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Astrological Key in Mahābhārata - The New Era
Astrological Key in Mahābhārata - The New Era
4 Astrological Mahiibhiirata
Contents
Page
Foreword xv
CHAPTER 1
Principles of Astronomy-Precession
CHAPTER 2
Symbolism of the Precessional Eras 9
CHAPTER 3
The End of the Era of Aries-Appearance of the
Mahiibharata, Attributed to the Sage Vyasa 17
CHAPTER 4
Origin of the Lunar Dynasty of the Bhiiratas-Its
Transmission from the Era of Aries to the Era of
Pisces, the Dominant Theme of the Epic 25
CHAPTER 5
The Astronomical Representations of Kr�Qa, Arjuna and
Bhi�ma 33
CHAPTER 6
Condensation of the Subject of the MBh in the
Khiil)�ava Forest Passage of Book I 41
CHAPTER 7
Origin of the Matsya Lineage: Virata and Satyavati-
Birth of Vyasa on an Island in the Yamuna 45
CHAPTER 8
Vyasa's Intercession for the Continuation of the Bharata
Lineage-Birth of his sons Dhrtara�tra, PiiQQU and
Vidura-Role of the Important Character of Bhi�ma 53
CHAPTER 9
Marriage of the Three Bharatas of the First Generation
Birth of the Piil)�ava and Kaurava Cousins-Imbalan-
ce between Brahmins and K!}atriyas, Illustrated by
Drona and Dru ada 61
X Contents
CHAPTER 10
General Discussion of the Sources of Discord: Karl).a
and Ambii 69
CHAPTER 11
Duryodhana and Bhima-the first Voluntary Exile of
the Piil).<;lavas with their Mother Kunti 77
CHAPTER 12
Marriage of the five Pii.I).<;lavas with Draupadi (the
daughter of king Drupada) - Their return to
Hastiniipura-Division of the kingdom between
Duryodhana andYudhi�thira-Arjuna's pilgrimage
and his encounter with three women: Uliipi,
Citriiilgadii and Subhadrii-Importance of the third
member in a series 83
CHAPTER 13
Preparation ofYudhi�thira's Riijasuya (royal consecra-
tion)-Jariisandha's Opposition to its Performance 93
CHAPTER 14
Celebration of Yudhi�thira's Riijasuya-The game of
dice 97
CHAPTER 15
The 13-year forced exile of the Piindavas with their
wife Draupadi (the final year passed incognito)
Arjuna's departure for Svarga-Significant allego
ries: Ilvala and Viitiipi-Agastya-Sibi, king of the
Usinaras 105
CHAPTER 16
Meeting of Bhima with Hanumiin-Arjuna's return
from Svarga with divine weapons-The Kaura vas
provoke the Piil).gavas in the forest-Attempt by
Jayadratha, Duryodhana's brother-in-law to kidnap
. Draupadi-Search for a safe place in which to pass
the 13th year incognito 111
CHAPTER 17
13th and final year of exile passed with Viriita, king of
the Matsyas-Goharal).a (the theft of the cows)
parvan: a "rehearsal" for the coming war-Arjuna's
son Abhimanyu marries Viriita's daughter Uttarii 119
Contents xi
CHAPTER 18
Preparations for War-Negotiations-KrH1a's Mediation 129
CHAPTER 19
The Eighteen-day war begins-The Bhagavad Gita:
Kmta gives his teaching to Arjuna · 137, ·
CHAPTER 20
Description of the War-Bhi�ma, the commanding
general of the Kauravas "voluntarily" withdraws
from the combat on the lOth da:y-Droi).a replaces
Bhi$ma, and Kan;�a enters the battle-Death of
Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna and father of the future
Parik$it, on the 13th day 143
CHAPTER 21
Continuation of the War-Death of Jayadratha
Death of the brahmin DroQa, killed on the night
between days 14 and 15, by Dhf$!adyumna, command
ing general of the ParH. ;lavas-First partial nocturn
al destruction-KarQa becomes the third leader
of the Kaurava armies-Death of Karl).a 151
CHAPTER 22 .
Salya (although the uncle of the PaQc,iavas) is named
fourth commanding general o.f the Kauravas, on
·
CHAPTER 25
The aftermath of the war-Funerals of the warriors
killed on the Kuruk�etra 177
CHAPTER 26
The reign of Yudhi�thira-The death of Bhi�ma
KnQa returns to his capital at Dvaraka-Birth of
Parik�it, who is stillborn, but resuscitated by Kr�Qa 181
CHAPTER 27
The Asvamedha (Horse Sacrifice) of YudhiHhira
Victories won by Arjuna over the rulers of the Earth,
over which Yudhi�thira becomes the Universal
Sovereign 187
CHAPTER 28
DhrtaraHra's departure for the Forest with Gandhari,
Kunti and Vidura, after the fifteenth year ofYudhi�-
thira's reign�Their death, three years later 193
CHAPTER 29
Disappearance of Kr�Qa and Baladeva, 36 years after
the war-Dvaraka is inundated by the sea 197
CHAPTER 30
The PaQc;lavas and Draupadi leave Earth for Svarga,
· 36 years after the war-Parik�it becomes the Bharata
king-End of the Era of Aries and commencement
of the Era of Pisces 203
CHAPTER 3 1
Conclusion 207
Glossary 211
Bibliography 231
ILLUSTRATIONS
CHART : The 12 signs of the Zodiac (�asis) and the 27
constellations (nak�atras) v
TABLE 1 : Origin of the Bharatas Lunar Dynasty vi
TABLE 2 : Genealogy of the Bharatas and the Matsyas vii
TABLE 3 : Lineage of the PaQc;lavas Allies viii
Lineage of the Kauravas Allies viii
Index 235
Note on Transliteration
Bhagavad Gita
eras, of which the Initiated must have been aware at the time of
its composition; that is, over six to eight centuries that strad
dled the beginning of the common era.
I also set myself the task of bringing to light those significant
correspondences that existed between the heavenly bodies and
the epic characters who represent the manifestation, on Earth,
of divine or negative forces. For, the Earth is the locus upon which
are projected all sidereal conflicts and upheavals, and the gods
move among humans when it becomes necessary to effect critical
passages from one phase to the next. In the particular case of the
MBh, this pivotal time was also the moment in which, by virtue
of minute and extremely numerous observations, a novel system
for the scientific explanation of the Cosmic Order was being
introduced, to take the place of a theretofore arbitrary method for
designating the seasons.
But the transitional period necessa,ry for the acceptance of this
reshuffling turned out to be a very long one, and all the more
so for the fact that it ran up against the opposition of the all
powerful orthodoxy of Hindu society. This nevertheless came to
constitute the vital spark with which its composers animated the
richest poem known to Humanity; but they transmitted this
secret knowledge through a veil of fiction, enveloped in the
hermeticism of a mythic language whose key has been lost to us.
The multiplicity of characters and the diversity of plots and
subplots have obliged me to make certain repetitions, which I
have permitted myself to systematize in order to better focus on
the subject I wish to treat. l beg the indulgence of Indian astro
nomers if a few technical inaccuracies appear in the course of
my development of these themes; they are the fruit of years
of research in which I came to know the anguish of the lone
researcher faced with the impossibility of exhausting the wealth
of ideas brought to life by his work.
My attachment to and affection for India and its thought has
never left me as I have worked at elaborating this study, in which
the MAHABHARA TA has shown itself to me to be more . an
astronomical than a heroic myth.
The Universe is a vast complex of undulatory forms which
seem to be connected together, at every level (both cosmic and
molecular), by mysterious bonds that are still inexplicable in
Foreword xvii
l Our sources :
(Sanskrit) The critical edition of the Mahiibhiirata, ed. by Vishnu S. Sukthan
kar et. al. (Poona, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
1 93 3-1 969)
(English) The Mahiibhiirata (vol 1: The Book of the Beginning), tr. by
J.A.B. van Buitenen (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1 973
( 1 930)). All MBh citations are quoted from this source. The
Mahiibhiirata, tr. by Pratap Chandra Roy (Calcutta, Bharat Press,
1 889).
CHAPTER )
Principles of Astronomy-Precession
nuclear ; and that these join the human world to cosmic pheno
mena, as if with invisible threads.
"That which is below is like unto that which is above, and
that which is above is like unto that which is below, in order that
the miracle of the Unity might be accomplished." Such is the
testimony of Tablet V of the Emerald Tables, inspired by the
doctrines of the legendary Hermes Trismegistus (himself a re
presentation of the Egyptian god Thoth).
With the structure of the atom assimilated to a solar system
by modern scholars, man discovers himself to be a miniaturiza
tion of the Cosmos. The matter of which he is constituted may
be reduced to energy, which is itself reducible to vibratory motion
in multidimensional space. All manifestation is thus governed
by rhythms, and automatically subject to physical time and its
cycles. These are biological for the human being-and cosmic
for the Universe which passes through evolutionary phases of
dissolution and preservation, in its ongoing creation.
"And when the Father that engendered it perceived it in
motion and alive, a thing of joy to the eternal Gods, He too
rejoiced . . . wherefore He planned to make a moveable image of
Eternity, and, as He set in order the Heaven, of that Eternity
which abides in Unity, He made an eternal image, moving
according to Number, even that which we have named Time. "
(Plato, Timeaus, 37c d tr. R.G. Bury, Loeb Classical Library,
-
1 The Earth turns from West to East : it is for this reason that the apparent
motion of heavenly bodies is from East to West.
2 The Sun and Moon have the same apparent diameter when viewed from
Earth.
Chapter One 3
allow him to measure his life from one sunrise to another, from
one new moon to the next. He fixes their movements and those
of the five planets visible to the naked eye, 1 against a backdrop
of fixed stars, which he groups into twenty-eight constellations2
according to their recognizable characteristics. These correspond
to the short, successive stages by which the Moon moves in the
sky : the Moon's mobility and repeating phases help him to
organize his daily activities and religious rituals.
It is nevertheless the Sun that proves to be the main regulating
force behind the seasons, those periods so essential to his exist
ence and survival. Therefore, in order to better study its posi
tions, man traces its fictive path-the ecliptic-in the middle of
a circular strip of the celestial sphere, and notes the principal
constellations through which the solar orb passes in its annual
revolution. Over the length of this 360° band which he calls the
Zodiac, he divides the firmament into six diurnal and six noc
turnal parts, and then into twelve equal subdivisions : these are
the zodiacal signs, that came to replace the older equator-based
system of the 36 dekans.3
As a means to differentiate and fix these in his memory, he
imagines-for each sign or constellation-symbols or hiero
glyphs. In this way, the most ancient of all sciences began to
take form : this was astronomy, which was originally conflated
with a sacred astrology that was already known at the time
of Sumer, of Chaldea, of ancient Egypt, China and India. In
this last tradition, the Vedas4 refer to the zodiacal belt, the
its proximity to the Sun, was discovered long after the other planets.
2 Considered as the wives of the lunar god Soma (the word for moon is
masculine in Sanskrit). We will see later that, in a more recent time, the 28
constellations were replaced by 27 (nak$atras) in order to better correspond
to the solar signs.
a According to Hindu astrology, each sign of 30° (ra§i) is composed of
nine padas (feet); thus 108 padas for the twelve riisis. Each constellation
(nak$atra) or lunar house of 1 3 · 20 takes up 4 padas of a sign, which also
works out to 108 padas for the 27 nak$afras. The whole of the Zodiac,
whether solar or lunar, thus corresponds to 108 padas.
4 Vedas: the oldest religious texts of India. They are the revealed knowledge
par excellence, and are divided into four groups: f!.g Veda, Yajur Veda, Siima
Veda and Atharva Veda.
4 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
Now, the spinning top motion of the earth's polar axes causes
the Sun to return to this same equinoctial point BEFORE the
completion of its revolution across the background of the fixed
stars. So it is that the vernal point apparently slips backwards
along the ecliptic,1 in the course of an entire cycle of approxi
mately 26,000 years.
Tradition has fixed the Zodiacal Year at 25,920 years, (the
rate of precessional displacement being 1 o every 72 years) and
divided it into twelve Great Months of 2 1 60 years each, known
as precessional eras.2
This movement of the vernal point across the celestial vault,
apparently RETROGRADE with regard to that of the Sun on
the Zodiac as viewed from Earth, constitutes the PRECESSION
OF THE EQUINOXES.
This theory of the precession was developed in the second
century B.C. by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus of Nicea, on
the basis of observations he himself made of the same stars as
were identified by astronomers of previous centuries, from the
schools of Alexandria, Chaldea and the Orient : the corrobora
tion of the ancient evidence with his own observations brought
him to an inevitable conclusion-that this precessional motion
Was a reality.
It is certain that this phenomenon, well before it was raised
to the level of a scientific datum, had not escaped the searching
eyes of the ancient visionaries, whose revelations were born of
their direct confrontation with the forces of nature. However,
their "prophecies" were couched in forms so obscure and ambi
guous as to be incomprehensible to their contemporaries.
Whenever the full Moon appears in a constellation, it is
possible to reckon the position of the Sun-which is to be found
at a point diametrically opposite to the rising or setting of the
Moon on the horizon. Thus, the times of the equinoxes (when
l At the end of a cycle, every star on the ecliptic returns to its original
position with regard to the North Pole.
2 The human organism vibrates with the planetary cycles: on an average,
it has 72 heartbeats and 1 8 respirations each minute. Thus, in one day : 1440
minutes x 1 8 = 25,920 breaths!
Elsewhere, each Great Month corresponds to one of the twelve zodiacal
signs of 30° (or 3 x 10°) : these consist of three periods of 720 years each, at
a rate of 1o ever 72 ears.
6 Astrological Key in Mahabharata
the days and nights are of the same duration) and those of the
solstices (the longest and shortest days of the year) are easily
determined. And so they were, with regard to the constellations.
The times of these primal solar stages were considered as
special and auspicious moments. These were the occasions for
important festivities and specific sacrifices, of which some are
still practised today. Over the Ages and across every Tradition,
man has sought to harmonize the microcosm with the macro
cosm, by means of a kind of analogical play of correspondences
with the Laws governing the Universe.
Ancient man was able to effect his observations with the aid
of great stones, in megalithic sites such as at Stonehenge in Great
Britain and the Mediterranean Basin ; and in the temples oriented
towards the East, out of which emerged each morning the
heavenly body of Becoming, on the site of the Egyptian Pyra
mids. It was here that, on the instigation of Ramses II in about
1 300 B.C., the equinoxes and solstices were located in the signs
of Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn ; towards the 3rd century
B.C., the Greeks gave these signs their definitive1 names, according
to those of the constellations that they "straddled" at that time.
It was the case in the time of Hipparchus that the spring
equinox fell in the constellation AND in the sign of Aries-which
was the name assigned to that precessional era.
This last era is succeeded by that of Pisces-our own age
during which the vernal point has moved and continues to move
through this sign, apparently in reverse. It will leave this sign at
the beginning of the 3rd millennium, according to the Sky Map
of the Institut Geographique National : presuming that this
phenomenon of precession is constant in its periodicity. The
vernal point will next fall in the sign of Aquarius, for another
period of approximately 2, 1 60 years.
In India, it is likely that the signs were adopted at a later
time, since their names are not cited in the Vediinga Jyoti�a2
1 These names were in fact derived from those already attributed to the
1 The annual spring equinox is still calculated from the 0° point of Aries,
in the Indus Valley that are connected to a cult of the Mother and of Fertility.
Among these are li!igams. Stones at once serve to accumulate and amplify·
the beneficent currents arisin from Heaven and Earth.
Chapter Two 13
APART from the extremely long cycles,2 which are too complex
to discuss here, Hindu Tradition sets the involution of humanity
to the rhythm of the Mahiiyugas or Caturyugas. These are succes
sions of the four recurring Ages ( Yugas), whose descending
durations are proportional to the disintegration of the spiritual
qualities inherent to each. These are, in their order, the Golden,
Silver, Bronze and Iron Ages ; in Sanskrit, the Krta, Tretii, Dvii
para and Kali Yugas. This last is the shortest and most evil of
times, and it is in this Yuga that Indian Tradition locates our
modern age, which began, according to the ancient astronomical
source of the Surya Siddhiinta, in 3 1 02 B.C. It will continue until
the universal cataclysm, after which will begin another Mahii
yuga. The relative duration of the four Yugas follows a propor
tion of 4 :3 :2 : 1 , and their names correspond to those of dice
throws in a very ancient game. They are sometimes related to
the phases of the moon.
