Hoysala ceiling design in the Roman tomb of 2nd century BCE: What does it imply?

Hoysala architecture has a special place in South Indian history in the region of Karnataka in particular, from the11^th century onwards. Among the many special features of this particular style, the ceiling art is something exceptional. Though the figures of the ceiling had varied from temple to temple, the basic concept had remained the same – the concept being a corbelled dome with a circular stone-carving in the middle, mounted on one or more layers of square or polygonal beams that are also exquisitely carved.

Let me show a model here from Sowmya Narayana Swami temple at Nāgamaṅgala in Mandya district of Karnataka.

This ceiling dome in front of the inner sanctum has a circular carving on a square slab mounted on a finely carved square beam that is resting on an elaborately carved octagonal beam. Similar ceiling design is seen in many temples of the period starting from Hoysala Vishnuvardhana.

Based on the views of his contemporaries and predecessors, William Coelho proposes in his book “The Hoysala Vamsam” that Hoysala architecture was an improvisation of the pre-existing Kadamba style for most part and to some extent, the Chālukya architecture. It must be mentioned that this architecture made its presence only from the 11^th century onwards.

Now let me show another piece of ceiling architecture of similar genre.

The above picture shows the ceiling dome of carvings made into a circle on a square slab, mounted on a decorated square beam that is resting on another large square beam carved with intricate designs.

Now let us take a long shot of this dome.

We are now seeing two more beams below the top two beams shown in the previous picture. The third beam is a square while the fourth is octagonal. The entire set of beams is resting on a lintel supported by pillars – but the pillars look odd for Indian temple architecture.

As I further the zoom out the figure we see the following – that definitely looks odd for the Indian style of ceiling art!

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_at_Halicarnassus#/media/File:Milas_Gumuskesen_4847.jpg

This is a tomb found in Milas  in south western Turkey built in the 2^nd century BCE by the Romans modeled after the Mausoleum of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The base and the pillars are Roman and Greek but the dome looks like Hoysala which does not appear in India until the 11^th century, i.e. 1000 years after this structure.

This raises a number of questions; who were the original patent holders of this style, the sculptors of Rome and Turkey? If so why is this style not seen in other structures of west Asia or Europe?  Or were the Indians the original innovators of the technique of this style? If so why is there a huge gap of 1000 years to appear in India? Any technique would get lost if not pursued continuously. How was this technique retained for so long if it is assumed that the Indians were the pioneers of this style? 

A cursory look at the names of the builders of Hoysala temples shows that they were all locals. Jakkanāchāri of Tumkur who was the chief architect of the Chenna Kesava temple at Belur was a home grown person following his occupation as a family tradition. The builders of Hoysalesvara temple at Halibid were Ballanna, Bochana, Changa, Devoja, Harisha and others whose names are common in the local region. Even if it is said that their remote ancestors had learned the skill from Rome or Turkey, it is difficult to believe that they were able to retain it in the absence of evidence of this style in the intervening period.

With all these questions and doubts, if we take a close-up view of the load bearing pillar, we see designs that are characteristic of Hindu temples. (Below)

The petal like design on top, if seen without the pillar would make any temple goer in India to vouchsafe that this is from a Hindu temple. Interestingly the pillars and the arrangement of roof stones found in the lower part of the tomb are typically Indian. (Below)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_at_Halicarnassus#/media/File:Milas_Gumuskesen_4840.jpg 

The rectangular pillar and the design of the capital, bearing the lintel beam, upon which long slabs of stone are arranged for the roof, are of the same style found in many old south Indian temples. When seen with the Hoysala style ceiling dome, the chance presence of an Indian hand in the structure cannot be dismissed. The only odd ones are the outer pillars.

The importance of this style lies elsewhere, in the Mausoleum of Mausolus, after which this Roman tomb is designed. The location map of that structure is given below.

It was built by Mausolus, a native of Anatolia and a Satrap of the Achaemenid Empire based at Caria. He married Artemisia, his own sister by whom he had several daughters and sons. One of his daughters, Ada by name, became the adoptive mother of Alexander the Great.

This Mausoleum was his dream project, but before its completion he died in the year 353 BCE. His wife continued the project but died within two years. The urns containing the ashes of the two were kept in the unfinished structure. Nevertheless the project was not given up “considering that it was at once a memorial of his own fame and of the sculptor's art”, in the words of Pliny the Elder. This monument became celebrated as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and left an imprint in modern architecture that we find some of the important buildings in the USA, UK and Australia modeled after its design.

This monument in ruins now appeared as in the following figure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_at_Halicarnassus#/media/File:Mausoleum_at_Halicarnassus_at_the_Bodrum_Museum_of_Underwater_Archaeology.jpg

This monument is termed as a tomb, notwithstanding the fact that no dead bodies are buried or preserved here. This houses only the urn pots of the ashes of the Mausolus couple. From Mausolus, the monument came to be called as “Mausoleum’ – a name generically given for any tomb built above the ground.

Was Mausoleum originally meant to be a tomb?

This structure is supposed to have had the Hoysala style of ceiling! The Roman tomb shown earlier was a replica of this Mausoleum. Our interest lies in exploring the nature of and the precedence for this structure.

Historians believe that Mausolus built this structure as a tomb for himself!! Nothing can be more bizarre than this considering that anyone would love to construct a spectacular structure for living and not to house one’s ashes! Perhaps historians were led to think so, considering the way gigantic pyramids were built to house the dead body! The pyramid concept was different and based on a belief of after-life till such a time they thought the body must be preserved. Another distinct feature is that the pyramid is completely sealed. The Mausoleum of Mausolus does not come anywhere close to a comparison with the pyramids.

There is another opinion that the elevated tombs of the neighboring Lycia inspired Mausolus to build this. The Tomb of Payava a Lykian aristocrat, built around 375-360 BCE in Lycia is the source of this perception. This tomb is preserved in British Museum. (Below)

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/The_tomb_of_Payava%2C_a_Lykian_aristocrat%2C_about_375-360_BC%2C_from_Xanthos%2C_British_Museum_%289504934234%29.jpg

This construction is like any Mausoleum seen today. The coffin containing the dead body is kept on a raised structure and is completely sealed on all sides. The dome is barrel vaulted with a semi-cylindrical formation. Similar in appearance is the tomb of Cyrus the Great, who lived a couple of centuries before Mausolus. It is also on a raised platform and looks like a coffin with a semi-cylindrical dome on top of it.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire#/media/File:CyrustheGreatTomb_22057.jpg

Compared with these tombs of previous times, the Mausoleum of Mausolus looks different. Certainly it doesn’t resemble the tomb at Lycia!

Statues of gods and goddesses are seen in the outer wall along with lions carved on stone, making us think if this was originally meant to be a temple. With the death of Mausolus, his wife seemed to have converted this into a kind of memorial to preserve his ashes.

Upon her death, her ashes were also preserved here. With that the entire concept of this building underwent a change it seems. The change is on the lines of Stupa-s built to preserve the relics of the great people of Buddhism!

