Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra

Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (बृहत्पाराशरहोराशास्त्र), usually abbreviated to BPHS, is a Sanskrit work on birth-chart astrology traditionally attributed to Parashara.

The text presents a dialogue between Parashara and Maitreya. Its subjects include planets, signs, houses, divisional charts, planetary strengths, yogas and dashas, the periods used in traditional chart interpretation.

What this book adds to a study of Kundli

A chart can raise several different questions: where a planet is placed, how its strength is assessed, whether it forms a named combination, and when its period operates. BPHS brings these subjects into one work. That makes it a useful choice for a reader moving beyond isolated placement descriptions toward the methods used to combine them.

Its breadth also calls for a clear reading goal. A beginner still learning the difference between a sign and a house can start with how to understand a Kundli, then return to the matching topic in the book. For a focused study of placement descriptions, Saravali offers another route.

Why it appears on panchang.now

BPHS discusses many of the subjects shown in a Kundli result, including named planetary combinations. Phaladeepika and Saravali also discuss these topics.

Each yoga listed in a result states the condition being checked and the placements that satisfy it. This is useful when comparing texts: the same yoga name may come with different conditions, exceptions or ways of counting houses.

For example, the site's Nabhasa section describes patterns made by the seven visible grahas across signs and houses. BPHS discusses these as a group of named yogas. The pattern displayed in a chart and the traditional result attached to it are separate parts of a reading.

A starting point for reading

Begin with the terms used in the chart: lagna is the ascendant, rashi a zodiac sign, and bhava a house. A kendra is the first, fourth, seventh or tenth house from the reference point specified by a rule.

Then follow one yoga through its full passage. Note the starting point for counting, which planets are included and any strength or cancellation conditions. A familiar name alone is not enough to establish that two descriptions use the same rule.

Here, yoga means a planetary combination. It is different from the daily Nitya Yoga shown on the Panchang page.

Editions and references

R. Santhanam's English translation and commentary is issued in two volumes. The Nabhasa yoga discussion is chapter 35 in that edition's numbering. When consulting another edition, locate the topic by its heading and check the surrounding verses as well as the number.

For comparing a rule, an edition with the Sanskrit text, numbered verses and clearly separated commentary makes the passage easier to trace. Record the translator and volume alongside any verse reference.

When choosing a copy, check that a listing includes both volumes if the complete set is wanted. Similar titles are used for translations by different people, so the translator's name is more useful for identifying an edition than the title alone. Compare a sample passage and its explanation where a preview is available.

The books overview explains how the four texts relate to the site. Open the Kundli page to see the chart and its stated conventions.