The sign aspects come in quarters. Parashara's chapter on aspects also measures an aspect by degree. Take the angle from the aspecting planet forward to the aspected point. Six rules turn that angle into 0 to 60 virupas. A virupa is a sixtieth of a unit. The aspect is full, 60, at 180°. It is 0 below 30° and from 300°. The translator adds extra amounts for Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Nava leaves those out.
☕ From quarters to a smooth curve
The verses first give aspects by sign, in quarters (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 26, vv. 2–5, pp. 254–255). A quarter on the 3rd and 10th, a half on the 5th and 9th, three quarters on the 4th and 8th, the whole on the 7th. That is a staircase. It jumps at each sign's edge.
The next verses measure the aspect by degree instead (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 26, vv. 6–8, p. 255). The translator's note restates them as six rules (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 26, p. 257). The result is a curve. It rises and falls smoothly between 0 and 60 virupas.
The note defines the angle as the aspected point's longitude less the aspecting planet's, adding 360° if the answer is negative (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 26, pp. 256–257). In plain words: count forward from the aspecting planet to the aspected point.
The curve is not the same on both sides. At 60° it gives 15 virupas, but at 300° it gives 0. So the direction of the count matters.
At a glance
- 30° → 0 virupas
- 60° → 15 virupas
- 90° → 45 virupas
- 120° → 30 virupas
- 150° → 0 virupas
- 180° → 60 virupas
- 210° → 45 virupas
- 240° → 30 virupas
- 270° → 15 virupas
- 300° → 0 virupas
- Below 30° and from 300° on: 0 virupas.
- Mars: +15 virupas at 90°–120° or 210°–240° (the translator's addition).
- Jupiter: +30 virupas at 120°–150° or 240°–270° (the translator's addition).
- Saturn: +45 virupas at 60°–90° or 270°–300° (the translator's addition).
- All three come from the translator's note (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 26, pp. 257–258). One figure in Mars's second band is hard to read in the print.
- Nava's six-fold strength adds none of these. They disagree with the book's own verse forms.
Frequently asked questions
What is a virupa?
A sixtieth of a rupa, the unit of strength (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 26, pp. 256–257). A full aspect is one rupa, or 60 virupas.
Does the curve agree with the quarter aspects?
Yes, at the first degree of each house when the angle is counted forward from the aspecting planet. 60° gives 15 (a quarter), 90° gives 45 (three quarters), 120° gives 30 (a half), 180° gives 60 (the whole). 210°, 240° and 270° give 45, 30 and 15: the 8th, 9th and 10th.
Which way is the angle measured?
One sentence of the translator's note can be read either way. The verses settle it. Counted forward from the aspecting planet, the six rules give back every quarter of the sign aspects, and the extra bands of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn fall on their special houses. Counted the other way, the 4th gets 15 virupas and the 8th none, which the quarters do not allow. What Nava follows: the angle is the aspected point's longitude less the aspecting planet's, counted forward.
Why does Nava leave the special additions out?
The chapter also gives separate verse forms for Saturn, Mars and Jupiter (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 26, vv. 9–12, p. 256). They do not match the translator's additions. Saturn's +45 on the 60°–90° band would even pass the 60-virupa maximum. With no way to reconcile them, Nava uses the six general rules only. This is our choice.
Deep dive: the six rules and a worked angle
The arithmetic. Where Nava uses the curve.
📈 The six rules
Call the angle θ, counted forward from the aspecting planet. The note's six rules (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 26, p. 257):
- 30° to 60°: half of (θ − 30).
- 60° to 90°: (θ − 60) + 15.
- 90° to 120°: half of (120 − θ), plus 30.
- 120° to 150°: 150 − θ.
- 150° to 180°: twice (θ − 150).
- 180° to 300°: half of (300 − θ).
Anything else is 0.
Worked angle. The aspecting planet is at 10°, the aspected point at 115°. θ = 105°, in the 90°–120° band. Half of (120 − 105) is 7.5, plus 30 is 37.5 virupas.
⚖️ Where Nava uses the curve
Nava's six-fold strength (shadbala) takes its aspect part from this curve, as Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 27, v. 19, p. 284 directs: a quarter of a benefic's value added, a quarter of a malefic's taken off, and Jupiter's and Mercury's value in full as well. It uses the six rules only.
“Your Period” also values aspects by this curve. There, Mars's 4th and 8th, Jupiter's 5th and 9th and Saturn's 3rd and 10th never count below three quarters (45 virupas). That floor is ours, not the book's.
This page builds on graha drishti: the 7th and the special aspects.