Nadi Astrology: An Enigma Unto Itself

Nadi Astrology: An Enigma Unto Itself

The origin of the Nadi astrology can be traced back to approximately 2000 years ago. It is said about Nadi astrology that the Indian Rishis or sages had written the life patterns of each person on palm leaves by their Yogic Intuitive powers. These unique leaves were initially kept in the Saraswati Mahal library of Tanjore city (Thanjavur) of Tamil State in India.

Later during the British rule, the British sold these leaves to the locals who were very much interested in knowledge related to Nadi Astrology. People belonging to a particular sect called the Valluvar community of South India who specialized in Nadi Astrology bought most of these leaves. Some of these Nadi Astrology were also acquired by the astrology families in Vaitheeswarankli, a place near Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, a state of India. The leaves were found lying idle in Vaitheeswarankoli around the 13th century.

Interested in Nadi Astrology, people realized their values and copied the contents on palm leaves and made exact replicas. These leaves have been handed down over generations to make predictions. The families who got these documents earned their livelihood through Nadi Astrology. They got trained from their ancestors to decipher and predict through Nadi Astrology.

The then Maratha king Sarabhoji and Chola kings patronized this form of Nadi Astrology and translations. It seems that these Nadis were originally written on animal skins and some leaves and later Nadi Astrology texts were copied on palm leaves. Nadi Astrology sources was also preserved by applying oil extracted from peacock’s blood.

The primary center for Nadi Shastra is in Vaitheeswarankoli, near Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu, a state in South India. Here Lord Shiva is said to have assumed the role of a ‘Vaidhya’ or doctor, who alleviated the miseries of his devotees.

Meaning of Nadi Astrology
Nadi in Tamil means "in search of", because one individual goes in search of his name. The palm leaf inscriptions are scattered throughout India. Some of these palm leaf inscriptions available in Tamil Nadu were standardized and classified in Tamil Nadu nearly one thousand years ago during the reign of the Cholas in South India. There are number of Nadi Astrology available named after the Rishis who composed the came. There are only a few Nadi Astrology readers available who could interpret the inscriptions, which are written in the poetic language. There are various Nadis available like Agathiya Nadi, Suka Nadi, Kausika Nadi etc.

Each Nadi is made up of a particular ‘ola’ or a palm leaf, written in ‘Vatta Ezhuthu’, a Tamil script, with a sharp, nail-like in strument called ‘Ezuthani.’ Rubbing peacock oil on auspicious occasions preserves the palm leaves. These palm leaves are still preserved in the Saravasti Mahal library. Of Tanjore(Thanjavur), in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The primary center for Nadi Shastra is in Vaitheeswarankoli, near Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu; a state in South India. The palm leaf inscription of an individual is spotted out by his thumb impression. Lines on the thumb of people on the earth are classified into 108 types. The Nadi Astrology palm leaves are arranged according to three types. The Nadi Astrology readers identify the particular types of lines on the thumb and the corresponding set of palm leaves are taken .The time duration to pick up your leaf depends upon the identification of the thumb impression. Some impressions are identified easily and the corresponding leaves are found soon attached with Nadi Astrology.

According to the practitioners of Nadi Astrology, there are leaves not only for Indian nationals but also for foreigners and people of religions and creeds. It is also stated that about 40% of the people in the world only are likely to get these results as available. The other leaves might have been damaged or lost in course of time associated with Nadi Astrology

Nadi Literature And Contemporary Researches
It is very natural that Nadi Astrology literatures immensely attract the attention and interest of any advanced student of the sacred subject of Astrology and of any serious researcher in the field. There are more than 24" Nadi Granthas" available in various parts of South India; most of these have still been lying in the form of palm leaf bundles written in Sanskrit language, but have been scribed by using the scripts of the original languages (like Tamil) of South India. These are chiefly the property of their respective owners, and many of these are available in big libraries. In North India, the Nadi Garanthas are more popularly known as "Samhitas".

Even some educated and accomplished persons are of the opinion that the predictions obtained from the "Nadi Astrology Readings" about possible future happenings most invariably prove to be wrong- although the readings in respect of past events appear to be amazingly accurate (and therefore the querent gets duly impressed). But this is not at all a balanced view; often it is observed that people acquire lopsided views owing to their personal bad experiences, or by believing what they might have listened from people whom they respect and / or trust. One should arrive at conclusions after gathering sufficient knowledge and information about the subject of Nadi Astrology and after judiciously considering all the pros and cons.

