Rainfall prediction – Part 1 (Pre-rainy season observation & GarbOttam)

This is a series on astrological inputs on predicting rainfall in advance. I will write the articles in such a way that any interested amateur meteorologist can make the recordings, interface with meteorological maps and check whether the predictions do take place. I suggest that this methodology must be recorded for atleast 5 years continuously to derive a reliable set of factors for rainfall prediction. If anyone is doing this seriously, I request them to intimate me the findings.

Introduction.

Rainfall prediction is considered as Purva Chitti – prior wisdom, by Vedic Thought. In the ritualistic question and answer dialogue in the course of Ashvamedha yajna, one question is

"Who is called poorvachitti?"

The reply that follows is:- 

"The rain falling is called poorva chitti".

It is because the rain falling in a place is formed very much in advance under certain conditions, knowing which one can tell in advance whether it would rain or not. Reiterating this Varahamihira says,

"The predictions of an astronomer who pays exclusive attention, both day and night to the indications of rain afforded by pregnant clouds, will as little fail of success as the words of rishis.

What science can probably excel, in interest, the science relating to the prediction of rain, by a thorough study of which one though ignorant in other matters passes for a great astrologer in this Kaliyuga." (Brihad samhita, Chapter 21 – verses 3 &4)

The authors for rainfall prediction techniques.

Sages  Garga, Parasara, Kasyapa, Vatsa and others.

Books :- Brihad Samhita (Chapter 21 to 28) and Prasna Marga (Chapter 25)

Things needed:-

• Knowledge of names of Lunar months and dates (thithi) and names of 27 stars of the Vedic astrology.
• Astrology software or any source which will help one to know the star in which Sun or Moon transits on a particular day.
• Round the clock observation or observation of the outside at regular intervals.

Period of observation.

From the Lunar month of Karthika until Shravana.

When to begin observation.

There are 3 dates given, two by Brihad Samhita and one by Prasna Marga. No explanation is given by the authors for the differences. My interpretation is given in brackets.

1.      The first day of the bright half of the lunar month of Karthika (Oct- Nov) – Siddhasena School (Check for the breaking of South West Monsoon in Lakshadweep or Kerala.)

2.      The day Moon transits Puravashada in the bright half of Margashira (Nov- Dec) – Sage Garga (Check for the first rains in Middle or North India)

3.      The day Sun enters the star Purvashada. This is occurs after 13-20 degrees in the Sign Sagittarius. The period of 14 days starting from this is called the period of 'Conception of rainfall' or GarbhOttam.

Importance of GarbhOttam.

The 14 day duration is the period taken by the Sun to transit the entire extent of Purvashada. The extent  of a star is 13 degrees and 20 minutes. Sun covers roughly 1 degree per day. GarbhOttam period is the period of Sun in the entire extent of Purvashada.

Preliminary observation for the 14 day period of GarbhOttam is to check  if the entire sky is covered with dark clouds and the Sun is hidden behind the clouds.

The observation (or any observation that is being said in this article) is applicable for the place of the observer. In olden days every village had astrologers doing that observation. Today meteorology applies to vast regions, but the ancient Indian method helps to tell on a day to day basis whether a particular locality would get rains or not. For that, the observer must be available on the place continuously atleast from Margashira to Phalguni and on specific days at other months.

 If on the 1^st day of GarbhOtta, there are dark clouds all over the sky and sun is hidden behind, it will rain here and there and every now and then in the 14 day period when Sun will be transiting Arudra (in Gemini)

Similarly if on the 2^nd  day of GarbhOtta, there are dark clouds all over the sky and sun is hidden behind, it will rain here and there and every now and then in the 14 day period when Sun will be transiting Punarvasu star (in Gemini and Cancer).

Similarly on the 3^rd  day of GarbhOtta, there are dark clouds all over the sky and sun is hidden behind, it will rain here and there and every now and then in the 14 day period when Sun will be transiting Pushya star (in Cancer).

Like this Sun's transit upto Moola star (prior to starting of the GarbhOtta) is noted for rainfall. 

