Tantric Astrology - Dettatreya Mahatantra ====================================== === The available text on Dattatreya Maha Tantra is a small text containing

15 c hapters and 160 slokas. This text is also known as "Siromani", meaning "gem in t he head'. The text is structured as a dialogue between lord Parameswara (lord Si va) & Dattatreya Maharshi. Kala Tantra (Astrology) and Kala Mantra (Medicine) ar e the 2 subjects dealt with in. These are 2 knowledge streams the tantrics (tant ric disciples) learned with attention. Kala Mantra is the branch of Tantra that deals with the use of medicine related to the tantric worship for the secret pur pose of Killing others, attracting others, making people enemy to each other, ma ke people leave their native place, Magic, de-poisoning, reestablishing sexual a bility etc. Yes, it is a secret branch of study and you will encounter thousands of superstitions and stupidities as well in such texts, along with gem like kno wledge bits. Kala Tantra (Astrology) is the branch of Tantra that deals with the study of time for the purpose of knowing about the pastpresent-future, time of death etc. Of these two (Kala Tantra and Kala Mantra), Kala Mantra is the subjec t dealt with in the available part of Dattatreya Mahatantra - the description of how to use medicine in worship along with mantras for the purpose of Shadkarma (Marana, Mohana, Uchadana, Sthambhana, Vidveshana, Akarshana) etc. But we can al so find some small description about Kala Tantra (Astrology) as well, here and t here in this text. [Use of medicine in worship seems to be a superstition. But h undreds of medicinal plants are mentioned in such slokas, which I think should h ave served some secret purpose in the hands of true guru and sishya of Tantric c ulture. Tantra is a secret discipline, and so who could say what would have been the real purpose and use of these medicines mentioned - even though in the text it is stated that it is used for the worship like Homa etc] Since Dattatreya Ma hatantra speaks about Kala Mantra and Kala Tantra, we could guess that only one part of this text that deals mainly with Kala Mantra is available to us and the other part that deals with Kala Tantra might have been lost, in the turbulent fl ow of time. Listen to the request of Maharshi Dattatreya to lord Siva "Approachi ng lord Siva, the lord of all lords, the divine, the well wisher of all worlds, savior of devotees, whose adobe is Kailasa, humbly, with folded hands, Dattatrey a asked: Oh lord, for the benefit of the devotees please give advice to us about Kala Mantra" In the same style Dattatreya might have learned Kala Tantra (Astro logy) as well from lord Siva (Maheswara). That is why we could find Kala Tantra (Astrology) as well, here and there in this text. Only because Dattatreya mentio ns astrology here and there in this text, can be conclude like this? No. It is n ot the lone reason for this conclusion. As mentioned earlier, "Siromani" (gem in the head) is another name for this text. Which branch of study is praised as "g em in the head" by the saints? Listen to this sloka in Vedanga Jyotisha"Like the crest of peacock, like the gem stone in the head of a cobra, Astrology is at th e head of all Vedanga sastras (like a gem)" Yes, the praise "gem in the head" us ually goes to Kala Tantra - Astrology, Astronomy and the related mathematics. Be cause of this even the other name "Siromani" of Dattatreya Mahatantra, indicates that Kala Tantra (Astrology) is one of the subject matter of the text. But that part of the text is lost, and is not available anymore.

