ASTROLOGY FUNDAMENTALS - PART 2

(a)  What is a Rashi Chakra (Zodiac) ?

A Rashi Chakra or a Zodiac is a space area in the sky resembling an approximately elliptical or circular belt. This belt has 12 divisions called the Rashis or the Zodiac signs. All put together, the 12 Rashis or the 12 Zodiac Signs complete a full cycle around the earth in the sky that resembles a circular or elliptical belt. Each Rashi or Zodiac Sign is assigned 30 Degrees and thereby the 12 Rashis or the 12 Zodiac Signs totally make the Rashi Chakra or the Zodiac Belt to be 360 Degrees.

The names of the 12 (Twelve) Rashis or Zodiac Signs are as follows :-

1. MESHA (Aries)

2. VRISHABHA (Taurus)

3. MITHUNA (Gemini)

4. KARKA (Cancer)

5. SIMHA (Leo)

6. KANYA (Virgo)

7. TULA (Libra)

8. VRISCHIKA (Scorpio)

9. DHANUS (Sagittarius)

10. MAKARA (Capricorn)

11. KUMBHA (Aquarius) 

12. MEENA (Pisces).

(b)  What are the Nakshatras (Group of Stars) ?

Nakshatras are constellations of stars (Group Of Stars). Each Nakshatra is divided into 4 equal portions or pieces and each portion is known as PADA or CHARAN of Nakshatras. There are 27 Nakshatras considered in Vedic Astrology thereby resulting in total 108 portions or pieces of 27 Nakshatras (27 Nakshatras X 4 portions or pieces of each Nakshatra = 108 Portions/Pieces of all the Nakshatras). Hence, total of 108 portions or pieces of 27 Nakshatras are equally distributed in each of the 12 Rashis thereby resulting in each Rashi consisting of 9 Nakshatra portions or pieces (109 portions or pieces/12 Rashis = 9 Portions / Pieces of Nakshatras in each Rashi). 

 The names of the 27 (Twenty Seven) Nakshatras are as follows :-

1. ASHWINI

2. BHARANI

3. KRITTIKA

4. ROHINI

5. MRIGASHIRA

6. ARDRA

7. PUNARVASU

8. PUSHYA

9. ASHLESHA

10. MAGHA

11. PURVA  PHALGUNI

12. UTTARA  PHALGUNI

13. HASTA

14. CHITRA

15. SWATI

16. VISHAKHA

17. ANURADHA

18. JYESHTHA

19. MOOLA

20. PURVA  ASHADHA

21. UTTARA  ASHADHA

22. SHRAVANA

23. DHANISHTHA

24. SATABHISHA

25. PURVA  BHADRA

26. UTTARA  BHADRA

27. REVATI

(c)  What are the Grahas (Planets) ?

Grahas is a Sanskrit word for the English word, PLANETS. There are 9 Grahas considered in Vedic Astrology.

The names of the 9 (Nine) Grahas (Planets) are as follows :-

1. SUN (Sun)

2. CHANDRA (Moon)

3. MANGAL or KUJA (Mars)

4. BUDHA (Mercury)

5. GURU (Jupiter)

6. SHUKRA (Venus)

7. SHANI (Saturn)

8. RAHU (Dragon's Head) 

9. KETU (Dragon's Tail).

Grahas are also spread out in a person's horoscope across all the 12 Rashis depending on birth details (Date, Place & Time Of Birth) of a person. Sometimes or most of the times, two or more Grahas are found in the same Rashi coincidentally in a person's horoscope depending upon the relative motion between the Grahas.

(d)  What is a Kundali or a Jataka (Horoscope) ?

A KUNDALI or a JATAKA is the Sanskrit word for the English word, Horoscope.  A Kundali or a Jataka (Horoscope) is also referred to as a BIRTH CHART. A Kundali or a Jataka is the diagram of the Rashi Chakra (Zodiac) showing the relative positions between the Rashis (Zodiac Signs), Nakshatras (Constellations Of Stars) & the Grahas (Planets) as per the birth details (Date, Place & Time Of Birth) of a person.