The rationale is that  each day of the GarbhOtta in Purvashada in Sagittarius will have bearing for the duration of sun's stay in every star starting from Arudra in the month of Aani (in tamil) / Gemini / lunar month of Jyeshta in the next year and goes upto Moola in next Margashira.

The stars mentioned below indicate the 14 day transit of Sun in that star. Eg 1^st day of GarbhOtta will have an effect on 14 days of sun's transit in Arudra.

1^st day – Arudra

2^nd day – Punarvasu

3^rd day – Pushya

4^th day – Aslesha (Ayilyam)

5^th day – Magam

6^th day – Purva phalguni (Pooram)

7^th day – Uttara Phalguni (Uttaram)

8^th day – Hastha

9^th day – Chithra

10^th day – Swati

11^th day – Vishaka

12^th day – Anuradha (Anusham)

13^th day – Jyeshta (Kettai)

14^th day  - Moola.

If the sky is completely overcast for the whole day in one of these days, predict rainfall from the day Sun enters the corresponding star.

This year GarbhOtta started yester day (28-12-2012). The whole of yesterday, the sky was overcast in Chennai, at my place where I did the observation, right from the morning and it rained after midnight. Rains will mar the subsequent rains after 195 days. Therefore the first level of prediction is that there will be scattered rainfall in my place for 7 days as soon as Sun enters Arudra. Sun enters Arudra on the early morning hours of 22^nd June 2013. Since for the whole day the sky was overcast, it is predicted that the first half of Arudra (7 days) would give rains. Since it rained in the night yesterday, we can expect a less wet or dry period in the 2^nd half of the 14 day period starting from 22^nd June. Cloud cover is good, but rains are not good during GarbhOtta days. It could be a drizzle but not rains.

The cloud cover continues today also. Therefore we can expect good rains once again after Sun enters Punarvasu star (After July 6^th).  

Whether there will be good rains or not can be assessed from the following factors.

Basics factors to observe:-

1.      Winds

2.      Rain

3.      Lightening

4.      Roar of thunder

5.      Appearance of clouds

Now the next step:-

In all these 14 days, the above mentioned 5 points must also be observed. Then the observation must be continued everyday for four months until lunar month of Phalguni is over. If any single day has all the 5 factors present, good rainfall must be predicted on the 195^th day from the day of observation.

In other words, one must note the thithi and paksha of the day of observation. Eg: Observation is on Dwitheeya in the dark half of Margshira. Its resultant rainfall will be on Dwitheeya on the bright half of Jyeshta. That is 6 and a half month from the month of observation.

If noticed in a thithi in the Bright half of moon, the result will take place on the same thithi on the dark half of moon 6 months later.

If noticed in the morning, the resultant rain will be in the evening on that day.

If winds or clouds are noticed in a direction, the resultant rain will be in the opposite direction on that day. Keeping this in mind one must record not only the features but also the direction and time of the day.

Now the features to be observed:-

Note:- Applicable on day to day basis. The prediction is for the corresponding day later, on the 195^th day..

1.      Winds:-

Gentle and agreeable wind = Good rainfall

Cool breeze from North and Northeast = good rainfall.

Heavy winds = rain clouds would gather but be shattered

Dust storm = No rains

2.      Rain

In Margashira, there will be no rains. If it rains heavily, rainfall on the corresponding day would be affected. A gentle rain or drizzle would give good rainfall on the corresponding day after 6 and a half months.

3.      Lightening

Lightening = good rainfall

Rainbow in the morning or evening = good rainfall

4.      Roar of thunder

Low, rumbling roar of thunder = good rainfall

Heavy sounding thunder = rain clouds would shatter away.

5.      Clouds

Sky overcast with huge, bright, dense clouds = good rainfall

Needle shaped clouds or sword shaped clouds = good rainfall

Blood red clouds = good rainfall.

Inference:-

If one any day in the months from  Margashira to Phalguni, all the above 5 factors are present, the quantity of the subsequent rainfall will be 1 Drona. (Drona is equal to 200 phalas. Quantification in today's terms is not known. Perhaps the rainfall on those days can be recorded and cross checked with other days when similar conditions prevailed.)

Reduce the quantity by quarter for the absence of every one factor.

Three-some observation.

1.      Terrestrial

2.      Atmospheric

3.      Planetary.

(I) Terrestrial factors to be observed.

