The Phenomenon of Venus

On 8 June 2004 Prepare for 2012

KN Rao

As usual, journalists in the print and television media rushed to astrologers to ask what would be the effect of the passage of Venus across the bright disk of Sun on 8 June 2004.

My answer was that no astrologer could really say anything as it happens once in 105 to 122 years and there can be no research on it by a single astrologer.Think of astrologers born and dead between 1877 and 2004 who may never had an opportunity to witness it, leave alone doing any research.

What this phenomenon is can be understood if the distinction between lunar and solar eclipses and this phenomenon is distinguished. There is the role of Rahu/Ketu in lunar and solar eclipses while here all that happens is that Venus comes between the earth and Sun. Other planet may or may not join it as happens also in solar and lunar eclipses. So for the purpose of our discussion we can call it Venus- Sun Phenomenon or VSP.

Yet, interestingly, there is a mention of VSP in Bhadrabahu Samhita. But before that this phenomenon should be understood. Mercury and Venus which are inside the orbit of the earth alone can pass between the earth and Sun. Some features about it are to be seen first.

1. It happens once in about 125 years.

2. Venus is in inferior conjunction in such cases meaning it is between the earth and Sun.

3. It takes place only in Vrisha and Vrischika rashis.

4. It comes in pairs but not always. For instance what is happening on 8 June 2004 will repeat after eight years and then after 105 or 122 years.

5. The last such transit was in 1876.

6. In six thousand years such transits have been eighty one in Vrisha in the month of June and thirty seven in Vrischika in the month of December.

A shloka in Bhadrabahu Samhita refers to this phenomenona which is very remarkable because that was the pre-telescope era though it has been said transits of Venus across the disk of the Sun are among the rarest of planetary alignments. "Indeed, only six such events have occurred since the invention of the telescope (1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874 and 1882). The next two transits of Venus will occur on 2004 June 08 and 2012 June 06." Bhadra Bahu Samhita describes this phenomenon.

Pravishan Bhargavah Surye

Is an unambiguos description of such a transit in the pre-telescope era.

What are the general results: Mandal and Veethi?

What are the results of the transit of Venus generally every year is explained in Bhadra Bahu Samhita according to the Mandal and Veethi it is in.

Free translation

Venus indicates past, future, rain and drought, fear, fire accidents, victory and defeat, money and property.

If conjoined with Sun, Venus is seen in the middle of the sky it creates fear for mankind particularly the lower class people.

MANDALA

Starting with Bharani, four nakshatras each form one mandala, totalling six which should be known. They are Rakta, Parush, Deeptimaan, Urdhva, Chanda and Teekshna. Their results should be understood according to their names.

Bharani, Krittika, Rohini and Mrigshira form the first mandala.

Ardra, Punarvasu, Pushya and Ashlesha form the second mandala.

Five nakshatras from Magha, which are Magha, Purvaphalguni, Uttarphalguni, Hasta and Chitra form the third mandala.

Swati, Vishakha and Anuradha form the fourth mandala.

Jyestha, Mula, Poorvashadha, and Uttarshadha form the fifth mandala.

Dhanista, Shatabhisha, Poorvabhadra, Uttarabhadra and Revati form the sixth mandala.

Six nakshatras from Dhanista, which include Dhanista, Shatabhisha, poorvabhadrapad, Uttarabhadrapada and Revati are known as teekshna meaning ferocious.

Results of Mandala Venus is placed in

If Venus is in the first or second mandala the results are ordinary. If in the third and fifth, they are said to be undesirable.

The fourth and the sixth mandala are excellent while the third and fifth are condemned.

NOTE: The June phenomenon of Venus should be, according to always ordinary while in the December phenomenon, it will have to be seen if it is in Jyestha or not. In Jyestha, it is bad as it falls in the fifth Mandala.

If Venus is retrograde, it does not rain. If Venus is in other than the fourth and sixth Mandalas, it creates troubles, revolts etc.

If Venus rises or sets in the first mandala, there is ordinary rain and the agricultural crop is also ordinary.

There are troubles, in Bhoj, Kalinga, Kashmir, Yavana, Malava, Soursena, cows, Brahmins and Shabars

If Venus stays long in the second mandala it destroys country's wealth, water and agricultural crop.

If Venus stays long in the third mandala there are diseases and deaths in the direction which it indicates.

