Narapatijayacarya 4: sarvatobhadracakraprakaraṇam

Om.

Now begins the section on the sarvatobhadra diagrammatic wheel.

Now, therefore, I will fully explain the diagrammatic wheel that illuminates the three worlds, / celebrated as Sarvatobhadra, which brings immediate conviction.

Drawing ten vertical lines and likewise ten horizontal lines, / a diagrammatic wheel of eighty-one cells is formed; there is no doubt in this.

The vowels beginning with 'a' are to be placed in the cells in the intermediate directions beginning with north-east in order, / by the path of creation, sixteen [in all], thus fourfold revolving.

One should draw the asterisms beginning with Kṛttikā in order, starting from the eastern quarter, / seven by seven in order, twenty-eight in number.

[The phonemes] a, va, ka, ha, and ḍa in the east, ma, ṭa, pa, ra, and ta in the south, / na, ya, bha, ja, and kha in the west, and likewise ga, sa, da, ca, and la in the north.

Three by three, beginning with Taurus, starting in order from the eastern quarter, by the wise, / twelve zodiacal signs ending with Aries thus [are to be placed] by the path of creation.

In the remaining cells, in this manner, the pentad of lunar days beginning with Nandā, / and the heptad of weekdays beginning with Mars are indeed to be drawn in order.

[Row 7–8 and verses:] 13 / Sa[tābhijñā]. ga. ai. Sa[gittarius]. Sco[rpio]. e. ta. Svā[tī]. / Dha[niṣṭhā]. ṛ. kha. ja. bha. ya. na. ṝ. Vi[śākhā]. / ī. Śra[vaṇa]. A[bhijit]. U[ttarāṣāḍhā]. Pū[rvāṣāḍhā]. Mū[la]. Jye[ṣṭhā]. A[nurādhā]. i. // Mars and the Sun have an upward gaze, Mercury and Venus squint, / Jupiter and the Moon have a level gaze, and Saturn and Rāhu gaze downward.

14, 15, Sa[turday]. 12, Me[rcury].

On "atha": Now, subsequently, I will explain the diagrammatic wheel named Sarvatobhadra. It is called "Sarvatobhadra" because it is auspicious (bhadra), that is, excellent, on all sides (sarvataḥ). In this diagrammatic wheel, if that which brings about inauspiciousness in another diagrammatic wheel produces an auspicious result, then it is auspicious. Moreover, of what kind is it? "Illuminating the three worlds": like a lamp (dīpa), it is illuminating (dīpaka), that is, it illuminates and makes evident the three worlds. "Celebrated": well known. "Producing immediate conviction": giving rise to the discernment of auspicious and inauspicious results being examined immediately, at that very moment. On "ūrdhvaga": It is easy to understand. On "akārādi": In that diagram, in the cells in the intermediate directions beginning with the northeast, the sixteen vowels beginning with "a" are to be inscribed in succession according to the course of creation, that is, in clockwise order. Thus, one should understand that there are four revolutions (caturbhrama), that is, four circuits; specifically, "a" is in the northeast corner; "ā" is in the southeast corner; "i" is in the southwest; "ī" is in the northwest; then "u" is in the northeast corner, in the cell below "a"; "ū" is in the southeast, in the cell below "ā"; in this manner one should place the sixteen vowels in the four corners beginning with the northeast, such is the import. On "kṛttikādīni": Then, starting from the eastern direction and following the order of directions, the twenty-eight lunar mansions are to be inscribed in groups of seven beginning with Kṛttikā. That is to say: in the east, in the first row, seven lunar mansions are to be written from Kṛttikā up to Āśleṣā. Likewise, one should write the seven lunar mansions beginning with Maghā in the south. One should write the seven lunar mansions beginning with Anurādhā in the west. One should write the seven beginning with Dhaniṣṭhā in the north. Here, the lunar mansion named Abhijit extends from the last quarter of Uttarāṣāḍhā through the first four ghaṭikās of Śravaṇa; thus there are twenty-eight. On "avakahaḍāḥ": Likewise, in the row below the lunar mansions in the eastern direction, [the phonemes] a, va, ka, ha, ḍa [are to be written]; in the row below the lunar mansions in the southern direction, ma, ṭa, pa, ra, ta; in the western direction, na, ya, bha, ja, kha; in the northern direction, ga, śa, ca, la are to be inscribed. On "trayastrayaḥ": In the order following the course of creation, beginning from the eastern direction, the twelve zodiacal signs ending with Aries, in groups of three beginning with Taurus, are to be inscribed in succession by the wise. Here it should be joined thus: one should write the three zodiacal signs beginning with Taurus in the third row of the eastern direction. Likewise, one should write the three zodiacal signs beginning with Leo in the third row of the southern direction, the three zodiacal signs beginning with Scorpio in the third row of the western direction, and the three zodiacal signs beginning with Aquarius in the third row of the northern direction. On "śeṣeṣu": Thus, in the remaining [cells]...