1.      Sweet chirpings of birds.

2.      Animals moving relaxedly and making pleasant sounds

3.      Kids making sweet sounds and playing

4.      Trees with sprouts

5.    Trees grow without diseases.

(II) Atmospheric factors to be observed.

1.      Clouds resembling pearl or silver colour

2.      Clouds in the shape of aquatic animal, huge and dense.

3.      These clouds scorched by bright sun light

4.      Gentle breeze (presence of 3 and 4 together would result in torrential rain on the 195^th day)

5.      Sun and the Moon encircled by glossy, bright and thick halo.

6.      Sky filled with bulky clouds or smooth needle like clouds (cirrus), or in the shape of sword.

7.      Clouds appearing in red or blue tint.

8.      Pleasant twilights in morning and evening.

9.      Light rumbling thunder

10.  Rainbow in the lower horizon.

11.  Red glow in the horizon at dawn and sun set. This must be seen only in Margashira and Pushya months. (Solar months also)

12.  Clouds with halos

Month-wise observation

In Margashira –

·         red sun in the morning and evening, 

 -    sky in red colour before sunrise and after sunset.

·         clouds surrounded by halos,

·         very cold.

In Pushya -

• ·         red sun in the morning and evening,

• ·         clouds surrounded by halos,

• ·          excessive snowfall.

In Magha –

·         strong wind,

·         sun and moon must be dimmed by clouds or snowfall at sun rise and sun set,

·         fog, mist, excessive cold

-     

In Phalguna –

• ·         rough and violent storms

• ·       tawny colour of the sun,

• ·         broken and imperfect halos around the sun and the moon,

• ·         glossy clouds moving across the sky

The above ensure good 'conception of rainfall'.

In Chaitra and Vaishaka, sky marked by winds, clouds and halos ensure conception of rainfall which will fall 195^th day afterwards. 

The following features in the 4 months from Margashira to Phalguni mar conception of rainfall.

1.      Meteor showers.

2.      Thunderbolt

3.      Dust storm

4.      Appearance of city-like formation of clouds.

5.      Unnatural phenomenon in the atmosphere in colour of sky, clouds etc and at sun rise and sun set.

6.      Rainfall

7.      Sighting of comets

8.      Eclipses

9.      Spots in solar disc (sun spot maxima?)

(III) Planetary factors to be observed in the 4 month period.

Good for conception of rainfall

 - Planets appearing with clear and bright disc at night

-  Planets moving in Northern declinations

- Moon and stars must appear white 

Planetary features marring conception of rainfall.

·         Eclipses ( mar rainfall later on the corresponding day)

·         Planetary war (where planets are close together in such a way one planet will be crossing another.) (mars rainfall for several days in the corresponding period.)

Position of Moon during the above 4  month period.

When the above 3-some favourable features of conception are present in a day when Moon is crossing Purvashada, Uttarashada, Purva bhadrapada, Uttarabhadrapada and Rohini, the subsequent rainfall on the 195^th day will be abundant.

When the above 3-some favourable features of conception are present in a day when Moon is crossing Arudra, Aslesha, Magha , Swati and Satabhishak, the subsequent rains will go on for many days. On the contrary, if the 3 some factors are marred, there will be dryness.

If Moon crosses all the above mentioned stars with 3-some factors being present and marring factors being absent in Margashira - would give rainfall for 8 days later (after 195 days).

In Pushya - for 6 days

In Magha -16 days

In Phalguni – 24 days

In Chaitra – 20 days

In Vaishaka – 3 days.

(To be continued)

Related articles:-

Planetary connection to El Nino – some tips from rainfall astrology.

Some astrological thoughts on cyclone Sandy and Nilam.

Part 2:-http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.in/2013/04/rainfall-prediction-part-2.html

Part 3:- http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.in/2013/04/rainfall-prediction-part-3-immediate.html

Celts from Kelta and Anatolia from Andolana

This is the 5^th article in a series on European connection to ancient India as sourced from Indian texts. These articles are part of a longer series written in Tamil that seeks to establish that Tamils were not the 'Dravidians' of the Indus region but had their roots in the Southern seas. The previous articles in this short series in English can be read in the following links.

