The Planets and the Cosmic Person

Chapter 2, verses 1 to 12 · Part of our series on the Brihat Jataka of Varahamihira

The signs are the stage. The planets are the actors who move across it. A chart is read by asking which actor stands where, and what kind of actor each one is. That is the subject here: who the planets are, what each one stands for, and how each one looks, feels and behaves.

What a planet is

The Sanskrit word is graha, from a root meaning "to seize" or "to grasp". A graha is something that takes hold of a person's life.

In jyotish there are seven grahas that can be seen in the sky: the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. To ancient eyes these were the seven lights that move against the background of the fixed stars, while everything else in the sky keeps its place. The Sun and Moon are counted as planets in this sense, because they too travel through the signs.

There are also two invisible grahas, Rahu and Ketu. They are not bodies at all, but two points in the sky: the two places where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's path. Eclipses happen only when the Sun and Moon come near these points, and so Rahu and Ketu were long linked with eclipses, with darkness swallowing the lights.

The planets in the body of Time

We met the Kalapurusha, Time pictured as a cosmic person, whose body is made of the twelve signs. The first verse of this chapter gives that person an inner life. Each planet becomes one part of his being, and each also takes a role in a royal court (2.1):

कालात्मा दिनकृन्मनस्तुहिनगुः सत्त्वं कुजो ज्ञो वचो जीवो ज्ञानसुखे सितश्च मदनो दुःखं दिनेशात्मजः । राजानौ रविशीतगू क्षितिसुतो नेता कुमारो बुधः सूरिर्दानवपूजितश्च सचिवौ प्रेष्यः सहस्रांशुजः ॥

kālātmā dinakṛn manas tuhinaguḥ sattvaṃ kujo jño vaco jīvo jñānasukhe sitaś ca madano duḥkhaṃ dineśātmajaḥ | rājānau raviśītagū kṣitisuto netā kumāro budhaḥ sūrir dānavapūjitaś ca sacivau preṣyaḥ sahasrāṃśujaḥ ||

Of Time, the maker of the day is the soul; the cool-rayed Moon is the mind; Mars is courage; Mercury is speech; Jupiter is knowledge and happiness; Venus is desire; and the son of the lord of day is sorrow. The Sun and the Moon are the two kings; the son of the Earth is the commander; Mercury is the prince; the wise one and the one honoured by the Danavas are the two ministers; and the son of the thousand-rayed is the servant.

The names are poetic. The Sun is dinakṛt, "maker of the day". Mars is kṣitisuta, "son of the Earth". Jupiter is sūri, "the wise". Venus is "honoured by the Danavas", because Shukra was the teacher of the Danavas in the old stories. Saturn is "son of the Sun".

Read as a whole, the verse is a portrait of a human being. Every person has a soul (the Sun), a mind (the Moon), courage (Mars), speech (Mercury), wisdom and contentment (Jupiter), desire (Venus), and sorrow (Saturn). In a chart, a strong, well-placed planet strengthens its part of the person: a strong Sun gives a steady sense of self, a strong Moon a steady mind. A weak or troubled planet weakens it.

The court gives the same picture in social terms. The Sun and Moon rule. Mars leads the army. Mercury is the young prince. Jupiter and Venus advise. Saturn serves. This tells us something about each planet's rank and style: Saturn's work is humble, patient and laborious; Mars commands and fights; Jupiter and Venus counsel.

The names of the planets

Each planet has many names, and the next two verses list the main ones, so that a reader can recognise them wherever they appear (2.2 to 2.3):

हेलिः सूर्यश्चन्द्रमाः शीतरश्मिर्हेम्नो विज्ज्ञो बोधनश्चेन्दुपुत्रः । आरो वक्रः क्रूरदृक्चावनेयः कोणो मन्दः सूर्यपुत्रोऽसितश्च ॥ जीवोऽङ्गिराः सुरगुरुर्वचसांपतिरिज्यः शुक्रो भृगुर्भृगुसुतः सित आस्फुजिच्च । राहुस्तमोऽगुरसुरश्च शिखीति केतुः पर्यायमन्यमुपलभ्य वदेच्च लोकात् ॥

heliḥ sūryaś candramāḥ śītaraśmir hemno vij jño bodhanaś cendu-putraḥ | āro vakraḥ krūradṛk cāvaneyaḥ koṇo mandaḥ sūryaputro 'sitaś ca || jīvo 'ṅgirāḥ suragurur vacasāṃpatir ijyaḥ śukro bhṛgur bhṛgusutaḥ sita āsphujic ca | rāhus tamo 'gur asuraś ca śikhīti ketuḥ paryāyam anyam upalabhya vadec ca lokāt ||