five cells, the pentad of lunar days beginning with Nandā (Nandā, Bhadrā, Jayā, Riktā, Pūrṇā) [is to be written]. That is as follows: the first, sixth, and eleventh in the eastern cell; the second, seventh, and twelfth in the cell in the southern direction; the third, eighth, and thirteenth in the western cell; the fourth, ninth, and fourteenth in the northern cell; and the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth [lunar days] are to be written in the central cell. In this manner, the heptad of weekdays is to be written in order, beginning with Mars and the Sun. Regarding 'Mars and the Sun': on Nandā, in the place of the first [lunar day], the two weekdays Mars and the Sun; on Bhadrā, in the place of the second, Mercury and the Moon; on Jayā, in the place of the third, Jupiter; on Riktā, in the place of the fourth, Venus; on Pūrṇā, in the place of the fifth, Saturday is to be written. Thus has it been determined by earlier sages in the diagrammatic wheel. This elaboration of the Sarvatobhadra has been declared by me.

The Sarvatobhadra Diagrammatic Wheel

a. kṛ. ro. mṛ. ā. pu. pu. śle. ā.

bha. u. a. va. ka. ha. ḍa. ū. ma.

a. la. lṛ. vṛ. mi. ka. lṛ. ma. pū.

re. ca. me. o. 1. 2. au. siṃ. ṭa. u.

6 Mars

11

u. da. mī. 4 Ven. 10 2 Moon. Ca. pa. ha.

9

14 15 Sat. 12 Merc.

pū. sa. kuṃ. aḥ 3 Jup. aṃ. Li. ra. ci.

8

13 / śa. ga. ai. Cap. Sa. Sco. e. ta. svā. / dha. ṛ. kha. ja. bha. ya. na. ṝ. vi. / ī. śra. a. u. pū. mū. jye. a. i. / Mars and the Sun look upward; Mercury and Venus look squintingly; / Jupiter and the Moon look level; Saturn and Rāhu look downward.

Stationed in its fall, [a planet] looks upward; [stationed] in exaltation, it gazes downward; / and [when] level, its gaze is sideways: the gaze is declared to be threefold.

Saturn, the Sun, Rāhu, Ketu, and Mars are malefic; the remaining are benefic planets. / Mercury conjoined with a malefic is malefic, and so likewise is the waning Moon.

From the asterism in which a planet is situated, three astrological piercings occur / by virtue of the planet's gaze here: on the left, directly ahead, and on the right.

That which has been traversed, that to be traversed, and that currently occupied, pierced by a malefic planet, / must be avoided with great care in auspicious and inauspicious undertakings.

When retrograde, its gaze is to the right; and its gaze is to the left when moving rapidly; / and when in mean motion, [the gaze] is to be known as central among the five beginning with Mars.

"ūrdhva..." [The meaning is] clear. "nīcasthito..." [This is] easily understood. "śanyarka..." Here he states the division into malefic and benefic planets. In that regard, the waning state of the Moon is to be known from the eleventh tithi of the dark fortnight up to the end of the fifth [tithi] of the bright fortnight; the rest is easily understood. "yasminnṛkṣe..." In whichever asterism, [that is,] lunar mansion, a heavenly body, [that is,] a planet, is situated, from that [point], by virtue of the planet's gaze to be described ahead, there will be threefold piercing in the left, direct, and [right] directions. "bhuktaṃ bhogyam..." The lunar mansion that has been traversed, is being traversed, is to be traversed, or has been occupied and pierced by a malefic planet—this set of four must be avoided with great care in auspicious and inauspicious undertakings. "vakrage..." When the five [planets] beginning with Mars are retrograde, [that is,] moving retrogradely, the gaze is to the right; / when moving swiftly, in swift motion, there is a gaze to the left, [that is,] a gaze directed to the left side; in mean motion, in their normal motion, the gaze is to be known as central, [that is,] direct.