1.    From Indus Proto-Siva to Celtic Cernunnos.

2.   The Stars of the Jews and Christians originated in India!

3.   Kali Yantra in crop circles of Europe!

4.    On Stonehenges, Druids and Dasyu

The source article in Tamil for the current article can be read here:-

http://thamizhan-thiravidana.blogspot.in/2012/09/106-anatolia.html

 

My thanks to Mr TG Saranathan for translating this article into English.

 

{From the previous article:- Druhyu and Anu were the two sons of King Yayati born to the Danava woman Sarmishta. Yayati was Rama's grandfather's grandfather. In a fight for the kingdom of Yayati between his 5 sons, Druhyu and Anu lost and had to leave Aryavartha whose western borders ended to the east of River Indus at that time. From Vishnu purana 4-17 we come to know that "The son of Druhyu was Babhru; his son was Setu; his son was aradwat ; his son was Gandhara ; his son was Dharma ; his son was Dhrita ; his son was Duryaman ; his son was Prachetas, who had a hundred sons, and they were the princes of the lawless Mlechchhas or barbarians of the north". Their route from India was the North- west corridor where Gandhara, the 4^th generation descendant of Druhyu established Gandhara (Kandahar) which was eventually annexed by Bharata, Rama's brother. With that the Druhyus were pushed to central and western Europe. The phonetic similarity between the names Druhyu and Druid is striking.  In the olden Celtic language, Druid is referred to as Druvid. Druvid is a Sanskrit word. It means firm or stable knowledge. Druids were famous as knowledgeable people. In this article we further explore the connections between the Celts / Druids with ancient India.)

 

Long before the Roman Empire was formed, Celts were spread out in Central and Western Europe. Their religious teachers were Druids, who were expert warriors. There are strong evidences to show that Druids were the descendents of Druhyu and his associates, who migrated some 7000 years ago from India. Druhyu was one of the Five sons of Yayati and in the fight among them for succession to the Kingdom, Druhyu lost and was driven out. Max Muller interpreted this fight as Aryan - Dasyu fight. Druhyu and his associates were not living according to Vedic stipulations and so were exiled out of India after they were defeated in the war of succession to the throne of Yayati in the Saraswathi basin.  Druhyu and his associates found their way in the North West of India and settled in Central Europe. This is derived from Vishnu Purana, chapter 4-17 (quoted above in the foreword)

 

They were ruling the people of Central Europe at that time. The Sovereignty they could not wield in India, they applied on the people of Central Europe and enforced the traditions and customs, they were following while in India, on their subjects. Though they were Dasyus, i.e., non -Vedic conformists, they were following many Vedic traditions and customs. Some of the commonalities between Druid / Celtic practices and Vedic practices are listed below.

 

The Druids / Celts followed Vedic practices like idol worship, worship of multiple gods, food offerings in worship, philosophy of non destruction of soul, belief in rebirth after death, worship of ancestors, etc. Julius Caesar, while describing them, mentions that they were experts in Religion, Philosophy and Astronomy, and they were doing research in, debating and interpreting, those fields. (1) This is similar to the way Upanishads were formed through debates, discussions and interpretation of Vedas. The Druids chanted something similar to Vedas. Vedas were not written, but orally transmitted. Similarly the Druids did not keep a written record of the chanting. They did not read out from books. Those who chanted Vedas were under strict regulations and disciplines; the Druids also followed strict codes of conduct. Like this, the Druids can be compared to Brahmins in Vedic tradition in many ways.

 

There are many evidences found in Ireland, to show that Druids lived in Central Europe. History of Ireland mentions that the Druids came to Ireland from Central and Western Europe, which is North of Ireland. Since the word North was mentioned, none thought it prudent to trace their origins to India, in the East.

 

Apart from this, when Greeks and Romans brought Celts under their rule, they changed the Celtic names. They changed the names of places and people to Greek and Latin and gave new interpretations. 

 

Greeks had a general tendency to give their own names in Greek to the names of non- Greek people and places. They were careless about naming unfamiliar ones and disregarded original pronunciation. Perhaps, that is why when someone talks illegibly, we say he is talking Greek and Latin! Greeks always spoke different from all others. They coined new words which had no bearing on continuity or relationship to the original word.

