The Sun will be transiting its exaltation sign of Aries from April 13th until the 14th of May. It is a New Year for many who follow a solar calendar, I wish everyone new beginnings and a very happy new year. The Aditya associated with Aries is Dhātṛ (धातृ) from the root word ‘dha’ meaning to place or put or hold, thus a supporter of world.
There are a troop of seven in the chariot of the Sun every month comprising of the Aditya, a Sage that praises him, a Gandharva (celestial being) who sings, an Apsara (nymph) who dances, a Yakṣa (nature spirits) that trims the reigns, a Sarpa (serpent) harnessing the steed and a Rākṣasa (guardian) that attends to him on the steps. I have eulogised the Adityas from my learnings from my studies of Jyotish, Vedanta and the Puranas in the previous years. In the past 12 months, I have been elaborating on the sages that accompany the Aditya.
The sarpa that accompanies Dhātṛ Aditya in the chariot is Vāsuki. Śri Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavat Gīta verse 10.28 identifies himself with Vāsuki with the phrase “sarpāṇām asmi vāsukiḥ”. In the legend of “churning of the ocean”, Vāsuki was used as a rope to churn the mountain Mandara to get nectar of immortality. In another story Vāsuki was used as a string on the bow of Lord Śiva to destroy the Tripura (three cities). The story goes that the demon Tāraka had three sons who had each received a boon from the creator Brahma of an aerial city built by Mayasura, the divine architect. They could only be destroyed by an arrow that could merge the three cities into one and set them ablaze. Lord śiva created a bow with Mount Meru, Vāsuki as string for the bow and Vishnu as the arrow that destroyed the three cities simultaneously.
The story of Tripura or the three cities is nothing but an allegorical representation of the condition of the Jīvātma (individual spirit) that falsely identifies with the three states of waking, sleeping and deep sleep and the three bodies – gross, subtle and causal while enjoying the world (jagat) By constantly dwelling on the knowledge gained from the scriptures and with the help of an alert and focused mind, the Jīvātma wakes up from the world (maha nidra) as it realises there is no real distance between itself and the original consciousness, Brahman.
This concept is captured in Verse 2.2.4 of Mundaka Upanishad beautifully.
प्रणवो धनुः शरो ह्यात्मा ब्रह्म तल्लक्ष्यमुच्यते। अप्रमत्तेन वेद्धव्यं शरवत्तन्मयो भवेत्।।2.2.4।।
Omkara is the bow. Atma is indeed the arrow. Brahman is said to be the target. It should be penetrated by the alert one. One should become one with that (Brahman) like the arrow.
The churning metaphorically represents constant introspection – conversion of knowledge into wisdom. The fire that is kindled by the churning burns the false identification with the three states and the three-bodies (three cities) metaphorically uniting with Brahman. This fire of knowledge burns all our karma (sanchita karma) making us immortal as Śri Kṛṣṇa states in verse 4.37 in Bhagavat Gīta -ज्ञानाग्नि: सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा.
From the both the legends, Vāsuki represents a fine alert mind capable of no distortion, thus he is associated with the planet Moon in jyotiṣ, and he adorns the neck of Śiva as he is one with the Brahman, represented by Śiva .
Transits for the month
We start a new Year as Sun enters Aries. The new year or samvatsara ( for some beginning on caitra śukla pratipada on the 8th of April) is called “Krodhī”, meaning endowed with anger. It is the 3rd year of the 5 years that belongs to the deity Viśvedeva. According to Varahamihira, the world should feel exceedingly miserable. Anger is one of the shad-ripus (6 innate weakness) associated with the planet Mars. The emotion is expressed when a desire is frustrated. Anger can be actively expressed or worse latent (passive aggressive or defensive behaviour). Śri Kṛṣṇa, in Bhagavat Gīta verse 2.63, details how anger leads to delusion and destroys the intellect leading to the ruin of man. Considering this, it may be better to actively manage our expectations this year by not have a long list of binding desires.
Sun will be exalted in Aries as it joins Jupiter. Normally this forms a very auspicious Gopala Yoga. A point to note is that Jupiter is the lord of sign Pisces that hosted the eclipse. Jupiter will be in exchange with Mars in Pisces from April 23rd until it moves to Taurus on May 1st. An exalted Venus, Rahu and a retrograde debilitated Mercury are in Pisces. The exaltation of Venus in Pisces brings with it great devotion, but Venus will lose its full potential as it was in the eclipsed house. Moreover, the effects on relationships will be distorted due to its conjunction with Rahu on the 17th. The conjunction of Venus with a retrograde Mercury on the 19th will bring with it a commercial agenda but will be conducive for artistic pursuits. Venus leaves for Aries on the 24th April and will experience combustion. The trial and tribulations of Mars is not over as it enters Pisces on April 23rd to meet Rahu after a difficult combat with Saturn in Aquarius. Again, pay attention to communication as Mercury brings a message from Rahu as it turns direct on the 25th and re-enters Aries on the 10th of May to join Venus and Sun.
Jupiter moves to Taurus a fruitful sign on the 1st of May finally ending the influence of Rahu breaking the Guru Chandala Yoga. We expect the auspiciousness and benign energy of Jupiter to flow, however there will be a graha mālika yoga again in the sky from Aquarius to Taurus to contend with. This yoga will persist till 12th of July. Note the ending and staring points – Saturn and Jupiter. The association of these two planets brings creativity and expansion. The sign that benefits is Scorpio as the two planets will jointly aspect it. However, one needs to be patient as Jupiter will have to contend with three malefics Mars, Rahu and Saturn behind it, which will obstruct its flow of beneficence. Jupiter will also be combust from the 3rd of May to the 5th of June. This combustion of Jupiter is welcome as it can be cleansed of its Machiavellian associations of past year. Forbearance and patience is the need of the hour.
Festivals
We celebrate the birth of the Śri Rāma ama the embodiment of good conduct and virtue (uttama purusha) on the Navami tithi of the lunar month of Chitra on 16th April and that of his devoted follower Hanuman on Poornima tithi on 23rd April. Akshaya Tritiya, literally meaning unending prosperity falls on 10th of May when the two sattvic planets Sun and Moon are exalted. It is a day to be charitable.
Let us invoke the blessings of Dhātṛ Aditya to uphold, sustain and support unity amongst human beings.
ॐ घृणिः धातृ आदित्य
om ghṛṇiḥ dhātṛ āditya 🙏🏼
Picture from Yale Collection- An 11th century sculpture of the god Surya with eleven other Adityas at top https://commons.wikimedia.org/…/File:Surya_with_Adityas…