When released by the Sun, [planets] rise; eclipsed by the Sun, they go to their setting. / When the Sun is situated in the second [sign] from the planet, [the planets] beginning with Mars have radiant discs;

when it is in the third, [their motion] is to be known as mean; when the Sun is in the fourth, slow; / when the Sun is in the fifth or sixth, it will be retrograde, but in the eighth and seventh, highly retrograde;

when the Sun is in the ninth or tenth, a crooked motion arises; / when the Sun is in the twelfth or eleventh, it attains swiftness again; / and the planets that have reached the Sun pass into invisibility in the world.

Rāhu and Ketu are always retrograde; the Moon and Sun are [always] moving swiftly. / Because of the singular nature of their motion, their gaze is always threefold.

Malefics that are retrograde are exceedingly malefic; benefics that are retrograde are exceedingly auspicious. / Benefics and malefics that are moving swiftly abide in their natural constitution.

"sūryamuktāḥ..." [The planets] beginning with Mars, when released by the Sun, [that is,] released and abandoned by the Sun, or having gone outside the Sun by advancing into the next zodiacal sign, rise, [that is,] become risen. When eclipsed by the Sun, [that is,] situated in the same zodiacal sign with the Sun, within the prescribed degrees of time—

if they are within the degrees of time cited [in the verse]: "[The degrees of setting] from the Moon onward for the celestial beings are the suns (12), mountains-earth (17), qualities-moon (13), earth-earth (11), and tithis (15)"—then they are set. When the Sun is situated in the second sign from a planet, the planets situated in the previous sign have radiant discs, [that is,] they become swift-moving. When the Sun is in the third sign from a planet, they are mean, [that is,] they have their normal motions; when the Sun is in the fourth sign from a planet, they are slow, [that is,] they have slow motions. When the Sun is situated in the fifth or sixth, they are retrograde, [that is,] they have retrograde motions; when the Sun is in the seventh or eighth, they become highly retrograde. When the Sun is in the ninth or tenth, the motion becomes crooked, [that is,] natural. Thus, when the Sun is in the twelfth or eleventh from a planet, swiftness, [that is,] a swift state, arises again. Again, the planets that have reached the Sun pass into invisibility in the world, [that is,] on earth. "rāhuketū..." Rāhu and Ketu are always retrograde, and the Moon and Sun are swift; therefore,

because of the singular nature of the motion of the Sun, Moon, Rāhu, and Ketu, these four always look with all three gazes—left, direct, and right. "krūrāḥ..." Malefic planets being retrograde are exceedingly malefic. Benefics act according to their auspicious nature; however, being retrograde, they do not act as exceedingly auspicious. In this manner, malefics moving swiftly remain in their own respective natures.

For each pair of vowels beginning with the phoneme a, when one is pierced, there is piercing of both; / and of the anusvāra and visarga, which are composed of vowel-bearing essence, there is piercing.

Ba and va, śa and sa, and ṣa and kha, as well as ṅa and ña, are to be known as mutually [identical]; / by the [piercing of] one, both are to be known [as pierced] in the astrological piercing by benefic and malefic planets.

Gha-ṅa-cha, ṣa-ṇa-ṭha, dha-pha-ḍha, and tha-jha-ña: / these triplets are each pierced respectively by ka, pa, da, and bha when they are pierced.

Gha-ṅa-cha [are pierced] when the piercing planet is in Ārdrā; ṣa-ṇa-ṭha when the planet is in Hasta; / dha-pha-ḍha in Pūrvāṣāḍhā; tha-jha-ña in Uttarabhadrapadā. / In the pairs of vowels beginning with the phoneme a, when one is pierced, there is piercing of both; / and in the astrological piercing of an entity made of combined vowels, [the same applies] to the anusvāra and visarga.