Indic semblance of the Mausoleum of Mausolus

When we compare the monuments in India of the same period of Mausolus, we find some interesting parallels. The Buddhist temple at Sanchi identified as Temple 40 has a similar raised structure with a barrel vaulted semi cylindrical dome. It was said to have been built by Bindusara, the father of Ashoka in the 3^rd century BCE!

The semi- cylindrical dome seems to be commonplace design in ancient India, particularly in pre-Ashoka times. The conjectural reconstruction of the main gate of Kushinagara of 500 BCE, based on a relief in the South Gate of the Great Stupa of Sanchi shows similar domes on many buildings in the city. (Below) This clearly predates the time of Cyrus the Great and the Lykian aristocrat whose barrel vaulted tomb is believed to have influenced the design of the Mausoleum.

The same design can be seen in a number of engravings of South Indian temples too, adding credence to the view that this design was indigenous to India. 

There is scope to believe that the Indian architectural design such as this had travelled to the West of India. Lending support to this view is the presence of friezes in the Great Stupa of Sanchi showing devotees of foreign origin. The official notice for the panel shown below says “Foreigners worshiping Stupa”.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchi#/media/File:Sanchi_Great_Stupa_Northern_Gateway_foreigners.jpg

The appearance, the attire, the headband, the sandals and the musical instruments of the persons in this carving identify them as mostly of Greek origin. The wind instruments held by the two on the left of the above picture are known as Carnyx used by Celts between 200 BCE to 200 CE. Panels like this are proof of visitors from Central and West Asia to shrines where the relics of worshipful persons were preserved. The relics mainly include the cremated ashes and bones.

It seems this practice had inspired Artemisia to preserve some relic of her husband. This resulted in a decision not to bury his body but to cremate it to collect the ashes. It is only after the death of Mausolus, Artemisia could have decided to change the very purpose of the building that was already under construction. After the death of her husband, she sent messengers to Greece to bring the best sculptors of the day to build this monument.

There are records to show that the four sides of the structure were built by four popular Greek sculptors, Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas of Paros, and Timotheus. Looking at the four sides, there is not much difference architecturally. They are the similar in style. The only odd looking structure is the ceiling – which was not attributed to anyone and which had no parallel in Europe of that time.

·         Does it mean that an unknown or unnamed sculptor was engaged in the making of the ceiling?

·         Was he from India, for, such a probability cannot be ruled out given the fact that Artemisia sent out messengers to bring skilled sculptors to work on the monument?

·         Did she reach out to Indian artisans too, whose workmanship must have already been known to her from the visitors of the Stupas of Buddhism?

The earliest surviving Buddhist Stupa is dated at the 3^rd century BCE, but the Mausoleum was built in the middle of the 4^th century BCE. The kind of engraving skill witnessed in this Stupa could not have come up all in a sudden but developed over centuries or even millennia. From an inscription in Stupa 1 it is known that the intricate works of the Gateways of the Stupa were made by the ivory workers of Vidisha and those skilled in working on wood and metal. The expertise had clearly existed long before but put into different use in different medium at the request of different people – perhaps from outside India of those times.

The chariot at the apex resonating with Silappadhikaram-event.

The concept the Stupas (preservation of relics), the monument on a raised structure and most importantly the specific designs at the crown of the dome, are all found replicated in the Mausoleum. A Chattra or Umbrella surrounded by a square railing is found on top of the dome of the Stupa. The Mausoleum is also found with a unique carving of horse drawn chariot carrying a man and a woman- obviously the Mausolus couple!

This concept is certainly missing in any other tomb of those regions. This idea must have been a later version devised by the architects, after the death of Artemisia. 

The idea of the chariot atop the roof is something new and unique in Europe, but amazingly reflective of Indic culture, particularly from Tamil roots!

There is a description in the Tamil literary work called Silappadhikaram of a chariot carrying Kovalan, the departed husband of Kannagi, coming to the hill top where she was waiting to depart from the earth. She was picked up in the chariot by her departed husband and together they went off to higher realms (heaven) in the chariot. The incident happened sometime around the beginning of the Common Era. The hill tribes who had seen this reported this amazing event to the king of the Chera country.

The chariot on top of the Mausoleum, carrying the couple is similar to the event of Silappadhikaram. The couple, who built the structure to live together, when found not fulfilling their desire, was made to unite atop the very structure where their ashes – not bodies- were preserved. The idea of going to heaven together in a chariot, present in Indic culture is found immortalized in stone in Turkey by a people who seemed to be aware of the Indic practices.

Now only one issue remains to be sorted out. It is the Indic skill in ceiling architecture. The Stupas offer evidences in this issue too.

Engraved circles, precursor to ceiling domes

Cutting intricate designs in circles was well perfected by the time the Stupas were built. The railings in the Stupas of Sanchi are seen with numerous circular designs, mostly of petals.

Source: https://kevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com/2018/04/04/sanchi-stupa-2/

The same can be seen in Amaravati Stupa in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, now preserved in the British Museum. It is dated at the 3^rd century BCE. Only few decades before this, the Mausoleum was completed. The expertise found in India at that time must have been known as far as West Asia through the regular visitors to the Buddhist shrines.

 The circular designs fitted below the pillars can be seen in the rear side of the west gate way of the Great Stupa of Sanchi.

Source: https://kevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/sanchi-stupa-1-sanchi-gateways/

It would not have taken much effort to convert it into larger engravings to be fitted in the dome supported by corbelled structures. The oldest corbelled structure in ancient India is found in the drain of the Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro, made 5000 years ago. The knowledge of the underlying technique could have been used in planning the dome.

The corbelled roof of the drain of the Great Bath

The craftsmen must have belonged to the Harappan regions originally. The similarity in the paleography of the inscriptions of Sanchi Stupa No 2 and Heliodorus pillar points out the origins of the craftsmen from North West India, in today’s Afghanistan that was part of Harappan culture and also the epicenter of Buddhism and Jainism.

So what we now recognize as Hoysala ceiling architecture had developed over a period of time, from cutting circular motifs in plain slabs and pillars to mounting them on the ceiling supported by corbelled beams. What we see in the Roman tomb is perhaps the earliest display of that skill. The improvisations must have been happening continuously and used in the temples and palaces of North India –but most of them must have been lost in the rage of the invading monotheistic iconoclasts who razed down every standing structure in the north of Vindhyas particularly.

What we see from the 11^th century onwards is the continuity of the same skill by the fortunate ones who had migrated much earlier to South India. The Hoysalas claim themselves to be Yadavas of Krishna clan in their inscriptions. The Yadavas living in the Harappan regions in particular started migrating south ward in the wake of the decline of the Harappan culture around 1500 BCE. A section of those skilled in stone works also had migrated to south India for which evidences are found in literature and archaeology. They were instrumental in building the famous ‘Kallanai’ (Grand Anicut) – the dam across the river Kaviri. Only with their help, the Pallavas claimed credit for building everlasting temples in stone.

