History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c82.604

v6.c82.604

The fundamental doctrine of astrology that the Sun, the Moon and the planets exert some influence on terrestrial life and things is scientific.⁹⁷⁸ The matter to be considered is whether the principles laid down in such astrological works as the Bṛhajjātaka can stand rational analysis and tests. The author may state here that in his boyhood there was an astrologer called Mahādkar Jyotishi who never took money, who was employed as a bailiff in a civil court in the Bombay State and who correctly stated the *lagna* and the positions of the planets in the horoscopes of people by looking for a few minutes at their faces, eyes and hands. The percentage of his mistakes in this respect was very low, barely one to five percent. This led many educated people to believe in those days that astrological works may be right so far that the physical features of a man may have some relation to the planets and their positions at his birth. But, when he set about the business of stating important facts about the lives of the persons whose horoscopes he correctly stated he often went wrong. One cannot also ignore the facts that some predictions turn out to be true. Unless one holds that they are all mere inexplicable co-incidences, they require to be carefully considered. There is an astrological *sanad* (grant) which records most wonderful and detailed predictions that came out to be true. The grant was made in 1793 A. D. to one Chinto Mahadeo Gole by Govindrao Gaikwad, a scion of the Gaikwad family that ruled in Gujarat at Baroda. It recites⁹⁷⁹ that Govindrao Gaikwad had to leave his inheritance at Baroda and stayed near Poona for twenty-five years, that thereafter he consulted Chinto who was a great astrologer, and it was agreed that he should make a prediction after consulting *śāstras* as to when Govindrao would be able to recover his inheritance and if the prediction proved true Govindrao agreed to donate to Chinto a village yielding five thousand rupees yearly revenue. The grant further recites that the astrologer gave to Govindrao a closed letter which stated that the Peshwa at Poona would call Govindrao to his presence in the first watch of Friday, 8th tithi, Mārgaśīrṣa dark half of *śake* 1714 (7th December 1792 A. D.) when the sign ascending would be Dhanus (Archer) and, after taking from Govindrao an agreement to give certain cash and to cede some territory, would restore him to his inheritance and honour him by the present of three *śirpeñch* (turban ornaments or spray of gems) containing 45 rubies and 14 diamonds (out of which three would be large and eleven small), one pearl crest (containing about 496 pearls), one elephant and one blue horse. It is further recited in that sanad that the letter stated that even after this Govindrao would have to stay for eleven months in Poona out of which he would suffer for eight months great calamities, that thereafter the Peshwa would return to Govindrao the territories he had agreed to cede, that he would then return to Baroda in the month of Māgha. The sanad in the end recites that all this that was contained in the closed letter came to be true to the very letter and therefore as agreed before the village of Ayana was donated. It would be noticed in what details the prediction entered. There is no reason to doubt the solemn words of this grant that everything as predicted came out to be true. How the astrologer pointed out all these details is not at all clear, as no astrological work that I know of, enters into such detailed predictions or gives rules for that purpose.