USES AND UTILITIES OF ASTROLOGY IN MODERN TIMES

1. Definition of Astrology : Jyoti means Light. Jyotisham is the study of light and its effect on the Living and non living beings. The study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human affairs. 2. A Horoscope is a diagram of the heavenly bodies showing the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, Stars, and Planets at a given time. 3. Horoscopes help to cure an individual's desire to know what lies ahead. 4. Giving timely direction to individuals to build a healthy society and Noble citizens. 5. There is no object without Light – Jyothi . There is no aspect in life without the Jyothis-Sastram. Sun’s rays are in micro-Sooksha roopaam in our body through vegetables, Ultravoilet rays contacted by our skin and mainly through the reflected light of the Sun on the Moon which gives us excitement [Uttajam ]. Sun’s reflected energy from different planets give different effects on the human mind. 6. Natal Chart is the effect of various light rays of different planets. Mainly Moon Rays form a vital role on the mind. “Chandrama manaso jatah:’ So the nature of mentality of a person is indicated by Astrology. So immediately after birth We Indians make the Jataka Chackra or Janma Kundali or Natal Chart, to know the course of life and the mentality and temperament of the Child . Knowing the good Yogas in the Jataka gives a joy and happiness in the family. 7. Janma Kundali is studied for any malefic aspects and do Parihara or remedial measures or Santhi to do a minor correction for the betterment of his future. 8. Now coming to age of Education, Aksharabhyasam or initiation to education is done as per the norms of the Society. Nowadays they are joined in play schools and Nursery where elementary knowledge and manners are imparted. Jupiter is the Guru who is the most Benefic Planet moulds the child to be a responsible Citizen at this stage. 9. Nowadays we are giving much importance to Competitive Education. Child is forced to study the course where he is not having the aptitude, and he may not shine well and may lead to failure , thus losing self confidence. One can take the advantage of Astrology and can Study the Natal Chart and know the field where he will shine as per the position of Planets. By this Astrology moulds good citizens. Educational Consultancy can help Today’s child to be tomorrows Leader of our nation which wiil be useful to the development of the Society. 10. Astrology is useful in day to life for leading a prospective and important personality, and building up confidence in life. This is done in marriage with the bride selected among many after checking the compatibility. 11. Astrology has connection with all the Sciences. With the help of Astrology, we can know the future ups and downs in life, and Career. 12. Financial Prosperity can be predicted and proper measures may be taken to save money for the bad period by proper planning. 13. Each planet represents different element in our body. If the rays of that planet is lacking in the Horoscope, disease pertaining to that planet enters our body, which can be located in the Horoscope. Probabilty of Acquiring different diseases like Cancer, Diabetes can be predicted in advance through Natal Chart and precautions can be taken in advance. Preventive guidance is better than Cure. 14. “ Aroghyam bhaskaradichchet ”. Sunrya namaskars are prescribed to elders get Vit A & D, and also for immature babies to grow and for eyesight as per Modern Scientists. As per Astrology Sun is the Netra Karaka. All the diseases can be known in advance through Astrology. 15. In this way Astrology is showing remedies to various problems. If Martian Karakatwa is predominant in the Horoscope one can develop their studies towards Military Officer, Police and IPS Officer. If in addition to Mars, Sun is also predominant one can opt for Surgery. And Mercury predominant people can opt for CA, business and Financial Services etc.