To cite an example, Krishna is a Sanskrit name. In any other language people would address that person as Krishna only. But in Greek language Krishna is addressed as Herakles! The Greek ethnographer Megasthenes, has mentioned the name of Krishna as Herakles, though there is a view that it means Hari Krishna! He called river Yamuna as Jobares and Krishnapuram as Kleisabora, 

Therefore, we can imagine the havoc they had done to Celtic names, whose culture they wanted to wipe out completely. History shows the oppressive nature and sense of superiority of the Greeks, while dealing with their subjects. This resulted in concealing historical evidences.Not only that, many Celtic gods were brought into the Greek fold with new names and new dressing! Let us remember that the greatly praised Greek culture is a borrowed one! 

When Greek dominance faded, the Celts were prevented by Christianity from continuing with their traditional Celtic practices and customs. Christianity showed keen interest in wiping them out totally. 

Presently, as interest is gaining momentum for tracing Celtic words and names, it comes to be seen that Celtic culture was prevalent in Central Europe. It is also seen that the Greek substitutes to Celtic words had no bearing or continuity with the original ones. It is difficult to find the true meanings of many Celtic words, but interestingly enough they resemble Sanskrit and words related to Sanskrit! 

For example, it is now known that Celtic culture was prevalent in Hungary. There is a hill called Gellert in Hungary. It is believed that it is the name of a Christian priest from Italy who visited Hungary in the 11th Century with the aim of converting Hungarians into Christianity.

  

That was the time when Idol worship and multiple god worship of Celts were prevailing in Hungary. Gellert tried to change those customs, but was faced with stiff resistance. The opposition to him was such that he was put inside a barrel and rolled down the hill. (2) At a later stage, this priest was considered as a martyr and the hill was named after him.

Mt Gellert.

But researchers have found that the hill was earlier called by the ancient Celtic name, Kelen.(3) Kelen was changed to Gellert - just like how Brungi mount  became Parangi mount and later named as St.Thomas Mount in Chennai, Tamilnadu and a martyrdom was conferred on Thomas (4). Such manipulations that are happening in India now, were successfully carried out in Europe right from the early times of Christianity.

Kelen is related to Sanskrit word khela – which means game or sport. Khelati (खेलति) in Sanskrit means to play. Even today we find a street named Kelta in Budapest city. Perhaps the very name Celts (Kelts) came from Khelati or Khela, as these people were fond of sports. 

If Kelen is derived from Khela, then this place must have something to do with sports. If one searches from  that angle, one finds that the city of Budapest, where the hill Gellert is situated, was built on the ancient city of Aubwan. That place is famous for water sports. In Sanskrit 'aapa' means water. This place was a residential colony of the Celts. We do find a similar sounding name 'Abrawan' in India in the colonial records. Though it means 'running water', it was the name given to the finer quality of cloth called Muslin. (5)

It was also known as Malmal. Indian weavers were known for making this finest quality of cloth from antiquity. The British imperialists cut the thumb of the weavers of this variety of cloth to destroy competition to their cloths from England. (6) Though it is not exactly known why this cloth was known as Abrawan, the meaning indicates that the weaving of this cloth (now extinct) had something to with running water. Looking for a similarity to this in the Hungarian Aubwan we are surprised to learn that the Celts of this region used to wear fine clothing which resembled Indian Pyjamas! The men of the Celtic society wore 'Bubble like pants' (7)

Indian Pyjamas

 

The pyjamas too look bubble like. Perhaps weavers of Abrawan, the malmal cloth went along with Druhyus when they left ancient India. With them the name Aubwan came to stay there. Perhaps in course of time, Aubwan became better known for the water sports too.

A place called Sicambriya is to the North of Budapest city. This is also an ancient city of Celts. According to Celtic language this means mount or peak or bench. A similar name exists in India too. In Tamil and in Sanskrit, Sikaram means mountain or hill peak. There is scope to believe that sikaram has become Sicambriya. The Celts had resided here and played sports in nearby Budapest. Even today Budapest is famous for Water sports.