There is one more point that proves this argument. Dattatreya gives a list of ch apters that are present in Dattatreya Mahatantra at the beginning chapter of the text. Here 18 chapters are mentioned, but only the subjects mentioned in 9 chap ters is available in the printed text. Chapters 1,9,12,13,14,15,16,17,18 (Total 9 chapters) seems to be missing. This also proves that the available text of Dat tatreya Mahatantra is an incomplete one. If we agree up to this the question ris es, "Is it Vedanga Astrology that Dattatreya wanted to learn from lord Siva?" No ! As he wanted to learn medicine (Kala Mantra) that could be made use for worshi ps aimed at purpose such as Shadkarma etc, he might have requested to teach astr ology (Kala Tantra) that could be made use in Shadkarma etc. Listen to his reque st to lord Siva"In this word many types of talismans, manta, tantric worships ar e present. Many such are described in Agama, Purana, Veda and Damara, and in man y other texts as well. Please advice the knowledge of Kala Tantra that would hel p to utilize all that knowledge (on Yentra, Mantra etc) 'in the right method' fo r fulfilling the intentions" This is what Dattatreya requests. As said earlier k nowledge about medicine (Kala Mantra) and Astrology (Kala Tantra) that would be of help is Shadkarma etc is the subject matter of Dattatreya Mahatantra. This kn owledge lies scattered in Agama, Purana, Veda, Damara etc. Dattatreya is request ing lord Siva to collect all these knowledge and give advice/teach him the same 'in the right/correct method'. Agamas are Siva Tantric texts - old as Vedas. The word Purana here indicates 18 Puranas and the Sub Puranas. The word Veda here i ndicates the 4 Vedas and the allied literature called Brahmana, Aaranyaka, Upani shad etc as well. They are also known as Nigama. But for Tantric devotees the wo rd Nigama indicates Devi Tantra. So the statement 'Agamokta' should be taken as indicative of both Siva Tantra (Agama) and Devi Tantra (Nigama) texts. Another b ranch of Tantra is Vishnava Tantra. Damaras are also texts on Devi Tantra. That is, the request of Dattatreya to lord Siva is to collect and systematically pres ent and teach him the vast knowledge on Kala Tantra and Kala Mantra which is ben eficial for the purpose of Shadkarma etc, clarifying the right method. This slok a indicates that Tantric astrology was in a corrupted state at the time of Datta treya, and even for this great Maharshi it was very difficult to separate the ri ght and wrong statements from the pile. The sloka also indicates that even in th at remote past Vedas and Puranas borrowed the knowledge of astrology and medicin e from Tantrics and incorporated it in those texts! We can feel the pain of the Rishi when he see that this pure ancient secret knowledge is becoming lost knowl edge for the Siva devotees. He wants it to be the heritage of Siva Tantrics. Lis ten to these words "This great knowledge (on astrology and medicine) - which sav es one who devotes himself to this subject, secret, difficult to get even for da vas, first told by lord Siva, shines like a gem in the head all secret knowledge branches - should be taught only to a person who is the true devotee of the Gur u. This knowledge should not be imparted to persons who does not believe in acha ryas, tradition and the purity of knowledge. One should teach this pure knowledg e to an individual who is strong willed and is a devotee of lord Siva alone" The statement, "Astrology is originated from lord Siva" (Tavagre kathitahyesha) ask s for special attention. Even in the period of Prasnamarga (16th century) this t ruth was appreciated. Even today traditional astrologers read horoscope, or cast prasna after

bowing to that lord of lords Maheswara (Siva). This is the reason for the import ance of Dakshinamoorti (lord Siva in the form of Guru, God of knowledge) in Astr ology. Lord Siva is the ultimate Guru and originator of astrologic knowledge as per Tantric tradition. Here I would like to mention a curious fact. If we consid er the concept about the originator of astrology as per different schools of ast rology, we will find that Vedic School - lord Brahma (Tropical/Sayana) Tantric S chool - lord Siva (Sidereal/Nirayana) Arsha School - lord Skanda (Sidereal/Niray ana) Jayne School - lord Brahma (Sidereal/Nirayana) This is curious! This differ ence in concept about the originator of astrology, probably indicates that, thes e are all different schools of thought in astrology, which probably originated a nd existed in the same era. Is it not so? Since the basic concepts (Such as Rasi and Nakshatra) where the same, they might have got intermixed in a later stage. It is also possible that, all these basic concepts such as Rasi and Nakshatra w as originally borrowed from some other civilization which existed before all the se cultures, such as the Sindhu-Saraswati civilization. Only an in-depth study a nd new evidences could prove whether any amount of truth is present in this gues s or not. In this essay I started by discussing the astrological content in the available slokas of Dattatreya Mahatantra - and so let us go