CONTRIBUTION OF JAINS & JAINISM TO THE VEDIC ASTROLOGY

Surya Pragyapti Granth This epic mainly contains facts related with Sun, the motion of Sun, Yuga, Ayana and Muhurta. Chandra Pragyapti Granth Chandra Pragyapti Granth contains facts about Sun and Moon This epic mainly contains the description of Chaya Sadhan astrology. It contains the description of 25 kinds of shadows. The main shadow among these shadows is Keelak shadow or Shanku shadow. We can calculate the duration of a day by a shadow with the help of this epic. But, the complete form of this epic is not available today Rishabha Deva of Vedic period is thought to be first teerthankara (enlightened guru) and originator of Jain stream of spiritual thought. It was traditionally believed that there were 24 teerthankaras (enlightened gurus), and the 23rd Parswanadha and the 24th Vadhamana Mahaveera. In the ancient past the teachings of enlightened masters like Rishabha Deva were also considered to be part of Veda-Vedanga teachings itself, but later gradually it became a separate stream. The Jain stream of spiritual thought form the clear shape of a religion by the period of Mahaveera, and therefore he is thought to be the originator of Jain religion. We have nothing to do with these enlightened masters of spirituality, but are more interested in the astrology they cherished. Garga The first guru in the Jain school of astrology is thought to be Brahma. In Garga hora it is said that, Garga Rishi got this knowledge from Brahma. I will quote the sloka for you- Swayam swayambhuva srishtam chakshurbhootam dwijanmanam Vedangam jyotisham brahmaparam yejncha hitavaham Maya swayambhuvaH praptam triyakala prasadhanam Devanamuttam sastram trilokya hitakarakam Mattaschanyanrisheen praptam paramparyena pushkalam Tistada srishtibir booyo grandhaiH swaiH swirudahritam (Garga hora) [(Garga Rishi tells) This system of knowledge is created by lord Brahma, and became visible to the people who took second birth with true knowledge. This system of astrology is part of Vedic knowledge, and helps to become enlightened, and is useful in Yaga (for determination of Yaga timings etc). I got this system of knowledge from lord Brahma. (In other Rishi horas it is told that, Skanda taught astrology to Brahma, and that the text written by lord Brahma is known as Skanda Hora) The knowledge of astrology is appreciated even by devas (heavenly beings) and is useful in all 3 worlds (past-present-future). The other Rishis learned this knowledge from me, and thus the tradition flourished. They have also created astrological texts of their own] This essentially means that by the time of Garga many astrological texts existed, probably closely related to Rishi names. The Rishi kulas were like universities, were every enlightened new master would be known by the name of the originator of the kula. It is similar to the Sankaracharya tradition of today where every new person coming in charge would be termed Sankaracharya. Similar was the case with all Rishi kulas like, Garga, Vasishta, Kousika, Atri, Chyevana, Agastya, Parasara etc. The head guru was like the chancellor of the university, and his designation was the name of the originator of theKula. We should remember this fact while learning the knowledge taught by Rishi Paramparas. Otherwise we may confuse many individuals who held the same designation as one and the same person. (For e.g. Parasara Kula was another such tradition) Garga wrote books on all the 3 branches of astrology, namely, Sidhanta, Samhita and Hora. That means the 3 popular texts written by Rishi Garga are – Garga Sidhanta, Garga Hora and Garga Samhita. Many slokas from Garga hora and Garga Samhita is available but not anything from Garga Sidhanta. In Hridyapadha, Brihat Samhita etc we could see many quotes form Garga Hora and Garga Samhita. There are many more ancient texts that quote from these age old texts by Garga Rishi. All the texts written by Garga Rishi are in Sanskrit language. Garga Samhita is said to be available even today in some manuscript libraries. The language of this text (Garga Samhita) is a mix of Prakrit and Sanskrit, Astrology texts not only by Garga, but Gargi and Gargya are also available. These names either indicate other acharyas of Garga Kula, or the son of Garaga, and the son's son of Garga. Many texts which ascribe their authorship to Garga, Gargi and Gargya are available (e.g. Garga Jataka) – but it seems that we can not be sure about the authenticity of these texts. Garga Rishi was also known as `Jainarshi' (Jain Rishi), indicating that he followed Jain religion. A sloka quoted in the text `Bharateeya Jyotish' (by Nemichandra Sastri) supports it. Vridha Garga This is another famous scholar of Garga Kula. Two texts are known by his name – Vridha Garga Sidhanta and Vridha Garga Samhita. Of these Vridha Garga Sidhanta is available even today, but only some slokas of Vridha Garga Samhita is available. Like all the Rishis of Garga Kula he was also a reputed Jain Rishi. Rishiputra Rishiputra is the son of Garga Rishi. He too wrote texts on all three branches of astrology, such as Sidhanta, Hora and Samhita. He was well versed in Sanskrit and Prakrit. From Prakrit only Sanskrit originated. Prakrit was the common mans use of Sanskrit, but later it became a separate language, and due to continuous use it deviated very much from the organized, systematic, and clearly grammatical use of Sanskrit. This deviation from Sanskrit was evident even from the period of Rishiputra. Almost all the teachings of Jain gurus are in the common mans language, i.e. Prakrit. Rishiputra is also no exception to this, even though he wrote some book in Sanskrit as well. Rishi putra was never known as Garga which might mean that he deviated from the original stream of astrological knowledge taught by Garga Rishi or it could also be that he never