Star Guide to Predictive Astrology Bhavas - Planets in the 12 Houses

This book-the sixth in the series of STAR GUIDE from the PARSAI FAMILY-is born from the recognition of the mortality of human beings and the immortality of knowledge (gyan). Normally the concepts and precepts of an ancient knowledge like astrology, (particularly the predictive side) are passed on from the father to his progeny; in other words, kept a closed family secret. But I, born in a small village of Laduna in Madhya Pradesh, who had to struggle hard to acquire knowledge and educate myself to obtaining double M.A. and Sahitya Ratna, believe that knowledge must be spread and passed on to generations of people in the tradition of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the whole world is my family).

Let me make it clear that despite controversies, astrology--the scientific study of the influence of the visible planets in the cosmos on the life and events on earth, based on mathematical calculations of their placement at the time of an individual’s birth-is under no threat of becoming extinct. The kind of people irrespective of their class, religion, background and nationality seeking astrological guidance, is incredible. Whether considered a science or an art, a craft or a skill, astrology is here to stay and my co-author son, Pandit D.K. Parsai, an IT professional based in USA, and I have explained in great detail in the forthcoming chapters, why so. At 79 years of age today, I have attempted to include in this work much of the experience, knowledge and wisdom acquired by me from 13 years of age, from 25 generations of astrologers in my family and it looks Pandit D.K. Parsai will carry on the tradition. As in any other field, there are people who are genuinely knowledgeable and those who feign to be so. This book should enable readers to differentiate between chaff and the grain.

The book was conceived two years ago, but it assumed an urgency after the passing away of my beloved wife, Krishna, my companion of 56 years, on the most auspicious day of Akshay Navmi on November 5, 2000. Indeed her’s has been the guiding hand in completing this work in record time for release on her first anniversary. Krishna herself was the daughter of the widely known Raj-jyotishi of his times from the erstwhile princely Stage of Sitamau in Madhya Prardesh, Pandit Nathulalji Dwivedi. He was also my guru, along with my own father, Pandit Bhawani Shankarji Parsai, who was famous for about 90 per cent accuracy of his predictions. Many times while writing the book, I turned around to seek Krishna, only to realize that now she lives only in spirit.

For readers new to astrology, the science of reading the stars to predict the future, it must be explained that there are two aspects to it. One is drawing a birth-chart and its various combinations as a Horoscope, and the other is interpreting it for predicting the future. We have detailed both these aspects in this book. Most people are familiar that the zodiac is divided into twelve equal parts each representing the sign of Aries, Taurus, Gemini and so on. It is also known that the earth rotates around the sun but it is the sun which appears to move around the circle of zodiac. It is this apparent position of the sun at the time of birth of an individual that determines the rising sign of sun in a Horoscope, known as the Ascendent or the starting point of the 12 houses in a birth chart.

In India, the 12 Houses are known as ‘Bhavas’. Knowledge of every event, development, progress, rise and fall, virtually every aspect of life from the time of conception of a human being, till death, and sometimes even beyond, is covered under these 12 Houses. While we have tried to cover as many subjects as affecting an individual, it is not humanly possible to enlist every minute event between the earth and the sky and it must be borne in mind that an astrologer is not a god. He/she can predict the future, not change it. The book gives broad guidance about the rules pertaining to the subjects governed by each of the 12 Houses.

Often, more than one House is directly or indirectly involved in making accurate predictions on a particular subject. Care has been taken to mention the co-related Houses as “Referral Houses”, but in this regard too, students and scholars have to devise their own rules. To give an example: conception of a child is related to the 5th and the 7th House; but a safe or difficult delivery is related to the 5th, 8th and the 12th Houses. Herein lies a reason for half-baked astrologers or computer astrology going inaccurate in forecasts. There is no escaping experience and knowledge for accuracy of predictions.