"avarṇādisvarau..." The pairs of vowels beginning with the vowel a—such as a and ā, i and ī, and so forth—among them, by the piercing of one, the piercing of both is to be understood. The anusvāra and visarga whose nature is endowed with vowels are also pierced; there too, by the piercing of one, the piercing of both is to be understood, because both are pronounced together with the phoneme a. "ba-vau śa-sau..." In this treatise, ba and va, śa and sa, ṣa and kha, ṅa and ña—each pair of phonemes is to be known as equivalent. In that case, in the astrological piercing by benefic and malefic planets, by the piercing of one, both are to be known as pierced. "gha-ṅa-chāḥ..." This occurs by the piercing of ka, pa, [da], and bha. As follows: when the phoneme ka is pierced, the phonemes [gha], ṅa, and cha are pierced; when the phoneme pa is pierced, ṣa, ṇa, and ṭha are pierced; [when da is pierced, dha, pha, and ḍha are pierced]; when the phoneme bha is pierced, tha, jha, and [ña] are pierced. "gha-ṅa-chā raudrage..." When a planet is situated in the asterism sacred to Rudra, [that is,] in Ārdrā, the phonemes gha, ṅa, and cha are pierced. The rest is easily understood. "avarṇādi..." This has a clear meaning and has already been explained.

When a planet occupies the final or initial quarter between two asterisms situated in the corners, / there is astrological piercing of the tetrad beginning with the vowel a, corresponding to the pūrṇā tithi, in sequence.

By the malefic piercing of one and so forth, the fruit arises for men: / anxiety, fear, loss, disease, and death, respectively.

In [the piercing of] an asterism there is confusion; in a syllable, loss; in a vowel, disease; fear in a tithi; / when a zodiacal sign is pierced, great hindrance; one pierced in all five does not live.

In a single piercing, there is fear in battle; in a double piercing, loss of wealth; / through a triple piercing, there will be defeat; in a tetrad of piercings, death.

Just as malefics yield evil results, so benefics bestow auspiciousness; / but benefics conjoined with malefics are to be known as yielding malefic results.

In a piercing by the Sun, there is mental anguish; and loss of wealth [in one] by the son of the Earth; / Saturn causes affliction by disease; and Rāhu and Ketu cause obstacles.

In [a piercing by] the Moon, there is mixed fruit for men; and acquisition of pleasure in [one by] Venus; / in a piercing by Mercury, there will be wisdom; Jupiter bestows all fruits.

A benefic or malefic planet destroys [the entity pierced]: disease and loss of wealth [strike] the name; / in the piercing of the ruinous asterism, and in a triple piercing, there is danger to life.

[On the words] 'standing in a corner': when a planet occupies the final or initial quarter between two corner asterisms, there is a piercing of each of the four sounds beginning with 'a', as well as of the full lunar day (pūrṇā tithi). Here this should be understood: for instance, in the north-east corner are Bharaṇī and Kṛttikā; when a planet is in the first or last quarter thereof, the four corner vowels beginning with 'a' and the central full lunar day become pierced. So too should it be considered in the other three corners. [On the phrase] 'by a piercing of malefics beginning with one': for men, five malefics are taught—Saturn, the Sun, Rāhu, Ketu, and Mars; through a piercing of any one of these upon any one [factor] among sounds, phonemes, zodiacal signs, asterisms, and so forth, agitation and other results arise. With one piercing, agitation; with two piercings, fear—such results are to be contemplated. [On the word] 'in an asterism': when an asterism is pierced by a malefic planet, bewilderment occurs. When all five—asterism, syllable, sound, lunar day, and zodiacal sign—are pierced simultaneously by a malefic planet, then it should be judged that he does not live. [On the phrase] 'in one piercing': in warfare, in battle, fear arises from the piercing of a single planet based on the name. The rest is easy to understand. [On the phrase] 'just as they yield evil fruit': just as malefic planets through piercing yield evil results such as agitation and the like, so benefic planets through piercing yield auspicious results; that is, from a benefic piercing beginning with one, auspicious results such as delight arise. Malefics joined with malefics grant malefic results; likewise benefics joined with benefics grant exceedingly auspicious results; but Mercury, a benefic, when joined with a malefic, yields only evil results. [On the phrase] 'in a piercing by the Sun': easy to understand. [On the word] 'in the Moon': the meaning is clear. [On the word] 'benefic': a benefic planet and a malefic planet—[when] a benefic and a malefic pierce the person's ruinous asterism (the twenty-third lunar mansion from the name asterism), then disease and loss of wealth occur. In a triple piercing—a piercing of these three: the ruinous, the collective, and the destructive (these three are to be seen ahead in verse 64)—death would occur.

