Horoscope reading is considered an integral part of astrology; horoscope reading is practical and is considered applied astrology. The author, who is an expert in astrology and analyses of horoscopes, discusses the astrological significance of individual horoscopes, gives biographical information about eminent personalities and provides us with information on various events relating to history of the respective countries.
As Carlyle has written, ?The history of the world is nothing but the biographies of great men.? The author of the book analyses horoscopes of eminent Indians to show that the history of a nation is written in the biographies of its great people and to substantiate his conclusions, he includes for study the birth charts along with the date of birth, time of birth, tithi, place of birth, balance of vimsottari dashaI, the main characteristics of the individual as indicated in the horoscope, detailed analyses of the horoscopes, such as amsha charts, bhava charts, degree of the planets, etc. Detailed analyses of the individual horoscopes are not given as it would have been a Herculean task to do so. Brief bio-data of well known persons are given to facilitate correlation of astrological principles and significance to the characteristics of the persons and events that occurred in their lives on moments of planetary positions in their horoscopes.
What is noteworthy is that horoscopes of persons from various walks of life are included to facilitate the judgement of horoscopic principles in every activity and profession. The author clarifies that discrepancies in dates and the timings of birth in respect to some persons can alter the predictions when studied by different writers. Since different ayanmasas are being followed by astrologers. In such cases the horoscope will naturally be different and also the results. In fact, there are examples where different lagna and planetary positions are found for the same person. Instead of ignoring such cases outright, the author has included the appropriate horoscopes, leaving it to the reader to find out the truth.
Talking of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the author says that in his horoscope, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu are exalted. The sun and Jupiter are in the seventh house, making him enjoy raja yoga. Mars alone is yogakaraka and is aspected by Jupiter. There is also adhi yoga in the horoscope. The Leo lagna and the powerful Mars make him courageous, valiant and a great warrior.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa'shoroscope shows that he has Aquarius in his lagna and rasi, and this makes him philosophical and mystical. People born in this sign are strong minded. The sun, Moon and Mercury in this sign make him a spiritualist and a saint. The yogakaraka planet Venus is exalted while Jupiter aspects the lagna and the Moon. Saturn makes him a worshipper of Kali.
Guru Golwalkar'shoroscope shows the lagna lord, Saturn, who is associated with the fifth and tenth Lord Venus and is situated in the second in his own house. Lagna is aspected by Jupiter and the ninth house is aspected by Jupiter. So his lagnas, the ninth and tenth houses, are very strong. He dedicates his life to the welfare of the people and country. He is a patriot and freedom fighter.
In Vijaya Raje Scindia'shoroscope, Jupiter is exalted and aspects the tenth house, which too is aspected by the sun. Mercury is well placed. There is Lakshmi yoga, thus accounting for her success in politics and enjoyment of power and popularity in life.
In Lal Krishna Advani'shoroscope, the lagna lord, Mars, aspects the ninth lord, the Moon, leading to raja yoga. Venus, the lord of the tenth and Jupiter, the lord of the fifth house, have mutual aspects. This too leads to raja yoga. Rahu is exalted. The sun and Venus cancel debility. The fifth lord, Jupiter, aspects the fourth lord, Saturn and the other beneficent yogas help him enjoy a bright political career. He is very honest and free from corruption.
Discussing Murli Manohar Joshi'shoroscope, the author says that in his horoscope the ninth lord, Venus, is associated with the tenth lord, Mars, which is present in the twelfth house. The lagna lord, Saturn, is also present with these two planets, thus causing him to enjoy raja yoga. Jupiter aspects these three planets, making Murli Manohar Joshi all the more strong in his views. There is Budhaditya yoga in the eleventh house apart from exchange of houses between Jupiter and Mercury. The influence of these planets makes him professor of science and involved in politics. He has rigid political views as he strongly desires to restore cultural and social values and because of which, he is not liked by secularists.
As for Hema Malini, the presence of the lagna lord, Moon, in the ninth house and the mutual kendra position of the Moon and Jupiter cause her to enjoy gajakeshari yoga. Jupiter also aspects Venus and Saturn situated in the second house. Mars is the yogakaraka and is present in the fifth house of intelligence. These favourable positions of the planets make her a successful actress and dancer.
The book tells what we all already know about the eminent personalities included but nothing about the future of the personalities who are alive. Anyhow the book may be of interest to students of astrology.
(Sri Dandapani Panda, 95 Madhusudan Nagar, Bhubnaneswar-751001.)
