Kanad Rishi Bhatnagar by K.N. Rao

Article by K.N. Rao

That Flashy, Intuitive Astrological, Brilliance

It was in this period (1978-80) that Raja Saheb Maqsoodpur introduced me to a very genial astrologer, Kanad Rishi Bhatnagar who had written nearly two hundred plays for the All India Radio. He was a very gifted man but it had spread about him that he was at his best as an astrologer if he got choicest wines to drink. I do not know how true it was but Dr. R.K. Caroli who had known him very well for many years told me that Bhatnagar had some supernormal and intuitive gifts which worked best when he really got drunk. He depended mostly on transits of planets for his predictions. Dr. Caroli also told me that when drunk, he could sometimes make amazingly great predictions but rarely of the positive type. All his predictions about fatal events came mostly true when he was drunk. He could sometimes even tell about the event of the past with rare accuracy. But when he sat down to do some calculations and predict he mostly failed, as an astrologer should do, and normally does. This is what I heard from others but I had no occasion to know

how true it was. In Delhi, it suits people to exploit such an astrologer. He had shown his horoscope to me and I had warned him of a spell of bad health and that he better avoid drinks. He could not do it. He gave me his horoscope which I analyzed for him in my own way through the composite techniques in detail, sharing the joy of his ever ebullient reactions. I told him that Ketu in his 5th house had given him his intuitive gifts but he was misusing it. He could learn sounder techniques of astrological predictions and not tax his gifts. He did not heed to this advice of mine and started going wrong when his gifts let him down, which happened more often in the last years of his life. In Delhi among many astrologers I met only two impressed me as excellent, Kanad Rashi Bhatnagar was one of them, for his intuitive gifts. He never worked hard on any horoscope but gave excellent predictions fast and free without ever charging any money from anyone. The other was K.C. Saxena who had a keen probing mind. Other astrologers were the run of the mill mercenaries, which they are even now.

We have earlier repeated this few times in disjointed manner and here it is full, influence of Ketu/Rahu in the 5h from Asc or Asc Lord or 10H/10L or Arudha Lagna ‘can’ at times give brilliance to an astrologer in the form of rare & stunning predictions as per our observations. Cheiro had Ketu in the 5H from Asc, Prof K S Krishnamurthy (KP system) had Rahu in the 5H from retro Asc Lord Saturn (place it in previous house) and Rahu aspecting the 2H (another super yoga when Rahu aspects the 2H/L for brilliant predictions – this we have stated in our commentaries of Ravan Samhita, Joni Patry who predicted the Japan Tsunami also has this yoga of Rahu influencing the 2H of speech, so also Gayatri Devi Vasudev who predicted the Japan Tsunami has Rahu in the 2H, we have often seen this Super Predictive Yoga give great results among astrologers and at the same time cause deceit by a family member as Rahu is karaka for cheating), then Prof B Suryanarayan Rao had Ketu in the 5H from 10L Saturn, his grandson B V Raman had Ketu in the 5H from Asc lord, Gayatri Devi Vasudev daughter of B  V Raman has Rahu/Ketu axis in the 5H from Arudha lagna, Nostradamus had Ketu in the 5H from Asc lord Jupiter retro (taken from previous house), the legendary predictor Seshadiri Iyer who introduced divisional charts in vedic astrology in the last century had Ketu in the 5H from Arudha Lagna, R Santhanam had the Rahu/Ketu axis falling in the 5H from AL, British astrologer Komilla Sutton has Ketu in the 5H from Asc. For those who use divisional charts & know the true importance of Dasamsa will note that K N Rao has Ketu in the 5H in D10. – SA.

Dasha Sequence

4. In the dasha sequence it can be seen that he got a job in Tula-Kanya and also got married.
5. His children were born in the dasha of Vrischika which contains his Putrakaraka and from there the 5thhouse his Jupiter, the natural putrakaraka, aspected by two benefics, the Moon and Venus and also Rahu and Ketu.