If Venus stays long in the fourth mandala in Shayana avastha, good vehicles are destroyed and agricultural grains.

If Venus stays long in the fifth mandala there is famine and it causes destruction in the area or region indicated by that.

If Venus stays long in the sixth mandala it causes destruction in the region which it indicates. Slow moving Venus destroys the populace, while the fast moving one, the king.

VEETHI

Ashwini, Bharani, Krittika form Naagveethi.

Rohini, Mrigshira and Ardra form Gajveethi.

Punarvasu, Pushya, and Ashlesha form Airavat Veethi

Poorvabhadrapad, Uttabhadrapad and Revati form Goveethi.

Hasta, Vishakha and Chitra form Ajveethi

Jyestha, Mula and Anuradha form Mrigveethi.

Poorvashadha, Uttarasha, Swati and Abhijit form Vaishwanaraveethi.

Predictions from all this should be based on the shape and size of Venus.

When Venus gets eclipsed, there are diseases, terrible fear, outbreak of fires etc. take place.

But it must have been observed by ancient as the following shloka states

PRAVISHAN BHARGAVAH SURYE

Meaning when Venus enters Sun.

Having got some hints from here, we can evolve a methodology of interpreting it by a
combined reading of this and Brihat Jataka of Varahimihira by finding out:

In which Veethi it is passing through as given in Bhadrabahu Samhita.

The results attributed are according to ancient classification which will be observed in 2004 and tested in 2012.

The possible results to be watched in the next few months are:

1. One result which will interest many in India is what will happen in state assembly elections in Maharastra and Bihar due this year. Will there should be some upset?

2. Since it is Venus will it lead to any eye disease or other type of troubles to the eye?

3. Is there any fear a terrible computer virus doing more damage than ever before?

4. Is there any fear of damage to various modes of transport?

Now what has happened in the past when this phenomenon occured can be of interest for some understanding of this.

All that can be done is to go through historical records available and note the event recorded.

Keep in the mind the following also:
1. Venus is in the first Mandala being in Mrigshira nakshatra and the results are said to be ordinary.

2. Venus is passing through Gaja Veethi which in modern parlance can mean modes of transport apart from elephants.

3. Rains or the south west monsoon of 2004 can be ordinary.

4. The areas to be affected can be eastern and western India where elections are due this year in 2004.

Keep a detailed record of it so that in the year 2012 when it repeates in the "double transit of Venus" across Sun and see if it helps us understand this phenomenon as we have no such written record anywhere.

Therefore see what happened when in the past this occured.

Note - Generally when big historic changes take place it is the roles of Jupiter and Saturn that is examined. Adding to such changes some violence is to be seen by looking at the association of Mars and Rahu with these.

What role can Venus and Mercury can have in some historic changes is a question worth examining since lot of attention has been drawn to this phenomenon in the year 2004 when Venus was between earth and Sun on 8 June.

The mention of it in books on mundane astrology like Brihat Samhita and Bhadra Bahu Samhita is there but mainly for weather because in an agricultural country like India, these have been excellent astro- meteorological principles. Some indications of those disturbances in different regions and kingdoms which are of minor historical significance, is also made. There is no mention of any serious calamity. For the age in which we live, it should be seen what affect VSP has on industrial products also. That should be an area of vast research

Chinese associate war with it

It is therefore necessary to examine if the eclipse like phenomenon of Venus happening between 105 and 122 years has any historical significance at all or is it merely the Chinese astrological principle of Venus causing wars etc. have been overplayed by some astrologers mainly of the west.

Mayan Calandar

During this period it as also been said that the Mayan calendar gives lot of significance to Venus and also that this calendar stops at 2012 when the Venus phenomenon will be witnessed again. Is it signifying the end of the world or is going to be the harbinger of a big change in the world is a debate going among some astrologers.

23 Nov 1396; 15:43; Delhi
Weak government in Delhi, the death of Firuz Tuglak (1388) and puppet governments one after another with court intrigues created a situation when Timurlaine who had come to know about it decided to attack India like the scourge he was. The devastation he left behind was such that for another fifty years, India, particularly could not recover. The saying then was

"From Delhi to Palam
Is the realm of Shah Alam"

But is heavily afflicted Venus the correct explanation? It is clear that the mutual aspects of Saturn and Mars explain it better.

1518 May 26; 22:28
Kutub Shah Dynasty in Golconda was founded when the Lodis became weak and were tottering only to vanish from Indian history.

