Hi Ernst and all,
Recent I have undertaken a study on Sarvatobhadra Chakra (SBC). I've often seen that in practice that Aries is fixed with Ashwini Nakshatra while constructing the SBC. Since the zodiac is tropical, which Ayanamsa should we use in SBC for predictive purposes? Do we use the plain old Lahiri and assume Aries=Ashwini in sidereal coordinates for constructing the chart, or do we use tropical coordinates for both signs and Nakshatras?
Thanks a lot.
THat's a good question. I think SBC has a lot of issues. I also do not agree with having one nakshatra small. I think we need to use 28 equal nakshatras. I think SBC needs a FULL overhaul in its astronomy. It's something I want to do after the Adityas as an understanding of the Adityas is part of the overhaul that I think the SBC needs.
ALso, it's VERY likely that SBC would be done with tropical nakshatras as given in the Vedanga Jyotisha.
As with the 28-Nakshatra scheme, I think both 27 and 28 Nakshatra schemes make sense. 27 is divisible by 3, and you can fit it in a triangle, and 3 is ruled by Mars, so its all about energy and transformation. 28 is divisible by 4, and you can fit it in a rectangle/square, which is ruled by Mercury, and thus indicates concrete manifestation of things in reality. Which explains the rectangular chart of SBC, as it is concerned with the concrete manifestation of things in reality.
When it comes to SBC though, I've seen astrologers divided on where to start the zodiac in SBC. Many astrologers fix Aries with Ashwini, while there's another group which fixes Aries with Krittika while constructing the SBC.
Additionally, I've also learned that practicing Swarodaya Tantra is extremely beneficial if you're doing SBC, since the vowels and sounds used in SBC are based on Swarodaya Tantra.
@shakyasimha You've got me curious about the Swarodaya Tantra and what the practice involves. Could you point me to any resources.
I've never heard of the Swarodaya Tantra and I'm curious about the source(s) of the SBC.
Thanks,
Simon
@mitryendra80 for most part its a very esoteric practice (hence Tantra). From what I know, its practiced specifically within the Shaiva Tantra circle (Kaula, Trika, Nātha, etc), as the science was revealed by Shiva himself, hence known as Shiva Swarodaya Vigya.
There's some books that teach the exoteric part of Swarodaya - the one's I've found are in Hindi so far, one by Kedar Nath Joshi and other by Shri Pitambarapeetha. You can also look into Sumeet Chugh's book on Prashna, he gives a brief overview about the science in the book.
@ernst This is something I've been wanting to become involved with for a long time. But its so darn controversial and can threaten careers, so I have decided to stay silent about it for years.
Speaking of careers, that decades-old study about the Sun in the lunar mansions and careers, which gave surprising results to a Krittika tropical ayanamsha, was the 1st thing I ever posted on the old Yahoo version of the forum.
@mitryendra80 I've been considering experimenting with Krittikadi Tropical Ayanamsa myself. Its also because in the Vedic literature it has been mentioned that the Nakshatra starts from Krittika, and in the ancient times, Aries was aligned with Krittika.
Here is the not so subtle hint that I think is required for SBC. To do Sarvabhadra chakra correctly you need to throw out the signs completely and replace them with the Adityas and put Arayamaa as the first in the east where they now put taurus and start the east with Krittika just as is drawn, so the first 7 nakshatras from krittika on the top row along with Arayamaa, Mrita and Varuna. And yes, do it it all tropically as per the Vedanga jyotish which uses tropical nakshatras. They use the 27 nakshatra scheme in vedanga jyotish adn start with Dhanishta on the winter soltice and when we convert that to 28 it puts krittika on the equinox with Araymaa.
@ernst by chance I fell over this post - after watching your video with Ryan few days ago - where you also mentioned the vedanga jyotish (which I wasn't aware of so far).
I found an SBC calculation for excel on the net, adapted it years ago for my use and added the Adityas now after reading this post. (see screenshot - hopefully I did it correctly). I also managed to put Dhanistha on the Winter Solstice for calculating the Nakshatras with SwissEphemeris.
The only question I am unclear about is how to use the 27 Nakshatra scheme, as Abjiit is part of the SBC. We use the 27 Nk scheme both for natal and transit positions?
Does anyone know where we can get more information on this? I haven't come across anything concrete when it comes to SBC...only things in passing. But I think there's a lot of great juice from studying the SBC. I would love to see how this plays out with the Adityas. Hopefully that will be a class down the line. HINT, hint.
@suzanstars SBC is actually quite a esoteric system that leans more onto Tantric side of things - hence the use of Swara (syllables) in the chart. Now deeper you dig into the Swaras, you'll come across an esoteric branch of astrology called Swara Jyotish, where you start to deal with how syllables and vibrations manifest in an astrological way.
It also explains why Nakshatra padas are assigned the syllables (look up Satapada Chakra, aka Avakahada Chakra).
As for the information - I've been learning bits and pieces about SBC from Indian astrologers who only happen to teach the thing in Hindi. I'll eventually share invaluable information on SBC once I'm done learning it and putting it to use myself - so you might want to wait a while 
.
@shakyasimha Do you know anything about the Hoda chakra (108 nakshatra pada syllables) and it's origin? Is it tantric as well?