It is however, true that many learned astrologers have cautioned us that there are a number of fake or spurious works available on the subject of Nadi Astrology and these imitations are heavily banked upon by some cunning habitual deceivers- most of whom posses little or no knowledge of Nadi Astrology. It should be noted that there are two different classes of Nadis: 1. Mantra Nadis and 2. Tantra Nadis. While the latter class of Granthas (Tantra Nadis) is essentially based on age-old well known astrological principles- and hence merits the attention of Nadi astrology lovers, the former class of Granthas (Mantra Nadis) is basically ‘dangerous’. Mantra Nadis are based on acquiring control over some "uchista" or ‘kshudra’ (means or profane) deities by using the Mantras. From these Nadis the querent obtains from accurate reading of all the major events and happenings of the past, but most of the predictions about the future that are give normally prove to be false when the predicted time of fructifications actually arrives. For information of the more inquisitive users, the names of the various available Nadi related to Nadi Astrology Granthas are given here under:

Various Forms Of Nadi Granthas

* Bhrigu Nadi.

* Shukra Nadi.

* Dhruva Nadi.

* Satya Nadi.

* Surya Nadi.

* Agastya Nadi.

* Guru Nadi.

* Nandi Nadi.

* Budha Nadi.

* Chandra Kala Nadi((Deva Keralam).

* Koumara Nadi.

* Ishwara Nadi.

* Sapta Rishi Nadi.

* Kuja Nadi.

* Kaka Bhujandar Nadi.

* Kapila Nadi.

* Bhargav Nadi.

* Shani Nadi.

* Nava Nadi.

* Garg Nadi(more popularly known as Garga Samhita).

* Narada Nadi.

* Markandeya Nadi.

* Kaushik Nadi.

* Saraswati Nadi. etc.

There are two different "Dhruva Nadis": one is by Satyacharya, and the other is by Jya Muni, both are authentic ‘Granthas’ Nadi Astrology. A very important noteworthy point is that "Dhruva Nadi" has been compiled on ‘Sayana’ basis- while the other Nadis like Satya Nadi(or Satya Samhita)has been compiled on usual ‘Nirayana’ basis.

Certain Nadi Granthas like Satya Nadi" (alternately known as Satya Samhita) generally deal with the lives of the great, outstanding, and illustrious persons of various fields. There are basically two types of Nadi Astrology associated with Granthas:

The former kind deals with the actual horoscope attached with Nadi Astrology obtained by means of various possible permutations and combinations. "Bhrigu Samhita" is an example of this type; it is available in Hindi also. This kind of Nadi Astrology related to ‘Granthas’ is of great interest to the serious students of astrology who are very keen to know more about Nadi Astrology.

The latter kind uses certain starting points-known by the term Nadi-Amsha(which are actually 150 unequal divisions of any sign)- and go on discussing the possible events and happenings at length by taking the commencing points as effective "Ascent". "Deva Keralum" (Chandra Kala Nadi) as such a book (available in English* also). There are many other Nadi Granthas of this category; like Dhruva Nadi, Bhrigu Nadi, Guru Nadi, Kuja Nadi,etc; but all these Granthas are not easily available.

However, one important thing deserves to be mentioned about the English version of Deva keralam(Chandra kala Nadi) translated by (late) Shri R. Santhanam---which is available in the market. In this work, the 150 Nadi-Amshas art of unequal durations, and learned astrologers are well aware of this fact. So, while perusing his work, the interested reader should keep this deviation in his/her mind- as this ambiguity will surely make a whole lot of difference in the readings. Among all these Nadis, the approach of "Dhruva Nadi" appears to be very systematic, and it is thoroughly consistent since it is solely based on the widely known and logically justifiable general principles of astrology. But time and again even the most learned astrologers attached with Nadi Astrology have stressed that the unique system of Nadi Granthas is not at all very easy to grasp-unless one has acquired in-depth knowledge of almost all the available methods propounded by the great sages parasara,jaimini, Bhrigu, etc.

Certain Nadi Astrology related to Granthas like "Sapta Rishi Nadi" does not make any mention of the 150 Nadi-Amshas or their use for the predictive purposes. It takes the longitudes of all the planets and also of the ascendant. It uses the usual rules of astrology (of Parasara, etc.). This Nadi Astrology however puts forward the predictions; but does so without advancing any astrological reason in support thereof. As such, although the student can grasp the general principles of astrology quite well still at times they become quite at a loss to comprehend the mechanism involved in delineation of results. Another peculiarity of this Nadi Grantha is that most of the horoscopes discussed are of male persons.

It may not be totally out of place that some ill-informed people (who also claim themselves to be of "Nadi Astrology)" are trying to pass on prediction based on the so-called ’sub’ (or’ sub-subs’) of the K.P System as to be of " Nadi Astrology". Even some astrology software CDs available in the market also offer such ‘predictions’. The people should not and must not be misled by such deceptive claims. Neither the ‘sub’ nor the ‘sub’ has anything to do with Nadi Astrology. Further, any one will need to study a lot more, and learn much more he/she must also possesses sharp intelligence, retentive memory, and acquire vast experience. Possessing a very a good knowledge in system of Nadi Astrology will definitely prove to be highly advantageous; even some very learned astrologers have opined that some kind of specials abilities are essential for comprehending Jaimini principles correctly.