In that transit Venus was not afflicted and was in Vrisha. Again it is the story of a weak power in Delhi in those days of monarchy when the informants of Babur, the descendant of Taimur and Changez Khan from his parental side waiting for an opportunity to attack India combined the zeal of a religious Islamic fanatic and the greed of a plundered to loot wealth of India.

1526 May 23; 16:13 - The battle of Panipat
The year 1526 is a famous year in Indian history because the Lodi dynasty ended

and Babar conquered India and established the famous Moghul empire. It was in this year that the famous battle of Panipat took place.

Mars and Jupiter were with Venus and Sun in Vrisha aspected by Saturn. It is easily the worst combination.

Note here the affliction of Venus.

Jupiter Venus combination has been described in old books of astrology as causing bloody battles.

07 Dec 1631 03:51: Delhi
1631 Dec 07; 03:51 - Decision to construction Taj Mahal

Mumtaz Begum died and Shahjahan decided to construct Taj Mahal in her memory. Newspapers reported wrongly that it was constructed this year. In fact, no great event of real benefit happened that year. Exalted Moon in Vrisha aspecting Venus,Mercury, Sun and Saturn. Mars also aspects it from Sima. Moon and Venus show marble and Mars construction here. Elsewhere in India wars and feuds were going on.

Shahjahan who had lot of familiarity and experience of military expeditions in south India was waiting for an opportunity to extend his kingdom deep down in south India. Ahmadnagar which had resisted Moghul onslaughts strongly was faced with problems of internal strife and the jealousies of the courtiers after the death of Malik
Ambar. It was the family tradition of the Moghuls to extend their empire southward and the personal ambition of Shahjahan.

Ahmadnagar was annexed in not time and rulers of Golcanda and Beejapur were left after they accepted the suzerainty of the Moghul emperor for their own safety. This policy was created sometime during the Venus phenomenon of 1631 and continued thereafter.

Still then in Indian history, invaders had come from north through the passes known as Khyber and Bolan mainly and they were Muslims.
.
In the seventeenth century, Christian powers of Europe, the Portugese, French and English had found their sea routes towards India and starting with trading, decided to establish their colonies here. But the English proved luckier than others.

It was from Madras in south India that the English spread fast in India , northward, as the Indian. kings as is well known, never put up a joint and combined resistance.

The city of Delhi said to be founded by Yudhishstira was also patronised by Moghul kings who later shifted their capital to Agra. In the year 1639 emperor Shah Jahan decided to shift the capital back from Agra in 1639.

Shah Jahan the great builder of palaces and forts contributed so much to the development and beautification of Delhi. It was known as the golden age of the Moghul empire also.

Venus was in Jyestha nakshatra with, Jupiter and Mercry and Rahu and had no malefic aspect.

There was no such bloody battle notable in this period as in others periods of the Venus phenomenon as here Saturn and Mars have are not afflicting Venus and have no mutual aspects also.

1761 Jun 06; 02:02 - Third battle of Panipat and the advent of the British Rule

The third battle of Panipat was the signal of the fall of all Indian resistance to the spread and firm hold of the British in India.

The planetary combination was frightening then. Mars was with Venus (Mrigshira nakshatra) in Vrisha aspected by Saturn.It was the beginning of the era of Indian rule by the British.

Note - here that in both the battles of Panipat, the first and the third such bad combination repeated.

Marathas who had become powerful under Peshwas had their sway over northern India. Then came Ahmed Shah Abdali and the result was the third battle of Panipat on January 14, 1761. Marathas who might have resisted the advance of the British lost, were routed in this battle and declined. The Moghul empire after Aurangzeb had
become weak.

The Marathas failed because they had no allies in northern India inspite of an efficient army. They were said to be rapacious and had antagonized all those who might have put up a combined resistance against the invader.

They had annoyed the states of Rajputana where they levied heavy taxes. They interfered in the afffairs of Awadh and had intruded into areas areas belonging to Sikhs. Jats too who suffered fines at their hands kept themselves away. Marathas had their own quarrels among themselves.

Ahmad Shah had invaded Punjab six times between 1748 and 1752 and sacked Delhi many times. He was a military leader and had no intention to carve out an Indian kingdom of his own. He was a plunderer and a rapacious military leader.

The field was ready for the British to run over India and establish the British Indian empire.