I had lost touch with him for about two years in which he got busy in arranging his family matters knowing as an ideal husband that his innocent and unworldly wife would find management of affairs difficult after his death. Once or twice when he met me he seemed to have been gripped by some unknown fears. His predictions had started going wrong, he was losing his concentration. Selfish politicians who visited him so regularly stopped going to him. He was friendless almost. In the meantime, I was transferred to Bhubaneshwar in the state of Orissa as Accountant General in May 1985. After I was re-posted to Delhi in February 1986, and perhaps I never met him in 1986 or had only talked to him on phone when he had sounded despondent. Then the day he died no one informed me about it. A week or two later, I learnt about it. I thought that an astrological poem which I had liked had been removed from the anthology of my life.

Finer Points

1. How to Know who is a Good Astrologer?

One lady journalist came to me once and asked me how to know who was a good astrologer. I told her to go to all astrologers give them the same horoscope cast according to Chitrapaksha Ayanamsha and ask them to tell some past events of the life of the person in writing. I told her to pay their fees I, in turn did it free and gave her predictions in writing. She came back to me after a month and told me that except one lady astrologer, others refused once they came to know that it would be published and predictions of different astrologers on the same horoscope compared.

Astrological Superstitions

1. I also know some astrologers who told me of what they called great predictions without even showing any technical reason. One of them, very senior in age something of an astrological guru came to our classes and said that anyone who has a debilitated Venus in the horoscope or even in navamsha, must become a beggar. Such superstitions spread by these so called gurus without examination of many horoscopes has become quite dangerous. Some of the most successful men I have met who are also prosperous have debilitated Venus. I never saw Kanad Rashi falling into such dogmas and superstitions of astrology merely because it is mentioned in the “Jatak Parijat” where no reference to offer divisional horoscopes has been made in any discussion. To accept all this as unfailing truth and talk about it openly before such intelligent and elitist students as we have was a mistake.
2. The latest astrological racket now since 1990 what is called Vastu-Shastra or the architectural planning of buildings according to astrological principles. Some of them are making lot of money. What they say and advise can never be tested for some people who were earlier doing only some bare horoscope reading with their scanty knowledge of astrology have suddenly jumped into this branch seeing lot of money in it. They have lot of gullible businessmen, industrialists and rich landlords as their victims. If astrology gets a bad name it is because of such fraudulent practices.
3. The great God has been so kind to his family that all his children are married happily and are prosperous with their own children.
4. A good astrologer late Keshav Menon had produced this small research or better to say gave his observation. I tested it on many horoscopes and found it correct with many variations. Not being a doctor, I kept myself within my limits and have not produced a research which I could have done with some convincing proof.
5. I appreciated this problem of his. Some very senior officers in the department I served in, had become so jealous of my contacts with big person that of the earliest opportunity they manipulated my transfer from many stations, particularly from Delhi.
6. That upstart has become a shameless tout of politicians now yet has won no respect in astrological circles or among astrologers. He did liaison work for many businessmen also who consulted me when they ran into crisis but used him to go to the Ministers to get their work done. It was an experience which made me feel disgusted with astrology than anywhere else.
7. Astrologers are planted by intelligence agencies and also politicians to know about other politicians and their ambitions. To do it they supply them with money and even persuade them to start an astrological journal which gives them a position of vantage. Many of them are the worst racketeers and are not averse to planting some wrong horoscope of important political leaders of India to mislead other serious astrologers. I remember to have met a young astrologer in Ahmadabad many years ago who was advised by his father never to read astrological journals if he wanted to do astrology seriously and accurately.
8. He always had the wisdom to see that one could do nothing with the combinations in a horoscope. He rightly advised people to live cheerfully and worship God. He was a totally guileless man, through his fast generalization on the basis of horoscope were sometimes amusing. He would for example, say if he liked a politician that planets had lined up to shoot down his opponents and were waiting with bouquets in their hand to honour him. If he heard a politician, he gave some extreme prediction. Yet he remained guileless but could never overcome his political prejudices in his assessment of horoscope.
9. How pleasant and genial he was will become clear from the following discussion I had with him in presence of Raja Saheb Maqsoodpur. In 1978 Indira Gandhi after her defeat in the Rae Bareilly election in March 1977, had absolutely no confidence that she could win any election from northern India. She decided to fight elections from Chikamangalur and thought she would lose elections even there; Kanad too had made such a prediction. I, on the other hand insisted that she would win. But then did I not see disaster in her career, he had asked me. I said that the disaster he was seeing would be in December 1978 and not in October or November. I had explained it thus:

Indira Gandhi

19 November 1917 11:11 PM Allahabad

a) According to my calculations Indira Gandhi would be running Saturn-Venus-Mars up to the end of October 1978. In the sub-sub period of her 10thlord which is vargottama she had to do better.

b) Then Jupiter in Karka and Saturn about 15 or 16 degrees would be on her vargottama 10thlord Mars in Simha. This transit had to prove good.

c) The disaster that was visible would be in Saturn-Venus-Rahu. It is well known that Indira Gandhi was expelled from the parliament after she had won the Chikamangalur elections and even arrested in the last week of December 1978 and put inside the jail for a brief period.

d) When Kanad’s prediction went wrong and mine proved correct he congratulated me gracefully and told me that he never worked with vast and elaborate data as I had done. I do not remember any other astrologer with so much grace. For instance, when my prediction about the death of Indira Gandhi was discussed all over, some of Delhi astrologers abused me because they could not see this fatal event. Professional and mercenary astrologers are among the worst human beings I have met. It was only an astrologer like Kanad Rishi Bhatnagar who had so many talents and was such a successful playwright that could find in astrology a compensatory happiness.

11.    Mercury periods and sub periods are generally good for the pursuit of astrology. Kanad did his astrology rather well in this period.

12.   He had a very peculiar theory which he said he had learnt from his astrologer ‘guru’ who was according to him a drunkard and debauch, but an excellent human being. His jyotish guru had told him that Ketu was always capable of giving some unexpectedly good results. In his case a son of his was given an agency of the Life Insurance Corporation of India in the Ketu period (in the 5thhouse) who got big policies from the friends of Kanad whom people wanted to repay for his most helpful predictions at most crucial times of their lives.

13.   I told him that such problems could be solved easily by using divisional horoscope. Here Ketu in the 11thhouse (D7 of Kanad Rishi Bhatnagar) clearly showed what his Guru had told him. In doing all this one had to work on correct horoscopes. But Kanad was so gifted an astrologer that he never went beyond the birth horoscopes, and yet gave good and flashy predictions. But this limitation often led him into some very bad and wrong predictions on crucial occasions. His saptamsha had clearly shown prosperity to his children Kanad was lucky enough to buy a house and provide a shelter for his family before his death.

Saptamsha of Kanad Rishi Bhatnagar

14. Venus is debilitated in the birth horoscope and Venus is also the lord of the 2ndhouse from the Moon and was also placed in the 2ndhouse in the navamsha and saptamsha. He had many ailments in this period and he had now some intuitive feeling that his end was nearing. He came to me one day and showed the horoscope of a girl who was poor and parentless and he wanted his son to many her. Kanad never gave up his strong idealism.
15. The antardasha of the afflicted lagna lord led to worsening of his health.

Death On 26^th August of Kanad Rishi Bhatnagar

Now notice some features of planetary transits of the day.

1. Rahu was in the 8thhouse and Ketu in the 2nd house on his birth Moon.
2. Saturn was exactly on his Saturn.
3. Mars in Dhanu was aspecting the 8thhouse from his lagna.
4. Retrograde Jupiter in Kumbha was aspecting the lagna and was 6thhouse from his birth Moon.
5. The worst was the position of the Moon in the 8thhouse from his birth Moon. It was that fatal and death inflicting ashtama Moon.

(Reproduced from K.N. Rao’s book “Astrological Journey Through History Mystery and Horoscopes”. This book is out of print now and will soon be available in Saptarishis Astrology book shop which can be accessed at shop.saptarishisastrology.com )

About Author: K. N. Rao needs no introduction, he runs the biggest school of astrology in the world, has produced the highest number of top quality books which has cult following, and is known for his outstanding predictive ability. History acknowledges his contribution in popularizing Vargas usage in India & USA, Double Transit phenomenon & Chara Dasha. He is considered as the one who displayed for the first time in astrology what was termed spell bounding writing styles in Jyotish, using narratives with top class jyotish content, a style now adopted by many over the decades. It is often found that what he writes in one line is 15 page articles for others.