As in all other sciences, astrology cannot be fully learnt from books or by theory along. A student or scholar attains greater expertise on the subject by practical work and continuous study based thereon, just as accuracy in any branch of science is also reached by experimenting through the years, be it in nuclear power or in genetic engineering. As part of this process, the student or scholar must check up the accuracy or otherwise, of the predictions given, at least in some cases by follow-up.

A word about whether astrology is scientific or not. It has become somewhat fashionable these days to deride astrology publicly and a seek it privately. My co-author, Pandit D.K. Parsai, has dealt with the subject at length in Introduction to Astrology. This article should clear the confusion. The problem is that the bogey of astrology being hocus pocus is not being raised by the ignorant, but by those knowledgeable people who do so only for argument’s sake. The authors have no means to satisfy such die-hard opponents of astrology. Had astrology been a superstition or hocus pocus, it would have died a natural death, instead of surviving through the centuries. What is required is sustained funding for proper and objective research on the subject in public domain.

On our part, this treatise is our humble contemporary contribution in the chain of epic studies on the subject as in Parashar Hora Sastra, Garg Hora, Lagadh Muni’s “Rhik”, the world famous works of Aryabhatta, Lall, Laghujatak of Varah Mihir, also works of Brahmagupt, Shreepati, Bhaskaracharya, Brihaspati and many others in the ancient times, Neelkanth, Ganesh Daivagya, and several others in the medieval times, who have highly enriched the knowledge about calculations as well as predictions in astrology.

Back of the Book

Well-known scholar and astrologer, Pandit K.B. Parsai and son, D.K. Parsai, present a blockbuster on astrological guidance and “prediction-sutras”, never before passed beyond father to son or guru to a chosen disciple.

This book details the subjects to be considered for making predictions under each of the 12 Houses in the birth-chart of a person and the effect of each planet, including its combination with another planet.

Written in a lucid style, the book is replete with examples, personal observations and experiences ranging from the erstwhile Indian states of pre-independence era to the 21st century. The technical aspects of Predictive Astrology are reproduced here in a simple, easy-to-follow language for the average reader, students of astrology, and experts.

Pandit K.B. Parsai, 79, belong to a renowned family in Madhya Pradesh with a rich heritage of 25 generations of expertise in astrology. His ancestors have been astrologers to Indian Royals like the Rathor Maharajas of Jodhpur, Sisodiya Maharanas of Udaipur (Mewar), Rathor Rajas of Ratlam and Sitamau. Pandit K.B. Parsai is a double M.A., Sahitya Ratna and has a high degree in Dharma Shastra. With the untimely death of his eldest brother, Purushottamji, at the age of 19 in 1932, the mantle of carrying on the family tradition in astrology fell on the school-going Kanhaiyalal when he was barely II-years-old. Besides his father Bhawanishankarji, Pandit Parsai learnt the nuances of astrology from Sitamau’s state astrologer, Pandit Nathulalji Dwivedi, whose daughter, Krishna Kumari, he married later.

Pandit Parsai’s academic brilliance landed him a job in the Indore Residency (under British rule) in 1942. He then shifted to New Delhi in 1953 on the editorial desk of the Rajya Sabha, and later worked in various positions in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. He retired as Director in the Cabinet Secretariat, after 45 years of service in the Union Government. A Sanskrit scholar, Pandit Parsai has gained, over the years, a fine reputation in India and abroad for the accuracy of his calculations and predictions. He wrote the weekly astrological column for two major Indian English dailies, the Times of India from 1978 to 1980, and the Hindustan Times from 1981 till July 1999.

Co-author, Pandit D.K. Parsai, 38, born in New Delhi, is the youngest child of the author. He did his schooling from the Delhi Public School in New Delhi. After graduating as Bachelor of Commerce with Honours from the University of Delhi, he did a post-graduate course in Computers in the United States of America and is presently employed as a Software Test Engineer with a premier software company in U.S.A. DK, as he is popularly called, took to Astrology initially to assist his father in the family tradition, while pursuing his own passion for computers. With this book, he has come into his own.