held the position of head guru of Garga kula. Mihira in Brihat Samhita quotes extensively form the Samhita by Rishiputra. A text called `Madana Ratna' mentions `Rishiputra Samhita', which proves the existence of Rishiputra Samhita. Rishiputra Samhita is a text written in Sanskrit. Rishiputra is thought to be the originator of the study of Omens (Nimitta). A text on Nimitta Sastra (Ancient advice on Omens) in his name is also available. Brihat Samhita quotes Rishiputra extensively. The ancient and famous Jain sidhantic texts on astrology Surya Prajchapti and Chandra Prajchapti are also thought to be the works of this great astrologer. These texts are in Prakrit. (Prakrit language is considered divine by the followers of Jain religion, since most of the teachings of Mahaveera and other gurus of this religion is in Prakrit). There is another trend that should be kept in mind while studying Jain school of astrology. Prakrit was the revered language of Jain religion and the common man's language at that time. So the astrologers of Jain school of astrology almost invariably resorted to Prakrit while writing texts. But the side effect of this is that, almost all the texts written in Prakrit was later considered to be part of Jain school of astrology, which is a wrong interpretation. (I too can not escape from this pit fall, while trying to locate the teachers and texts of Jain school of astrology. Please keep it in mind) Jyotish Karnadaka This is an ancient text of Jain school of astrology. We don't know who wrote this book. It is in Prakrit. In this text, we encounter slokas which considers `Nakshatras like Swati and Aswini as lagna of equinox'. Does it give any indication about the period of this text? Learned one's can think about it. This ancient Jain astrological texts mentions Rishiputra as guru, and thus it is part of the Jain school of astrology. Anga vidya It is ancient text about predictions related to the touching of various body parts by the qurent. This is a text on omens (Nimitta). It speaks elaborately about the body language of the qurent. It is a very large text containing 60 chapters and is in Prakrit. Kalakacharya He is well known among the gurus of Jain school of astrology. He was the son of King `Vayara singh' who was the king of `Dharavas' city. His mothers name was Surasundari and sister's name `Saraswti'. He was the student of Jain Muni `Gunakar' who wrote `Brihat Katha'. Kalakacharya was also known as `Kalaka Suri', meaning the knowledgeable person with the name `Kalaka'. Kalkacharya is first guru of Jain school of astrology who mixed this ancient knowledge with the systems of Yavana, and thus originated the system of astrology known as `Ramala vidya' or `Ramala Jyotish'. The Ramala system of astrology originated from the mix of Pharsi (Parsi) and Indian system of astrology. (So the word Yavana means Pharsi or Persian in this context). This also gives some indications about the period of Kalakacharya. Kalakacharya has written a Samhita text as well. [The text known as `Ramala vidya' written by `Bhojsagar Gani' mentions the name of Kalakacharya as the originator of this system] His period was before, Varaha Mihira. Mihira mentions `Kalakacharya Samhita' in Brihat Samhita. Mahaveeracharya This acharya lived after the period of Brahmagupta, the famous astronomer. He wrote 2 texts with the names – Jyotish Patala and Ganita Sarasamgrah. He was also the follower of Jain system. But the texts are in Sanskrit. Both these texts deal with astronomy. Karnataka, the southern state of India, seems to have developed some strong relation with the Jain school of astrology in later years. Sridharacharya who wrote the texts like Ganitasar, Jyothirjchana Kalanidhi, Jatak Tilak etc and many more reputed later astrologers of this stream were the natives of Karnataka. Bhattavesari (also known as Damanandi acharya) who wrote the text Aya jchana tilak in Prakrit was a follower of Digambara Jain religion, and is thought to be a native of Karnataka. In this text he mentions an ancient acharya of astrology called `Sugreeva Rishi' as the originator of Prasna system giving importance to 8 directions (Dwajadi Yoni). He calls it `Aya' and that is why the name `Aya Jchana Tilak' (the texts which tells about the use of Aya in prediction).. Other Jain astrologers Durga dev who wrote astrological texts like Ardha Kand and Rishta Samuchaya, Mallishena who wrote `Aya sadbhava', Ballala sena who wrote the Samhita text called `Adbhuta sagar' etc are the followers of Jain school of astrology. Actually this list is very long and you can have a list of it from the text `Bharateeya Joytish' by `Nemichandra Sastri'. The text `Adbhuta Sagar' demands special mention, because this text is a collection of slokas by great ancient acharyas such as, Garga, Vridha Garga, Mihira, Parasara, Devala, Vasanta raja, Kasyapa, Yevaneswara, Mayoora chitra, Rishiputra, Brahma gupta, Maha balabhadra, Poulisa, Surya (Surya sidhanta), Vishnu Chandra and the like. It contains more than 4000 slokas. Existence of texts like this also means that the whole astrological knowledge taught by the Rishis is not yet totally lost, and if someone is willing to selectively collect Rishi slokas from such texts, and present it before all in asystematic manner, the original stream of ancient Indian astrology can be restored. One thing I should mention here is that, there were many astrologers who followed the Jain religion. But it may not be necessary that all of them were the followers of Jain school of astrology. This truth also should be kept in mind while trying to study the astrological system of thought taught by the Jain school of astrology. The ancient language Prakrit is a vast store house of ancient astrological knowledge and ancient Rishi hora slokas. It is another treasure house where too we should concentrate our search upon