Those settled in Karnataka came under the banner of the Yadava kings named after ‘Sala’, as Hoysala. The names may change with time, and the skill also changes – for the better.

The popularity of those artisans must have reached far and wide, or otherwise we won’t be seeing the Hoysala architecture in a remote location in Turkey.

In a nutshell,

·         The popularity of the Stupa culture of Buddhism had spread to west and central Asia through the devotees from those regions visiting the Buddhist shrines in India.

·         The preservation of ashes in the Mausoleum is a strong proof of Buddhist influence on venerating relics. 

·         The Chariot carrying the dead on top of the dome is also influenced by the Hindu Thought of the departed couple uniting after death and going to heaven in a chariot.

·         The Mausoleum offers the earliest evidence of Hoysala art that stated as circular engravings on stone. This perhaps had its origin in the engraving of the Dharma Cakra. This cakra having its presence across the western neighborhood of India was unfortunately treated as Witch symbol in the later period.

·         The presence of Hoysala art in West Asia long before it made its presence in South India raises the scope for the hand of the artisans of Indian origin in other monuments of those regions in the past. This mingling opens up a new window of understanding the presence of linguistic and other similarities in those regions.  

As I sign off this article, I cannot help thinking why Indic architecture of the old is not at all in the list of Wonders of the World. At least the Stupas of the old must have found a place. On deeper probe, it is found that the list was given by ancient Hellenistic tourists. It seems they had not visited India! Those who visited were not tourists but devotees seeking spiritual bliss. The outer beauty had apparently not gone into their mind, but somehow managed to reach their lands only as hearsay. The Mausoleum turned out to be a direct evidence of a replication, though in parts, but there are other features such as the vaulted domes of other structures of early Common Era that must be studied in detail for Indic influence.

From tape worm to toad – the Australian woman’s headache solves the puzzle about the headache of Tolkāppiyar and the name of Therayār

A few days ago livescience.com published a news report about  a rare case of a young Australian woman diagnosed of the presence of tapeworm larvae in her brain causing headache and blurred vision. She has to undergo brain surgery to get rid of the larvae formed into a cyst.

The shocking effect of this news apart, there is a surprise element too in having a parallel to a similar diagnosis but of a ‘toad’ developing inside the skull of – Tolkāppiyar”!!

Tolkāppiyar, as many may be aware, was the grammarian of the 2^nd and 3^rd Sangam Assemblies. The name is generic and applied to specific persons who composed the Grammar works during the Sangam ages. The Tolkāppiyar I am referring to was the first Tolkāppiyar, the half-brother of Paraśurāmā, who lived in Rama’s time. His original name was ‘Trunadhumagni’, born to Jamadagni and a tribal woman, according to ‘Bogar 7000’, a text by Bogar Siddhar.  

Tolkāppiyar  was a disciple of Agastya (of  Rama’s time) who shifted to Kodagu sometime after Rama met him , to do a 12 year penance at the water of Kaviri, entrapped on top of the mountain, now called Brahmagiri. A massive destruction by water had happened just then in the Indian Ocean causing the olden Tamil lands of the 1^st Sangam period get submerged, and Agastya was preparing himself to establish the Tamil Sangam Assembly at the new capital at Kavātam.

In this endeavor he was accompanied with Trunadhumagni (Tolkāppiyar) and another one who came be known as “Therayār” – a name linked to ‘Therai’ or toad! This name has a connection to Tolkāppiyar who was suffering from headache for nearly 10 years, the cause of which turned out to be similar to what is found in the Australian woman.

The non-stop headache that Tolkāppiyar was suffering from was brought to the notice of Agastya. After thinking about the possible causes, he found out that a toad must have migrated from his nose to his head.

(Bogar 700)

What is meant here is that the fertilized egg of a toad had gone through his nose. As a Siddha, Tolkāppiyar must have been practicing many kriyas of yoga one of which happens to be cleansing the nasal path by doing ‘Jala Neti’ The water poured through one nostril is expelled through the other.

At times if not properly done the water could go through the sinus paths into the head region. Since Tolkāppiyar was said to be suffering for 10 years, he must have got into trouble in the initial days of practicing this kriya. At that time an unfertilized egg must have entered into system through the water he used for Jalaneti.

Nowadays sterilized and salted lukewarm water is used for this Kriya. Perhaps this is being insisted after a history of stray instances of headaches connected with Jalaneti. In earlier days they might have just taken river water for doing this kriya, and Tolkāppiyar’s was perhaps one of the earliest rare cases of getting into trouble by an organism getting into his body. Toads having a life span of 10 to 12 years and upto 50 years, and accustomed to remaining trapped inside moist holes in rocks - this incident of a toad found inside the skull of Tolkāppiyar sounds plausible.

The remedy could be got through brain surgery only! Bogar describes it in a very crude and simple way, which I am just giving here. Agastya had opened his skull and saw a toad sitting underneath! On seeing something happening around it, the toad had further withdrawn inside. Seeing this a disciple of Agastya brought a bowl was water in front of the toad. By its nature of affinity to water the toad jumped into the bowl!

The cause of the headache gone now, Agastya closed the opening he made and caused it to heal by his herbal medicine. The headache of Tolkāppiyar was gone forever. The delighted Agastya praised this disciple for his presence of mind in removing the toad. For this reason this disciple came to be called as ‘Therayār’ the “Toad-man’

All these days, I was perplexed by this incident and questioning myself of hypocrisy in accepting some verses of this text while rejecting certain others such as this. But now after having read the report in live science and probed further, I am getting convinced of the veracity of this incident given by Bogar Siddhar.

Today this problem is known as Neurocysticercosis caused by a specific strain of tape worm larvae that enter the body of the person who eats pork infested with this worm. Livesicnce reported in 2018 that more than 2000 persons are hospitalized every year in the USA for this problem caused by eating infected pork that is under-cooked. The eggs do not seem to get destroyed so easily in cooking it seems. Once inside the body they may hatch inside the intestines. The released larvae may go anywhere in the body, including the brain. Once they settle down in the brain, depending on the part of the brain, neurological and other problems occur with headache as a prominent symptom.

This problem is found endemic in developing countries and contacted by those travelling to those countries, says the report. The Australian woman became newsworthy for being the first one to get it indigenously in Australia.

My interest in this issue lies with the justification it offers for a similar problem experienced by Tolkāppiyar – and reported in Bogar 7000. The text is very clear about how a living organism got into his head, i.e. through his nose. A Siddha (disciple of Agastya) coming to get a name connected with toad cannot be dismissed as fictional. Now the entire incident doesn’t seem fictional after coming to know about larvae settling down in the brain. This must make us accept the other information in Bogar 7000, of the knowhow on skull surgery.

It must be noted here that Therayār is well known for works on medicine and health. Even this text contains information herbal preparation for varied uses. The other facet of this text is that it gives information on birth, works and end of many ancient sages including Vyasa and Valmiki. I am led to say that Dandakaraya vana of Rama’s times was home of many sages who happened to be siddhas of exemplary and unusual power.

