The Great Compilation

If the meaning is identical and only the syllables differ, what special merit does a sentence written by an ancient sage such as Brahma, the creator hold over a sentence written by a common man? For instance, in a text composed by Brahma it is written: "The day of the Son of the Earth is not auspicious" original Sanskrit: Kshititanayavasaro na shubhakrit, while in a human-authored text it is written: "The day of Mars is unfavorable" original Sanskrit: Kujadinamanishtam. Aside from the variation in wording, what excellence does the sage’s version have over the man’s? That is to say, none. Seeing the excessive length of all the scriptures composed by Brahma and others, I am inspired to illuminate this science in a systematic and concise form. ||3||4||5||

At the time when there was no creation, this entire universe was filled with darkness. Within that very darkness, a radiant golden egg was produced in the waters. It split into two pieces, forming Heaven and Earth. From those pieces, Brahma was born, whose eyes are the Sun and the Moon. ||6||

Regarding the origin of the universe, many different opinions are observed among the sages. Kapila says that Pradhana the root-nature or primordial matter is the cause of the universe. The sage Kanada says that substances and other material categories are the cause of the world's origin. Some say Time is the cause, others say Nature inherent character is the cause, and the followers of Mimamsa say that Action Karma is the cause of the world. ||7||

There is no need for further elaboration on the description of the world's origin. To settle this topic, many subjects would have to be described, and the matter is not small. Therefore, leaving aside this contemplation, we must here only determine the branches of the science of Jyotish astrology and astronomy. ||8||

The science of Jyotish, which has many divisions, is divided into three parts: Samhita, Tantra, and Hora. That which describes all the subjects of Jyotish is called the Samhita branch. That in which the movement of the planets is described through mathematics is called the Tantra branch. And that in which the determination of limbs individual destiny, such as journeys and marriages, is described is called the Hora branch. ||9||

In my own composition, the astronomical treatise named Pancha-Siddhantika, I have described the retrograde motions, direct paths, settings, and risings of the five star-planets Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. And in works such as the Brihat Jataka and Brihat Vivaha-patala, I have already described births, journeys, and marriages in great detail. ||10||

Now, at the beginning of the various treatises composed by sages like Garga, there are questions asked by disciples and answers given by the sages, along with various types of stories and useless accounts of the origin of the Sun and other planets. Furthermore, there are ancient accounts in the old Samhita texts that contradict the reality of the celestial sphere and are of very little practical use. Therefore, discarding all those hollow accounts, I describe in this book the essential and factual matters. ||11||