When [a planet] stands in its own sign, its strength is full; in a friendly sign or house, it is three-quarters;
in a neutral house, it should be known as half; when situated in an enemy's house, it is one-quarter.

And this strength of benefics and malefics is based on position;
this very strength is to be understood [differently] for a benefic and for a malefic, in reverse.

Whatever measure of strength arises from the conjunction of position and piercing,
a measure of result corresponding to that for the pierced objects should be known by the wise.

The planets, both malefic and benefic, may be retrograde, direct, exalted, or debilitated;
having thus known their strength according to their position and the object to be pierced, one should declare the result.

When a planet is retrograde, the result is swift; when situated in its own exaltation, it is threefold;
when in fast motion, the result is natural; a planet situated in debilitation is devoid of fruit.

[On the words] 'when standing in its own sign': when a planet stands in its own sign or in its own decan, its strength is full. There, the zodiacal signs of the Sun and the others are: Mars rules Aries and Scorpio; Venus is the lord of Taurus and Libra; Mercury of Virgo and Gemini; but the Moon rules Cancer; the Sun is the lord of Leo; Saturn of Capricorn and Aquarius; Jupiter is declared of Pisces and Sagittarius by the best of calculators. Regarding the arrangement of friends and the rest, Ācārya Varāhamihira says: 'Saturn and Venus are enemies of the Sun, Mercury is neutral, and the rest are friends. The Sun and Mercury are friends of Jupiter, and the rest are neutral. Jupiter, the Moon, and the Sun are friends of Mars, Mercury is an enemy, Venus and Saturn are neutral. The Sun and Venus are friends of Mercury, the Moon is an enemy, and the others are neutral. To Jupiter, Mercury and Venus are enemies, Saturn

is neutral, and the others are otherwise. Mercury and Saturn are friends of Venus, Mars and Jupiter are neutral, the rest are enemies. Venus and Mercury are friends of Saturn, Jupiter is neutral, and the others are enemies. Moreover, those situated at that time in the second, twelfth, eleventh, third, fourth, or tenth places are friends, but otherwise enemies.' The rest is clear. [On the words] 'and this of benefics': this strength, such as 'full' and the rest, is equal for benefics and malefics by virtue of position. This same strength is to be understood in reverse for a benefic and a malefic. That is to say: for a malefic in its own house, it has one quarter; in a friend's house, half; in a neutral house, three quarters; and in an enemy's house, full strength. [On the words] 'in the conjunction of position and piercing': when there is an occurrence of a piercing in conjunction with the position of its own house and so forth, whatever measure of strength, such as fullness, arises—a measure of result corresponding to that, auspicious or inauspicious, for the pierced objects is to be understood by the wise. [On the words] 'the planets, both malefic': easy to understand. When a planet—benefic or malefic—is retrograde, its strength is doubled; likewise in exaltation and so forth, it is tripled. So too should other details be understood. Whatever strength a planet possesses when it pierces a lunar mansion or other factor, it yields a result born of such a piercing.

Whichever lunar day, zodiacal sign, fractional division, or lunar mansion is pierced by a malefic planet,
one should diligently avoid that in all auspicious undertakings.

One does not rejoice in marriage, nor does one return from a military march;
a sick person is not freed from disease if the effort is made at the time of a piercing.

If at the time of illness a piercing arising from a malefic planet occurs,
by retrograde motion death ensues; in fast motion, he is afflicted with a manageable illness.

At the place of piercing, a defeat in battle and a breach in the fortress occurs;
there indeed occurs the entry of the enemy and the slaughter of warriors.