******

From

https://www.livescience.com/woman-australia-tapeworm-larvea-brain.html?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9160&utm_content=LVS_newsletter+&utm_term=2988647&m_i=uxOFnOrmIhn0z2K0ub2IA3zFGEhzH20U2qDbHPz__CuR6AwhG5VErm8d6v3Z6TJxTpksnhxFPE0tbW357R44QupokLOEPJGq2I2mpquuuE

Woman's odd headache was from tapeworm larvae in her brain

By Rachael Rettner - Senior Writer 3 days ago

 

A young woman in Australia was found to have tapeworm larvae lurking in her brain — a very unusual diagnosis considering she had no risk factors for the condition, according to a new report of the case.

Indeed, it's believed to be the first "locally acquired" case of the disease in Australia, that is, in someone who hadn't traveled out of the country, the report said.

The 25-year-old woman went to the hospital after experiencing headaches for a week, according to the report, published Sept. 21 in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. She was no stranger to headaches — she had experienced migraines with visual "auras" on a regular basis since the age of 18. But her latest headache seemed different. It didn't go away when she took painkillers, which usually cured her headaches. And her visual symptoms were more severe, with her vision becoming blurry at times.

An MRI of her head revealed a single brain lesion, which doctors suspected was either a brain abscess or tumor. But when doctors performed brain surgery to remove the lesion, they got a surprise. The lesion was really a cyst, and it wasn't made of human tissue. Further tests revealed that the cyst contained tapeworm larvae.

The woman was diagnosed with neurocysticercosis, a parasitic disease that occurs when a person ingests microscopic eggs from a pork tapeworm (Taenia solium). When the eggs hatch, the larvae can travel throughout the body, including to the brain, muscles, skin and eyes, where they form cysts, according to the World Health Organization.

After the cyst was removed, the woman did not need further treatment for the infection.

This tapeworm is common in developing nations, including countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The life cycle of the Taenia solium parasite usually requires pigs to have contact with human feces, and so infections are most often found in areas with poor sanitation practices in which pigs come into contact with human feces, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But in Australia, all previous reported cases have been among people who either immigrated to the county or traveled to areas where the disease is endemic before returning to Australia. (Similarly, in the United States, nearly all cases occur in people who have immigrated from areas where the disease is endemic.)

Exactly how the Australian woman caught the disease is a mystery. She was born in Australia and had never traveled overseas. However, people can catch neurocysticercosis from close contact with a person who is infected with the pork tapeworm. (Tapeworm carriers can pass on the parasite if they don't wash their hands properly, because the tapeworm eggs pass in the feces.) However, the woman did not report having a previous or current contact from an endemic area.

The woman did work as a barista, and so the authors speculated that she may have been exposed through her job, which entailed "ongoing casual contact with people from a variety of geographical regions." But if this did happen, it would be a very rare event, given the countless numbers of people who work in the Australian hospitality industry who haven't caught this infection, the authors said.

Still, given the ease of travel between countries, it is perhaps not surprising that "sporadic infection can occur in people who would otherwise be considered at no or very low risk of infection with T. solium," the authors said.

The Australian woman's case is similar to that of a New York woman who was diagnosed with neurocysticercosis last year. The woman, Rachel Palma, also developed the disease without having any risk factors, Live Science previously reported.

The authors of the new report hope their case raises awareness about the possible risk of locally acquired cases of neurocysticercosis occurring in non-endemic countries.

Originally published on Live Science.   

 

An unstoppable voice, stopped by Corona – my thoughts on SP Balasubrahmanyam

End is inevitable, but when the cause of that end turns out to the Chinese Virus, it is treacherous. It is so inconsolable that a voice so captivating and youthful till the 74^th year was silenced by this dreaded virus. Only ‘if only’ is occupying my mind since I heard the sad news about the musical legend SPB. If only he had not contacted this virus, his musical journey would have continued. If only he had kept away from everyone right from the time corona was reported in the country, couldn’t he have continued to be with us? An unbelievable march of that voice, growing youthful with every passing day was cruelly shut off by this villain.   

Nothing could stop him right from the time MGR decided to bring him in. His was a big replacement for the-until -then reigning King, TMS. There was lot of misgivings at that time how his voice could suit MGR’s but wonder of wonders his voice was found agreeable to the simha garjanai of Shivaji Ganesan too. That was really a break-through in his career and since then his was the only voice found suitable for the next three generation of actors – from Kamal- Rajini, to Surya – Vijay et al until the current crop of new actors. I cannot recall anyone matching this feat uninterruptedly until the deadly corona put a spoke in his 75^th year.

Not everyone could get the kind of opportunities that he got but not everyone could have risen up to the opportunities as he did. His was a dedicated, committed and passionate work on his voice and on the songs he got, by which he had enthralled millions – something not possible for many with such dedication – unless designed by karmic hand shake. Such a strong Karmic backup cannot perhaps be stopped so easily unless by a sudden attack by an unknown virus - I am forced to reason out like this.

Music is a different genre in that being a vehicle to touch Brahman! And SPB was able to touch that is what I heard in one of the videos. Even if it is film music, one can feel the divine connect with the sublime Being. That SPB could evolve so well within is understood from the near-nil incidence of any blot on his character. His contribution to devotional songs is something that I want to bring to the notice of readers at a time everyone is talking about his film songs only.   

A particular song that is part of my life is played below.

The devotional songs of the trio Kannadasan – MS Viswanthan – SP Balasubrmanyam in the 80’s had stood well inspite of the competing Annamacharya songs of the Music Empress, MS Subbhlakshmi. That was the high time for divine Hindu songs, I should say. But among all those, SPB’s Ayar padi song became household song for many including me.

How many times have I sung this as lullaby to my kids?  How easily they were put to sleep by the melody of this song? How many times have I felt so tranquil at heart at the meaning and the emotion conveyed by this song! After Kannadasan, SPB is the only other personality of the filmdom about whom I am writing like this.

The lullaby he sang for Krishna, is coming back to him as I write this with moist eyes.

அவன் வாய் நிறைய பாடல் கொண்டு

மண்டலத்தை மயக்கிய பின்

ஓய்வெடுத்து தூங்குகின்றான் ஆராரோ

ஓய்வெடுத்து தூங்குகின்றான் ஆராரோ

Coronavirus pandemic – detection and course astrologically explained.

A one-in-a- century epidemic is staring at us at this time. Known as Covid-19  (Coronavirus disease 2019) it is caused by a deadly virus that jumped from bats, the flying mammals to man. The intensity and impact of this pandemic is such that for the first time we are seeing the closure of our temples – somewhat ominous of the displeasure of the Gods over our conduct and the unabated growth of Adharma everywhere. This is shocking and terrifying too reminding us of the stories of the past when Gods refused to open their doors over acts of Adharma. One such incident appears in the real life story of Silappadhikaram. This part of the outcome of the pandemic disturbs me very much that I consider this to be different from similar outbreaks in the past. Trying to figure out what makes this pandemic different from the previous ones I have analyzed this disease astrologically by bringing out the features of the outbreak and deciphered its course. 