The Sun is Heli and Surya; the Moon is Chandrama and Shitarashmi, "the cool-rayed". Mercury is Hemna, Vit, Jna, Bodhana and Induputra, "son of the Moon". Mars is Ara, Vakra, Kruradrik, "the one with the cruel glance", and Avaneya, "son of the Earth". Saturn is Kona, Manda, "the slow", Suryaputra, "son of the Sun", and Asita, "the dark one". Jupiter is Jiva, Angiras, Suraguru, "teacher of the gods", Vachasampati, "lord of speech", and Ijya. Venus is Shukra, Bhrigu, Bhrigusuta, Sita, "the white one", and Asphujit. Rahu is Tamas, "darkness", Agu and Asura. Ketu is Shikhin. Other names may be learned from common usage.

As with the signs, some of these names are Sanskrit forms of Greek names for the planets: Heli from Helios (the Sun), Hemna from Hermes (Mercury), Āra from Ares (Mars), Koṇa from Kronos (Saturn), and Āsphujit from Aphrodite (Venus). They stand side by side with the Indian names.

How the planets look

Varahamihira now gives each planet a colour and a complexion. These are used in many ways: to describe the appearance of a person whose chart is dominated by a planet, the colour of a lost object, or the colour of flowers to be offered to a planet in worship (2.4):

रक्तश्यामो भास्करो गौर इन्दुर्नात्युच्चाङ्गो रक्तगौरश्च वक्रः । दूर्वाश्यामो ज्ञो गुरुर्गौरगात्रः श्यामः शुक्रो भास्करिः कृष्णदेहः ॥

raktaśyāmo bhāskaro gaura indur nātyuccāṅgo raktagauraś ca vakraḥ | dūrvāśyāmo jño gurur gauragātraḥ śyāmaḥ śukro bhāskariḥ kṛṣṇadehaḥ ||

The Sun is reddish-dark; the Moon is fair. Mars is not tall, and red and fair. Mercury is dark like dūrvā grass. Jupiter has a fair, golden body. Venus is dusky. Saturn has a dark body.

Colours, gods, directions, and the gentle and harsh planets

The next verse packs four lists into one (2.5).

वर्णास्ताम्रसितातिरक्तहरितव्यापीतचित्रासिता वह्न्यम्ब्वग्निजकेशवेन्द्रशचिकाः सूर्यादिनाथाः क्रमात् । प्रागाद्या रविशुक्रलोहिततमःसौरेन्दुवित्सूरयः क्षीणेन्द्वर्कमहीसुतार्कतनयाः पापा बुधस्तैर्युतः ॥

varṇās tāmrasitātiraktaharitavyāpītacitrāsitā vahnyambvagnijakeśavendraśacikāḥ sūryādināthāḥ kramāt | prāgādyā raviśukralohitatamaḥsaurenduvitsūrayaḥ kṣīṇendvarkamahīsutārkatanayāḥ pāpā budhas tair yutaḥ ||

The colours of the planets from the Sun are copper, white, deep red, green, yellowish, many-coloured and black. Their presiding deities, in order, are Agni, the Waters, the fire-born Skanda, Keshava, Indra, Shachi and Ka. The lords of the directions, from the east, are the Sun, Venus, Mars, Rahu, Saturn, the Moon, Mercury and Jupiter. The waning Moon, the Sun, Mars and Saturn are malefic, and so is Mercury when joined with them.

Deities. Each planet has a presiding god: the Sun has Agni, the god of fire; the Moon has Varuna and the waters; Mars has Skanda, the warrior god born of fire; Mercury has Vishnu (Keshava); Jupiter has Indra, king of the gods; Venus has Shachi, Indra's queen; and Saturn has Ka, a name of Brahma the creator. A person's devotion is often linked to the strongest planet in their chart.

Directions. The eight directions are shared out among the planets, with Rahu taking one of them. The Sun rules the east, Venus the south-east, Mars the south, Rahu the south-west, Saturn the west, the Moon the north-west, Mercury the north, and Jupiter the north-east. These are used, for example, to judge in which direction something lies.