The annual cycle is the microcosmic reflection of the pre
cessional cycle, which is a microcosm of the Mahiiyuga. The
latter would be composed, according to certain Traditions
(Chaldean, Egyptian, Greek and Biblical), of five Great Years
of 1 2,960 years (known to Plato), or two precessions of 25,920
1 The Bhagavad Gita, tr. Anne-Marie Esnoul and Olivier Lacombe, Ed.
Hindu system by which the great cycles are calculated, as well as that of
the Chaldean great cycle: these figures convey to a better explanation of
the Manvantara or Age of Man than that offered by the PuraQ.aS .
. 2 ln the absolute, this short cycle of 36 years represents a totality.
CHAPT ER 3
At this, the end of the Era of Aries, dharma,1 that cohesive and
steadying force so indispensable to the preservation of the Uni
versal Order (rta), is no longer respected by the k$atriyas.2 Yet,
it is the specific duty of this very group to insure the smooth
functioning and the protection of its kingdoms, in a balanced
relationship with the religious function of the brahmin caste.
Such failures to fulfil their duties disturb the harmony that
exists between Heaven and Earth, give rise to a confusion bet
ween the var!Jas, and even provoke the destruction of the sacri
fices that these princes offer through the intermediary of the
priesthood-sacrifices that are meant to insure the connection
between the World on high and that on earth. Manifestation is
threatened by the opposing force of dissolution.
So it is, in the midst of these noxious and decadent tendencies
that both reverse the basic traditional values and constitute a.
threat of total annihilation, that the wise man turns his question
ing and troubled gaze towards the Heavens ; but it is there pre
cisely that an event, whose repercussions transcend the imagi
nation, is about to take place. On the basis of deductions drawn
from a vast field of celestial investigation-and particularly
from the new stars that rise in the east to indicate the equinox
he knows that in a few centuries, the vernal point will ineluctably
"topple" from the sign of Aries into that of Pisces. For it has
I Aries is the first of the signs of the Zodiac, whereas Pisces is the last.
2a and a : the lengthening of the first syllable of the word 'BHARATA'
corresponds to the concept of descendance. As indicated in our foreword,
we will abbreviate Mahabharata with MBh in order to simplify our text.
The other celebrated Sanskrit epic is the Ramaya�;�a of Valmiki.
3The asuras should be placed in opposition to the suras or devas (gods) ;
but this does not im ly the infernal associations that Judea-Christian tradi-
Chapter Three 19
tions apply to demons, in a moral sense. In the context of the MBh, these
correspond to the inhabitants of the regions (constellations) situated below
the line of the equator or close enough to this line to pass below it with the
Precession. Asserting the supremacy of their "sphere", they behave like de
mons inasmuch as they obstruct the cyclic process by every means possible.
IJn the Vedic period, the word "itihiisa' was always coupled with that
of "Purcu:za", the latter designating the history of the past, and the former
corresponding to contemporary times.
The MBh alone was qualified as itihasa, without mention of the word
purli!Ja being made.
This latter term was later assigned to a great number of texts co!1sisting
of ancient sacred stories, composed of a variety of narratives collected over
untold generations. A traditional group of eighteen of these are considered
to be the most important: the maha-pura(las.
The most recent Pura(las are essentially composed of more or less dis
torted and variously interpreted legends and myths.
All of these texts seem to have been assembled most especially around
the tenth centur B.c. and between the 4th and 6th centuries A.D.
20 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
birth, which is the general case for the principal heroes : this
is a Being who engenders Himself without ever leaving the
maternal womb.
-This is one of the numerous appellations of the god Agni,
the regent of the Constellation Krttikii which straddles the
signs of Taurus and Aries.
AGNI, as we have shown, symbolizes the Cosmic Fire of
the Sun at the spring equinox. He is also the Primal Fire in
asmuch as he is the transmuting agent of the Sacrifice : this latter
is the sole guarantor of the unification and cohesion of the Cos
mos in a final half of the Great Month of Aries characterized
by a declining and endangered dharma. In this twofold function,
AGNI is to be maintained and preserved (bharata)1 for the con
servation of the Three Worlds and the protection of the Bharatas.
This will be effected through the Sacrifice of the war, offered by
those who must bear the weight of responsibility for this critical
period.
By this means, the Wheel of Time may continue to turn
through Eternity.
lThey would later become the two celebrated characters of the great poet
Kiilidiisa's play : Abhijiiiinasakuntala.
2See Trimurti, n. 1 p, 1 1 . See also "Lune, Mythes et Rites", pp. 233-57 by
Jean Varenne (Paris, Seuil, 1 962).
aBudha, the Janet Mercur ; and not Buddha, father of Buddhism.
26 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
would call this lunar motion the nutation of the Earth's axis.
The Moon's orbit moreover crosses that of the Sun at two very
important points : the Northern and Southern nodes, known in
Hindu Tradition as Rahu and Ketu,3 and in the West as the Head
and Tail of the Dragon. These points of intersection move back
wards along the Zodiac in a circular RETROGRADE motion,
like that of the Precession, crossing the same point every eighteen
years approximately . . .
The waning4 phase of the Moon would come to b e symbolized
by the lunar dynasty, that of the Bharatas and of the sideral Zodiac
of constellations ; the waxing phase would represent the solar
dynasty and the Zodiac of signs, which would succeed the former.
The dominant theme of this long epic poem is the fratricidal war
fought by the devas and asuras through their incarnations-these
being the good and evil cross-cousins of the celebrated lineage. 5
IAn annex is sometimes added to the MBh: this is the Harivm!lsa, the history
of the family of Kr�IJa, the avatara of Vi�I)u.
2James Bradley ( 1 692 - 1 762) English astronomer.
3Considered as planets, and counted in their number by Hindu Astrology.
4The ascending and descending phases of the Moon correspond to the 3 6
ancient dekans, with 1 8 for each of the two.
5"The kinship system used brings into play the preferred marriage with the
cross-cousin (daughter of the maternal uncle or the paternal aunt). Corollary
to this is the importance of the relationship between brothers-in-law (and
cross-cousins), the closest of all possible relations, and the role of the maternal
uncle and contingently that of the paternal aunt." Madeleine Biardeau,
Dictionnaire des Mythologies (Paris, Flammarion). This privileged kinship
relation from India finds its echo in Kepler's Tertius Interveniens : "Nature
chooses for birth a day and an hour which correspond, with regard to the
heavens, (to a particularity of) the nativity of the brother of the mother or
father ; this is not ualitative, but astronomical and uantitative."
Chapter Four 27
The Epic locates his "descent" at the junction of the two last, and
most evil Ages-the Dviipara and Kali Yugas. Yet, elsewhere in
this work, we find mentions of the Kali Yuga as being greatly ad
vanced. Are we to take this as a glaring anachronism in the text?
Or should we not see this mission of the avatar as one necessi
tated by the delicate moment of the change of the precessional
Month, at the articulation of the first and last sectors of the celes
tial sphere, in the course of the Yuga assigned to him ?
The iron discus wielded by Kr�Q.a moreover bears the evocative
name of a species offish : the sudar§ana. He is the Cakravartin who
sets the World in rotation.
In any. case, in order that his new intercession remain discreet,
he chooses an intermediary for his actions from among the
Bharatas : this is Arjuna, the projection of his own father Indra
on Earth, where he is considered to be the third of the five sons
of PaQ.<;iu.1
JusT as Vi�Q.U and Indra were often associated in the Vedic Age
as representatives of the Sun, of Light, and as drinkers of Soma,2
the sacred elixir and inexhaustible source of Cosmic Energy, they
again find themselves together in the Epic, through their incarna
tions of Kr�Q.a and Arjuna-this time to watch over the precession
and to win the war in which the Pal). <;lava is to be the central hero.
According to certain hypotheses, Vi�Q.u's name may be a
Kr$J:.la, Buddha (sometimes disputed) and Kalkin, the avatar to come. All
colours are absorbed into the black, as are all names and forms. Thus KT$I.la's
darkness may also constitl!te a power of disintegration.
IOn the importance of thirds, see p. 9 1 .
2Soma: name o f the lunar god who founded the Bhiirata dynasty. By
extension, it is also the name of the Moon.
Soma also designates the quaff of immortality reserved for the divinities:
it was presented to them by brahmins in the course of Vedic sacrifices, and
consisted of a plant harvested by the light of the Moon, and then pressed and
mixed with milk, honey and butter. It was a source of strength and vitality.
Just as the plant called arjuna is often used in the ritual to replace soma, so
Arjuna appears on Earth as substitute for the divine Kr$J:.la. Noteworthy is the
fact that these two stars dedicated to Yi$I)U (Altair) and Indra (Antares)
respectively, seem to appear simultaneously in the East (in northern lati
tudes), and to correspond to the rainy season.
Chapter Four 31
!Literally " the passage of the Sun in its northerly course". The terms uttara
yal}a (progression towards the north) and dak$i1Jayana (progression towards
the south), introduced into astronomical language to designate the half revo
lutions of the Sun between the solstices, were later applied to the solstices
themselves. It is for this reason that we shall not employ the term sarrzkranti
any more.
2This cycle consisted of 60 solar or 67 lunar months; 2 intercalary winter
months (adhimasa) were added to this In order that the periods called Madhu
and Madhava might coincide with the spring season. The perfect year
sakrtsmrtvatsara-was that which was purified by an intercalation, these
generally occuring at the end of 2J years, and at the end of the five-year cycle.
The cycle mentioned in the Epic began with the Sun/Moon conjunction in
the constellation-Dhani${ha.
3Apart from the Sun and Moon, which never retrogress, the retrograde
motions of the planets may be explained, in the geocentric system, by the differ
ent velocities with which these move along their orbits. These variations are
only apparent, as the planets are never found in a position opposite to that of
the Sun.
The seasons are: Vasanta, Gri$ma, Var,ra, Sarad, Hemanta and Si.Sira ; i.e.
spring, hot season, rainy season, autumn, winter and cold season.
32 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
In the time of the great king Bharata, the founder of the famous
dynasty, and down to the end of the time of the Jyoti$aS,1 the
spring season had fallen in the months of Vaisiikha and Caitra ;
and Krttikii (the Pleiades) was the first of the constellations. As
such, it was astride two signs, with 1 /4 of it overlapping into Aries
and 3/4 in Taurus.
When the Precession shifted the vernal point into the preceding
celestial division, it was possible to pinpoint its location in the
constellation Asvini (wholly within the sign of Aries according to
the new celestial division). This precision was attained by virtue
of the fact that the first magnitude star Spica Virginis (the Spike)
shone brilliantly on the opposite end of the ecliptic, in the cons
tellation Citra and in proximity to the signs of Virgo and Libra.2
Thus the month of Caitra was associated with that of Phiilguna
to designate the spring season ; 3 and Asvini replaced Krttikii as
the first of the constellations. The enumeration of these came to
be known at this time as me$iidi (Aries the ram being called aja
or me$a in Sanskrit, and adi meaning etcetera).
But so many obstacles yet remained to be surmounted before
this revolutionary division of time would be accepted ; and many
were those who would not be convinced of the retrogression of
the solstices and equinoxes in the celestial sphere, following to
the reorganization arising from the Zodiac of signs.
Even today, the Hindus have a solar (astronomical) year and a lunar (civil)
year-of which the day is divided into 60 hours.
IThis most likely marks the general adoption of the signs, between 700 and
500 B.C. See n. 2 p. 6.
2We showed on p. 1 2 that no star in the constellation Asvini allowed for a
determination of the equinoctial point that fell in it .
3Jn February-March, Caitra corresponds to the sign of Aries. Phiilguna to
of Pisces.
CHAPTER 5
lunar years that made up the short cycles-in the Vedic age, well
before the appearance of precise months and seasons. Their names
connote soma, honey, nectar, the vital sap that rises in young
plants, and the intoxicating essences of nature. Derivates of
"madhu" are still used today for the month of Caitra, which is
known as Madhumiisa (the month of honey) : this is an error,
however, as these terms may only qualify the spring season and
not designate constellations-due to the precessional shift.
The symbolic association of the yellow-garbed Kr�l).a with the
first season of the year developed, for the most part, after the time
of the MBh. In this later period, a wealth of adventures was
attributed to the young god in which he was represented as an
impulsive and prankish cowherd, tumbling in the soft grass with
pretty shepherd girls, of which Radha was his favourite.
He quickly became a popular divinity and the object of(a some
times delirious) devotion-the "bhakti" of his devotees.
In the Epic, the avatar of Vi�l).u takes on a k�atriya aspect, as
the advisor to the Pal).c;lavas who hearken to his words, and whom
he surrounds with his protection in order to save them. His divine
nature seems to be perceptible to but a rare privileged group : it
nevertheless shines forth briefly in some passages, such as the
Bhagavad Gua, or in his place in the considerations of certain
principal characters.
Kr�l).a is first and foremost the king of Dvaraka, and this word
which literally means "door, opening", emphasizes well his true
mission : to watch over the "passage" into a new Yuga, and during
this one, to a different era.
He consecrates himself to his task with determination, taking
a cold and detached attitude in the midst of a succession of
dramatic events. He knows that ALL is preordained.
His cosmic representation as the month of CAITRA takes on
its full value, however, when he gives in marriage to ARJUNA
PHALGUNA his own sister SUBHADRA, who is also called
CITRA after the n ame of the constellation in which is located the
star Spica, on the boundary between the signs of Virgo and Libra.1
The symbolism of Subhadra-Citra participates, moreover, in
the symbolism of these two zodiacal divisions. The equilibrium
lThe Constellation Citra is associated with the lunar dynasty in several
passages of the Vedanga Jyoti:ja. See also p. 1 27. note 1.
Chapter Five 35
lStarting from the summer solstice, the Sun changes the direction of its
motion, and seemingly begins to circle back on itself. It descends after having
ascended from the time of the winter solstice. Thus the hieroglyph for Cancer,
composed of two spirals biting their tails.
2Bhagavat Gitii : see n. 1 p. 15.
3A relationshi whose importance we have emphasized, in n. 5 p. 26.
Chapter Five 39
who escaped the holocaust : the lord of the niigas and his heir (the
king being the sole possessor and protector of dharma), four
"samples" of the Era of Aries (the siinigaka birds), and an asura
a negative element, as such is inherent to all M anifestation.
Finally, this abridged but all-important account is inscribed
with the preeminence of two inseparable characters. These are
Kr�I).a and Arjuna in whom are at once manifested Vi�I).u and
lndra, Nara and Naniyai).a, as well as Caitra and Phiilguna, the
new months of spring.
Agni, the primordial and sacrificial fire ofthis sector of Aries,
could not have chosen better collaborators.
C HAP TER 7
!The tenth month, that of Capricorn of which the makara (a kind of croco
dile) is the symbol, is more generally associated with the divine Ganga (the
Ganges). But it must be recalled that this tenth month is that in which will
thenceforward be situated the winter solstice. See p. 31 and 35, 36.
2tapas : heat, the internal fire mastered by self-discipline. Pariisara, "he who
destroys from top to bottom", is one of the names for Kiirttikeya, the planet
Mars, regent of the sign of Aries. It is also the name of a highly reputed astro
nomer of about 1 500 B.C. His work has been lost to us, but is mentioned in
those of Bhat(otpala and others.
48 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
Matsya mother was born, until the day that the latter causes him
to leave it in order that he be entrusted with the task of continuing
the Bhiirata dynasty, "that which is to be maintained."
IThe Ganges, the divinized great river of India. The Milky Way, our galaxy,
is called the Heavenly Ganga (akasaganga) or sometimes simply Ganga.
·
2Vasu : l iterally " desirable object". The eight Vasu gods were originally
deifications of natural phenomena, and indifferently headed by Indra, Agni
or Vi�IJ.U, the three gods associated with the seasons and the bounty that these
represent for the Earth-thus her qualification as Vasumati. The Vasu gods
are regents of the Constellation Dhani${ha, i n which the winter solstice falls
in the five year cycle. They are related to the eight cardinal directions.
aThe cow symbolizes the Earth, and thus the Kingdom of which the
prosperity depends on the sacrifices that k$atriyas offer through the agency
of brahmins.
Chapter Seven 49
she will become their terrestrial mother, and then drown them at
birth in order that they might regain the Celestial Kingdom as
quickly as possible. In exchange, she obtains from them the boon
of providing an heir (irtdispensable from the Indian viewpoint) for
her husband, before definitively leaving the Earth herself. Each
god will contribute one eighth of his strength and power to the
development of this son, who will thus be assigned the name of
Vasuttama, the loftiest of the Vasus. But there is a single caveat :
that he himself have no descendants.
After having found Santanu again, the fair goddess unites with
him to bear him sons, which she hurries to plunge into the river.
She had previously demanded of her husband that he make no
remark whatsoever regarding her actions. Overcome with grief
and bereft of all hope of ever having a successor, the king implores
her to spare the eighth infant. "It was to accomplish a purpose
of the Gods that I have lived with you . . . There is no begetter like
you on Earth" (MBh 1 .92.49) she tells the king as she reveals to
him her divine origin. And, as planned, she spares the life of her
last born, Devavrata (the Sacred Vow), the incarnation of the
Vasu Dyaus, the god who had stolen the ascetic's milk.