In the absence of any literature on the astrological features for predicting an epidemic (turned pandemic), I earlier attempted to check certain features based on the fundamentals of disease and disease-spread in a country in my paper that can be read here. Let me begin from the salient features discussed there.

Identification of the place and source of an epidemic

A concept called “Ayadhi Varga” specifying the limbs of the Kala Purusha in terms of animals is found useful in identifying the species from which the disease causing microbes had jumped to human beings, the direction of the origin of the disease and the direction that bears the maximum damage from the disease. It is given below.

This must be super-imposed on the globe to identify the animals that make an impact through Kala Purusha. For example NE pertains to North eastern parts of the globe prominently identified with China. The animal of NE is Kaka, the crow indicating a flying animal. When Pisces (NE) is afflicted in the zodiac, danger from flying animals and / or from the nations of North East of the globe can be expected. To give another example North stands for Gaja which means elephant. The problems transmitted by mammals are likely to emerge from Northern part of the globe or from the affliction to the signs Capricorn and / or Aquarius.

These directions also indicate the potential regions (directions) of trouble even within a country. The only inanimate thing in this varga is “Dwaja” identified with East. Dwaja goes with empires and kingdoms and in modern world with Governments. The rest are animals and all these are tabulated below for easy reference.

The planetary affliction to the signs can be linked to the animals and / or the direction of the earth when such affliction is related to a disease. For example the Mad cow disease originated in west (UK) which is identified with Libra and Scorpio having Vrishabha as the animal. That refers to cattle and the disease spread from cows to human beings. Similarly Avian Flu that spread from birds to humans originated in North East (Kaka) where China is located in the year 1996 and later from Indonesia and Vietnam in 2004. MERS-CoV, another species of Coronavirus that affected Middle East in 2012 was found to have migrated from camels, a mammalian species. The signifying animal is Gaja in the Ayadhi Varga associated with Capricorn and Aquarius. Those two signs were found badly afflicted in that year.

The global view deducted from this indicates that the Ayadhi Varga has Bharata varsha (India) at the centre and the directions are with reference to India. Whether such an epidemic afflicts India or not is ascertained from the annual chart of solar ingress into Aries.

Identification of the outbreak of an epidemic

Traditionally the time of Sun’s entry into Aries (Mesha Sankramana / New Year) is taken as the lagna for the year for India as a whole. It is similar to the natal horoscope of the individual. The 6^th house is the house of disease and based on the affliction to the 6^th house and the 6^th lord in that chart, the almanacs give predictions of a disease spread in India till the next Mesha Sankramana. Suppose the New Year starts with a disease already prevalent in the country, as it is happening now with the New Year (Mesha Sankramana) around the corner, starting on the night of 13^th April 2020, the astrological features for disease found in the New Year chart must be treated as a continuation of the existing disease. In the case of Covid-19 threat, the annual solar Sankramana chart for both the current year (Vikari) and the upcoming year (Sarvari) must contain afflicting features for the disease.

The above can be checked for any country, by creating Surya Sankramana chart for the capital city of the country. The entry time for the capital city becomes the lagna of the country’s chart. A disease indicated in such a chart is applies to that country only. However the same chart is applicable for the world too. Here we take up Aries as the Jagat Lagna (the lagna of the world) and the entire zodiac is known as universal zodiac. It follows the usual sequence from Aries onwards. If disease indicative afflictions are found for that lagna (which is always located at Aries), the disease takes pandemic proportions. 

Miscellany

I checked with different features for fine tuning the predictive tools for an epidemic in my paper on Swine Flu and found two features more effective in supplementing the predictions for diseases based on Mesha Sankramana. They are Sahamas and the running Dasa-Bhukti of Indian Independence chart.

Sahamas are special points or positions derived from the longitudes of certain planets in one’s annual chart (Varshaphal or Tajaka) that are linked with certain important events for a year from one birthday to the next. For the country the year is counted from one Mesha Sankramana to the next Mesha Sankramana and the Sahama points are derived from the planetary positions at the time of Mesha sankramana.   Of the 35 Sahamas listed by Dr BV Raman (Varshaphal of the Hindu Progressed Horoscope) I have zeroed in on the following as applicable to detection of disease in a country.

Roga Sahama  :  Diseases

Kali Sahama    :  Misfortune

Mrityu Sahama : Death

Apamrityu Sahama: Untimely death

Though all these are indicative of problems of disease, it is imperative to check the Punya Sahama and Artha Sahama for the overall wellbeing of the country and the impact of the disease on wealth of the nation.

Punya Sahama  : Fortune, good deeds.

Artha Sahama    :Wealth

These sensitive points are first identified by the stars in which they occur. The planetary dispositors of these stars are checked to know whether they are afflicted and prone to cause affliction.

Another important feature to look for is the Indian Independence chart that is found to reflect the events affecting the country. The Dasa-Bhukti forms the canvas upon which the events indicated by the planets – both natal and transit – get manifest. In times of unfavourable Dasa- Bhukti, the adverse indicators of Mesha Sankramana chart also get manifest.

A combination of the all the above must be studied in unison to detect the outbreak of an epidemic and its impact in India. They are

·         the sky map at the time of Solar ingress (Mesha Sankramana) called Universal zodiac

·         the sky map with the local time of Solar ingress (lagna) for India (or any country),

·         the affliction to six sahamas found in the local time sky map

·         the running dasa-Bhukti and transit influence in the Indian Independence chart (or the country under scrutiny)

With these inputs let me first check the outbreak of Covid-19 in the Universal Solar chart for Vikari Year (the last time the Sun entered Aries).

Epidemic /Pandemic indicated in Universal Solar Chart?

Let me produce the solar ingress chart for the current year Vikari. It is the same as Indian Annual Solar Chart but the lagna is not relevant. Aries is always recognized as the Lagna of this chart.

Vikari Year chart for the world.

From the Jagat lagna at Aries, the 6^th house is Virgo whose lord Mercury will be spotted in any year either in Pisces or in Aries (because Mercury will be seen in close proximity to the Sun) at the time of Mesha Sankramana. Jupiter is the lord of Pisces (12^th house) and Mars, of Lagna (Mesha) and the 8^th house (death). Therefore in any year the positions of Mercury, Jupiter and Mars and afflictions to them at the time of Mesha Sankramana are of vital importance.

In the current year of Vikari, Mercury, the lord of disease is debilitated in the 12^th house (hospitalization) which happens to be the house of Jupiter and inauspicious to the Jagat lagna. Mercury is in the star of Jupiter which is in retrogression at the beginning of its own sign that happens to be the auspicious 9^th house in the Universal zodiac. Jupiter joins Saturn, the Baadhaka planet for Aries (11L is baadhaka for Chara lagna) and also Ketu. Let us take a look at the longitudes of these planets and their planetary dispositors.