On the phrase: "The lunar day, zodiacal sign, fractional division": Whatever lunar day, zodiacal sign, fractional division, and lunar mansion is pierced by a malefic planet, all of that should be diligently avoided in all auspicious undertakings. On the phrase: "He does not rejoice": If an illness arises at the time of an astrological piercing, the sick person is not freed from the disease. The rest is clear. On the phrase: "At the time of sickness": At the time of sickness, when a disease has arisen, if the astrological piercing produced by a malefic planet happens during retrograde motion, then the death of the patient occurs. When the piercer is moving direct and not malefic, it brings a manageable disease: the person remains afflicted by an illness over an extended duration of time. On the phrase: "At the place of piercing": At the place of astrological piercing, a breakdown in battle occurs. In whichever location, following the order of the directions starting with the east in the Sarvatobhadra diagram, an astrological piercing takes place, indeed there a breakdown occurs in battle, in the fortress, or in the army. "In a fortress, a breach": Even for a fortress, a breach, that is, a fracturing, takes place in the very direction of the pierced lunar mansion. "Entrance of a night-raider": One should carry out an entrance of a night-raider in the direction of the astrological piercing. "Night-raider" means a nocturnal assault, known as a raid; for that purpose, an entrance [is made]. "And slaughter of warriors there indeed": When a man's or a fortress's limb, name, or phoneme is pierced by a malefic planet from a warrior's lunar mansion, there a blow from a weapon occurs—so it must be inferred.

In whichever direction, such as the east, the Sun has entered, starting with Taurus and the other zodiacal signs, / that direction should be known as setting; the remaining three are ever risen.

The sounds located in the northeast are known to be in the east; those in the southeast, in the south; / those situated in the southwest, in the west; and those in the northwest are regarded as being in the north.

The lunar mansions, sounds, phonemes, zodiacal signs, lunar days, and directions: / all of these are known to have set where the Sun resides for three months.

On "yatra": In whichever quarter, beginning with the east—that is, in each of the eastern, southern, western, and northern directions—the Sun travels through Taurus and the other [zodiacal signs], that direction is to be known as set. The remaining three are to be known as ever-risen. On "īśānasthāḥ": The vowels situated in the northeastern direction, these four: a, ḷ, o, [and au], are to be known as attached to the eastern direction; when it has set, they too are to be known as set. In the same way, the four vowels situated in the corners beginning with the southeast are to be known as attached to the southern, western, and northern directions. On "nakṣatrāṇi": Where, according to the transit of three zodiacal signs over three months...

all the lunar mansions, sounds, phonemes, zodiacal signs, lunar days, and so forth located in that very place are to be understood as completely set.

When a lunar mansion is set, sickness [arises]; with a phoneme [set], loss; when a sound is set, sorrow; / with a zodiacal sign, obstacle; with a lunar day, fear; when all five are set, death is certain.

A military march, a battle, a dispute, the doorway of a mansion or a palace, / and any other auspicious deed must not be undertaken by men facing the setting direction.

When a person's first letter of the name is situated in the setting direction, / then in all enterprises that person should be known as struck by fate.

In a night-raid, in a fortress, likewise in single combat, and in a fourfold major battle: / an effort by warriors whose [elements] have set must be avoided by those who seek victory.

When a lunar mansion has risen, nourishment [arises]; with a phoneme, gain; with a sound, happiness; / with a zodiacal sign, victory; with a lunar day, radiance; with the rising of all five, attainment of status.

The verse: "When a lunar mansion is set" is easy to understand. On the phrase: "A military march, a battle": An auspicious act such as a military march; or any other inauspicious act such as a battle—facing the setting direction, that is, turned toward the setting direction, must not be undertaken by men. The rest is easy. On the phrase: "In the setting direction": That man whose first letter of the name is situated in the setting direction should be known as struck by fate. The rest is clear. On the phrase: "In a night-raid, in a fortress": The warriors whose lunar mansions, sounds, phonemes, and zodiacal signs have set are to be known as set. By those warriors who seek victory, whose [elements] have set, assault on a fortress and single combat should be avoided; one should not take part in a fourfold major battle, and an effort must be avoided, not undertaken. The verse: "When a lunar mansion has risen" is clear. || 146-50 || / Whichever ascendant at the time of a query is pierced by malefic planets / is considered ruined; [pierced] by benefics, auspicious; by mixed ones, mixed in result.

The result of an ascendant that is unpierced by planets, however, should be understood / through the innate nature of the ascendant, expounded by the master astrologer as movable and so forth.