But the king had broken the promise he bad made in marrying
her, to neither reproach nor criticize her behavior. Ganga there
fore takes the child to a secret place, and the king finds himself
alone and without an heir.
she becomes the first wife of king Piii).Q.u. His second wife is Mii.dri.
Her brother Salya will take the side of the baneful Kauravas in
spite of his relationship to the Pii.I).Q.avas.
The king sets out to do battle with neighboring countries where
his victories are numerous, and "the glorious battle cry of. .. King
Sii.ntanu (which) had been lost . . . is now once more raised by
Pii.I).Q.u. They who had taken the lands of the Kurus . . . (are) now
made tributary to Pii.I).Q.u, the lion of Hastinii.pura." (MBh 1 . 105.
20-21)
Upon his triumphal return, Bhi�ma congratulates him for having
reminded the World that the Bhii.rata dynasty was indestructible.
The kingdom enjoys a period of peace and happiness but Pii.I).Q.u,
in spite of his glory, withdraws into the forest with his two wives
and his entourage, forsaking the affairs of State which he treats
from afar through the intermediary of messengers.
One day, while engaging in his favorite pastime of hunting, he
mortally wounds two mating antelopes (mrga) who are in fact
a muni and his wife in strange disguise. Before expiring, the hermit
curses Pii.l).gu, condemning him to the same cruel fate.
The word "mrga" corresponds to a wild animal of the Ungulata
species which includes the fallow deer and the antelope, and may
well be associated with the Ram (Aries) of the Zodiac, whose
representation differs from one Tradition to another.
This allegorical passage thus heralds the beginning of the
vicissitudes of the adhii.rmic Kingdom that is doomed to disappear
in its "aja" form.
THE king, terrified by the curse that has befallen him, cons
trains himself to absolute abstinence, living like an ascetic and
desperately fearing that he will never have a son to succeed him.
At this point, Kunti reveals to him the power that Siva's mantra
has invested in her. Relieved of his distress, Pii.I).Q.u himself chooses
the gods who are to take his place ; and Kunti invokes these at one
year intervals.
By Dharma, the god of sovereign Order, she conceives Yudhi�thira,
whose military-sounding name ("firm in combat") is contradicted
by his desire to find deliverance (mok$a), and by his irreproach
able attitude that transcends an manifestation of violence.
Chapter Nine 65
resolved to stop with these. Kunti hides herself from him, but
agrees to let her co-wife Madri use her magic formula to her own
advantage. As the latter may use this mantra but once, she invokes
the Asvins, the divine twins of the Veda, and thus presents two
sons of incomparable beauty, Nakula and Sahadeva to her greatly
gratified husband.
"These boys all shine like five glory-filled years" (an allusion
to the five-year cycle). But desire gets the better of Piil)gu's pru
dence, and he yields to Madri's charms. Alas, by uniting with her,
he is surrendering himself to Death, for in spite of the fact that his
ecstasy erases his memory of his preordained evil fate, Destiny
remains ever-vigilant. He dies in the arms of his second wife, who
follows him on his funeral pyre1 to the abode of Yama, the king
,of the other world, so as to continue their union.
The charge of the five Pal)gava princes thus falls to Kunti.
Vyasa's third son, the bastard Vidura, unites with Devaki. Al
though he belongs, as the son of a maidservant, to the lowest caste,
his clairvoyance and wisdom make him superior to his brothers
Dhrtara�tra and Pal)gu. He is moreover the incarnation of the
god Dharma, the same god who engendered Yudhi$thira, his
nephew, and his judicious advice often proves most useful.
But the crisis must come to pass, such that the destruction of
that which brought on the confusion and adharma of this "Aja"
cycle-with a view to that of "Matsya"-might be realized ; and the
great Sacrifice of war slowly begins to take shape. The Piil)gavas
and Kauravas are to be its officiants or victims, manipulated
as they are by the devas or asuras who prepare their own great
Celestial upheaval.
lA widespread practice in ancient India. The widow who thus threw herself
into the flames of her husband's re was called "sati" a virtuous woman.
Chapter Nine 67
I His father, Bharadviija, had been unable to withhold his seed upon seeing
an apsaras (nymph), and had collected it in a "dro!Ji'', a vase used in sacri
ficial ritual, whence the name Drol)a given to the son who arose from it.
Drol)a's wife i s Krpi, the sister of Krpa.
For his symbolic representation as the sign of Sagittarius, see p . 147.
2Dak$i1Ja : the honorarium paid to the sacrificial officiant by the sacrificer ;
fees paid to one's teacher or master.
68 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
Another desire for vengeance weaves itself into the MBh's plot :
this is that born from the power and the glory of the PaiJ9avas
and nurtured in the proud and envious spirit of Kafl)a, the son
of Surya (the Sun)-and of Kunti who, before her marriage, bore
him in strictest secrecy. Even the young man himself is unaware
of his true origins.
His resentment dates from a tournament that takes place before
the punitive expedition instigated by the brahmin Drol)a against
king Drupada. The princes take great delight in dazzling all who
are present, but it is Arjuna, the last to appear, who once again
proves to be the best, as he wins a brilliant victory.
It is at this moment, in the silence following the clash of weapons
that a terrifying sound arrests the attention of the entire rich
assembly. A young man appears, fair and shining like the Sun ;
and claiming superiority to Arjuna, challenges him to a duel.
Krpa intervenes to introduce the two participants, since a prince
of the PaQ9ava's high nobility may not measure himself against
a man of unglorious pedigree. When Kafl)a hesitates to answer,
Duryodhana immediately qualifies him as the king of Aitga,
certain that he has found in him a potential ally to serve in his
sinister designs.
The scene however becomes an occasion for mockery when
Adhiratha, Karl).a's adoptive father, uneasily runs out to him,
and the young upstart is obliged to respectfully bow before the
old man to reassure him. There is general hilarity, and stinging
words are pronounced. How could this suta 's son have the auda
city to measure himself against Arjuna?
Kama has however, · mt been made kind of An a, and their
70 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
duel might have taken place, had the Sun not suddenly disappear
ed, to the surprise of all present. Duryodhana carries his rash
protege away in his chariot, convinced that the armor and golden
earrings that he wears mask a secret concerning his birth.
These solar attributes borne by the son of Kunti from the day
he was born are the theme of an accoWit found in Book III, at a
later point in the Epic, of a head to head combat. In fact, after
this incident, Indra, the celestial father of Arjuna, dreads what
must come to pass between his son and that of Surya. Knowing
Kama's strength to be amplified by his shining ornaments, the
sovereign of the gods decides to relieve him of these by posing
as a poor brahmin desirous of obtaining such superb jewels for
himself.
Surya had tried as best he could to warn his son in a dream to
never give these up, but Karl)a, driven by the vainglory of filling
his obligations towards a priest and convinced that he would thus
win renown both in Heaven and on Earth, forgets this warning.
He tears off the armor that adheres to his body, and the rings from
his ears, and gives them to the ascetic-who then reveals his true
identity as Indra.
Nevertheless, by way of rewarding this generous-or vain-ges
ture, Indra grants him his magic weapon, his Sakti of infinite
power. He does so with the condition that Karl)a use it against
all his enemies, save one whose name he may not pronounce, lest
he himself disappear.
"Daiva" is setting up its pawns.
Karl).a, in his heart of hearts, denies such an alternative. As a
means to rendering hin1self invulnerable, he decides to win an
other all-powerful weapon called the Brahmiistra,1 which is held
by the old Sage Parasun'i.ma (Rama with the Axe). He thus presents
himself to this teacher, to become his devoted disciple. This,
until the day on which, bitten by a worm Wltil his blood flows
while his guru is sleeping with his head on his knee, Kama re
mains motionless and silent, fighting the pain with all his strength.
Upon waking, the hermit comprehends what has happened,
and deduces that he has been deceived : this pupil cannot be a
brahmin, as only a k$atriya could be capable of showing such
!Perhaps it was this eternal teacher who instructed Bhi�ma during the
mysterious years that Ganga spent with him far from the Court of Santanu.
2The word pada corresponds to a quarter of a constellation. Are 10 padas
the distance that the winter solstice must pass through in order to slip back
wards into Capricorn?
Chapter Ten 73
lCannibalistic demons : they appear when royal power fails, and thus play
tructive role.
Chapter Eleven 79
IN this allegory the monster Baka, like the heron (baka) who
lives by eating fish, tries to devour all of the inhabitants meant to
survive in the surrounding area. The name of this region, Ekacakra
("the Single Wheel"), evokes the zodiacal circle through which the
Sun passes, the same Sun that the asuras wish to hinder in its
precessional motion towards the sign of Pisces.
But the PiiQ<;lavas are there to watch over the cyclic passage of
the ages.
While the virtuous Yudhi$!hira follows the just path of dharma
by avoiding violence, and Arjuna symbolizes useful activity (artha)
directed towards the continuation and prosperity of the Kingdom,
Bhima himself ascribes to the third aim of man.1 This is kama, the
desire for earthly goods and the pleasures they procure ; as such,
it is bound to karman. The insatiable, material and sensual appe
tites that he incarnates moreover make him sensitive towards
women, whom he is always ready to defend.
His devotion will prove boundless with regard to she who comes
into the Pal).<;iavas' life, to bring them a time of peace and happi
ness in the dark times of their voluntary exile. In effect, the
brothers decide to attend the presentation of the princess Draupadi,
the daughter of the very king Drupada whose kingdom of Paficala
they had conquered for their venerable master Drol).a;
C H A P T ER 1 2
offers to them in turn, they must hit a target located in the center
of a WHEEL. This is, once again, an allusion to this period of
Cyclic Time upon which depends the fate of the Earth, symbolized
by Draupadi whose dark complexion assigns her the surname of
Km1a.1
After several inconclusive attempts on the part of the young
participants, Karoa, the suta who has become the king of Anga,
steps forward to try his luck. He seemingly defeats his rivals ;
but as he corresponds to a deviant representation of the Sun, his
father, his winning of Draupadi would constitute a grave danger
for the Triple World.
At this point, Arjuna, unrecognizable in his brahmin disguise,
takes hold of the bow-which is itself difficult to bend-and the
five arrows of which none has as of yet hit the mark. And he
wins the trial incontestably, to the general stupefaction : who can
this unknown priest be to whom the daughter of king Drupada
must now be promised?
The exultant Pao<;iavas set off again for the forest with the sub
missive Draupadi in tow. When they arrive at the hidden spot
where their mother awaits them, Kunti, busy with whatever she is
doing, doesn't turn around when they joyously announce to her,
"Here is what we have brought you today." Thinking that they are
referring to their hunt, she orders them to enjoy it equally among
themselves . . . Her word is sacred, and the princess won by Arjuna
(for whom she will always bear a secret preference) becomes the
common wife of the five sons of Pao<;iu. 2 A strange coincidence,
considering that she had called on the god Siva five times in order
that he accord her a husband . . .
After a meticulous inquest, Dhr�tadyumna at last discovers the
identity of the man who had won his sister. This he reveals to his
father, king Drupada, who is relieved by the news as he sees in it a
means to realize his plans for revenge against the brahmin Drooa.
lThe four constituent elements of the objective World-Fire, Air, Earth and
Water-are each related to a specific color and flavor that result from their
physico-chemical properties. The fifth element, Ether, is their quintessence.
See n. 2 p. 20. In Alchemy, substances are compounds of the Five original
subtle elements which are present in varying proportions. Among these,
mercury is considered to be the primary substance. It is called "rasa".
2Polyandry was a current practice among certain ancient peoples.
Chapter Twelve 85
With the help of Arjuna and his brothers who are now his allies,
he hopes to be able to recover the portion of his kingdom that is
still occupied by his enemy.
The brilliant victory won at the svayaYf!vara permits the
PaQ.c)avas to return to the Court at Hastinapura where Dhftara�tra
greets them with emotion, his conscience eased at not having
contributed to their death in the palace fire. His subjects are
bursting with a joy proportional to the sorrow they had felt when
the loss of their crown prince had been announced. Confronted
by such an outburst of sympathy but dreading the baneful reaction
of his eldest were he to be completely dispossessed, the blind king,
weak and credulous, decides under the pressure of his perverse
son to divide the kingdom between its rival branches. This only
increases the tension that reigns.
The Kauravas retain that part of which Hastinapura is the
capital, close to the Ganges. To the PaQ.c,lavas falls the other half,
with Indraprastha, on the Yamuna, becoming their main city.1
Once again, we find the two rivers in a relation of symmetry.
On the one hand, the Ganga is connected to the symbol of
renouncement, and to the winter solstice, symbolized by Bhi�ma,
which begins the five-year cycle. On the other is the Yamuna from
which emerged the Matsya twins, Virata and Satyavati, in order
that Manifestation might continue and the Zodiac change.
Hastinapura, "the city of the Elephant", evokes both royal
power and Indra's vehicle, a white beast whose head is orna
mented with a precious stone of the brilliance of a lightningbolt.
By its form-four pillars supplanted by a sphere-the elephant
generally depicts the structure of the Cosmos, of which the cardinal
and intermediate points are moreover guarded by pachyderms.
At the time of the MBh, in which the winter solstice still pre
dominated, the city of Hastinapura may have corresponded to
the locus of a zodiacal "cleavage" in the Constellation Dhani$fha
which was itself divided between the half attributed to the sign of
Aquarius and that which fell in the sign of Capricorn to become
the new site of the solstice.
Thus appears on a cosmic scale the error committed by
IBrahmacarin : one who studies the Vedas (Sacred Texts) while taking a
temporary vow of celibacy. It is the first of the four stages of life for a brahmin :
the second i s grhastha (householder), the third vanaprastha (forest hermit) and
the last sannyasin (renouncer).
2See p. 55. This is a possible allusion to Bhi�ma, the son of Ganga and the
invulnerable warrior whom Arjuna can only reach in the battle by protecting
himself behind the body of Sikhat).ljin.
Chapter Twelve 87
lit is said that, in the beginning, Brahmii revealed his Siddhfmta to Narada.
It is in this, the tradition known as the Paitiimaha Siddhiinta, that the five-year
uga i s first mentioned.
88 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
Thus the five sons that Draupadi obtained, at one year inter
vals, from each of her husbands, would all die in the war ; and she
who was born from the Sacrificial Fire would know the pain of
offering them as oblations to the Era of Aries. All of Arjuna's
offspring as well would be immolated on the cosmic altar of the
Kuruk�etra, even Abhimanyu, the young prince borne by
Subhadni. The sole survivor of this hecatomb is to be Parik�it, the
son of the latter, who would grow in the womb of his mother
Uttara ("she who causes to pass over") like the waxing moon,
saved by the avatara from the great catastrophe.
Parik�it is the "se�a" purified by the waters of Pisces, the cul
mination of the Matsya lineage, and the meeting point for the
energies emitted by Satyavati and Virata, the twins who developed
inside the fish netted out of the Yamuna to open the way for the
k:jatra across the signs and through the eras, from the time that
Vasu Uparicara's1 seed was gathered up by the nymph Adrika.
SAlYAYATi + PaciSara
(Matsya) I
Vyasa + Ambalilci
YIRA"fA + Sude§!)a
I
PalfC;Iu + Kunti (Matsya)
I
Arjuna + Subhadci
I
Abhimanyu -- + -- Uttaci
I
PAR1l\.'?IT
Karnsa, the king of Mathura, having heard the prediction that his life would
be threatened by a son of Devaki, his cousin, relentlessly seeks to do away
with her children.
The seventh, Baladeva (often called Balarama) was thus transferred from the
womb of Devaki into that of RohiQi, in order that he might be spared. He is
said to have been born from one of Vi�Qu's white hairs; he is the incarnation
of the Naga Se�a.
The eighth son, Kr$Qa, i s dark-ski nned and born from one of the god's
black hairs. He was taken far away by his father, and exchanged for the son
of the cowherd Nanda and his wife Yasoda.
Kr�Qa's father had been fortold that Vi�Qu would incarnate himself in his
eighth son, whence the importance of protecti ng this chosen infant : the father
was g iven the name Vasudeva.
Belonging to the non-ruling line of the lunar dynasty, Kr$Qa's father is a
descendant of Yadu, who was once saved from a flood by lndra.
It is worth noting that Bhi$ma was also an eighth chi ld, saved by Ganga.
IThe same roles may well have been played by Riima, Lak$maQa and RiivaQa
in the RiimiiyaQa epic, in the preceding Age of Taurus. The word "prati ''
means "against" and indicates the idea of opposition.
