[INDOLOGY] About "bha-graha"

[Mrinal Kaul]

Dear Prof Gansten,

Thanks very much for your email. Indeed the discussion is about determining
the most suitable time for following certain rituals. But I am curious
about "*bha*" that is prefixed to '*graha*'. In the *Tantrāloka* 28 and the
commentary titled Vivek thereupon by Jayaratha there are expressions like '
*bhagrahādyātmanaḥ*' (Viveka on 28.35) where he also quotes a verse that
reads '*bhagrahasamayaviśeṣaḥ*.....'. 28.40ab reads '.....
*bhagrahādyātmakatvāt* *viśeṣarūpatvameva* |' In 28.42cd Jayaratha begins
with a question '*nanu kasmād atra āśvayuje māsi bhagrahādiyogi nokta*....|'
to which Abhinavagupta is supposed to have replied
'*bhagrahasamayaviśeṣo*.....|'
28.46cd also reads '*dinavelābhagrahakalpanena*....|' 28.47cd has '
*bhagrahatithiḥ'* and in 28.49cd Jayaratha quotes from the *Bṛhatsaṃhitā*
4.4 and concludes after a short discussion there saying *sā hi tithir
ucyate yā bhagrahaiḥ sphuṭībhavati.* Again, 28.51d has
*tithibhagrahayogataḥ* and 28.52a has *bhagrahayogābhāve tithiḥ*.

I think Prof Gnoli also translated the expression as 'asterismi'. I think I
have some clarity now, but it would be nice if some expert is able to throw
more light, may be from Jyotiṣa texts.

Many thanks and best wishes.

Mrinal
------
*Mrinal Kaul, Ph.D.*
Assistant Professor - Manipal Centre for Humanities (MCH)
Coordinator - Centre for Religious Studies (CRS)
Dr TMA Pai Planetarium Complex
Alevoor Road, Manipal 576 104
Karnataka, INDIA
Tel +91-820-29-23567 Extn: 23567
https://iuo.academia.edu/MrinalKaul
email: mrinal.kaul@ <mrinal.kaul at manipal.edu>stx.oxon.org


On Tue, 24 Sep 2019 at 19:46, Martin Gansten via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> I am not entirely sure either, as I am not familiar with the text, but
> from the surrounding verses (as found on GRETIL
> <http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/1_sanskr/6_sastra/3_phil/saiva/tantralu.htm>)
> the context seems to be instructions for determining the most suitable time
> for one or more rituals (that is, muhūrtaśāstra: electional or katarchic
> astrology). Verse 45 has bhagrahau, making it probable that the compound
> should be understood as a dvandva throughout. In that case, bha is probably
> a synonym of nakṣatra or asterism ('zodiacal sign' would be another
> possibility, but I don't see the twelve signs mentioned at all, and the
> nakṣatras are typically much used in muhūrta), and graha means 'planet'.
> But what planet is meant, or what it is supposed to be doing, is not clear
> to me. As I said, I haven't studied the text, just looked at the section
> immediately surrounding the verse you asked about.
>
> Martin Gansten
>
> Den 2019-09-24 kl. 11:40, skrev Mrinal Kaul via INDOLOGY:
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> In the following verse of the *Tantrāloka* (28.42cd-43ab) of
> Abhinavagupta, I do not completely understand the expression *bha-graha*.
> The only thing I am sure is that this has to do with Jyotiṣa.
>
> *bhagraha*samayaviśeṣo nāśvayuje ko 'pi tena tadvarjam |
> velā*bhagraha*kalanā kathitaikādaśasu māseṣu ||
>
> Can someone guide me? I apologise for being illiterate in Jyotiṣa and I
> did not get much help from the obvious basic sources either. I hope I am
> not missing something very basic.
>
> Thanks very much in advance.
>
> Mrinal
> ------
> *Mrinal Kaul, Ph.D.*
> Assistant Professor - Manipal Centre for Humanities (MCH)
> Coordinator - Centre for Religious Studies (CRS)
> Dr TMA Pai Planetarium Complex
> Alevoor Road, Manipal 576 104
> Karnataka, INDIA
> Tel +91-820-29-23567 Extn: 23567
> https://iuo.academia.edu/MrinalKaul
> email: mrinal.kaul@ <mrinal.kaul at manipal.edu>stx.oxon.org
>
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