History of Astrology in India

Development of Astrology in Parashar Era

A major part of Vedic astrology is based on Parashari astrology. This is based on the principles and beliefs of an astrologer, sage Parashar. That is why, the astrology of this age is named after sage Parashar. Parashar era is believed to be from 3000 BC to 57 BC.

The epic “Brihat Parashar Hora” written by sage Parashar is the famous book among the epics of astrology of ancient times. This epic contains 100 chapters of astrology in which a detailed description of auspicious and inauspicious impact of planets on the various aspects of human life is provided.

Brihat Parashar Hora - Description

The decription of signs, planets, the impact of 12 signs on 12 ascendants, sixteenth Varga, the aspects of planets, Arishta and cancellation of Arishta, 12 houses, karkas, karankanshas, ascendant Yoga, prediction of age, Upgrahas, various dashas, body language, Ashtak Varga and the remedies for the pacification of planets is provided in this famous book.

It is said that no other epic of astrology can match the greatness of this epic in “Kalyuga”. The birth date of sage Parashar is not available in history.

“Aryabhattiya”- The Epic

Apart from Parashar Shastra, “Aryabhattiya” is one of the famous epic written in this period. According to the ideology of this book, Sun and all the nakshatras are stationary. It also states that day and night are formed by the rotation of the earth on its axis. The scientific reason of the occurrence of an earthquake and the method of calculating the degree of planets is also mentioned in this book.

Epics of Aryabhatta

During this period there was another astrologer called Aryabhatta. He wrote a book called “Mahabhattiya” on mathematical astrology. In this book he described the constant movement of planets in solar system in detail.

Kalkacharya

Kalkacharya was a famous astrologer. He was acquainted with Shakun Shastra in astrology.  
He predicted the forthcoming happenings by using Shakun Shastra. Kalkacharya made a significant contribution to the field of astrology during this period.