2The planet Saturn symbolizes the principle of condensati.on, of inerti� ,
whence its frequent association with the idea of old age, for which the � ansknt
term is "jarfl''. Does Jarasandha not thus stand for a world whose time has
passed and is destined to disappear? Does he not correspond to a static notion
of a cosmos in which all is rhythm?
C H A P T E R 14
IThis enmity goes back to the time that. KnQa stole his fiancee RukmiQi,
who bore him a son, Prad umna.
98 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
IN the sabhii, the hall reserved for men's reunions, the spectators
watch the game with bated breath. Whereas the elders can hardly
hide their disapproval, the princes are brimming with wild
enthusiasm, their excitement mounting as Yudhi�thira, his reason
swept away by a wave of madness, successively loses his precious
jewels, his wealth, his palace and court, his brothers, and finally
himself.
The tension rises to such a height as to become nearly palpable.
Duryodhana should be satisfied with his human ancl. material
winnings, but he is possessed by an insatiable demon ; so too is
IThe Earth is eternal as well in the Theory of the Elements posited by Hippo
crates in the fourth century B.C., because the elements are indestructible.
Chapter Fourteen 103
Once again, the five heroes find themselves on the path that leads
into the forest and its holy places where, now that all their posses
sions have been taken away, they subsist on the alms offered to
brahmins. There they also learn of the repeated failures on the
part of Dhrtara$tra to mediate on their behalf.
The third book, which treats of their wanderings, is filled with
accounts related to the PaQ<;Iavas by hermits or superhuman
beings. Their successive adventures take place in an atmosphere
of enchantmen t and fantasmagoria often charged with intense
emotion. At the beginning, and in the face of the difficulties that
confront them, Yudhi$thira is often confounded. So it happens
that the hermit Dhaumya one day urges him to request the aid
of 1 08-named Sun,1 that fair-faced nourishing father who is the
source of all creatures; the origin of light and heat, the wheel of
Time, the god divisible into the 1 2 Adityas (the solar months),
the yogins' path of Liberation, the king of kings venerated in
Indra's heaven by the 33 gods themselves.2 According to this
Sage, the Sun grants every favor to all who sing his praises, and
it is through his adoration that "Aja-Mi<;lha" will help his
brothers to bear the weight of their sorrows in this, the end of
the Era of Aries.
Kr$Qa visits them often. He reassures Arjuna regarding the
lSee p. 1 6 .
2The total revolution of the seasons is of a duration of 3 3 synodic years
same con · unctions with the Sun) the same number as that of the gods.
1 06 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
the power known as Brahmasiras which the god uses at the end
of a yuga, in order to destroy perverse Manifestation.
With these, Arjuna will be capable of doing battle with the great
est of heroes-Bhi�ma, Krpa, Drol)a and KarQa-in the coming
war ; but he is to use them with great caution lest he annihilate
everything. Siva explains their manipulation to him in great sec
recy ; for these are arms that can neither be shot with a bow, nor
with thought, the eye or the spoken word.
Then, before returning to the realm of the invisible, the god
urges him to go to Svarga, where other weapons would be placed
at his disposal. Immediately, a chariot harnessed to wild steeds
and driven by lndra's coachman Matali, bears Arjuna up into
the air, enveloped in a mantle of light. On high, his mood changes
from wonder to enchantment as he skirts the shining astral abodes
of the r#s, the gandharvas and apsaras, themselves astride glitter
ing aerial cars, in great number.
When he reaches Amaravati, the indestructible city of the king
of the gods, its noble inhabitants gratify him with their benedic
tions over the length of the Suravithi (the Divine Way), up to the
gleaming bejewelled palace of his august father.
He is initiated into the use of the celebrated astras of the greatest
divinities, as well as their corresponding mantras. He is also ex
posed to ethereal melodies sweet to his ears ; but he does not
allow himself to be transported by the luxuriant and harmonious
atmosphere, recalling the reason for his stay in these lofty spheres.
He even resists a ravishing apsaras who, out of spite, curses him
to one day become a eunuch in the midst of beautiful and desirable
women.
Even in this paradisial atmosphere, a certain anxiety has taken
hold of the gods, threatened as they are by their Danava enemies
who lie hidden at the bottom of the sea amidst schools of fabulous
fishes. Indra asks Arjuna to flush them out with the divine wea
pons that have been placed in his hands.
Not without difficulty, the PaQgava wins a crushing victory ;
his driver relates this to the hero's proud father. This determina
tive victory is the occasion for Arjuna, weighted down with the
wide array of incomparably brilliant arms which he has so recently
wielded against his host's enemies, to leave Heaven. He goes with
Indra's promise that an equal success is to be his against the Kau-
108 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
IA first magnitudes star, Canopus is the brightest of all save Sirius. It is not
visible in the northern ortion of the boreal hemisphere.
1 10 Astrological Key in Mahiibharata
THE brahmins who follow or meet the Pal). <;lavas in the forest teach
them the revealed Sacred Texts. Among these is a r# named
Lomasa (literally "the ram")1 who passes on to them his Know
ledge of Astronomy, and initiates them into the mysteries of the
celestial vault. These holy men and doctors speak to them of Se�a.
the path, in the milky way, along which the sun tirelessly retraces
its steps, seldom concealing its splendor from the eyes of earthly
creatures, sharing out night and day, hours and minutes. He
explains to them the well-tempered movements of the planets
and the secrets of the cosmic cycles.
The Pal). <;lavas' gaze is often turned upwards, full of admiration,
towards the skies into which Arjuna disappeared.
The Sages remind them time and again of how closely Agni and
Indra are related to one another in the sacrifice, just as they are
in the harmonious and balanced movement of the solstices and
equinoxes. This is illustrated by the edifying fable of the Hawk
and the Dove, forms in which these gods manifested themselves
in order to test the sense of fairness of the most excellent of
k�atriyas, Sibi, the king of the Usinaras :
One day a dove pretends that he is being pursued by a cruel
hawk, and takes refuge with this sovereign. This latter offers the
predator all kinds of food, imploring him to spare the bird, but
he obstinately refuses any substitute for the object of his desires.
Too attentive to dharma to yield up to an enemy a creature wqo
has asked his protection, the king's heroism is extended to the
point of offering that the hawk-who accepts in the end-con
sume a part of his own body equal in weight to that of the dove.
But alas, however many morsels of himself are placed on the
scale, their weight never equals the dove's, and in the end the
brave Sibi finds his whole body, bloody and mutilated, in the
balance.
Agni and lndra then appear in their divine form before this
incomparable man who was so willing to sacrifice himself for a
just repartition of energies. They cover him with everlasting glory,
allowing him to accede to Trivi�tapa.2
The Paw;iavas at last arrive at a privileged site in. which they may
await Arjuna's return from Svarga : it is the hermitage where Nara
and Narayat;ta had lived long ago, during their last stay on Earth.1
Mahar$is and ascetics, alerted by their prescient vision, come
out of their retreat to j oin them. Kr�r.ta often appears before them,
encouraging them to endure their tribulations in the same spirit
as does Vyasa, the grandfather of all of the Bharatas.
It is here, in this enchanted place, that Draupadi discovers a
golden lotus2 of such exceptional beauty that she bespeaks her
desire to have a bouquet of the same. Always willing to satisfy her,
Bhima sets out to explore their surroundings in search of other
flowers belonging to this rare species. Caught up in his quest,
climbing higher and higher up the side of a nearby mountain, he
is suddenly confronted by an enormous monkey who blocks his
path. The golden leonine Pat;t<;lava colossus tries to thrust him
aside, but is unable to so much as move the animal's tail.
The young man wonders who indeed could be hiding behind
this simian aspect. The monkey announces that he is Hanuman,
one of the sons of Vayu, the Wind god, and thus the half-brother
ISee p. 37.
2The eight petals of the lotus, reminiscent of the eight cardinal directions,
make this a cosmogonic symbol. Its luxuriance is evocative of both prosperity
and prolific posterity, and its inalterable beauty, in spite of the swampy waters
in which it grows, makes it an emblem of purity.
1 12 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
hearts of the sons of Pa1,1gu and of Draupadi, but they bring them
ever closer to the end of their exile. In order to soothe their im
patience, and in accordance with the brahmins' advice, they pass
long hours watching the Sky that harbors so many mysterious
messages. One day, they are surprised to see a meteor that seem
ingly swoops down onto the Earth with such an incredible speed
that, even before they have time to give voice to their fright, a
flaming chariot touches down close by, steered by Indra's driver.
Arjuna dismounts, dressed in gold from head to foot and haloed
in the splendor of a divine apparition. He bows before his elder
brothers Yudhi�thira and Bhima, receives the homage of the
twins Nakula and Sahadeva, and exchanges affectionate smiles
with Draupadi.
When Matali flies off, with the speed oflightning, the gazes that
turn towards the brilliant trail left behind by the aerial car are
filled with emotion and j oy. The driver returns the next day, bring
ing the king of gods himself. The thousand-eyed immortal, dazzl
ing in his golden raiment, comes to solemnly pledge to Yudhi�
thira that he will govern the Earth, once Arjuna has vanquished
all of their enemies with the divine astras entrusted to him by the
most wondrous dwellers of Heaven. Then, after having honored
them with his benedictions, the vajra-bearer1 disappears from view.
When they are alone again, Arjuna distributes among his
brothers and Draupadi the heavenly presents he has brought them,
and gives them an account of his fabulous adventure. He shows
them his impenetrable armor, the tiara that shines on his head
(which wins him the epithet of "Kiritin"), his conch Devadatta,
and the many weapons whose brilliance eclipses the brightest
objects on our planet. But when Arjuna attempts to wield them,
a terrible tremor shakes the Earth, and a Sage immediately mani
fests himself to warn him against touching them before the Time
comes.
While awaiting the ineluctable events determined by "Daiva",
the Pa1,1«;lavas, reunited at last, continue to fall prey to adversity.
Their existence becomes more and more precarious-to the delight
l Vajra : Indra's thunderbolt. The word also means "diamond", a pure and
crystalline form of carbon which is wide-spread in nature, and of which the
chemical quadrivalency evokes the four spatial directions under the sway of
the "va 'ra" of lndra, the celestial King.
1 14 Astrological Key in Mahabharata
WITH their twelve years of exile nearly at its end, the PaQ.Qavas
wonder where they might take refuge and remain out of the sight
IHe was in fact on his way to a svayarrzvara, to "win" a wife.
Chapter Sixteen 117
IDerived from the root upa-PLU: to overflow . Upaplavya is the city elected
to "receive", without being inundated, the Waters of the Great Month of
Pisces, complementary of the sign of Virgo that is occasionally called "plava",
from the same root !
CHAPTER 17
Before seeing them off, the hermits who have shared their ascetic
life in the forest and the beneficent aid of their Teachings with the
Pao<;lavas, urge them to disguise themselves so as to pass this last
crucial year in anonymity. Seeing their hesitation, the Sages prove
to them through various examples that all the gods resort to
subterfuge. Does the Sun not camouflage himself every night?
At last the sons of Pao<;lu and their wife set out in the direction
of Upaplavya,l the capital of the kingdom of the Matsyas, whose
name evokes the zodiacal sign of Pisces in which the Sun will
choose to take up residence in the precessional era to come. Their
stay in THIS country is more than a mere privilege accorded to
its king, and more than an innocent pretext for concealing them
selves up to the end of their days of adversity.
In choosing to remain, during a key period of their existence,
in the kingdom suggested by the god Dharma, the Pao<;lavas
comply with a premonitory warning as they move forward in the
direction of the cosmic evolution . This thirteenth year that they
pass with the Matsyas foretells mutations in the Cosmos-and
on Earth as well, where such will be accomplished through the
Sacrifice of war.
The five brothers hide their weapons in a "sami"2 tree on the
outskirts of the city and hard by a cremation ground, after having
tSee note p. 1 1 1 7.
2The wood of the sami is used to make the araiJi, the hollow vessel in which
is turned a churning stick of asvattha wood (another Indian tree), in order to
roduce the sparks that will Ki ndle the sacrificial fire.
1 20 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
The chariot starts off and gains speed in skilled hands of the
Pal)<;iava. His earrings and braids are flying in the wind, but his
smile has disappeared and his eyes are flashing with fury. He drives
up to the "sami" tree where his weapons are hidden, and when he
has assembled them before the astonished eyes of Uttara, he then
reveals to him his true identity. The young man's surprise is s o
great that h e demands as proof that Arjuna cite his ten names.
This the latter does :
calculates that the PaQ.Qavas have lived out their exile with six
days to spare. Once again, in this passage, he is called Pitamaha.
He adds that if Arjuna has indeed appeared before everyone's
eyes, it is because no aspect of the motions of the stars or the
results of their progression escapes him. The sons of Prtha
Kunti would choose to die rather than live a lie.
In effect, THE TIME HAS COME. The thirteenth year has
just come to an end.
Duryodhana can but bow before the wisdom and knowledge
of the "grandfather", whose immediate objective is to slow
Phiilguna's impetuous advance long enough for the Kauravas
to drive the cattle to Hastinii.pura. This would also avoid an
overly bitter meeting between the two cousins, for such would be
premature at this point.
But the great Pii.Q.Qava archer is so rapid that he suddenly
swoops down on them, brandishing Gii.Q.Qiva and showering his
surprised enemies with a rain of sharp unbearable arrows that
send them fleeing in every direction. KarQ.a attempts to step into
the breach, and the sons of the Sun and of Indra face one another
like two elephants in rut.
The former refuses to move a pada (a step) (this corresponds to
a quarter of a constellation in the Sky, the arc necessary for the
autumn equinox to move from the sign of Scorpio into that of
Libra). He is acting against the evolution of the cosmos, and
Arjuna presses in on him with his darts until he has to move away.
The Pii.Q.Qava blazes like a fire sprinkled on the altar with clari
fied butter. He jumps from one chariot to another, just as does the
Sun between the zodiacal signs. His bow passes from his right hand
to his left, and his chariot describes circles first in one direction
and then in the other. He is ineluctable Time, he is the eternal
Sun, he is the Precession.
He seems to envelop his adversaries with his unceasing shafts
in the enflamed atmosphere of dust-reddened with the blood of
beasts and men-that rises to blot out the solar orb. All is red,
striped with the gold of ornaments, of helmets, armor and
harnesses.
The Earth is choked with the substance of all of these sacrificial
victims ; the setting is that of the end of a Yuga.
But Ar"una spares the lives of his old teachers Kr a and DroQ.a,
126 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
THE two warriors make their way home with the recovered cattle,
the prince having promised to take credit for the feat. Before en
tering the city, they stop at the "§ami" tree inside which Arjuna
again hides his weapons and exchanges his armor for his skirts
and baubles.
King Virata has also returned with his troops, having defeated
the Trigartas. Upon hearing the account of the Kaurava's flight
before his son and the eunuch who had served as his driver, the
lArcturus (svati, in Sanskrit) is the "Shepherd's Star", a first magnitude
star that prolongs the line of the stars of Ursa Major (in certain languages,
the Great Wagon or Boar). Arcturus, located in the region of the constella
tions of Virgo and Libra, in fact appears to watch over the round of the heaven
ly bodies as does Kr�I:la for the spring as well as the autumn equinoxes in the
sector in which is located the star Spica-Citra-symbolized by his sister Su
bhadrii, the wife of Arjuna.
128 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
king has trouble in smiling through his doubt and contempt. The
brahmin Kanka-Yudhi�thira then sides with the d�ncing master,
but due to a lack of respect towards his Iord, he is given a cuffing that
makes him bleed. Immediately the royal Pa1.1c;iava hurries to catch
the falling blood in the hollow of his hand, in order that the earth
of the Matsya's kingdom be spared from soilure. Draupadi collects
it in a golden vase filled with water (that of the purifying Pisces?).
Back in the harem, Arjuna distributes the many garments taken
from the slain soldiers among the laughing and delighted young
women who have greeted his return.
Uttara, incapable of lying to credit himself with victory, tells
his father of the intervention of the son of a god who fought the
Kauravas in his stead, and chased them outside of their borders.
He adds that this being had returned to the Invisible, but that he
would soon return.
Three days later, during a great feast offered by Virata to cele
brate their triumph, the five Pal).c;iava heroes and Draupadi take
off their respective disguises of brahman, servants and woman.
They prostrate themselves before the king, their ancestress Satya
vati's twin brother, and thank him for his protection. Without his
knowing it, he has allowed them to pass the thirteenth and most
crucial year of their exile sheltered from Duryodhana's incessant
and vengeful search for them.
The king is at once surprised and proud to have helped them.
When he hears from the mouth of his own heir that it was thanks
to Arjuna that his cattle had been recovered, he offers the hero
his most prized possession, his daughter Uttara. But Arjuna has
been the paternal advisor to this young princess in the women's
apartment, and so he refuses her for himself but accepts her as
his daughter-in-law, to be married to the son given him by
Subhadra, the sister of Kr�1.1a.