back to that. Most of the slokas after this discuss how medicines could be utilized for Shadkarma ( Kala Mantra) etc. Lord Siva tells Dattatreya "Now I will speak about Kala Mantra which is beneficial for the upliftment of th individual. This secret knowledge (on medicine) which is beneficial even in this kali yuga, I will teach you, putt ing aside the knowledge of astrology" Because "(For the benefit with medicine) I t is not essential to consider Tithi, Nakshatra, Vreta, Day, Pooja, Japa, Homa e tc. Even the determination of an auspicious muhoorta is not essential. Merely ap plying the medicine that suits well for the well being of mind and body serves t he purpose. By the use of it the disease gets cured. (Medicines are invaluable, and their effect mysterious. Because of this I will explain to you, how to use t hese medicines in Shadkarma worships)" With this advice lord Siva starts to spea k about Kala Mantra (Medicine). Since those slokas are not related to astrology, I am not discussing them here. If anyone is interested bye and read the printed text of Dattatreya Mahatantra to know more about that. But the last chapter of the available printed text (chapter 15) deals with Kala Tantra (Astrology). The determination of the time of death is the subject discussed. Siva said: "Oh, Mah a yogi, Dattatreya Mahamune, for the benefit of human beings I will tell to you about death time determination. Listen" Dwadesa dala chakrastham Mrityukalam cha veekshitam Chaitradi masa sankhayani likhyante dwadese dale Meshadi rasaya stha pya suryadi likhyate grahaH Janma riksha janma rasim veekshante mrityukarake Sur ya vedhe manastapam budha soukhyam pravartate Yatrayam teertha jeeve cha chandre stri sukha sambadaH Bhrigu vedhe rajya labhaH mase mase vicharayete (Dattatreya Mahatantra) "From the Rasichakra with 12 petals, we can have an idea bout the t ime of death. For that first write the numbers of months starting

from the month of Chaitra in each petal. In each of the petal place signs starti ng from Aries. Now, as per current planetary position write down the names of Gr ahas such as Sun, Moon etc in the Rasi chakra. If the Mrityu Karaka Graha (Satur n?) aspects (Drishti) the Lagna (Lagna star?) or Moon sign then it is death time . If Vedha is present, then for sun - sadness, for Mercury - happiness, for Jupi ter - pilgrimage, for Moon - happiness from sexual acts with women, for Venus gain of land results. This type of prediction can be done every month" Some inte rprets that the Sripati's system of Gochara-Vedha is mentioned here (?!). They a lso argue that if Nakshatra Vedha and Rasi Vedha is present at the same time the n for sure it is time for Kala Mrityu (Ultimate/Sure chance of death) (?!) But t his sloka was a real problem to me and I just got confused. Why? I will explain. (1) Mention of months starting from Chitra ----------------------------------------Why it is said that after drawing the Rasi chakra we should write down the numbers corresponding to the months starting from Chaitra in each square of the Rasi chakra? Did he mean to say that Chaitra = Mesha (Aries) Visakha = Vrishabha (Taurus) etc ? If so does it mean that the starting point of Aries should be ca lculated, taking Chitra star as a reference? That is, as if the point 180 deg aw ay from Chitra star is the starting point of Aries or the like? (2) Mrityu Karak a Graha ----------------------Is Saturn mentioned with the word Mrityu Karaka? I f so, the wordings "Janma riksha janma rasim veekshante sanaischare", directly m entioning Saturn would have been enough. Then why the author chose to omit direc tly mentioning Saturn and instead used the word Mritru Karaka (Significator of d eath) ? If not only Saturn but also other planets should be considered, then wha t other house lords and planets we should consider? (3) Riksha - Nakshatra or si gn -----------------------------The word Riksha has got 2 meanings - Nakshatra a nd sign. With the word Janma Riksha Dattatreya Maharshi is mentioning Lagna Naks hatra, Lagna sign, Moon Nakshatra or Moon sign? If we think that here the word R iksha represents both Nakshatra and Sign, then is it that we should consider bot h Nakshatra Vedha and Rasi Vedha for death time determination? How to calculate Nakshatra Vedha and Rasi Vedha in planetary context? (4) Vedha and the related p rediction -----------------------------------Here if Vedha is present for benefi cial planets, then it is said that results also would be beneficial!! This is co ntradictory to the Vedha concept of Sripati. As per Tantric astrology how many t ypes of Vedha is present? How to calculate Nakshatra Vedha, Rasi Vedha and Graha Vedha in the planetary context? What are the rules to be observed while predict ing with this type Vedha concept? (5) Transit or Gochara ---------------------Th is Gochara-Vedha system of prediction can be used for prediction every month (Ma se mase vicharayet) says Dattatreya. Did he meant to say that Transit should be considered for the determination of death time? If so why he avoided mentioning the transit prediction for Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu?