FEATURES OF RUGVEDA JYOTISHAM

Vedas are Rug Veda or ‘Rigveda’ means praise/verse of knowledge. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas. The others are: Yajur Veda , Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. The Rig Veda is the oldest of them and it consists of 1,028 Vedic Sanskrit hymns and 10,580 verses in all, or 1,53,826 words or 4,32,000 Letters - organized into ten books. Rik Jyotish Grantha This epic has a detailed description of a season, year, climate, month and muhurta. But, this epic does not have the reference of Planets and Rashis [The meaning of a planet in astrology is slightly different from the modern astronomy. Before, the age of telescopes ] This epic acts as a guide to the present day astrologers. Yajur and Atharva Veda Like Rik Jyotisha, this epic also contains the details of motions of the Nakshatras Apart from this, a detailed description of Thithis, Yogas, Karanas and Taras are also given. The classification of Tara-Sampat and Vipat is found in this epic. The rule of finding Tara-Sampat and Vipat provided in this epic is used in the same way as it was used at this time.

HISTORY OF VEDIC ASTROLOGY

Vedic culture is extremely ancient, at least 5000 years old by conservative estimate. For thousands of years many Rishis (sages) maintained the tradition of Vedic astrology on a parallel track with the Vedas. Portions of these have been extracted at various times and put into the Vedanga Jyotisha. Many Rishis such as Vashistha, Bhrigu, and Garga were masters of astrology and taught it to their disciples in the Guru parampara. Before the beginning of the present Kali-yuga, which began in 3102 B.C., Parasara Rishi milked the essence of the various schools of Vedic astrology present at his time and distilled it into his text known as the Brhad Parasara Hora Sastra. Parasara Rishi dictated this text to his disciple Maitreya Rishi, and Maitreya taught it to his disciples and it was passed in this way through the ages. Thus, the basic school of Vedic astrology practiced in India is called the Parasara school of astrology. Parasara was among the last of the MahaRishi(great sages) of the Vedic age. After him it was humans who preserved the line of Vedic astrology. Notable amongst them was Satyacharya and in particular Varaha Mihira who wrote several important texts on astrology. After them several other texts were composed which are also considered "classics" of Vedic astrology, such as Saravali, Jataka Parijata, Sarvartha Cintamani, and Horasara.