 

Celts were not only interested in water sports but also in other sports of might. They played War games too, which is unfamiliar to Europeans till this day. Historical researchers say that there was a wooden board in this game in which wooden figures were used for playing. The figures would disappear in the game. This resembles the ancient game of India called as chathuranga. (8) Its modern version is the chess game.

This game originated in India. The Pandavas, in Mahabharata, lost a kingdom, by merely playing this game, without actually engaging in a battle. Thus it is appropriate to call Chathuranga or chess as War game! If Celts had played this game, it is easy to trace the origin of Celts to the place of origin of the game – which is India. If it is argued that Celts came to India and spread that game, then Celts and their names must have been remembered in India. But we find Celtic names in Central Europe and in Ireland, not in India! 

If all the customs and practices of Celts listed above had originated within Celts themselves, and then spread out into India, were they the Aryans mentioned by Max Muller? The stories about Celts which describe them in detail and available in Ireland, never talk of Aryans as their names. In fact, no Europeans followed their practices. But the same practices, in a much refined form, still continue in India. If Indian practices were distorted and followed by Celts, it means they had lost touch with the originals, in course of time. 

As if to prove that the Celts were the descendents of those who migrated from India, they had named even their country, taking cue from their roots. Ptolemy, who lived in the 1st Century A.D., has mentioned Ireland by its Celtic name IOUERNIA. With passage of time, Iouernia got changed to Ire, to Ireland. The name Iouernia sounds familiar with Ayoni. Ayoni in Sanskrit means not born from yoni or womb.

If the Celts were Ayonis, who were born in yoni? Or, to put it in another way, if the place of birth of them was not yoni, which place was considered as yoni or womb? To put it in yet another way, if there was a place called Ayoni, then it pre-supposes that there was a Yoni present elsewhere.

If Druids were the descendents of Druhyu, then it is logical to assume, they were born outside their root country, India. India was considered as the womb or yoni. Yoni has several meanings in Sanskrit, but all of them centre around a same theme as 'Source' or 'origin'. Yoni means Vagina, womb, seed, race, stable, source, origin, seat, home, descent, receptacle, birth, fountain, spring, abode, place of birth etc. Yoni is the place where creation and development take place. Its shape is triangular.That way, India has been the yoni or womb where all cultures were born and developed.

We discussed about Triangles in a previous article and established that India is also triangular.(9)

Not only that India is in a triangle shape, it is also in the form of yoni kund!

In Vedic customs, havan or sacred fire is performed in different shapes of agni kund or fire pots, depending on the objective. Yoni kund is one type. Mayan describes in Vaastu shastra how the Yoni (womb) shaped fire pit must be made.  (Mayamatha 25-47). According to that, a square should be drawn. A point must be fixed outside the square and  at about 1/5th of side of the square, from the bottom line.  From the mid points of the sides of the square, curved lines should be drawn to join this point at the bottom. Then, again curved lines should be drawn to join from the mid points of the two sides with the midpoint of the top side. The resultant figure is yoni kund shape.

Such a yoni kund can be superimposed on India map as shown in the figure below.

Thus, India itself is a Yoni or is inside a Yoni. This resembles the Aswatha (peepal) leaf mentioned in Vedas. On this leaf, the child Krishna is depicted as lying, when pralaya or the great deluge happens. The import of this is Creation after a deluge. Creation is symbolised by the shape of peepal which resembles the shape of yoni or womb.

 

The leaf, in the shape of yoni kund, indicates that after deluge, creation and development take place.

Human beings are considered to be the ultimate in evolution. Evolution beyond humans is only possible spiritually, according to Vedic Thought. We notice that there are no living beings superior to humans. If humans have to develop further, it would be only in attaining godly qualities. To attain them, humans have to develop in the yoni kund. It is for this reason, India, with all its physical features such as rivers and mountains is considered as sacred and a vehicle for spiritual transcendence.  

Just as how one begets the desired creation and development from the sacred fire performed in a yoni kund, a person who is born in India and follows Vedic tradition gets uplifted to godly level and Moksha (Liberation). Thus, India is the yoni or womb and a person born in India is considered as one born in yoni.

This inference is reinforced by the peepal leaf features found in Mohenjo Daro.