Planetary longitudes at Mesha Sankramana (Vikari)

Observations:

·         Jupiter is heavily afflicted by its position in Abhukta Mula (first 50’) in Sagittarius. That it is in retrogression further amplifies the affliction.

·         Such an afflicted Jupiter which signifies Dharma and Temples becomes the planetary dispositor of the 6^th lord of diseases (Mercury), the Maraka lord (2^nd and 7^th lord Venus posited in 11^th house, that signifies Baadhakasthan) and Rahu occupying the 3^rd house that signifies longevity (8^th from the 8^th)

·         Jupiter is in the star of Ketu whose planetary dispositor is the Sun, the trigger planet for events.

·         Jupiter is joined with Saturn, the lord of the 10^th (karma) and 11^th (Baadhaka) which is transiting in the star of Venus, the Maaraka.

·         Saturn is moving towards Ketu within 2 degree distance. In other words the two malefics, Saturn and Ketu are closely encroaching upon each other.

·         Mars, the 8^th lord (signifying death) is occupying the Marakasthan in the sensitive Rohini. From there it is casting its 8^th aspect on the three inmates of Sagittarius.

·         Mercury, the lord of disease occupies the house and star of Jupiter. The sign (Pisces) being watery, the affliction is related to watery contents in the body. Among the significances of diseases related to Mercury namely breathing, nervous and skin, the location at watery sign can be linked with breathing related diseases (kapha)

Discussion:

·         The afflicted sign (Sagittarius) signifying North West direction, the affliction is most to the countries in the North West of the Globe.

·         With Mercury, the 6^th lord posited in a sign signifying North East the country of origin is in the north east of the globe and the disease was transmitted by a flying animal. Both these fit with China and the flying animal (bat) as the source of this disease.  

·         Jupiter which is expected to be auspicious and powerful in its own house which also happens to be the House of Dharma is stripped of its power of Dharma. The Abhukta Mula does that stripping. This is in addition to the reversal suffered by Jupiter due to retrogression. 

·         Exactly after Jupiter had crossed the Abhukta Mula in forward movement, the favorable verdict on Ram Janma Bhumi was given (My analysis here), but its location in inauspicious degrees with inauspicious connotations at the moment of Mesha Sankramana had triggered events related to the associated significances (disease) right from the time the Sun had entered Sagittarius on 17^th December.

·         The Baadhaka lord Saturn that happens to be the Karmic lord posited in the star of Maraka Venus and encroaching towards Ketu in the house of highly weakened Jupiter posited in the star of Ketu strips off all Fortunes through a disease.

·         The complicity of KETU DOES NOT RULE OUT FOUL PLAY in the outbreak of this disease.

·         The origin of the disease is traced to debilitated Mercury in Pisces and implicated with retrograde Jupiter occupying Abhukta Mula in its own sign that happens to be the house of Dharma. This is indicative of BLOW TO DHARMA or COMPROMISE ON DHARMA AND ETHICS.

·         From the Moon sign (Cancer) Sagittarius happens to be the 6^th house (disease). The 6^th lord Jupiter in retrogression in Abhukta Mula behaved as though the Lord of Dharma was trying to flee from the malefic collusion of Saturn and Ketu. But alas Jupiter was caught in the Abhukta Mula indicating complete collapse of Dharma or Ethics.

·         The collapse of Ethics is seen in two ways – one from the Jagat lagna where the affliction to Jupiter had happened in the house of Dharma and the other, from the Moon sign where the affliction had happened with reference to a disease.

·         Any disease has a variety of causes for its germination and spread, but here we are seeing an unusual affliction to Jupiter – the lord of Dharma and signifcator of Ethics. This cannot be dismissed if we find in an individual’s chart. But here….??

For comparison let me show the last time a similar combination occurred.

The year was 1722 when the Great Plague of Marseille had already started taking its toll for more than a year before. Look at the chart having Jupiter in Abhukta Mula with Saturn and Ketu encroaching towards each other in closer degrees and with Jupiter.

Jupiter – Ketu- Saturn combination in 1722

Jupiter was in forward motion then and the close proximity of all the three is indicative of a calamity of huge scale. But a point of difference is that the entire combination was NOT present at the time of Mesha Sankramana in the beginning of that year. Let me reproduce below the Mesha Sankramana chart for that location.

Mesha Sankramana in 1722

The 6^th lord Sun joins the 8^th lord Venus in the 2^nd house (maraka) and together they aspect the 8^th house. The house lord Mars is afflicted by the nodes in the 4^th house (domestic). The 9^th house is occupied by retrograde Saturn and Jupiter which happens to be the 4^th from the house of disease. This is the region of affliction and it signifies West (Scorpio) (France in the west of India) This Mesha Sankramana chart shows only the affliction caused to the direction by the planets with no scope to deduce anything beyond that, say, foul play or mischief. Therefore a deadly combination of Jupiter in Abhukta Mula, Saturn and Ketu in the 9^th house (Sagittarius) when it occurred on December 24^th in 1722 and thereafter was indicative of deepening of the crisis caused by the continuing epidemic of Great Plague.

The same combination in the current year Mesha Sankraman is qualitatively different is what we make out from the comparison of the two dates.

Mesha Sankramana chart for India (Vikari 2019-2020)

The Mesha Sankramana chart for India is given below. The lagna was Cancer which also happens to be the moon sign. Let me name it as Annual Solar chart for 2019-20

Indian Annual solar chart 2019-2020

The fatal combination is seen in the 6^th house from lagna and moon sign. Having seen the disease causing potential in Global chart (Jagat lagna) we see here an extension of it indicating the spread of disease in India too. That happened from the time the Sun started crossing the natal degrees of the three planets.

Salient features:

Planetary:

·         Venus, the lord of the 4^th house (internal / domestic) and also a Baadhaka for Cancer lagna is in 8^th (death) and aspected by Saturn and Ketu. Indicative of suffering to people of the land.

·         Jupiter, the 9^th lord (Dharma, temples) is in 6^th house of diseases and joined with 8^th lord Saturn and Ketu. Indicative of affliction to temples. Dharma under stress.

·         Saturn, the 8^th lord is in the 6^th house joined with Jupiter, the 6^th lord and afflicted by the nodes. The 8^th lord / House signifies inherent disease (Nija) and the 6^th lord / House, incidental disease. The location of these two is vital in judging how early the country can come out of the pandemic.

·         Mars, though Yoga Karaka for this lagna, is transiting Rohini and aspecting the 6^th house inmates. Indicative of sufferings to the people, with the magnitude of war times. Usually when malefics cross Rohini wars and war like situations had come up.