CONSIDER TIME VARIATION WHILE CASTING A HOROSCOPE

Difference of time due to difference of places: The duration of a mean solar day is 24 hours. i..e the Earth rotates on its axis once in a day in 24 hours or 24x 60 = 1440 minutes. This rotation is of 360 degrees. Therefore to rotate 1 degree, the Earth will take 1440÷360=4 minutes. Due to this rotation on its axis, the Sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west. The eastern parts of the Earth get sunrise earlier and each 1 degree longitude towards the west gradually get the sunrise later, at about 4 minutes interval. For every 15 degrees of difference of longitude there is a time difference of one hour. This time difference of 4 minutes per 1 degree longitude is not uniform due to various factors like latitude, tilt of Earth’s axis etc. The time of each place therefore will be different and is called the Local Mean Time of that particular place. Longitudes: We have already discussed under “Fundamentals of Astronomy” that Longitudes are the imaginary circles drawn joining the North and South poles and perpendicular to Equator. For mutual understanding in International affairs, the longitude passing through the Greenwich place in England is treated as standard zero degree longitude. The part 180 degrees east of it is treated as east half of the Earth while the part 180 degrees west of it is treated as west half of the earth. These imaginary longitudes are drawn at one degree intervals. Standard Time: The change of time for each degree of longitude causes inconvenience in management. So each country adopts a specific time as its’ standard time. Greenwich time for England, Paris time for France, Berlin time for Germany etc. have been adopted as respective Standard times. The time of the middle place between west located Bombay and east located Calcutta which is at 82½ degrees longitude east of Greenwich is taken as a standard time in India. This passes through TUNI town of East Godavari District of A.P.. Indian Standard Time is 5½ hours advance to the time of Greenwich time. (82.5 x 4/60 = 5½ hours) As United States of America is spread from east to west, four standard times are adopted considering four different places. These are called “Zonal Times”. Standard Zones: The surface of the earth is divided into 24 standard zones each at 15 degrees interval of longitudes east to Greenwich and also at west to Greenwich. The watches show the same time between the places located at 7½ degrees on either side of the respective longitude of the standard zone. Meridian: In many places, the time is measured with reference to mid-noon. The mid-noon is known from the meridian. This is an imaginary line technically. The meridian can be defined as a great circle passing through the zenith (the part of the sky that is directly above an observer) and the celestial poles. It corresponds to the geographical longitude of a place. International Date Line: The longitude at 180 degrees (East or west) to Greenwich is called “International Date Line”. Ships and Planes crossing the line in Westerly direction from west to east should increase one day in the date column. Similarly ships and planes crossing the line in Easterly direction from east to west should decrease one day in the date column. Also when crossing the Standard Zones, 1 hour per Zone should be either increased or decreased basing upon the journey to east or west side respectively. War time: During the Second World War from 1-9-1942 to 14-10-1945, the Indian standard time was advanced by one hour all over India (including present Bangladesh and Pakistan) for the purpose of day light saving. Any recorded time of this period should therefore be reduced by 1 hour to get I.S.T. LOCAL MEAN TIME: Indian Standard Time and Local Mean Time are different. IST is common for any place in India where as the LMT is the mean solar time arrived based on the longitude of the particular place for which the LMT is calculated. This is essentially required to prepare a horoscope. Any place before the standard longitude (82˚-30’) falls west of it and the time by every 4 minutes per degree should be reduced from IST. Likewise, any place after Standard longitude falls east of it and the time be added by every 4 minutes per degree to IST.

LEARNING ASTROLOGY BASICS

For people who do not have any basic knowledge of whatever form of astrology it is possible to follow a primer first. This Primer is a brief course that gives information on subjects like • What is astrology • What is a chart • How to read a chart • What are planets, houses and signs The primer contains: • A basic printout of your rashi chart. After you have done the primer you are ready to start with the Course Applied Vedic Astrology. • 7 brief lessons and 14 pages • 3 assignments that relate to your own chart and will be sent to your supervisor for comments and correction. The fee for the primer is one term of $ 50. The ordering process consists of two easy steps: First step: birth and address information Please write an email to sree2104@gmail.com In that email mention: 1. Your name. 2. Your full address: • Street, house number, • Town of residence, postal or zip code, • State in which you live, country in which you live. 3. Your birth data: • Day of birth (between 1 and 31) • Month of birth, To prevent confusion please write the name of the month in full. For example not 3 but March. • Year of birth • Town of birth (in case it is a small town place mention the nearest city), state of birth, country of birth. • Your time of birth (please mention 3 o'clock in the afternoon as 15.00). Please note that you should fill out a time of birth. It is impossible to make a chart without a birth time. If you do not know your time of birth it is recommended to do the course using another chart that has a known birth time. After your application is received you will receive an email confirming that. Please wait with your payment till you have received the email that your application has been received and approved. Second step: payment After you receive the message that your application is received and approved you can go to the Payment and you can choose between different payment methods. The confirmation email will be made manually. So please allow some time for it to be sent. The course material will be sent as a Word file when the payment is completed. Questions? send email: sree2104@gmail.com