He whose phoneme, lunar day, and sound, / zodiacal sign, and lunar mansion—all five—are pierced on both sides by malefics, faces death without a doubt.

A territory, a town, a village, a fortress, a temple, or a city, / when pierced on both sides by malefics, is ruined without a doubt.

On the phrase: "At the time of a query": Whichever ascendant happens to be at the time of a query, if it is pierced by malefic planets, then it must be known as producing a ruined, forbidden result. If it is pierced by auspicious, benefic planets, then an auspicious result is to be declared. If it is pierced by mixed planets, [that is,] by benefics and malefics together, then the result is mixed, both auspicious and inauspicious. On the phrase: "Unpierced by planets": When it is unpierced by planets, [that is,] unpierced by all planets, whichever [ascendant] is movable and so forth, having the nature of movable, fixed, or dual: regarding this, whatever result at the time of a query has been stated by the master astrologer, the knower of astrology, regarding gain or loss, victory or defeat in matters such as stolen or lost property, that result must be understood from the innate nature of the ascendant, according to the nature of the zodiacal sign as human, quadrupedal, village, or forest. In an ascendant that is movable and so forth, the result has been stated thus in the Praśnamārtaṇḍa: "At the rising of a movable ascendant, what is lost is difficult to recover, and there is death for the patient."

"Even of one born at that very [rising sign], one should predict short life. When a fixed sign rises, what is lost is recovered in a short time; there the sick person will recover after a long time, and one born [then] has a long life. For a dual sign rising, there is swift recovery of what is lost, the sick person quickly becomes well, and one born [then] has a medium lifespan." Regarding "By malefics on both sides": for whatever man the five—phoneme, lunar day, sound, zodiacal sign, and asterism—are pierced on both sides by malefic planets, his death will occur; there is no doubt about this. Regarding "A district, a town": when the initial phoneme is pierced on both sides by malefics, these—the district, which is a collection of villages defining an area; the town, which is the residence of a king; a village, well known; a fortress, such as a citadel; a temple, well known; a city, meaning a capital—are destroyed; there is no doubt, it is certain.

And according to the Tortoise, when the first triad beginning with Kṛttikā is pierced by malefics, / the regions beginning with those situated in the navel perish in order.

When Kṛttikā, Puṣya, Revatī, and Punarvasu / are pierced, there is piercing in order of the castes beginning with the Brāhmaṇa.

Oil, wares, liquids, grain, and quadrupeds like elephants and horses— / everything attains high price where a malefic [planet] is situated.

He in whose case a secondary planet occurs in conjunction with a malefic piercing, / his death will surely come, either from disease or in battle.

The fifth asterism from the Sun's asterism is to be known as named Vidyunmukha; / the eighth asterism is called Śūla, and the fourteenth Sannipāta.

Ketu is declared at the eighteenth, and Ulkā will be at the twenty-first; / Kampa is at the twenty-second, and Vajraka at the twenty-third.

And Nirghāta is at the twenty-fourth: the eight secondary planets have been declared; / they are declared to bring obstacles in their own place, in all undertakings, at all times.

Regarding "Kṛttikā and the rest of the triad": according to the Tortoise, in the Tortoise diagram, in the triad beginning with Kṛttikā, where the three asterisms beginning with Kṛttikā are placed in the nine parts of the Tortoise's body, when there is a malefic piercing in such an asterism, the regions beginning with those situated in the navel perish. This is the intention: not all regions go to destruction; when the triad of asterisms beginning with Kṛttikā is pierced, among the regions mentioned for the navel (named Sāketa, Mithilā, Campā, and so on), that region whose phonemes, sounds, and so forth are pierced by the five malefics goes to destruction. Regarding "In Kṛttikā": when there is piercing in the four asterisms Kṛttikā, Puṣya, Revatī, and Punarvasu, there is piercing in order of the castes—Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, and Śūdra. As in: when Kṛttikā is pierced, it pierces the Brāhmaṇa. And if it is caused by a benefic, then the auspicious or inauspicious result of the Brāhmaṇas is to be understood. And it is said by Varāha: "The three Pūrvas along with [the star of] Agni belong to the twice-born; but of kings, the three beginning with Uttara along with Puṣya; along with [the asterisms] of Pauṣṇa and Maitra,