Sahamas:

The list of Sahamas is given below:

Punya Sahama       13 Sg 48' 06.86" PSha      Fortune, good deeds (Baadhaka Venus- 11L, 4L)

Roga Sahama        26 Cn 55' 04.91" Asre      Diseases (debilitated Mercury 12L, 3L)

Kali Sahama         8 Aq 36' 22.12" Sata      Misfortune (Saturn 7L, 8L in star of Venus)

Mrityu Sahama      26 Aq 55' 04.91" PBha      Death (Jupiter 6L, 9L in Abhukta Mula)

Apamrityu Sahama    1 Ta 57' 22.33" Krit      Untimely death (bad death) (Sun 2L in Ketu star)

Artha Sahama       17 Sg 08' 47.24" PSha      Wealth (Baadhaka Venus- 11L, 4L)

·         Venus is the lord of the Punya Sahama. Venus being the Baadhaka it indicates less fortunate times for the country.

·         Venus is once again the lord of Artha Sahama causing a big dent in wealth and wealth production this year (Vikari)

·         The Universal 6^th lord Mercury debilitated in the 9^th house amplifies the Roga factor.

·         Saturn, the 8^th lord in 6^th is the Kali Sahama lord. Needless to say how bad it can go.

·         Jupiter already suffering in Abhukta Mula is the lord of Mrityu Sahama. This substantiates death and devastation linked with beleaguered Jupiter – i.e., Adharma. This also gives us the clue on whom to propitiate or strengthen to come out of the current crisis. It is Jupiter.

·        Sun whose star Krittika being the lord of Apamrityu signifies fire related unnatural deaths. The anti-CAA protests turned violent by setting fire to vehicles around the time the Sun entered the 6^th house (Sagittarius). That also coincided with the solar eclipse in the fiery sign of Sagittarius. Horrific deaths followed when the Sun was moving past this house. The Sun is the trigger of events in the Annual Solar chart.

Indian Independence chart:

In the Indian Independence chart, India is running a tough period throughout the Moon Maha dasa between 03-09-2015 to 03-09-2025. With Moon in the 3^rd house, afflicted by conjunction with four planets, it loses its strength though it is in its own house. With the 3^rd house signifying siblings, the country will face troubles from the co-born countries, particularly Pakistan and Muslims.

Currently Saturn Bhukti running between 03-12-2019 and 02-07-2021has coincided with the outbreak of anti-CAA protests and now the pandemic disease. The slow moving Saturn slows down progress besides giving troubled times. This continues throughout the period of the Solar Annual chart of this year (Vikari) and next year (Sarvari). However in its capacity as Yoga Karaka, Saturn is likely to have milder impact in slowing down the economy.

Mesha Sankramana for Sarvari (2020-2021)

The next Mesha Sankramana happens on 13^th April 2020. The planetary positions are shown below.

Salient features:

·         The lagna is moving (Chara) located in Libra, a sign identified with Balance. The people get what is due.

·         The 6^th lord turns out to be Jupiter which goes into debility in the 4^th house (domestic / internal) showing the affliction by the disease on the country. However the presence of the sign lord Saturn in the same house makes Jupiter overcome the debility (Neecha Bhanga)

·         Mars the signifactor of vitality, though happens to be the lord of Maraka houses (2^nd and 7^th) becomes exalted in the same house (Capricorn) further releasing Jupiter from debility and accentuating life force.

·         Saturn becomes the Yoga karaka for Sarvari Annual chart. Its 10^th aspect on the lagna whose lord it is friendly with, is beneficial in bringing out the country from troubled times.

·         This Yoga karaka offers succor to the beleaguered Jupiter too. Its aspect on the 6^th house and its association with the 6^th lord whose debility it reduces, offers relief from this pandemic as far as India is concerned. Propitiation of Saturn, worship of Village deities, Hanuman and Iyyappa greatly relieves the misery of the people.

·         Saturn and Jupiter have exchanged their houses in the Navamsa chart signifying mutual benefit from each other. Saturn removes the debility of Jupiter and restores Dharma while Jupiter aids in establishing fortunes of the people

·         Mars by asepcting its own house (Aries) and its friend, the exalted Sun (though a Baadhaka) reduces Maraka and Baadhaka potential of the disease.    

Sahamas:

Punya Sahama  (7 Pi 38' 04.08" UBha) signifying Fortune and  good deeds is in the star of Saturn, the Yoga Karaka which offers the great balm to the country (Positive)

Artha Sahama   (27 Le 55' 40.02" UPha) signifying wealth is lorded by the Sun, exalted in the 7^th house. Though the Baadhaka for this Annual solar chart it is aspected by the 7^th lord Mars from its exalted position and gains vargotthama. This should make a bounce back possible but not an absolute one as the Sun does not cross Mars anytime in this year. (Mixed)

Roga Sahama   (29 Le 18' 54.28" UPha) signifying diseases is lorded by the same Sun in the same sign as Artha Sahama. Combined reading of the two shows that cost or stress on finances caused by this pandemic is going to be substantial for the country. However the astrological relief gained by the Sun is a factor in minimizing the impact of the disease. (Mixed)

Kali Sahama   (5 Sg 31' 35.82" Mool) signifying misfortunes is in the star of Ketu joined with Moon in the 3^rd house whose lord Jupiter enjoys Neecha Bhanga. Business houses will be able to bounce back with limited damage. Losses caused by this pandemic will be within bearable limits and there is scope to pick up. (Mixed)

Mrityu Sahama   (29 Ar 18' 54.28" Krit) signifying death is lorded by Sun which is also associated with Artha and Roga. The damage will be limited for reasons explained already. (Mixed)

Apamrityu Sahama  (15 Ge 28' 36.21" Ardr ) signifying untimely and unfortunate death caused by the pandemic is lorded by Rahu positioned in the 9^th house. Rahu is in its own star and not aspected by any planet. Its sign dispositor Mercury is debilitated in the 6^th house but attains neecha bhanga by occupying its exalted own house in the Navamsa. That this happens to be the 6^th Navamsa is a caveat that pulls us back from giving a clean chit. However in the absence of any modifying effect on Rahu, it can be expected to behave like Saturn. As such the death count from this pandemic is likely to be limited. (Positive)

Further course of the Pandemic for India.

·         The Solar Year chart opens with Saturn, Jupiter and Mars together in a sign. For an individual this combination signifies a scar from some damage or wound. For the nation, the Solar year opens with a scar, perhaps a dent on its resources. By the time the solar year begins, the country would have considerably bled, exhausted and caused damage to its resources.

·         Though recovery in terms of number of cases detected and dead is possible by 13^th April, certain movements by Saturn and Jupiter are going to cause troubles on and off.

·         The first trouble comes from Saturn which begins retrogression on May 11^th. This is followed by Jupiter when it begins retrogression on May 14^th. These two movements show reversal of the gains made on 13^th April. There is likely to be an increase in cases after 11^th May.

·         With Jupiter re- entering Sagittarius on 8^th July there is likely to be a drop in affliction.

·         On 13^th September Jupiter turns forward in its own sign. Ketu is about move over to Scorpio. Globally the intensity of the pandemic would come down. Break-through in treatment also is possible after this.

·         On 29^th September Saturn also comes in forward motion. Signs of improvement likely globally and in India.