Thus, a short time later, Uttara becomes Abhimanyu's wife, in
a magnificent ceremony marked by numerous sacrifices and sump
tuous gifts, and in the presence of the avatara himselfwho has come
especially for the great occasion.
It is from this union that will be born Parik�it, a Matsya on his
father's side (as a descendant of Satyavati) as well as his mother's,
as she is Virata's daughter. He is to be the Kuru lineage's sole
survivor and will thus incarnate the ksatra in the Era of Pisces.
CHAPTER 18
In the first four books of the MBh, all of the main characters have
been introduced, and all the motives for the inevitable war have
been invoked. But the essential reason for the conflict remains :
this is the fact that Yudhi��hira, king Aja-Mi<;lha (double Aries)
has lost, in a dishonest dice game, his goods and his kingdom-to
Duryodhana who refuses to return these to him.
Nonetheless, this dire solution between cousins who are nearly
brothers is repugnant to the members of this dharmic clan. Nego
tiations are thus underway, with emissaries meeting and following
one another. Joined by family ties to the two rival branches, Kr�Qa
attempts to effect a preliminary reconciliation. He receives at his
Court in Dvaraka the two protagonists, Duryodhana and Arjuna,
to whom his support is seemingly indispensable.
As a means of testing them, the avatara gives them a choice bet
ween a great army made up of gopa-niiriiym:zas,1 and himself, un
armed. Without hesitation, Arjuna chooses his friend as moral
guide and chariot driver ; the warriors go to Duryodhana, who is
delighted with this windfall .
Salya, the brother o f Madri who had immolated herself on her
husband PaQ<;iu's funeral pyre, is tricked by the Kauravas while
on his way to offer his services to the PaQ<;iavas. He unwillingly
agrees to be KarQa's driver, but does so with the intention of doing
everything possible to demoralize him and thus render him less
dangerous to Arjuna.
This maternal uncle to the twins Nakula and Sahadeva is the
incarnation of an asura2 who once tried to lead Brahma astray
tKr�I:la is the heavenly cowherd (gopa), the guardian and protector of the
World, manifested as the Nariiyal)a form of Vi�l)u. See note 1 p. 1 27.
2An incarnation of the asura Samhrada, the son of Hiral)yakasipu.
1 30 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
I For these, he pays honoraria or offers presents (often cows, in early times)
to the officiating priests. These gifts are called "dak$il;rii", the adjective meaning
"right" as opposed to "left".
Chapter Eighteen 131
Having immediately gone to offer his respects \.O his aunt Kunti,
and reassure her regarding the condition of her sons and of
Draupadi, whom she has not seen for over thirteen years, Kr�IJa
presents himself before the assembled Kauravas. All prostrate
themselves before him.
Dazzling and majestic, he wears on his breast the jewel Kaus
tubha. This gem, peculiar to Vi�J.lU, arose from the churning of
the Cosmic Ocean1-the Milky Way-along with thirteen other
precious "things". These possibly correspond to the constellations
which became visible to the people fleeing the glaciation of the
Great North, when it at last became possible for them to contem
plate the totality of the constellations seen in the northern hemi
sphere.
He also displays the sign of Srlvatsa, a cross-shaped symbol
that represents the solstices and the equinoxes. Seated upon a
golden, jewel-studded throne, Kr�IJa harangues the k$afriyas who
are present, urging them to greater wisdom, for war can only lead
to carnage and the destruction of the entire family. He makes an
impassioned plea on behalf of his friends and the Kuru lineage.
But Duryodhana is unshaken in his resolve to keep the King
dom for himself. Nothing can dent the demonic determination of
this agent of Kali. He does not show the slightest remorse when
the avatii.ra enumerates the perverse acts he has committed in the
course of the past years. Nor does he regret in the least his mal
treatment of Draupadi in the sabhii, the suggestion by his uncle
Sakuni that she be used as stake, or the fact that he had forced
his own flesh and blood to endure a miserable and dangerous
existence in the inhospitable forest.
Kr�IJa thus prepares his departure, full of scorn for this irre
deemable creature, and fury against the father who would go
IAn ancient myth relates how Narayal)a, in order to obtain amrta (amb
rosia), the drink of immortality, wound the serpent Vasuki (the line of horizon)
around the sacred Mount Mandara (the Cosmos). On either side of this im
provised "churning rope", the gods and asuras set up a rotating motion in order
that Mandara "churn" the Cosmic Ocean (the Milky Way). Along with the
amrta appeared the thirteen other "precious things" that had been lost in the
Deluge.
See note 1 p. 127 on the subject of Kaustubha, and its possible association
with the star Svati-Arcturus, the "Shepherd's star".
Chapter Eighteen 135
ISee p. 1 6.
2A day ruled over by Indra, the sovereign of the gods.
138 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
AFTER a long preparation, the two sides set up camp o n the Kuru
k�etra. Their armies spread out, with their elephants and horses
by the thousands. They form two great oceans whose deep waters
flow into one another at the moment Yudhi�thira gives the signal
to begin the fight, amidst the deafening din of drums and conches
and the cries of animals and men.
And it is to be a series of apocalyptic visions that will follow over
the next eighteen days, during which time the Earth will be awash
in the blood of warriors and their mounts, and the battlefield
transformed into a tremendous sacrificial ground.
But their sacrifice will not have been in vain. The heroes will
enjoy glory here on Earth and eternal happiness in Svarga ; for by
dying worthily in battle, face to face with his enemy, a k$atriya 's
karman is improved and his sins absolved. Death is preferable to
disho:p.or.
From the first day onwards, all of the kings and princes are
assembled on the Kuruk�etra. Among the Piio\lavas' allies, and
making up the front line with them, are the Matsyas led by Virii!a.
lin the order of cosmic destruction, earth is absorbed into water, water into
fire, fire into air and air into ether.
140 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
Each day, the respective armies enter into formations that re
produce symbolic figures : cakra, ma!J¢ala (circle), vajra (Indra's
thunderbolt), kurma (crab, the hieroglyph of the sign of Cancer),
makara (that of Capricorn) in relation with the summer and
winter solstices and the holy rivers Yamuna and Ganga, and
srngiitaka (the name of a particular planetary configuration in the
sign of Aries).
· Each day, the combats seemingly reach their paroxysm ; yet, the
next day, the battle rages all the more fiercely. The carnage is in
tolerable, and the warriors have trouble telling each other apart,
so spattered are they with blood.
The dead part by the thousands for the kingdom of Yama, the
god of Death. The Earth is strewn with mangled and decapitated
bodies, with mutilated arms and legs, the whole carried along in
waves of reddened fat and marrow. Her thirst is unquenchable, as
if she were demanding this heavy human tribute in order that she
might be relieved of a weight that has become too great and per
mcwus.
She also lays claim to heroes.
From the very first day, the Matsyas, whose future is to be so
great, offer their sacrificial victims. These are Virata's two sons,
one of which is the same Uttara who took part in the punitive
expedition against the Kauravas when these were about to steal
144 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
man's own mouth that he has vowed to not shoot his arrows at
Sikhal).c;iin, knowing this hot-blooded warrior to be the reincar
nation of Amba ; she has returned to this world to quench her
thirst for vengeance against him. He will never harm a woman,
for this was his promise to his father Santanu when the latter was
joined with Satyavati.
The other reason for this is that Bhi�ma is possessed of the
Knowledge of what must come to pass in the Cosmos. Having
failed in his attempts to convince Duryodhana to give up the
k�atra, but committed to fulfilling his k�atriya duty as command
ing general of the Kaurava troops, he runs the risk of compromis
ing the cosmic process by outfighting the Pal).c;iavas. He thus
judges it preferable to withdraw from the battle definitely.
When the combat begins again on the tenth day, Pitamaha
challenges the ambiguous being whose hate for himself he knows
all too well. This he does in spite of the fact that he knows Arjuna
to be advancing directly behind him. After a furious battle,
Ga1)rjiva's arrows finally pierce his white armor.
The moment has come for him to withdraw from the World
and from this war in which his superiority might otherwise b e
overwhelming. In the world of the Invisible, the Vasu deities and
Vyasa show their approval. The Wheel of Time shall not b e
stopped irreversibly.
Through his Renunciation, that superior form of Sacrifice,
Bhl�ma appears as a Maha Bharata-a Great Bharata.
When he falls from his chariot, the Earth is shaken by great
tremors. Yet, he remains suspended above the ground, so numer
ous are the arrows that bristle over his body. It is as if he Wished
to set out, between Earth and Heaven-of which he is the incar
nation-the intermediate space without which the Three Worlds
would perish.
The gods are nevertheless astonished and worried to see him
stretched out on his bed of arrows, for the Sun is still following
its path to the south of the horizon. This is neither the day nor
the month : it is still too early !
But this son of Ganga and Santanu possesses, from the latter,
the power to fix the moment of his own death. And, to the great
relief of the heavenly beings and Kr�l).a, he withholds his vital
breath, awaiting the time that the Sun will pass into the boreal
1 46 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
IKumbha, in Sanskrit.
2There are 8 qualities of the element "water".
Chapter Twenty 147
lln India, the cardinal points or directions are guarded by elephants. In the
MBh, all of the warriors mounted on elephants are asuric. The death of one of
these precedes each important passage in the battle. _
2In western astrology, Pluto became the first ruler of the sign of Scorpio
after its discovery in 1 930, with Mars its second.
The word "droiJa" may be derived from the root "dru!Ja" : scorpion.
148 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
flies into pieces, chopped up by the rain of arrows that dog him.
Not for a moment does the bravery of Arjuna's son weaken, until
he finally falls at the hands of the son of Duryodhana's younger
brother Dul)siisana.
When he hears of the death of his nephew, Yudhi�thira laments
and holds himself responsible, since it was out of a concern to
protect him that the valorous k$atriya had met his Death. Vyiisa
appears out of the world of the Invisible to comfort him and to
reveal to him that this young prince had accomplished a very
great work, whose influence would extend far beyond his own
Time : he had engendered Parik�it.
He had sacrificed himself in order that Heaven remain in har
mony with the Earth to which he had offered the best of himself
his blood and the works of his flesh .. He had been killed by the
son of that abject creature who had, in the sabhii, soiled and humi
liated Draupadi, the earthly symbol of this Era of Aries.
When the sad news reaches him, Arjuna is smitten with grief.
Even Kr�oa shows his emotion on hearing that the child of his
sister Subhadrii has been cut down under such shameful condi
tions. He was still but an adolescent. But the avatiira knows that
his loss is of a most particular importance. It marks the end of
one cycle and the beginning of a new zodiacal revolution : it
announces the transmutation of the dynasty.
While Satyavati had been the first link in this evolutionary
preparation, Abhimanyu is the last ; for with him, the chain closes
before the appearance of Parik�it, who begins the next cosmic
Circle.
So it is that the sacrifice of Arjuna's son, Kr�oa's nephew, will
not have been in vain : he is the Oblation offered for the good of
the microcosm and the macrocosm. He too is a Great Bhiirata.
Abhimanyu's message is comprised, in its entirety, in the signi
ficant gesture of brandishing, as a weapon, the wheel of his chariot.
With this, he threatens those who refuse the sidereal change, and
in so doing he symbolically portends that the k$atra would be
withdrawn, on the Celestial Cakra, from the "Ajas" in order to
be entrusted to the "Matsyas". This new era would begin when
the vernal equinoctial point would fall in the Great Month of
Pisces.
This death, er etrated by k$atriyas unworthy of their caste,
1 50 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
bespeaks the defeat of the Kauravas, for Arjuna will not let it go
unpunished. He must avenge the son given him by Subhadni
Citrii.
He has to pursue those who have succeeded in escaping the
young hero's arm, which though makeshift has been deadly. At
the sight of the devastation it has wreaked, his father's sorrow
is soothed by pride.
Arjuna is as yet unaware that the Moon-god Soma had assigned
to him his own son, Somavarcas, incarnated in Abhimanyu, so
that he might one day share in the crushing of the enemies of the
gods and of the Bhiiratas. On condition however that his sojourn
on Earth be a brief one.
It is for that reason that Abhimanyu, the most valiant, has
returned to his celestial dwelling-place in his sixteenth year.
C H APTER 21
against the sky as a dark and enormous mass, making the night
all the more opaque. This new loss of one of their number fills the
Pal)<;iavas with grief. But the Kauravas allow them no respite, and
charge them with such violence that the five brothers are forced
to abandon their sorrow and reassert their courage.
Courage is what they need, for in the opposing camp Drol)a is
proving himself a remarkable general and a warrior of stupefying
virtuosity. He intercepts every enemy arrow, without ever being
touched himself, whereas his never fail to hit their target and from
which V irata and Drupada could not escape.
Kr�IJa decides that guile is the only way by which his friends
might hope to neutralize their old guru, that dreaded warrior with
the impenetrable armor. Why not, he suggests, spread the rumor
of the death of Asvatthaman ? This is the name of Drol)a's son,
but it is also that of an enormous elephant possessed by one of
the Kauravas' allies. The plan is immediately set in motion, and
the pachyderm is slaughtered by Bhima's club.
The name of Asvatthaman is quickly spread as being the most
recent of the Pal)<;iavas' victims, and this half-lie or half-truth
produces the desired effect. Believing that his son has been slain,
the old brahmin leaves the combat, suddenly repenting ever having
waged war like a k�atriya.
He takes up a yogic posture on his chariot and offers no resis
tance when he is approached by DhrHadyumna, whose father
Drupada had been killed by him. And when the brother-in-law
and commander-in-chief of the Pal)<;iavas cuts off his head, a light
arises from it and mounts up to Heaven.
Through the person of Drol)a is punished every brahmin who,
scorning the duties of his own van:za to assume those of the k�at
riyas, preaches nonviolence while sowing Death before them and
thus causing the destruction of the princes of the Earth. The latter
are just as guilty when they lay down their arms to become ascetics.
Disorder and adharma are the results of their reciprocal errors.
So it is that heads roll on the Kuruk�etra, heads cut off by those
who have not failed in the duties of their social rank.
In the celestial vault as well we find the principal stars dethroned
by those which are meant to replace them with, the passage of the
various cyclic phenomena. But obstructions to these are deeply
felt at ever cosmic level.
1 54 Astrological Key in Mahiibharata
earth. Quickly leaping onto the ground to try to pull it up, he re
minds the Pal).<;lavas who surround him that the Treatises prohibit
them from striking him in this situation.
His words provoke a scathing reaction on the part of Kr�I).a.
How dare he take refuge in the k�atriya Code of Honor, when he
had insulted Draupadi before the assembled men, when he had
allowed Sakuni to use the loaded die in order that the Pal).<;lavas
be obliged to go into exile for so many years of suffering and
shame, when he had been a part of the pitiless cakra that closed
around Arjuna's son Abhimanyu without allowing him the slightest
chance of escaping? So Kr�I).a enumerates all the perverse acts
that Karl).a had committed since he had come into the Bharatas'
life.
Karl).a <;ets his teeth as be silently suffers Kr�Q.a's reproaches.
When his vehicle has at last been pulled out of its rut, he again
takes up his seat, but in spite of his horses' efforts, the wheel,
although freed, will not budge an inch (pada).
Seeing his enemies moving in at an alarming rate, Karl).a feels
the need to use the Brahmiistra, the secret power that had been
taught to him by Parasurama, the old avatara of Vi�I).u. But as he
had attempted to obtain it by trickery, his memory-just as the
old hermit had predicted-fails to function at this critical moment
in which Death is tracking him.
Kr�I).a incites Arjuna to take advantage of Karo.a's disarray and
kill him, but the Pal).<;lava hesitates to strike his rival while his
mind is so clearly distracted. He is nevertheless totally respectful
and obedient towards the Master of creatures and of the Celestial
Worlds, whom he has had the honor and the privilege to con
template in his infinite glory. So, with an arrow from GaQ.<;liva, he
decapitates Karo.a whose head, already bereft of its solar earrings,
begins to roll over the E arth like a mad Sun through space while
Kr�I).a eliminates Naraka, the demon that possesses him.
The two have fused anew the duo of Nara-Narayal).a, such that
the progress of the heavenly body of Life might no longer be hin
dered by this unworthy son.
C H A P T ER 22
If Duryodhana's thighs are crushed, this will mean for him the
·decadence and loss of his sovereign power. But Bhima is somewhat
unprepared for the intensity of his cousin's aggressiveness and
impetuousity; especially after the latter's declaration of fatigue in
the aftermath of so many harrowing days of battle. It is necessary
for him to gather up all his strength, as unbounded as it is, to hold
up under the intensity of their club-combat, and victory apparently
eludes him on several occasions.