1769 Jun 03; 19:15 - First Mysore War

While the north was devastated by Ahmad Shah, in southern India, the British, come originaly as traders were showing their intention of carving an Indian empire. The Marathas and the Nizam were too weak to fight them and almost compromised with them. But there was Hyder Ali in Mysore with whom the British had to fight a hard and a very unsuccessful battle. The First Mysore War was one of those rare events in which the British for the first time suffered during their military adventures in India.

Venus was unafflicted in Vrisha. It was remarkable year for Hyder Ali when the First Mysore War took place and the British had to conclude a humiliating treaty with him.

1874 Dec 09; 01:49

Lord Beakensfield (Disraeli) decided to please the queen of England, Victoria and persuaded her to accept the position of the Queen of the British Indian empire an empire which was to end on 15 August 1947...

Queen Victoria became empress of India but the worst was famines in India, the worst being in Bihar. If the Ardra Pravesh horoscope for this year is prepared, the famine resulting not merely resulting from the economic policy of the British but from scanty rain will explain also this disaster. The British were totally indifferent to such big Indian tragedies.

Moon was debilitated and RKA fell along Mesh and Tula.

"The British Economic policy had a large role to play in the frequent occurrence of famines in India. The ruination of Indian industries increased the pressure on land. The land holdings became smaller and the number of mouths to be fed much larger. The British extracted maxim revenue in form of taxes from the peasantry through permanent settlement, ryotwari and mahalwari settlement. The new urban-based Zamindars had no interest in improvisation of land. The Indian peasant had neither improved implements nor better seeds.

The 19 th -20 th century in India was marred with famines. The first famine occurred in western Uttar Pradesh in 1860 in which two lakh people died.This was followed by famines in Orissa Bihar and Bengal. In 1876-1878 there was a severe famine in Mysore, Hydrabad, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. These famines further impoverished India inspite of the fact that India was rich in natural resources.

1882 Dec 06; 13:57

Telephones in India between Delhi and Bombay were introduced and became operative.

The year was also remembered for a cyclone in the Arabian sea but in June when 1,00,000 people were drowned.

After the Indian War of Independence of 1857, the British had become more and more insular and they lived in cantonments for their own safety far away from Indian families. Excluvity and snobbery became a habit with them. But in 1883 the British
decided to give to Indian judges to adjudicate offenses committed by Europeans. But the protests of Europeans was loud leading to its modification.

The Bengali intelligentsia understood it all and from then onwards the protests again British rule became a regular feature of Indian life.

Three facts that stand out in this small sample is that unless Mars, aturn,Rahu/Ketu and Jupiter join such a combination of the

Some possible conclusions

During the Venus phenomenon, nothing very significant has happened. The much talked of theory of peace descending on earth or the beginning of a new era did not happen. Since planets must affect lives on earth, what generally seemed to have happened was that with afflicted Venus when other malefics joined, some historic events did happen But the role of Venus in it cannot be isolated. In Indian history, such Venus has been the cause of foreign domination and slavery along with other planets is all that can be seen.

It is true, since it is Venus, we should see to what extent it affected society and trade. But such good histories with chronological narration is not available in India.

Analysis

(1) 23 Nov 1396; 15:43: Delhi - Venus was heavily afflicted and India was devastated by Taimurlaine.

(2) 1518 May 26 22:28 - Venus was no afflicted but was with Mercury. No major disaster like 1396 took place.

(3) 07 Dec 1631; 03:51 - Delhi - Venus was heavily afflicted but no major disaster took place. It is not known if famines occured or some other natural disaster not recorded in history.

(4) 1639 Dec 04; 14:57 - Venus was not heavily afflicted but was with Jupiter which is not favoured in mundane astrology. The British fought battles and got a foothold in India.

(5) 1761 Jun 06; 02:02 - Venus was very heavily afflicted. In the third battle of Panipat, Indian resistance to the future spread of British empire was totally broken down.

(6) 1874 Dec 09; 01:49 - Venus, Moon, Sun, Mercury were together and India became a colony of the queen of England when she was made the empress of India.

(7) 1882 Dec 06; 13:57 - Venus, Moon, Sun, Mercury and Mars were together. No
devastation took place. It was perhaps relatively peaceful period.

(8) 2004 8 June; 10:45 - Venus is with Mercury and Sun. We have in India a coalition government of political parties which fight against each other in state assembly elections but have struck up an opportunistic alliance at centre to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party led NDA out of power.