MUNDANE ASTROLOGY- MANMADHA NAMA SAMVATSARA UGADI SUBHA KANKSHALU

1. Study of the Charts Of Nations is called Mundane Astrology. Very little research has been done in this field. As such, hardly we come across an Astrologer who has correctly predicted two or more Earthquakes, Disasters, National Calamities. For the preparation of the National Charts and of Political Parties is most tricky as the Birth Times would Not be available. Also, there will be confusion on the Date Of Formation. In case of India, we have three separate dates i.e. Independence Day, Republic Day (on which the states formed the Indian Republic) and the Date on which the Colony Was Transferred to British Empire by the East India Company. A Man's Longevity is reasonably taken as 120 years where as The Country Or A Political Group may Live Beyond that. Some Repeat The Vimshottari Dashas, After A Lapse Of 120 Years. I have not found much trust worthy results by applying any Dasa-Bhukti be it Vimshottari, Ashttottari etc., A good method will be to cast the chart at the time of lunation for a particular lunar month (Masa) for the Capital Of The Country. Extra Saturnine Planets would serve good purpose in Predicting Military, Nuclear And Ultra-Modern Discoveries, Strange Diseases, Subversive Activities etc., As the Extra Saturnine planets are very slow moving the effects are not felt on the individual charts. Even in the case of countries also, the results produced by these planets would be lingering for a long time. 2. Whenever Lunation is in the 8th, some horrible incidents like assassinations, massacres, violent overthrows, horrible accidents occur. Kuja is in the 10th in own house but not in own sign. There were no external disturbances like war on the country and government was stable. Budha is in the 8th own house but not in own sign. Financial position was comfortable, though the country heavily depended on borrowings. There was not much bloodshed. Budha in the 8th has curtailed press freedom. Malefics in the 11th cause hurdles in democratic rule. Coups, secrets are represented by RAHU in the 6th and also Malefics in the 12th. Pluto in the 10th implies sudden turn of events. In Ancient India Mundane Matters were deciphered using Lunation, Sankramana (Solar Ingress Into Different Signs, Eclipses in different stars and signs, General Characters of the 60 years cycle etc., SANKRANTI PURUSHA'S description drawn on Makara Sankramana was considered for giving predictions; Similarly different lordships over clouds, winds, oil seeds and such portfolios were decided by specific rules. There are several authorities and Ratta Mata Sidhanta followed in North Karnataka is one of them. The Country was classified into different geographical regions like Vidharbha, Sourashtra, Gandhara, Kishkinda or Hastinapura etc., These classification have become thin now to identify. So, when the classical says, "heavy rains in Kishkinda and no rains in Sourashtra" we will not be knowing the exact boundaries. The fate of the country in those days depended on the king's decision and so importance was given to the Royal Horoscope. 3. Tippu Sultan, a brave King In South India who fought the British would Consult His Astrologers to know his fate every day. The astrologers had advised not to go to the war field on the day he was betrayed and killed. He was the first person to introduce Gazettes of his Government proceedings. Also, he was the first person who launched land to land missile. These things have been officially recorded in his Gazettes. When the classics say," There would be serious health problems to the King" we do not know whether it is the Governor of the State ( a representative of the President of the country ) or the active person who runs the state, the Chief Minister! The set up of the Governance Has Changed so much. 4. Now, let us have a look at the mundane astrology chart for Ugadi, 2015. 5. MANMATHA NAMA SAMVATSARAM CHAITRA SUDHA PRATIPAT 6. Karkataka Lagnam , Makara Navamsa, Thursday, Uttara Bhadra Nakshatram, Sukla Yogam, Kimstughna Karanam, Budha Hora, 7. Sunrise : 06 : 29 : 37 Sun Set : 18 :28 :19 20TH MAR 2015 15-06 NEW DELHI Ugadi is the new beginning of year in the Hindu Chandramana Calendar. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, this event is related to cumulative movement of Sun and Moon. This Month Is Called Chaitra Masa because the Full Moon Happens In The Star Chitra. The pratipat of this phase is known as Ugadi. Tamil Nadu and some portion of Konkan celebrate new year depending on the movement of Sun. Solar New Year, popularly known as Mesha Sankramana happens after about fifteen days when Sun enters the sign Aries. Gregorian calendar is mere division of time and is not related to the entry of Sun to different zodiac signs. Ugadi called for a balanced mind to take the good and bad events with equal tranquility. On this day a mixture of Neem leaves, Lemon Juice, Jaggery etc, is prepared is taken as Prasad with this mantra: 9. " shataayurvajra dehaaya sarvasampat karaayacha I sarvaarishta vinaashaaya nimbakam dalabhakshanaam " II 10. "Let this Prasad bring longevity, a strong body, wealth and let there be no obstacles during this year"