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The term navagraha is usually translated as “the nine planets.” In Hindu astrology, the word graha (seizer) is used to refer, primarily, to any heavenly body apparently traversing the sky against the background of the fixed constellations, and, secondarily, to certain mathematically derived points. The sun and moon are therefore, in this sense of the word, grahas or planets, and will be referred to as such in this article. (This accords with older usage of the word planet, originally Greek for wandering [star].) Each planet has numerous Sanskrit names and epithets; astro…

While the high degree of selection necessary in an overview of notable modern Hindu astrologers can never entirely escape the charge of subjectivity, the writers and practitioners discussed below have been selected on the combined grounds of the quantity and quality of their output, representability with regard to different astrological styles and trends, and discernible influence on the development of modern Hindu astrology. With regard to the last criterion, astrologers publishing in English h…

Divination may be broadly defined as procedures for predicting the future or otherwise obtaining knowledge by means of secret or hidden correspondences and/or supernatural inspiration. Although such practices are known in most or all human cultures, they are more prevalent in those which also display a high degree of scientific attainment, not excluding modern Western society. In India, daiva, a Sanskrit cognate of “divine” and “divination,” appears in a list of various branches of (mostly religious) learning in the Chāndogyopaniṣad (7.1), and is understood by the comment…

The English word “astrologer” translates a number of Sanskrit terms that, taken together, give us an idea of the cultural perceptions of the astrologer’s role and of the needs and expectations of his or, in modern times, her clients.Firstly, there are straightforward terms such as jyotirvid, designating a “knower of the [celestial] lights” (occasionally also nakṣatrajña, knower of the stars) or jyotiṣin, a practitioner of jyotiṣa (the science of such lights). The nominative jyotiṣī is the origin of present-day family names such as Joshi (Joṣī or Jośī), indicatin…

Jyotiḥśāstra (or jyotiṣa, jyautiṣa) is the “science of [celestial] lights.” Like its traditional European counterpart, it encompasses both astronomy and astrology – two terms which were largely interchangeable in Europe until the 17th century, and occasionally beyond that time. Of the two, astronomy is generally seen as subservient to the practical needs of calendar making and astrology, which will be the main focus of this article.Thematically, jyotiṣa is traditionally divided into three “branches” ( skandhas) and six “limbs” ( aṅgas): 1.  the branch of gaṇita (calculati…