At last, at Kr�IJ.a's instigation, Arjuna touches his own left leg
after having drawn his brother's attention : the latter understands
the message and succeeds in cleanly breaking Duryodhana's two
thighs. The Earth moans under his fall, which coincides with the
crashing down of a meteor upon her surface . In the fury of his
combat, the colossus raises his arm and is on the brink of braining
him when the avatara intercedes to stop his impetus . .
The PiiQ<;lavas are filled with light-hearted j oy at the sight of
Dhrtarii�tra's eldest son immobilized on She whom he had wished
to unjustly keep for himself, but a spectator at their side does not
share their enthusiasm.
This is Baladeva,1 Kr�IJ.a's brother, the very one who had taught
the use of the club in combat to the two cousins who had become
·
enemies. Absent since a time before the war in which he had
refused to take sides with either branch of his Bhiirata family, he
is returning from a forty-two day long pilgrimage along the length
of the Sarasvati,2 the sacred river, which he has remounted
against the current (pratipa).
THE war has taken a heavy tribute from the Bhiiratas in order that
the K$atra be entrusted to Yudhi�thira, the lord of the Earth.
The Piil).<;iavas rej oice at their success, while Duryodhana, plant
ed on the ground, sees his power slip definitively from his hands,
following the loss of his four generals, the greatest of warriors.
He pulls his upper body to a vertical position to spit out his
venom, like a snake, and calls on Kr�I).a to respond to all the
heinous crimes and turpitudes for which he holds him responsible.
He blames on him the death of Bhi�ma towards whom Arjuna
advanced behind Sikhal).<;iin, for Drol).a who was tricked by the
alleged death of his son when it was but an elephant named Asvat
thiiman who h·ad been slain, for Karl).a, his most loyal ally, who
was killed when his chariot wheel was mired in a rut, and for
Salya who was killed by Yudhi�thira, whom he considered as his
nephew.
Kr�I).a reacts violently, and in turn makes a long enumeration
of the Kauravas' perfidious acts for which he, the eldest would
have to bitterly repent. But his reproaches fall on deaf ears, for
Duryodhana is persuaded that he has acted as a good k$atriya
throughout the war, and that he is consequently entitled to his
place in Svarga. For is the Kuruk�etra not the salvific place glori
fied in the Three Worlds because it allows the warrior to obtain
an eternal abode ?
The Piil).davas mi ht well have been softened by the words of
Chapter Twentythree 1 67
their wounded cousin, but Kr�l)a puts their scruples to rest. This
creature, who built his life on hate, falsehood and hypocrisy, is
incapable of dying in a fair fight.
In this final phase ofthe descending Moon, the K�atra is destined
to return to its rightful sovereign, to bear him up at the j unction
of the two Eras of Aries and Pisces, at the crucial moment in which
the solar year will replace the five-year cycle. This explains Yudhi�
!hira's emblem, which is a musical instrument called the "Mr
daizga"1 whose oblong shape is reminiscent of that of the Constel
lation Dhani�!ha. That part of this constellation which falls in
Aquarius must yield its sovereignty over the Celestial Sphere to
the half that is found in the sector of Capricorn, which is thence
forth to be distinguished by the winter solstice that will occur in
it.
So the war has come to an end, and victory is on the side of the
Pii.IJ.<;iavas, for wherever Kr�IJ.a is, there lies victory, just as had
predicted their grandfather Vyii.sa.
Whereas Dhr�tadyumna had been, from the first day to the last,
the sole commander in chief of their perfectly cohesive allied
armies, it had been necessary for Duryodhana to entrust his own
to four successive individuals. Their nomination had moreover
always been the occasion for friction regarding the relative priority
and preference of their various allies. The Kaurava's entire exis
tence had been nothing other than a succession of compromises,
of means as well as of ends.
The great monkey Hanumii.n disappears from the standard of
Arjuna whose chariot bursts into flame without anyone having set
fire to it.
The five brothers bow with gratitude and respect before Arjuna's
divine driver, who takes leave of them to go to Hastinii.pura to
announce ,to Gii.ndhii.ri the end of her son Duryodhana.
This latter has not yet in fact breathed his last. He lies sprawled
on the Earth that he had wanted to keep for .himself, in spite of
the fact that kings only have custody over her temporarily. His
strength wastes away, but when he is rejoined by three survivors
from his own camp, Krtavarman, Kwa and his nephew Asvat
thii.man, he has enough energy to command that Drol).a's son not
allow his comin death to o un unished.
1 70 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
lips and eyes and a lash in her hand with which she lacerates men
and beasts, as she sings.
Is this Kiili, the destructive form of the Goddess ?1 Is it Piirvati,
Siva's consort, associated with the dark Moon that appears in the
Constellation Asvattha at the end of this final day of the war? Is
it the spirit of Satyavati, sometimes called Kiili, who has come to
help Asvatthiiman to mow down the survivors of the Aja Age
before the founding of that of the Matsyas whose Destiny depends
on her?
On this Kalaratri (Night of Destruction), the sons and grand
sons of Draupadi, SikhaQ.gin (the incarnation of Ambii), the kin
and allies of the PiiQ.gavas, the Matsyas, and all the k�atriyas be
longing to the Great Month of Aries, are executed.
Protecting himself with a shield on which are figured a hundred
moons, the son of DroQ.a rushes through the camp as he bran
dishes his luminous sword, strewing the Earth with mutilated and
bloody bodies, and trunks without legs or heads.2 Those warriors
who succeed in escaping are killed at the "dvaraka", i.e. the camp
gate, which thus evokes Kr�Q.a's capital and the solsticial gates
of which he is the guardian.
The site is transformed into a vast lake of blood, to the general
delectation of rak�asas who come running from every direction.
They tear apart the corpses, and suck the marrow out of their
smashed bones as they let out grotesque cries of pleasure. On this
final night succeeding the eighteenth day of the war, they come to
complete the exterminatory labor of DrauQ.i (Asvatthiiman) that
had been initiated on the fourteenth night, by his father DroQ.a
before he had renounced the fight and his life.
Before abandoning the site, the three warriors set fire to this
place of desolation, this enormous slaughtering ground on which
silence suddenly' reigns. They then leave to relate to their sovereign
the bloody punishment they have inflicted on the enemy. Dur
yodhana is already surrounded by jackals, but he now can die
happy. All of the descendants of PiiQ.gu, he believes, have been
massacred . . . He is unaware of the fact that his cousins were absent
IKali is the active cosmic power of Time (kiila), that disintegrating force
that allows for the appearance of new life.
2These trunks are called "kabandhas", a name applied to clouds that obscure
the Sun, as well as to Rahu.
1 72 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
from the camp, as were Kr�l)a and their faithful ally Siityaki. These
and Duryodhana's three companions are the sole survivors.
So we once again encounter the number ten, as symbol of the
totality of Manifestation, with its indispensable good and evil ele
ments : seven are PiiQc)avas and three Kauravas (ten is the sum of
the four first numbers ; after nine, it is necessary to return to the
serial order beginning with one).
Draul)i who "set fire" to the k$atriyas of this cycle who m�st be
eliminated.
The "fire" set by the father between the 1 4th and 1 5th days of
the war, after the destruction of Abhimanyu representative of
Soma,1 culminates in an inferno comparable to the end of a Yuga.
This occurs in the course of a cosmic Sacrifice that consecrates
the suppression of the Constellation ABHIJIT, the end of the war,
and the offering of all of its participants, in which the son Asvat
thaman is the principal Officiating Priest. The Sacrifice takes place
in the night between the 1 8th and 1 9th days while the Moon is in
the Constellation Asvattha and is at the end of its fullness.2
So the bell tolls for the disappearance of the Lunar Dynasty,
which bad ruled over the sidereal Zodiac, whose stars had served
to determine the seasons.
It thus falls to Asvatthaman to terminate the Great Sacrifice of
the Bbaratas, as it is related in the Epic. The relinquishing of his
"ma1;i'' permits him, by way of exchange, to go on living, but he
is to remain an outlaw for 3000 years.
It is possible to give an explanation for this obscure detail :
Saturn rules the sign of Capricorn as well as that of Aquarius3
of which the precessional Era will follow after that of Pisces. If
one accounts for the 2, 1 60 years of this latter, and adds to it the
nine centuries of the Era of Aries that have passed since the appear
ance of a new equinoctial star, we come up with 3000 years, the
duration of Asvatthaman's exile . . . and of his symbolization of
Saturn, before he returns to represent, in a distant future, the
Great Month of Aquarius. In the meantime, the planet Saturn is
to govern the sign of Capricorn in the Solar zodiac, now at last
accepted, in which is located the new winter solstice.4
The symbolic evocation of Saturn goes into exile, so that that
IName of the Moon and of the Soma Sacrifice.
2When the day of the full Moon occurs in the month Asvina (which corres
ponds (to the sign of Libra) , it bears the name of "asvatthti". But it should be
recalled that the Moon was new in this month when the war began.
3ln western astrology, the planet Uranus discovered by Herschel in 1 78 1
became the first regent of Aquarius with Saturn the second. The Era of Aqua
rius will follow our own, the Era of Pisces.
4We have seen (P · 1 47) that his father DrOJ:ta is a possible representation of
Jupiter, the regent of the sign of Sagittarius; while his grandfather Bharadvaja
is that of Mars when this planet is specifically the master of the sign of Scorpio.
1 76 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
lThe conjunction of these two planets, the two most distant known planets
of the time, allowed for the calculation of the cycle of 60 years. This period
known as the Great Year, is the time needed for the two to return, on the
celestial Zodiac, to an identical configuration with the three other planets
(Mercury, Venus and Mars). This cycle, the shortest of all the yugas, was
predominant in India. To each of its years was attributed a particular name.
In occidental astrology, the ascending node of the lunar orbit is attributed to
Jupiter, with the descending attributed to Saturn.
2 c cles of Saturn = 5 c cles of Ju iter = 1 2 c cles of 5 ears, or 60 ears.
C H A P T E R 25
Following the intensity of the war and this night of horror, the
Earth is at last relieved of her heavy burden-but what voracity
she has shown ! Thousands of warriors from the eighteen Kuru
armies have been offered in a holocaust that has lasted for eighteen
days on the altar of Kuruk�etra.
If it is the case that each k$atriya has come to know a happy
afterlife by dying in combat, their wives, mothers and daughters
nevertheless have been left to mourn, incessantly, these heroes
whom they had so l�ved.
The old blind monarch Dhrtara�tra has also lost all of his
family-his one hundred sons and numerous grandsons, kin,
friends and allies. His karman shall certainly be difficult to expiate,
for it was his own weakness towards his eldest son that was the
cause of such sorrow and the ruin of his family. As for Duryo
dhana, he is guilty of having had evil intentions and of having
allowed himself to be led astray by perfidious advisors.
As a means to lightening the sovereign's suffering, Safijaya, who
had been his "eyes" during the war, elaborates a great meta
physical discussion. The Sage attempts to console him by speaking
to him of the frailty of earthly things, of the fruits that all human
actions bear, for better or for worse, of the life cycles that are
constantly renewed like all else in the Universe, and of the immor
tality of the soul. His words are reminiscent of those spoken by
Kr�l).a to Arjuna at the beginning of the hostilities.
For their part, the Pal).<;iavas, aware that they too have contri
buted to the killing and desirous of receiving their afflicted uncle's
pardon, come to bow before him and kiss his feet in a sign of sub
mission and res ect.
1 78 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
two lunar months (58 nights) Bhi$ma has undergone to unite him
self with Time.
Before the astonished eyes of the Kurus, who have specially
assembled to witness this fateful day, the arrows give up the Pita
maha's body, and his vital breath escapes out of the top of his
head to rise up into the sky in which ethereal music and a rain of
flowers are produced.
Wood of various sorts is piled up for the pyre, and the funerary
rites (Sriiddha) begin, punctuated by numerous libations. When
the body has been consumed, Vyasa, followed by Kf$I)a, the Pa!)
<;lavas, the Bharata women and the people of Hastinapura go to
the shore of the Ganges to offer oblations of water for the peace
of the deceased.
The goddess Ganga suddenly rises up out of the river, lamenting
for her son whom no warrior on Earth could equal . She weeps
over his death at the hands of Sikha!)<;lin. The avatara consoles her
when he reveals that it was the arrows of Arjuna, a hero worthy
of him, that had brought him down, and adds that Bhi$ma is on
his way to the Heaven of the Vasus.
As he climbs up from the shore, the recent disaster so torment
Yudhi$thira that he collapses like a beaten elephant. As soon as
he regains consciousness, the blind Dhrtara$tra speaks quietly to
him, claiming responsibility for their calamities, and addressing
him as if he were his own son. Vyasa, also in an effort to quiet his
remorse, cites to Yudhi$thira the example of the gods who are
themselves tormented by the desire for possessions, and the suffer
ings this carries with it.
The king then recovers his composure and inner peace.
arrogance and frantic lust for power, h e had been obliged t o see
them all perish. To reassure and pacify him, Kr�IJ.a at last speaks
to him of the remaining, "sefja", whose name is to be Parik�it.
Having arrived in his palace, Kr�IJ.a relates in detail the phases
of the bloody war. When she hears of the death of Abhimanyu,
his sister Subhadni falls into a swoon, suffocated by the pain of
having lost her son. The wife of the deceased, Uttara, is also deeply
touched : in order to comfort them, Kunti attributes this murder
to the influence of Time, and announces that the heir to this hero
will soon be in their midst. She requests thatthe women behave
themselves as wives worthy of their most noble kfjatriya husbands,
and that Uttara take great care of her future offspring.
The mother of the Pal)<;iavas then makes arrangements for
funeral rites to be celebrated for Abhimanyu's soul, to which
Kr�IJ.a, Baladeva and Satyaki proceed on their own.
Over the following months, the absence of the young prince is
bitterly felt by all. Uttara is wasting away with each passing day,
and everyone is concerned for the precious embryo that she carries.
Vyasa then materializes once again, to predict to them that the
child is to become the Master of the Earth, through the inter
cession of Kn;IJ.a-Vasudeva, when he himself, the son of Satyavati,
would judge the time to be ripe. In this perspective, and before
becoming invisible, Vyasa enjoins Yudhi�thira to proceed with
the celebration of a Horse Sacrifice-an Asvamedha-in order to
assert his own supremacy and that of his lineage.
Before carrying out this sacrifice, the Pal)<;iava and his brothers
set out for the Himalayas at the precise moment in which the
Sun is in the Constellation closest to the Pole Star (dhruva), to
perform numerous special rites in honor of Siva, of Kubera the
god of treasures, and of all the beings of the intermediate regions.
In exchange, they receive from these divinities innumerable riches
that are hidden in the mountains' flanks, and return triumphantly
to Hastinapura, where Yudhi�thira is to perform the ritual act
prescribed by Vyasa.
While Kr�IJ.a is in Hastinapura to participate in the Asvamedha
ceremony, Parik�it, the son of Uttara, comes into the World. But
his arrival is accompanied by a great cry of distress, for the child
is stillborn.
The avatara hastil returns to his Palace where his sister Su-
186 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
The war seems to fall between two great Sacrifices. The first one
is the Riijasuya, the ceremony of royal consecration, which is cele
brated by Yudhi�thira with such brilliances that it kindles the
jealousy and hatred of his cousin Duryodhana and provokes the
series of unhappy events that befall the sons of Pal)<;iu.
The second, the Asvamedha, occurs after the fratricidal war and
shortly before the denouement of the story, and has the object
of restoring the Kingship, without question or mitigation, to
Yudhi�thira.
On the occasion of this at once religious and military Vedic rite,
the horse of a monarch is set free to wander for an entire year
through . the territories of neighboring States. A specially desig
nated k$atriya follows the horse over the whole of its peregrina
tions, accompanied by 400 princes1 of a different rank, but of
royal lineage, who are charged with doing battle against any king
who would try to obstruct the animal's passage through their
lands. Those who, on the contrary, show no resistance, are ex�
pected to recognize the suzerainty of the horse's owner.
Upon its return, the beast is sacrificed to the gods in the pre
sence of its master and his "vassals" who have come to pledge
their allegiance.
During the year of wandering, the king, who remains at his
Court, is required to satisfactorily answer enigmatic questions
lThe four groups of 100 k$atriyas each may signify that in every State, each
of the four cardinal directions are to be con uered.
1 88 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
with the wealth of the soil),1 is standing close by the young prince,
who is now tormented by the act he has committed. But this
princess of the subterranean waters appears quite untroubled by
this incident, considering that it is she who was the cause of it.