·         On November 20^th Jupiter re-enters Capricorn and attains Neecha Bhanga once again. Substantial improvement in containing the disease in India and globally.

·         On December 22^nd, Jupiter overtakes Saturn moving in the star of the Sun. That signals the end of threat from this disease.

·         By the time Sun enters Capricorn on 14^th January 2021, healing will be in place – in terms of effective medicine against the disease, prevention (like vaccination) and rebound from economic slowdown.

·         On April 5^th, Jupiter moves over to the next sign, Aquarius. The disease will be completely controlled worldwide.

·         As far as India is concerned the current Dasa- Bhukti not supporting positive features, the economic rebound will happen by July 2021.

The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Capricorn where Jupiter debilitates and Saturn comes to the rescue of Jupiter is a once in sixty year event. During the last round too an epidemic passed off. But in the current closely inter connected world the impact is felt higher. A revolutionary kind of change in the perception of Life and practices can also be expected with Pluto moving over to Capricorn now.

Another take away is the resurrection of Dharmic ideas of the Hindu society. We have reached far into breaking point now. The re-emergence of Jupiter from its sign of debility is likely to usher in revival of Dharma and glory to Vedic religion.

asato ma sadgamaya

tamaso ma jyotirgamaya

mrtyorma amrtam gamaya

om shanti shanti shanti.

UPDATE ON THE STATE OF AFFAIRS FOR THE USA

With the US worst affected by this pandemic, I am giving here the analysis for the US.

The annual solar chart of the US for Vikari year (2019-20) is given below.

Annual Solar chart for the USA 2019-2020

Punya Sahama lord: Rahu

Artha Sahama lord : Ketu

Roga Sahama lord : Ketu

Kali Sahama lord : Saturn 

Mrityu Sahama lord : Ketu

Apamrityu Sahama lord : Rahu 

The lagna falls at Capricorn with the 6th lord Mercury in debility in the star of Jupiter. Jupiter being the sign dispositor, the same story repeats that I wrote for the Jagat lagna of Vikari year. 

• The trio (Saturn - Ketu - Jupiter) falling in the 12th house, the country had gone into ICU after the Sun crossed the lagna. 
• The lords of all the relevant Sahamas are badly placed.
• Saturn the lord of 2nd (wealth) is in 12th (Vyaya) indicating dissipation of wealth on medical expenses. 
• Venus, the Yoga karaka is in the 2nd house of wealth, but posited in the star of afflicted Jupiter and aspected by Saturn and Ketu from the sign of losses.
• Mars, the Baadhaka transiting Rohini in Purva punya afflicts both Rohini (significator for people) and the 12th house. 
• Needless to state what all these mean. We are witnessing now. 

Now the most crucial question: Was the US the target of some foul play?

In the case of diseases for man, we categorize the diseases arising from Visible (drishta nimittaja) and invisible (adrishta nimittaja) causes. If 6th lord and 6th house related planets are causing the affliction, there are visible causes for the disease and its manifestation. If the Baadaka lord is seen involved in causing the affliction we cannot pinpoint any known or visible and palpable cause for the disease (affliction). Such diseases are attributed to sorcery, foul play etc. They can not be scientifically analysed nor cured. 

In the above chart of USA for Vikari year, the Baadhaka lord Mars is sitting in Purva Punya house thereby denting the gains of the nation. By aspecting the 12th house of the dreadful combination it  signifies hospitalisation, losses and death.  

I leave the deduction to viewer's wisdom and of course to TIME.

The same Baadhaka planet becomes the 6th lord (incidental disease) and joins the 8th (inherent disease) in the 8th house (Maraka) along with the Baadhaka Jupiter in Sharvari Annual solar chart for the USA. It is shown below. 

Annual Solar chart for the USA (2020-2021)

Punya Sahama lord: Jupiter (Baadhaka)
Artha Sahama lord : Sun (3rd lord exalted in 9th from 3rd)
Roga Sahama lord : Ketu (Maraka)
Kali Sahama lord : Mars (6th lord)
Mrityu Sahama lord : Ketu (Maraka)
Apamrityu Sahama lord : Mars (6th lord)

• 6th (Mars) and 8th lord (Saturn) going to 8th house (death) of inherent disease foretells bad times ahead. The Solar year opens with worser times than what it experiences now. 

• The two (Mars and Saturn) joined with Baadhaka Jupiter in the 8th is once again an indication of the 'Invisible hand' (Adrishta nimittaja) in wrecking havoc in the country. This feature appearing for the 3rd time after annual solar chart for the the globe in 2019-2020, the USA annual chart for 2019-2020 and again for 2020-2021 is an unmissable feature of some foul play targeted at the USA. A case of Adharma going beyond a limit that the God houses in the USA are all closed. 

• Moon, the 2nd lord (wealth) has joined Ketu in the 7th house (Baadhaka and Maraka). Not a good sign for wealth and health.

• Mercury, the 4th lord (domestic) which also happens to be the lagna lord is debilitated in the 10th (Karma, Jeevana) The sign dispositor is Baadhaka Jupiter in debility in the 8th. The neecha bhanga is of little use in that location. The damage is done. The country is beleaguered. 

• The only redeeming feature is the Sun (lord of Artha Sahama for wealth) which happens to be the 3rd lord (action, courage, resurrection) exalted in the 11th (Labha) which happens to be the 9th house from the 3rd signifying positivism and some luck in making gains. 

• The trigger point of resurrection starts once the Sun enters the 3rd house (Leo) on 17th August 2020.

• In a nutshell, disease and death continue, more spending on disease and a turn around in economy and finances from mid August. 

To make sure that things will become alright thereafter let me check 2021-2022 Annual solar chart for the USA. It is given below.

Annual Solar Chart for the USA 2021-2022

Punya Sahama lord: Rahu 

Artha Sahama lord : Jupiter 
Roga Sahama lord : Sun 
Kali Sahama lord : Venus 
Mrityu Sahama lord : Mercury
Apamrityu Sahama lord : Rahu

• Jupiter emerges from debility and is posited in the 7th in the star of Mars, which happens to be both Yoga karaka and Baadhaka. Mars in the 11th (Upachaya) makes it auspicious.

• 6th house position of the 6th lord Saturn in its own house stems out its inauspiciousness. Complete recovery indicated by this.

• Mars (Yoga karaka and Baadhaka as well) aspecting it from the 11th (8-6 axis) shows strides in health and medicine sector besides developing strategy to checkmate the invisible enemy.

• Mercury, the 2nd lord (wealth) in the 8th and  Ketu in the 4th are factors that show that people are not yet back to routine life. 

• However lagna lord Sun getting exalted in the 9th and joined with 10th lord Venus shows great revival by a highly motivated country. Rahu in 10th will help in taking bold steps for moving forward. 

• In a nutshell, the year from March 2020 to March 2021 will be tough, though economic recovery will be possible from August 2020 onwards. 
• 2021 will see the country move forward. 
• All is not lost.