastra”, the chapter on Dashas follows the ‘Poorva Janma Shap Dyotakadhyay’ i.e. the chapter on “Indicators of previous births’ curses carried down by one in the present incarnation.” This scheme of allocation of chapters or their sequential arrangement also helps us in understanding the Dasha Systems to be the statement of accounts of one’s virtuous & sinful deeds to fructify in this incarnation. Thus, the other systems like Gochara (Transit) or Astakavarga scheme of generalised results become subservient to Dasha Systems. The author, after deliberating on all types of Dashas in his various articulations, has chosen to place reliance on & treat the Vimshottari & Yogini Dashas as the essence of the “Arsh Dasha Systems”, (Hindu Dasha System) as both these Dashas are capable of providing almost all the results in one’s life and also that these are the only Dashas those practiced so vastly in all dimensions of the Globe & Time.

The other very pertinent and most important question which troubled almost all the scholars, is about the scheme of allocation of years to different planets under Vimshottari Dasha System on which even I rely wholly & Solely. Many of the scholars have tried to explain the rationale behind it and author has quoted a few names too in this contest in this very book. I am sorry to say that the supposedly rationale provided by V.G. Rele treated to be noteworthy is not even the tip of an iceberg. If we wish to understand the rationale behind it, we have to go back in transcendental once more and see what our great seers show us.

The Holy Atharva Veda mentions about the Seers.

Atharvaveda, 10/8/32

“Anti Santam Jahati Anti Santam Na Pashyati, Devasya Pashya Kaavyam Na Mamar Na Jeeryati”

“A Seer (who sees) sees all the transactions of life and its apparent end (decay, destruction of life) but simultaneously he also sees the Universe (Devsya Kaavyam) which neither gets destroyed nor aged out and thus, does not treat the apparent end to be the end of life (Pralay) nearby even and this perfect perception alone makes him a Seer (Rishi, Santam)”

When we come to deliberate on the rationale of allocation of years to different planets in Vimshottari Dasha, we should not loose sight of this fact that our Seers have gotten only one touch-stone & that is the creation, the Universe, the only book of Dharma which is nothing but Nature itself. We have to find out the rationale of this allocation in Nature only. As we are proceeding towards that, let me clarify the Vimshottari Dasha System was evolved basically to guide human life & thus is applicable primarily to human beings.

“With the above perspective, if we look towards a newly born child, we find the for about first six years of his age, he is blissful and behaves in a manner of a person hot in deep penance & sometimes quite cool & calm alternately like Sun in Day & Night respectively.

If we watch his behaviour for another 10 years i.e. from 6 years to 16 years, we find that he is always experimenting with one thing or the other in the process of learning the life through his faculty of imaginaion. Sometimes he is cheerful like full Moon & sometimes he is blank like Dark Moon on Amavasya. His physical body also starts taking feed from filtered & unfiltered environment.

He is not fully developed into a robust man, even then, he starts taking rash decisions & doing rash things based only on his physical courage during next 7 years i.e. from 16 to 23 years of his age. He becomes bold, physically developed during these Seven years i.e. upto 23 years. He is full of physical valour & prowess only attributable to Mars.

With his developed body, courage & physical prowess, he starts a new era of his life for next 18 years during which he does not like to give any heed to anybody, especially the elders. He ventures through his fancies & follies and at the end of 41 years, he realises that there was almost no proper synchronisation of the wisdom (his head) and the achievements, (his body). These 18 years he passed almost having head on bull-fights as if he had nothing but a hollow head like Rahu.

It is only between 41 & 57 years (i.e. during next 16 years) that he wants to recapitulate his all past experiences, consolidate those & thinks that he has become wiser. He expands himself in all spheres of his life & feels rich in all respects. This is the state of his being governed by the great planet Jupiter for 16 years.

As soon as he completes 57 years of his life, a sudden shock of future is experienced by him and he tries all the tricks of trade/life he learnt so far to deal with the next 19 years of his life i.e. from 57 to 76 years. This is the real period of his life in which he get all the illusions, about relations etc. evaporated & learns the real lessions of his life through many a difficult ways & services. During this period ascribed to Saturn, the hard task master, he becomes really rich with true experiences. The Divine scheme is to test the learning done till Jupiter’s period.

Normally the person rich with true experiences is expected to be full of wisdom and required to disseminate his knowledge for the good of Mankind. So he undertakes this responsibility during next 17 years of his life at 76 years of his age. This is the period of Mercury, the Divine messenger of Almighty following the period of hard task master Saturn. He enjoys all types of rewards, respect and interacts with people having quest of achieving the goal of life.

By the time he becomes 93, he is supposed to take stock of his deeds in this incarnation, introspect fully the past life and shed his head forever to begin the preperation of his pious sojourn to the desired place through liberation during the period of Ketu for 7 years from 93 to 100 years.

The good traditions survived till now from the Vedic age are also our best guides. We never bless any body to live long 120 years. We always bless the person to live long 100 years, Jeevem, Shardah Shatam (those~ ’kjn% ’kre~).

“The person is not required further more experiences beyond 100 years normally and is supposed to transgress into higher life after perfect penance during Ketu’s period of 7 years from 93 to 100. Nevertheless, in case the person is not able to achieve this goal during this period, only then he is allowed to further beyond this another 20 years ascribed to Venus, where, either he can enjoy the sweet & sour fruits of his life or seek the secrets of life (Samjivani Vidya) through further penance & blessings of Almighty.”

The aforesaid rationale is based on Natural or Naisargik Dasha Chakra (cycle) applicable to everybody at all times & found in the Nature itself. We can disbelieve any argument or rationale if we do not find it applicable everywhere in the nature, but when we find it in Nature, we close our arguments by saying, “It is, naturally, it is.”

If the readers of this book apply Vimshottari Dashas in any case blended with the Naisarik or Natural Dasha Chakra mentioned above, they are bound to get more close to the true delineation of the destiny of the natives.

With this brief write up, I introduce the book titled “Hindu Dasha System”, which I remain calling as, “Arsh Dasha System”, written by one of the great scholars of Modern age in the field of Astrology, Shri K.K. Pathak for the benefit of the readers as well as upliftment of the cause of Astrology being almost in nature of public welfare throughout the world.