Gentle and harsh planets. This is one of the most important ideas in all of jyotish. Some planets are pāpa, "malefic": by nature they bring hardship, effort, conflict or loss. Others are śubha, "benefic": by nature they bring ease, growth and good fortune.

One planet changes its nature through the month: the Moon. Each month her lit face grows night by night, from the thin crescent after new moon to the full moon. During this half of the month she is said to be waxing. Then her light shrinks night by night, from full moon back to new moon. During this half she is said to be waning.

The verse names the malefics: the Sun, Mars, Saturn, and the Moon when she is waning. Mercury is malefic when he is joined with them. The rest are benefic: Jupiter, Venus, the waxing Moon, and Mercury when he is alone or with benefics.

So the Moon is gentle as her light grows and turns harsh as it fades. Mercury, the prince, is easily influenced by the company he keeps: good with the good, harsh with the harsh.

Gender, elements, social roles and temperament

The next two verses classify the planets in four more ways (2.6 to 2.7):

बुधसूर्यसुतौ नपुंसकाख्यौ शशिशुक्रौ युवती नराश्च शेषाः । शिखिभूखपयोमरुद्गणानां वशिनो भूमिसुतादयः क्रमेण ॥ विप्रादितः शुक्रगुरू कुजार्कौ शशी बुधश्चेत्यसितोऽन्त्यजानाम् । चन्द्रार्कजीवा ज्ञसितौ कुजार्की यथाक्रमं सत्त्वरजस्तमांसि ॥

budhasūryasutau napuṃsakākhyau śaśiśukrau yuvatī narāś ca śeṣāḥ | śikhibhūkhapayomarudgaṇānāṃ vaśino bhūmisutādayaḥ krameṇa || viprāditaḥ śukragurū kujārkau śaśī budhaś cety asito 'ntyajānām | candrārkajīvā jñasitau kujārkī yathākramaṃ sattvarajastamāṃsi ||

Mercury and Saturn are called neuter; the Moon and Venus are female; the rest are male. Mars and the planets after him rule fire, earth, ether, water and air, in order. From the Brahmins downward, the classes are ruled by Venus and Jupiter, Mars and the Sun, the Moon, and Mercury; Saturn rules those outside the classes. The Moon, Sun and Jupiter are of sattva; Mercury and Venus of rajas; Mars and Saturn of tamas.

Gender. The Sun, Mars and Jupiter are male; the Moon and Venus female; Mercury and Saturn neuter.

Elements. Five of the planets rule the five great elements: Mars fire, Mercury earth, Jupiter ether (ākāśa, the space that holds everything), Venus water, and Saturn air.

Social roles. Each planet is linked to one of the social classes (varṇas) of Varahamihira's time. Jupiter and Venus, the two counsellors, are linked to the Brahmins, the priests and teachers. The Sun and Mars, the kings and warriors, are linked to the Kshatriyas. The Moon is linked to the Vaishyas, the traders and farmers; Mercury to the Shudras, the workers; and Saturn to those who lived outside the four classes. Astrologers use these links to describe the kind of people, work and surroundings a planet signifies.

Temperament. The three guṇas are the three basic qualities of nature in Indian thought. Sattva is clarity, balance and goodness. Rajas is activity, passion and desire. Tamas is heaviness, inertia and darkness. The Moon, the Sun and Jupiter are sattvic; Mercury and Venus are rajasic; Mars and Saturn are tamasic.

The planets as people

Varahamihira now describes each planet as if it were a person standing before us: their build, eyes, hair, voice and nature. A person strongly marked by a planet is said to take on something of its form and temperament.

To describe each planet's physical nature, the verses use three terms from Ayurveda, the traditional Indian science of health. Ayurveda sees every body as a mix of three forces, the doṣas. Pitta is heat and sharpness: digestion, warmth, intensity. Vāta is wind and movement: breath, quickness, dryness. Kapha is weight and steadiness: what holds the body together and keeps it cool and calm. Each person has more of one or two of these, and so does each planet.

The Sun and the Moon (2.8)

मधुपिङ्गलदृक्चतुरस्रतनुः पित्तप्रकृतिः सविताल्पकचः । तनुवृत्ततनुर्बहुवातकफः प्राज्ञश्च शशी मृदुवाक्शुभदृक् ॥

madhupiṅgaladṛk caturasratanuḥ pittaprakṛtiḥ savitālpakacaḥ | tanuvṛttatanur bahuvātakaphaḥ prājñaś ca śaśī mṛduvāk śubhadṛk ||

The Sun has honey-coloured eyes, a square-built body, a bilious constitution and little hair. The Moon has a slender, rounded body, much wind and phlegm, is wise, soft-spoken, and has lovely eyes.