(6) Vedha and Tantric Astrology ------------------------------Probably Sripati w ho lived in 10th century AD, is the person who introduced the concept of Vedha i n astrology. But here we encounter a similar concept in Dattatreya Mahatantra as well! What should we observe from it? Should we think that Dattatreya Tantra or iginated after Sripati of 10th century AD? Or should we think that Sripati borro wed the concept of Vedha from Tantric astrology especially from Dattatreya Tantr a? No. I don't have answers to such doubts. If we want to find answers to the ab ove or similar questions, an in-depth study of the astrology mentioned in Tantri c texts (Tantric Astrology) is a must. For simplifying the study of ancient astr ology, we can classify them into several categories:(i) Astrology in Sindhu-Sara swati period (Sindhu-Saraswati Astrology) (ii) Astrology mentioned Vedas and all ied literature (Vedic Astrology) (iii) Astrology mentioned Epics (Epic Astrology ) (iv) Astrology mentioned in Puranas (Puranic Astrology) (v) Astrology mentione d in Tantric texts (Tantric Astrology) - It is the biggest treasure, thousands o f unexplored texts (and a whole secret tradition) waiting for us! [Chandra Hari is specially interested in Tantric Astrology and the Sidhantic astronomy] (vi) A strology of Arsha school which is scattered in various ancient astrological text s. This is a well accepted stream in Indian astrology starting with Skanda Hora, Brihal Prajapatyam, Vasishta Hora, Kousika Hora etc. The acharyas in this schoo l are great Rishis like Skanda, Daksha, Vasishta, Kousika, Sounaka etc, and the authentic Sidhantic text 'Surya Sidhanta'. (Arsha Astrology) [I am specially int erested in this stream of thought] (vii) Astrology of Jayne school which is scat tered in various ancient astrological texts. This is a well accepted stream in I ndian astrology starting with Garga Hora, Surya Prajchapti etc. The acharyas in this school are Garga, Rishputra etc. (Jayne Astrology) [Yes, of course there ar e other streams of thought as well like Yavana and Parasara. But books on that t hem is not yet lost completely, and that is why I am not including them here on the above list] There is not even a single authentic text available that tries t o explore the depths of any of the categories mentioned above! There is a vast a rea available for research! They are requesting to us, "please, please, come for ward and reveal the knowledge we preserved for you..." All this ancient knowledg e on astrology are still behind the dark curtain of half forgotten, unexplored l iterary history. This vast knowledge is praying to us, "Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya... ". Yes, there is a large amount of work pending, and is seeking our immediate at tention. All these knowledge is meditating there inside the dark cave and is rea dy to shower their secrets before the true seekers of knowledge. Those who are t ruly inquisitive can start their search from here. Let us begin our search for t he hidden treasures of astrological knowledge. Enjoy! It is child's playand the vast treasure house waiting for us, to be explored! Let us begin search and pres ent the valuables we find, before the all, for the benefit of posterity! And Enj oy the fun of learning! Love, Sreenadh