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What is Jyotish Shastra? There is no English equivalent, but below are a few concepts you may wish to start investigating that allows the Vidya or branch of science to keep her dignity.....
Jyotiṣa - Eye of the Vedapuruṣa:
Jyotiṣa is a respected part of the Veda-Purush (the Being or Person of the Vedas). It is reverently called the Vision or Eye of the Knowledge-Person (Vedapurusha)
Pāṇinīya-Śikṣā 41–42:
छन्दः पादौ तु वेदस्य हस्तौ कल्पोऽथ पठ्यते । ज्योतिषामयनं चक्षुर्निरुक्तं श्रोत्रमुच्यते ॥ ४१ ॥शिक्षा घ्राणं तु वेदस्य मुखं व्याकरणं स्मृतम् ।तस्मात्साङ्गमधीत्यैव ब्रह्मलोके महीयते ॥ ४२ ॥
chandaḥ pādau tu vedasya hastau kalpo’tha pathyate | jyotiṣāmayanaṃ cakṣur niruktaṃ śrotram ucyate || 41 || śikṣā ghrāṇaṃ tu vedasya mukhaṃ vyākaraṇaṃ smṛtam |
tasmāt sāṅgam adhītyaiva brahmaloke mahīyate
— These verses personify the Veda-Puruṣa and state “Jyotiṣa… cakṣus (the eyes)”, i.e., Jyotiṣa is the eye(s) of the Veda.
Veda (वेद).— The root 'Vid' in Sanskrit means 'to know’
Veda (वेद) refers to “knowledge, or the four primary books of knowledge compiled by Śrī Vyāsadeva: the Ṛg Veda, Sāma Veda, Atharva Veda and Yajur Veda”. Veda (वेद) in general is sacred knowledge perceived, not learned in school or intellectually.
This concept of receiving knowledge has no word in English. This is similar to the 6 Darshans of Bharat (India) that we "witnessed" or perceived as well. So Vedapurusha means the "Knowledge Personified" or "Knowledge Person"
Kālapuruṣa:
Kālapuruṣa (कालपुरुष): kāla-puruṣa is time personified (Varāhamihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā)
jyotiṣām ayanaṁ sākṣād
yat taj jñānam atīndriyam
praṇītaṁ bhavatā yena
pumān veda parāvaram
This reference from the Shrimad Bhagavatam reveals Jyotish Shastra as an important guide for illumining previous Karmas and the release of those previous Karmas into the life as "phalita" or Karmaphal.
Jyotish is a study of time, not personality such as in the West. It is a study of the timing of the release of Karmaphal (fruits of previous Karma)
Jyotiṣa: A Limb or Vedāṅga of the Vedas
“तत्रापरा ऋग्वेदो यजुर्वेदः सामवेदोऽथर्ववेदः शिक्षा कल्पो व्याकरणं निरुक्तं छन्दो ज्योतिषमिति । अथ परा यया तदक्षरमधिगम्यते ॥ ५ ॥”
“tatrāparā ṛgvedo yajurvedaḥ sāmavedo’tharvavedaḥ śikṣā kalpo vyākaraṇaṃ niruktaṃ chando jyotiṣam iti | atha parā yayā tadakṣaram adhigamyate || 5 ||
— This explicitly lists Śikṣā, Kalpa, Vyākaraṇa, Nirukta, Chandas, Jyotiṣa as the six Vedāṅgas.
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