A "square-built" body (caturasra), in the old Indian measure, is one whose height equals the span of the outstretched arms.

Mars and Mercury (2.9)

क्रूरदृक्तरुणमूर्तिरुदारः पैत्तिकः सुचपलः कृशमध्यः । श्लिष्टवाक्सततहास्यरुचिर्ज्ञः पित्तमारुतकफप्रकृतिश्च ॥

krūradṛk taruṇamūrtir udāraḥ paittikaḥ sucapalaḥ kṛśamadhyaḥ | śliṣṭavāk satatahāsyarucir jñaḥ pittamārutakaphaprakṛtiś ca ||

Mars has a fierce glance and a youthful form; he is generous, bilious, very restless, and slim at the waist. Mercury speaks in words of double meaning, is always fond of laughter, and has a constitution of bile, wind and phlegm together.

Jupiter and Venus (2.10)

बृहत्तनुः पिङ्गलमूर्धजेक्षणो बृहस्पतिः श्रेष्ठमतिः कफात्मकः । भृगुः सुखी कान्तवपुः सुलोचनः कफानिलात्मासितवक्रमूर्धजः ॥

bṛhattanuḥ piṅgalamūrdhajekṣaṇo bṛhaspatiḥ śreṣṭhamatiḥ kaphātmakaḥ | bhṛguḥ sukhī kāntavapuḥ sulocanaḥ kaphānilātmāsitavakramūrdhajaḥ ||

Jupiter has a large body, tawny hair and eyes, the finest intellect, and a phlegmatic nature. Venus is happy, has a handsome body and beautiful eyes, a nature of phlegm and wind, and dark, curling hair.

Saturn, and the tissues of the body (2.11)

मन्दोऽलसः कपिलदृक्कृशदीर्घगात्रः स्थूलद्विजः परुषरोमकचोऽनिलात्मा । स्नाय्वस्थ्यसृक्त्वगथ शुक्रवसे च मज्जा मन्दार्कचन्द्रबुधशुक्रसुरेज्यभौमाः ॥

mando 'lasaḥ kapiladṛk kṛśadīrghagātraḥ sthūladvijaḥ paruṣaromakaco 'nilātmā | snāyvasthyasṛk tvag atha śukravase ca majjā mandārkacandrabudhaśukrasurejyabhaumāḥ ||

Saturn is slow and lazy, with tawny eyes, a thin and tall body, large teeth, coarse body-hair and hair, and a windy nature. Sinew, bone, blood, skin, semen, fat and marrow belong to Saturn, the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Mars.

The second line gives each planet one of the body's tissues: Saturn the sinews, the Sun the bones, the Moon the blood, Mercury the skin, Venus the reproductive fluid, Jupiter the fat, and Mars the marrow. The planet that is strongest in a chart is said to show which of these is most prominent in the person.

Places and metals

The last verse of this group links each planet to things in the everyday world. Two of its lists are the clearest (2.12, parts):

देवाम्ब्वग्निविहारकोशशयनक्षित्युत्करेशाः क्रमात् । ताम्रं स्यान्मणिहेमयुक्तिरजतान्यर्काच्च मुक्तायसी ।

devāmbvagnivihārakośaśayanakṣityutkareśāḥ kramāt | tāmraṃ syān maṇihemayuktirajatāny arkāc ca muktāyasī |

In order, they are lords of the shrine, the water, the hearth, the playground, the treasury, the bedroom and the rubbish heap. From the Sun, they rule copper, gems, gold, alloy, silver, pearl and iron.

The places are a lovely piece of characterisation. The Sun belongs where the gods are worshipped, the Moon by water, Mars by fire, Mercury among games and play, Jupiter among stored wealth, Venus in the room of rest and love, and Saturn among the discarded things that others throw away.

The planets at a glance

The verse on elements names only five planets. The commentators add fire for the Sun and water for the Moon; these are shown in brackets.

Verses are from Varahamihira's Brihat Jataka, chapter 2. English renderings are our own, made from the Sanskrit and checked against the public-domain translation by N. Chidambaram Aiyar (1885; second edition 1905) and against the word-by-word analysis in Michael D. Neely's edition.