For, in fact, she has known of the secret curse pronounced by
Ganga against Arjuna when the avatara had revealed to her that
it was his arrows, and not those of Sikhaoc.lin-Amba that had
struck Bhi�ma down. At that time, she had asked her father to
intercede on behalf of this k�atriya protector of the Earth,
following which he obtained from the Vasus the promise that the
son of Paoc.Iu would be freed from this malediction if and when
he were defeated by the king of Maoipura.
Uliipi could not forego this occasion to set the son against the
father ; for the former could not be harmed by the latter, being
his own image, any more than Arjuna could be by his father
Indra.
Before taking leave of them, the Paoc.Iava asks that they come
with Citrailgada to the Court of Yudhi��hira, for the Asvamedha
ceremonies that would take place at the time of the full Moon of
the coming month of Caitra-that month associated with the
month of Phiilguna to herald the Spring in this waning Era of
Aries.
The same invitation is extended to all whom he renders subject
during his trip around "the Earth", with the sole exception of the
grandson who is heir to Jayadratha.2 This is apparently because
this king of Sindh had once attempted to carry Draupadi off into
the forest, and had contributed to the death of Abhimanyu in the
war ; but a more likely reason is the fact that, caricaturing Arjuna
in the asuric camp, he had behaved like the symbolic representa
tion of the Kaurava's laughable "zodiacal horse".
With his imposing mount which is frequently mentioned, he
could be an evocation of Pegasus, the Constellation of the equa
torial region (in the vicinity of Pisces which it seems to separate)
whose form is but a reproduction of those of the Great and Small
Bears where the Polar Star is to be found.
Ilravat, the son of Uliipi also engendered by Arjuna, was the first sacrificial
victim of the war.
2The husband of Dul;lSala, the sister of Duryodhana and the sole girl of the
Jans.
Chapter Twentyseven 1 91
lSamba, the immoral and debauched son of Kr�J:la. The three Nis who curse
him are Visvii.mitra Durvasa and Nii.rada.
198 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
!These are designated in the text by the word "eraka", the name of a serpent ;
but "eraka" may be a corrupt form of "elaka" which bears the same meaning
as "eqaka" : ram.
Chapter Twentynine 199
fo r them to abandon as well the Earth that they had aided in the
p a ss age of Time, that seed of the Universe, that root of all crea
tures, through which men become rich and then poor, master
then servant, according to their merits, on the Eternal Wheel.
Time commends to each thing its proper place.
The son of Satyavati at last reveals to him that the divine arms
to which he had had recourse are no longer operative, but that
they would be carefully preserved before again m anifesting them
selves at Time's command.
lSee p. 1 6.
C H A P T E R 30
have also reached the celestial spheres : other heroes unite with
gandharvas and apsaras. Sakuni disappears into Dvapara, while
the brothers of Duryodhana and all of the warriors who fought
on their side follow after the riik$asas, of which the most cele
brated, accompanied by Ghatotkaca, attain the status of yak$aS.
Yudhi�!hira in turn merges into Dharma, as does Vidura.
Kr�l).a-Vasudeva returns into Narayal).a, from whom he had arisen,
and his 1 6,000 wives attach themselves to the celestial vault, to
illuminate the heavens.
All have reintegrated themselves into the celestial bodies of
which they had been the incarnations on Earth, having descended
to aid her in crossing over into a new stage on the zodiacal Cakra.
CHA P T ER 3 1
Conclusion
It is on this note that concludes this Jaya to the glory of the gods
and their terrestrial representatives the Bhiiratas, who so acted
for the sake of the Triple World.
To he who listens to it attentively, it promises the acquisition of
merits, the quest of Virtue and the attainment of Liberation. It
contains all that is found in the Universe, on Earth or in Heaven.
That which is found in it is everywhere ; that which is absent from
it may be found nowhere else. It is the eternal Truth ; it is the
passage of Time.
On his guru Vyiisa's order, it was this long narrative that
Vaisampiiyana thus hymned for the benefit of Janamejaya, the
son of Parik�it. This he did on the occasion of a Sacrifice that the
descendant of the celebrated lineage had decided to perform on
th e Kuruk�etra, to avenge the memory of his father, through
the immolation of all the serpents in the world.
Tak�aka, the king of this race, had in fact entered, in the form
of an insect, into a fruit guilefully offered to Parik�it who, after
sixty years of existence (the duration of a long Jupiterian cycle)
had succumbed to the serpent' s fatal bite. Thus had been fulfilled
the curse that had befallen him during a hunting expedition in the
Forest, at which time he had plied a muni who had taken a vow
of silence, with questions regarding the direction taken by a
mrga (a deer, and the zodiacal Aries) that had disappeared from
view : receiving no reply he had, in his anger, thrown a dead reptile
onto the ascetic's shoulder.
Having in turn become the supreme ruler (and the husband of a
princess of Kiisi), Janamejaya learns from the Ni Utailkal the
true reasons for his father's death. This latter has his own motives
for wishing the death of Tak�aka, as the serpent king had once
tried to steal the kur:ujalas (earrings that are round, like the
Sun's orbit) he was bringing from the residence of King Pau�ya1
for the wife of his guru. Janamejaya's reaction is the expected one :
he orders the destruction of the Naga sovereign and his entire race,
and he chooses Astika as his sacrificial officiant.
This priest is the offspring of the Naga Vasuki's sister with a
brahmin who had accepted this union because of the similitude of
their names : Jaratkaru. This particularity had been exacted by
his ancestors when he had once chanced upon them. They had
shrunken to the size of a thumb (karaTJa),2 and were hanging head
down at the end of a tenuous thread through which a rat was
slowly gnawing. Their decline was the result of an absence of
descendants.
These Manes, of the Yayavara lineage evoke, through the
etymology of this word, the wandering heavenly bodies that are
shaken by a change of ages and threatened with annihilation by
Time. But Time itself is possessed of a positive and generative as
pect, as illustrated by Jaratkaru3 who stretches the rules of his
ascetic life in order to obtain a descendant on Vasuki's sister,
and thus procure the deliverance of his ancestors. His son is named
Astika, and it is he who bas been placed by daiva at Janamejaya's
side to perform his Sacrifice (sarpa-sattra).
This predestined brahmin naturally intercedes with the king on
behalf of the serpents, of which the most evil have already been
thrown, by the thousands, into the flames at Agni's summons.
But Tak�aka is to once again escape this god of Fire, on the same
lThe word Pau$ya is related to the Constellation Pu$ya, the site of the
summer solstice in the sign of Cancer, opposite to that of Capricorn.
When dharma is not respected, either by oneself, by others, or when sacri
fice is used to nefarious ends, it tends to bring a curse down upon he who
trespasses the rules of his var�a. The curse often carries with it a desire for
vengeance, in an uninterrupted chain of cause and effect.
2Kara�a means accomplishment, and also corresponds to an astrological
division of the lunar day.
3The word jarat (like jaras and jarii) connotes the old age and decrepitude
attributed to Saturn, the regent of Capricorn which also corresponds to the
conce t of reconstruction and regeneration.
Chapter Thirtyone 209
tWe should recall here the cosmogonic function of the three Niiga kings,
Se�a, Vasuki and Tak�aka, in relation to the Triple World. See note 2, p. 28.
2The beginning of the Era of Aquarius will fall in the first decades of the
coming century ; but, as with every change in eras, its effects are felt prior to
its expected appearance.
210 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
will they free him from the pangs of birth that are increasingly felt
as his archaic ordering of the· universe breaks down?
The symbolism of the sign of Aquarius is illustrated by a figure
carrying on his shoulder a vase which is inclined so as to pour out
a stream of water. Is this the water of Wisdom, or that which
drowns the World in universal Destruction ? The answer is known
to Daiva-it remains to man to "throw the right die" and to
meditate on the mes�age that the MAHABHARATA offers for
bis reflection, in a time in which Nature's violence is a reaction to
his own, and in which the Earth groans under the weight of
noxious-we are tempted to say "asuric"-elements.
Over the recurring cycles, Astrology has revealed that the hu
man being is a composite of twelve dissociated forms of energy,
· into which the primordial Energy has divided itself. It is thus his
task to recognize the relationships between his constituent forces,
and to direct these to work towards his evolution-or his annihi
lation. It falls to him to choose the "right camp" in the unceasing
ly renewed confrontation of devas and asuras that courses through
him, through the course of Time.
Glossary
·
ABHIJIT. Constellation located between Asvattha (or Sraval)a) arid Uttara
�iiQhii, sacrificed through the new distribution of the solar Zodiac. Its
star Vega was then encompassed by Asvattha.
ABHIMANYU. Son of the Piil)Qava Arjuna and Subhadra, Kr�l)a's sister,
Father of Parik�it. Incarnation of Soma's son. Sacrificed on the thir-
·
Era of Taurus she was the Pole Star and was called the Divine Mother
or Jye$�hii. (literally the first, the most important), two of the names
attributed to the eldest princess· of Kii.si, whose two younger sisters were
Arnbika and Arnbalika.
AM"B,.TA. Ambrosia, the nectar of immortality, produced in the churning
of the Cosmic Ocean (the Milky Way) and identified with soma.
ANGA. A member or part of the body-A portion or division of the Zodiac
One of the six texts attached to the Veda, known as the Vediitiga, of
which Jyofi$a treats of astronomy and astrology-Kama, the son of the
solar god Siirya and Kunti was bestowed with the title of king of Ariga
by Duryodhana.
APSARAS. A celestial nymph-The Apsaras move or dance within or among
the water-bearing clouds, and frequent the Earth under various divine
forms.
ARJUNA. The third of the five Piil).<j.ava brothers-Considered to be the
earthly son of king Pii.l).<j.u, he is the offspring of Indra, the king of the
gods-Father of Abhimanyu and grandfather of Parik$it-One of his
wives is Subhadra-Citra, the sister of the avatara-Kr�l).a, of whom he is
the protege and from whom he receives the Teachings which comprise
the Bhagavad Gitii-Arjuna's name is reminiscent of the pale silvery color
of the Moon, but his complexion is dark the color of the Earth-The
plant arjuna is a sacrificial substitute for soma.
ARTHA. Useful directed activity by which one obtains prosperity and worldly
goods-One of the four aims (puru$iirtha: see below) of man.
ARYA. Noble, Aryan-The name of the race that invaded north India from
Central Asia, and transmitted to India their brahrnanic culture.
ASRAMA. (1) A hermitage, a site consecrated to spiri tual exercises and
meditation ; (2) The four stages in the religious life of a brahmin who
is, in succession : brahmaciirin, the pupil who studies at the feet of a guru ;
grhastha, the householder; viinaprastha, the brahmin who, after his
children have been raised, retires to the forest with his wife to consecrate
his life to spirituality; and sannyiisin, the total renouncer who transcends
all ritual and disparities of caste.
ASTRA. A throwing weapon-A divine missile whose use entails magic for
mulas.
ASURA. Beings hostile to the gods (devas), whose place in Heaven they
attempt to usurp. Their domain is the lower region defined by the line of
the equator which divides the terrestrial globe into two parts, the north
ern and southern hemispheres-It is our hypothesis that, in the MBh,
their negative "asuric" activity consists in opposing the cosmic evolu
tion-The confusion between asuras and demons does not appear in
texts until after the time of the MBh.
ASVA. Horse-By extension, this is the steed yoked to the solar chariot-In
Glossary 213
the Vedic rite of the Asvamedha through which a monarch asserted his
dominance, the horse was sacrificed after a year of wandering : this in
order that the Sun's passage through the zodiacal belt be symbolically
renewed, ratl�er than halted.
ASVAITHA. The sacred fig tree (Ficus religiosa) whose wood served to
shape the elongated component (ara�i) which, churned in a recipient
(dro�a) made of sami (Mimosa suma) wood, produced the spark with
which the sacrificial fire was kindled-In its feminine form, Asvatthii
i s the name of the day of the full Moon of the month of Asvina (mid
September to mid-October)-It is a variant name for the Constellation
Sraval)a, also known as Srol)a.
BHI�MA. Son of the goddess Ganga and Sii.ntanu-In order that the latter
might •unite with Satyavati of the Matsya lineage, Bhi�ma himself re
nounces marriage and the throne-The great-uncle of the PaQ.c.Iavas and
the Kauravas, he is addressed bx the!ll, as Pitii.m�h,a (grand-fath�r).
,
BHV, BHUMI. Earth, the soil.
BRAHMAN. (neuter) Vedic wisdom, the Veda, the power and knowledge
9,f the brahmin-The supreme principle from which the World emanate:;;
and into which it returns-Brahman is the Universal Self, as opposed. to
the individual atman-the Absolute-Brahma (masculine) is the Creator
of the Trimiirti (the Indian Trinity) who apparently arises from the navel
of Vi�Q.U (who has absorbed into himself all of the creatures who are to
survive), after a pralaya, in order to effect a new Creation-He has four
· .
heads; his wife is Sarasvati and his vehicle the ha111sa (swan).
. .
moral law, which is just because of divine essence, by which the socio
cosmic Order (rta) is maintained-The rules of this Eternal Law are
related in the Dharma Siistras. It is personified by the god Dharma.
DH�I;)TADYUMNA. Son of king Drupada and brother of Draupadi, the
wife of the five PiiQc;lavas of whom he became the commander-in-chief
of the armies during the war.
DH�TA�Ai;iTRA. The eldest son of Vyasa-Blind from birth, he is unfit
for Royal office, which falls to his brother PiiQQU.
DHRUVA. The Pole Star, the sole immobile point in the Sky of which it is
the "navel", above Mount Meru-The axis of the poles point in its direc
tion, and the heavenly bodies turn around it.
DIKI;)A. Spiritual initiation by a guru by which negative energies are destroyed.
DRAUPADI. Daughter of king Drupada, she becomes the wife of the five
PiiQc;lavas after Arjuna's victory at her svaya111 vara. Incarnation of the
goddess Sri, and of a portion of Saci, the wife of lndra.
DRO�A. The brahmin preceptor of the young Bharata princes-Born in a
dro�;�a, a sacrificial recipient in which his father Bharadvaja had placed
his seed, he is the husband of Krpi and father of Asvatthaman.
DRUPADA. The k$atriya king of the Paiicalas and sworn enemy of the
brahmin DroQa-Father of Draupadi, Dhr$tadyurnna and SikhaQc;lin(i).
DUI;ISALA. The sole daughter of Dhrtarii$tra, she is the sister of the Kauravas
and cousin of the PiiQc;lavas-Wife of Jayadratha.
DURYODHANA. The son of Dhrtarii$tra, he is the eldest Kaurava and the
incarnation of the asura Kali.
DVARAKA. The capital of KnQa, which is invaded by the waters at the end of
the Epic-The words dviiraka and dviira (door, opening) evoke the four
points through which the Sun passes on the ecliptic, at the times of sols
tices and equinoxes.
GANDHARi. The wife of the blind Dhrtarii$tra, she voluntarily blindfolds
herself as a sign of humility-She is the mother of the 100 Kauravas and
Dul)sala.
GANDHARVAS. Genies of the intermediate world and celestial musicians,
they are considered to be the husbands of the Apsaras.
GA�I)lVA. The bow of Arjuna, offered him by Agni in the KhiiQc;lava Forest
at the beginning of the Epic.
GANGA. The Ganges, the sacred river of India, divinized in the form of a
goddess who becomes, in the MBh, the wife of king Santanu and the
mother of Bhi$ma-Akasaganga is the celestial Ganges who descended
to Earth, flowing from Vi$QU's foot through Siva's hair, by means of
which her crushing hydraulic force was broken-The Milky Way is
often designated by the word iikiiSagaizgii.
Glossary 2 17
GHATOTKACA. The son of Bhima, the second Piil)(,iava, and of the riik$asi
Hi<,iimbii.
GO. Cow-This term may also be used to designate the stars, pointS of white
ness spangling the "heavenly meadow", of which Kr�IJa "Govinda" is
the protector.
K�TA YUGA. The Age of Gold, the first and most perfect of the four Ages.
Also called Satya Yuga-See Yuga.
Kl;)ATRIYA. Member of the second var�a (caste), that of Princes and war
riors.
KUNTi. Before her adoption by king Kuntibhoja, her name was Prtha-The
paternal aunt of Kr$1Ja, she has a son, Karl)a, by the god Sorya, after
which she becomes the wife of Pal)QU to whom she bears three sons :
Yudhi$thira, Bhima and Arjuna, through the gods Dharma, Vayu and
lndra.
KURU. King and ancestor of the lunar dynasty, his name is often given to
his descendants, the Bharatas.
KURUKSETRA. The "Field of Kuru", the site of the famous Epic war.
Name of a plain in northern India.
KUSA. A type of grass used in certain religious ceremonies--It is gathered
in places in which subterranean waters flow.
LILA. Divine "play" that is the source of the Creation and the Destruction
of the Cosmos, and of Life and Death.
LINGAM. A marking-A phallus, the generative and creative power that
complements that of the yoni, the female matrix.
MADRI. Pa�:t<.lu's second wife, the mother of the twins Nakula and Saha
deva-She immolates herself on the king's pyre.
Magha. (see miisa) Month corresponding to the sign of Aquarius, chosen by
Bhi$ma for the release of his vital breaths.
MAKARA. A mythic animal, resembling the dolphin or crocodile (and
perhaps inspired by the beluga of the polar seas)-Hieroglyph of Capri
corn, the tenth zodiacal sign-A symbol of the waters associated with
the goddess Ganga who is represented astride a makara, it corresponds
to the winter solstice, i.e. the uttariiya!Ja or deviiyana, the door of the
Sun and of the gods-This creature is also designated by the word yiidas
which may perhaps bear an etymological relationship to Yadava, Kr$�:ta's
lineage whose ancestor Yadu was saved by Indra from a flood.
MA�J;>ALA. Circular, geometric figure with four divisions, representative
of the Cosmos.
MAN GALA. One of the names for Mars, the red planet.
MANTRA. Sacred and magical formula, borrowed from the Vedic hymns,
to accompany ritual practices-OM (AUM), vibratory cosmic energy,
is the transcendent Syllable, the Source of all uttered sounds.
MANU. Progenitor of human Creation-Fourteen Manus preside, in suc
cession, over a period known a s a manvantara-Vaivasvata i s the seventh
Manu of the first septennial, and the progenitor of the present human
race-The first Manu, Svayambhuva, is considered to have inspired a
Treatise of Laws applied to the social sphere : this treatise nevertheless
cannot be dated earlier than the 5th century B.C.
MARUTS. Vedic gods of storms and clouds-The Maruts are part of Indra's
entourage.
MASA. Lunisolar month determined by the full Moon that falls in the Cons
tellation opposite to that of the Sun-They are listed here with the
zodiacal signs (riiSis) that correspond to them :
masa riiSi
MRGA.
. Animal belonging to the antelope family, which was likely used to ·
MRTYU. Death, as well as the god of Death, sometimes identified w'ith Yama.
NAGA. Serpent-Their undulations evoke the telluric and phreatic currents
that they seek out under the ground---'--For us, the three Naga kings are
to be placed in relation to the three levels of the Universe-Se�a is the
Milky Way; Vasuki is the line of the horizon, and the intermediate space
in which the heavenly bodies move along the ecliptic around the Pole
Star; and Tak�aka is the Earth with its subterranean and aquatic worlds .
NAKSATRA. Constellation-The principal constellations were numbered
at 28 : this was reduced to 27, in order to correspond to the solar signs
Each occupies 1 3 ozo of the Zodiac, starting from 0° in Asvini-See
map.
NAKULA. Sahadeva's twin, the son of king Piil).<;iu and of Madri, his second
wife-Together, they incarnate the Vedic Asvins.
NARADA. One of the seven great Nis-He appears as an intermediary bet
ween the gods and men.
NARAYA�A and NARA. The cosmic Man (an aspect of Vi�t:lU) and his
terrestrial pro·ection-In the eriod between two universal hases
Glossary 223
RADHA. Name of the adoptive mother of Karl)a, who was born from the
union of the god Silrya and Kunti-Karl)a is called Rii.dheya, the son
of Rii.dhii.-The Constellation of Visii.khii., which straddles the signs of
Libra and Scorpio.
RAHU. Ascending node of the Moon, counted as one of the nine grahas
(planets)-ln western astrology, this is the northern node or the head of
the dragon.
RAJAS. One of the three gUI;as. See above.
RAJASDYA. Major official Sacrifice, performed in order to celebrate the
assumption of supreme power by the king (rii.jan).
RAK$ASA. Derived from the root RAK$, "to protect"-An asura of the
brahmin caste who appears when royal power fails-Possessed of a semi
animal form, and a nocturnal cannibal, the rt1k$asa's activities are greatly
i ncreased with the fall of night.
RAMAYA�A. The second great brahmanic Epic, attributed to Vii.lmiki
This Epic recounts the exploits of Rii.ma of the solar dynasty, whose
wife is Sitii. (a word designating the furrow traced by the plow and, by
extension, the Earth).
RASI. Zodiacal sign-See masa for an enumeration of these.
REVAT'i . Name o f Kf$I)a's brother Baladeva's wife-Constellation situated
in the sign of Pisces.
RTUS. The six seasons-These are : vasanta (spring) ; gri$ma (hot season) ;
·
var$ii (rainy season) ; sarad (autumn) ; hemanta (winter) ; and sisira (cool
season).
RUDRA. Name of Siva in his terrible destructive form.
SABHA. A meeting hall, restricted to men, which also served as a gambling
hall.
SIVA. One of the gods of the Hindu Trimurti--He represents the destructive
aspect of the divine Will, but this with an end of a new reconstruction
A fozm of the principle of disintegration and reintegration-His wife
is Durga (or Kali)-He appears several times in the MBh, in the form
of the irascible -r�i Durvasa.
SKANDA. God assimilated with Mars, the god of war and regent of the
planet that rules over the sign of Aries-He is also called Karttikeya
because he was raised by the Krttikas (Pleiades).
SOMA. The Moon-Name of an intoxicating beverage obtained by pressing
a plant gathered at night that, mixed together with milk and honey, was
used in sacrificial libations-Soma confers immortality.
SRUTI. The corpus of orally revealed texts (the Vedas, Upani$ads, etc.), as
opposed to smrti, which was established according to traditional Teach
ings.
SUBHADRA. Citra, the sister of the avatara J<r$J)a, who married Arjuna to
give birth to Abhimanyu (the father of Parik$it).
SDDRA. The f ourth van.za, whose role is to serve the first three.
SUKRA. The guru of the Daityas (asuras)-Name of the planet Venus (also·
·
SVARGA. Heaven, the abode of the gods and of humans faithful to their
dharma.
SVAYAl\.fVARA. Ceremony in the course of which a princess chose her own
husband from among a group of competing suitors.
T AKSAKA. King of the Nagas, spared from the Khiil)<;lava Forest fire at the
beginning of the Epic, and from the sacrificial fire of Janamej.aya, to
whom the story of the MBh is told in its entirety.
.TAMAS. Darkness, ignorance, the power of inertia, mental obscuration-The
lowest of the three guvas.
VAISYA. The third var�a, that of agricultural ists, artisans and merchants.
VASANTA. The spring season, made up of the months of Caitra and Phal
guna in the MBh, and symbolized by Kf$1)a and Arjuna-See rtu.
VASU. A group of eight divinities, of which Indra, Agni and Vi$1)U were the
successive leaders-The Vasus are associated with the Cosmos (such
as when they personify the Pole Star or the Heavens), and are related t&
Fire and Light, and the natural elements. They govern the Constellation
Dhani$tha (also called Vasudeva). One of their number, Dyaus (the
Sky), is incarnated as Bhi$ma.
VASUDEVA. Father of Kf$1)a, who is himself called Vasudeva-An obscure
and poorly defined term, which is to be placed in relationship with the
heat and light of the Sun, and the riches that it bestows upon the Earth
Vasudeva is a name of the Constellation Dhani$tha-See Vasu and
Yadava.
VASUKI. One of the three great Naga kings-Long ago, the devas and asuras
wound him around Mount Mandara (himself the churning rope and the
mountain stick) to churn the Ocean of Milk (the Milky Way), as a
means to obtaining the amrta or liquor of immortality and the 13 other
precious substances that had been lost during the Flood-See Niiga.
VAYU. Wind-The wind god, often associated with lndra in the Vedas
The celestial father of Bhima, the second Piil)<;lava.
VEDA. Sacred Knowledge par excellence-The Veda(s) have no author, but
are an oral revelation given to the r,l'is-The four Vedas are the ]J.g Veda,
Yajur Veda, Siima Veda and Atharva Veda-The MBh is sometimes
Glossary 229
VEDI. A rectangular (or square) altar upon which oblations are placed-The.
vedi is oriented towards the East.
VICITRAVIRYA. Son of Santanu and Satyavati who died, l i ke his brother
Citrangada, without issue-His wives are Ambika and Ambalika, prin
cesses of Kasi (the modern Benares) and sisters of Amba.
mately 1 2,000 years, which equals about one half of a total precessional
revolution : this is reminiscent of the Year mentioned in Plato and other
diverse Traditions-As with the Chaldean Great Cycle, the Mahayuga
may be the equivalent of a theoretical period of 64,800 years, of which
all possible combinations of sub-cycles are multiples of 2 1 60 (the du
ration of a precessional era) or of 4320 : this by virtue of a law of analogy
ruling over the entire Cosmos, which i s essential to Astrology.
YUYUTSU. The son of Dhrtarii$(ra, the blind king, and of a vaisyii woman
He fights with the Pal)gavas against his own clan in the war.
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Index
Lunar, 48 . Pafica/a, 82
Paiicii/as, 68
Macrocosm, 1 49 Paiiciilikii, 1 22
Miidhava, 132 Piiryc;lava, 74, 75
Madhu, 3 3 , 1 32 Piil)c;lavas, 25, 27, 32, 57, 66, 69, 73
Madhu, 34 Piil)c;lu, 25, 57, 64, 74
Madhumii.sa, 34 Parasara, 2 1 , 47, 50, 51
Madira, 200 Parasuriima, 70, 7 1 , 72, 73
Madra, 1 58 Piirip/ava, 1 88
Miidri, 64, 66 Parik�it 27, 28, 35, 36, 39, 47, 59, 90
Miigadhas, 1 9, 20 Piirtha, 62
Miigha, 3 6 Parvas, 26
Mahiibiihu, 1 33 Paschal Lamb, 1 4
Mahabhiirata, 1 8 , 1 9 Pegasus, 1 90
Mahiibhisa, 48 Phiilguna, 32, 37, 44
Mahiiyuga(s), 1 5, 7 1 Phiilguna, 33, 36, 45, 1 23
Miinavadharmasiistra, 5 1 Pisces, 6, 14, 1 7, 27, 29, 33, 35, 46,
Mailgala, 1 6 5 1 , 55, 8 1 , 1 00, 1 75, 200
Mal)ipura, 87, 1 89 Pitiimaha, 36, 57, 59, 125
Manu Vaivasvata, 28 Pitiimaha-Siddhiinta, 3 6
Mars, 13, 53, 57, 8 1 , 1 73 , 1 78 Pleiades, 3 2 , 53, 5 7 , 59
Matsya, 22, 27, 29, 46, 47, polar Axis, 59
Matsyas, 35, 54, 55, 1 17 Polar Star, 75
Matsya-King, 3 6 Pole Star, 53, 59
Maya, 42, 43 Pollux, I I
Miiyii , 43 Pradyumna, 198
Mesiidi, 32 Prasvcipa, 71
Microcosm, 1 49 Prati Vasudeva, 96
Mok$a, 65 Pratipa, 1 8, 37, 50
Mrdailga, 1 67 Precession, 5, 2 1 , 26, 32, 50, 72, 1 25
Mrga, 64 Precessional, 7, 29, 34, 55, 7 1 , 78
Mukha, 33 Precessional Era, 1 6
Precessional Motion, 1 3 , 55
Niigas, 44, 77 Primal Fire, 23
Nak$alras, 21 Prthii, 62
Nakula, 66 Prthivi, 62
Nara-Niiriiyal)a, 37, 42 Puru, 39
Naraka, 73, 75 Purli1ws, 45
Natariija, 1 20 Pururavas, 25
Neptune, 55 Purohita, 55
Noah, 28 PU$ya, 1 65
Nodes, 26 Pu,�ya sniina, 1 65
Nutation, 26
Riidhii, 34, 63
Ormuzd, 1 1 Rii.hu, 1 6, 26, 94
Rtijasilya, 93, 1 87
Pada, 1 25, 1 3 6 Ram, 64
Index 23.9
Riimiiya!Ja, 71 Srivatsa, 1 34
Rams, 180 Srngiitaka, 1 43
Rohil).i, 74, 1 64, 200 Sruti, 26
Rohi!Ji, 1 64 STARS, 200
]J.ta, 68 Subhadra, 34, 3 5
Subhadra-Citra, 34, 3 9
Sahadeva, 66 Sudariana, 3 0 , 42
Sakti, 70, 71 Sukra, 1 6, 55
Sakuni, 62, 1 57 Summer Solstice, 38
SakuntaHi., 25 Sun, 1 08-named, 1 05
Siilva, 58 Sura, 62
Salya, 64, 1 29, 1 57 Siirya, 16, 63, 70, 73
Sarnhrada, 1 57 Surya Manifala, 63
Saf!lsiiptakas, 1 48 Siirya Siddhbt�ta, 1 5
Sani, 1 6 Siita, 38, 69
Safijaya, 1 32, 195 Siitas, 20
Santanu, 48, 49, 50, 53, 55, 59, 64 Svayaf!lvara, 83
Saptar$i, 48 Svetavahana, 1 23
Sarasvati, 1 63 , 1 64
Sarmi�tha, 3 8 Tak�aka, 4 1 , 42, 207
Siiniga, 4 1 Tiiladhvaja, 1 65
Siinigaka, 42, 44 Tara, 25
Satabhisa, 56 Taurus, 1 1 , 23, 32, 37, 53, 74, 1 64, 1 6 5
Saturn, 96, 1 74, 1 99 Taurus-Scorpio, 1 2
Satyaki, 1 72 , 1 98 Three, 91
Satyavati, 47, 48, 49, 50, 54, 56, 63, Tretii Yuga 1 5
85, 1 7 1 Trigartas, 1 22
Savyasacin, 1 23 Trimiirti, 25
Scorpio, 3 7, 59, 74, 1 57, 1 62
Se$a, 43, 1 85 Ugrasravas, 21
Sesa, 5 1 , 1 10 Uliipi, 86, 201
Siddhi, 62 Umii, 59
Sikhal).(,iin, 59, 72, 75 Ungulata, 64
Sikhai).Qini, 58 Upaplavya, 1 1 7, 1 19, 1 32
Sirius, 204 Uroboros, 29
SiSupiila, 97 Ursa Major, 48, 55
Siva, 62, 64, 71 Oru, 1 62
Skanda, 57 Usanas, 54, 55, 1 82
Solar, 65 Usinaras, 1 10
Solstice 56 Utanka, 1 84, 207
Solstices, 45 Uttara, 35, 59
Soma, 30 UttarU$iir/hii, 1 74
Soma, 16, 25 Uttaraya!Ja, 3 1 , 3 5, 36, 55, 56
Somavarcas, 1 50
Spica, 1 2 , 34 Vaisampayana, 21, 207
Spica Virginis, 32, 35 Vaisya, 6 1
Sravanii, 165 Vajra, 200
240 Astrological Key in Mahiibhiirata
Vara�:tavata, 78 Vivimsati, 1 3 8
Var�as, 17, 51 Vrddhak$atra, 152
Vasi�!ha 48 Vrkodara, 77
Vasu, 36, 46, 48, 54, 58, 71 Vr$aparvan, 38-39
Vasu Dyaus, 49 YN�i, 1 86
Vasu Uparicara, 46, 47 Vr$�is, 1 80, 1 97, 200
Vasudeva, 38 Vyasa, 20, 2 1 , 45, 47, 52, 72
Vasudeva, 180 Vyiisa, 46
Vasuki, 77
Vasumati, 89 Winter Solstice, 47, 85
Vasudhara, 1 27
Vasuttama, 49 Yiidava, 62
Vatapi, 1 08 Yiidavas , 199
Yayu, 65 Yadu, 38
Vedanga Jyoti$a, 34, 36 Yajfiaseni, 101
Vedas, 45 Yak$a, 59
Venus, 55, 71 Yak$aS, 206
Vernal, 3 1 Yamunii, 4 1 , 46, 47, 49, 52, 56
Vicitravirya, 52 Yayati, 38, 46, 62
Vidura, 53, 1 03, 1 94 Yayiivara, 208
Vijaya, 123 Yudhi�!hira, 22, 64, 66, 77
Vipracitti, 94 Yuga, 34
Viraj, 7 Yugas, 29
Virii{a, 47, 85, 90 Yuyutsu, 6 1 , 140, 1 93 , 201
Vira{a Parvan, 36
Virgin, 35 Zodiac, 8, 1 0, 13, 14, 20, 26, 29, 32,
Virgo, 32, 34, 35 35, 37, 45, 64, 1 75.
Vi�I)U, 28, 29, 34, 35, 71 Zodiacal, 27
Vi$U�a, 3 1 Zodiacal Aries, 207
Vi$UVa, 3 1 Zodiacal cakra, 206
Vi$uvat, 3 1 Zodiacal Ram, 1 99
Visvariipa, 1 84
4 Astrological Mahiibhiirata
4 Astrological Mahiibhiirata