Rahu, Ketu, the shadow planets

in

Vedic Astrology

&

Modern Astronomy

By

AJ’ay Walgude

1st Nov 2008

Introduction

I remember when my grandmother used to tell us stories from Srimad Bhagavatam,

the Mahabharata and the Vishnu Purana. The most interesting story was about the
Sea churning (
ि ) simply because it involved all gods and all the demons you
could think of. The story goes like this… Long long time ago the Devatas (gods) were
routed in the great war against the Asuras (demons). They went to Lord Brahma to
seek help. Brahma suggest them to churn the ocean, by doing which they would be
able to obtain Amrit ( 
, the nectar) which would make them immortal and all
powerful to defeat the Asuras.

Since churning the ocean was a very big job, the Devatas sought the help of the
Asuras. The king of the serpents Vasuki was to become the rope, while a hill named
Mandrachal offered to become the pivot. Lord Vishnu, in the form of a tortoise,
became the base and the churning process began. The Devatas held the tail of
Vasuki and the Asuras held the head. Various things came out, during this churning
of the ocean. There was a pot of Vish (  , the poison) which created havoc in all
the three worlds. Lord Shiva drank the poison to save the world, but he did not let
the poison go beyond his neck which became blue in color. That is why Lord Shiva is
also called 'NeelKant' ("one with a blue neck").

The last and the most valuable

thing came out was a pot of
Amrit, which would make the
person immortal, who drinks it.
Lord Vishnu took the form of
Mohini (a beautiful dancer) and
offered her services in
distributing the Amrit equally to
both the Asuras and Devatas.
She made both of them sit in two
different rows but she gave the
Amrit to the Devatas only.
Towards the end, one of the
Asuras saw through her trick. He
The bas-relief from Angkor Wat, Cambodia, shows
Vishnu in the centre, his turtle avatar Kurma below,
went and sat among the Devatas
asuras and devas to left and right. (Photo courtesy: and drank the Amrit. The
Ajay Walgude, from the book Angkor, walking through moment Chandra (Moon) and
Khmer architectural wonders) Surya (Sun), who were sitting
besides him, saw that he was an
Asura, they informed Mohini. Lord Vishnu came in his real form and let out the
Sudarshan Chakra (wheel) at the Asura. The Asura's neck was separated from the
body, but he did not die as he had drunk the Amrit. His head was called 'Rahu' and
his torso 'Ketu'. According to legend, Rahu and Ketu swallowed the moon and sun to
have their revenge, causing an eclipse. And thus Rahu and Ketu were born…

Part I : The Indian Vedic Astrology and Rahu, Ketu…

Vedic astrology is a technique/system (or science??) for analysis and forecasting,

based on astronomical data. It is defined as is a group of systems, traditions, and
beliefs in which knowledge of the apparent relative positions of celestial bodies and
related details is held to be useful in understanding, interpreting, and organizing
information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters. This
system helps its practitioners to carefully assess and understand how astronomical
movement impact and influence the present and the tendency of events to unfold in
the future. One’s birth chart is nothing but is an arrangement of planets at the
moment of birth over the place of our birth. It is supposed to show one’s soul’s
journey in this earthly realm. The chart will show our personality and the kind of
relationships one will have, as well career, finances and health matters just to name
a few. Besides this it will also use planetary periods and transits to forecast when
karmic events will unfold into person’s life
During the ancient times, Vedic astrology (Jyotish) was consisting of only seven
planets: Moon, Sun, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter and Venus. Rahu and Ketu were
really added during the Mahabharata period as explained in the story above. The
following sections will discuss and describe Rahu and Ketu and their significance from
the astrology point of view. These sections will also talk about the

Ketu:
Ketu, a headless entity (not a planet or a
celestial entity), is as shadowy as Rahu
though not as bad as Rahu. It is considered
as the one who helps the cause of
liberation from cycle of life (i.e. Birth and
death) hence called as Moksha-Karka. It
characterizes spiritual knowledge,
knowledge of self, non-attachments to the
worldly desires. It provides psychic abilities
and makes the person master of healing
arts.
While this is true, as it is said it can be
more destructive if not placed at right
places in native’s horoscope. It's neither
feminine nor masculine, wind-dominated,
(Photo courtesy: http://www.sanatansociety.com)
aged, powerful at night, animalistic,
k tñ:Øb:i j : m:n*: :! + ö+ i ö+ :ò
ös:hÐk tñ:v:ðn:m:H . . obsessive, compulsive and unconscious in
behavior.
Puranic Mantra:

p:l :aS:p:Ø
\ p:s:ö
k aS:öt :ar k ag:Ò
h m:st :k m:Î . Some of the properties associated with
r :ò
dÓör :ò
dÓat m:k öG::ð
r öt :ök tñ:Ø
ö) N:m:amy:hm:Î . .
Ketu are,
Favorite Color: Smoke colored; Favorite
I pray to Ketu, who has the appearance of
Palaasha flower, the head of stars and
day: Saturday; Favorite gemstone: Cat’s
planets, fierce and terrifying eye; Favorite deity: Lord Bhairav

Ketu endows one with supreme form of

spiritual enlightenment, which in itself is the greatest boon for human existence

Rahu
In Hindu mythology, Rahu is a snake that swallows the sun or the moon causing
eclipses. He is depicted in art as a dragon with no body riding a chariot drawn by
eight black horses. This immortal head as described above occasionally swallows the
sun or the moon, causing eclipses. Then, the sun or moon passes through the
opening at the neck, ending the eclipse.
It is considered as Shudra Graha, which
rules illiteracy and uncultured people. . It
is considered as a bad planet which
signifies thieves, witches, magicians, jails
etc. People dealing in occult especially
black magic or tantric studies are deeply
influenced by this plant. Though it is
considered at the inauspicious plant but if
places at the right positions is said to
grant success, unexpected gains and
enhances one's powers. Since it is a
shudra graha it craves for pleasures and is
never satisfied with the gains.

Some of the properties associated with

Rahu are,
Favorite Color: Blue Black; Favorite day:
Saturday; Favorite gemstone: Hessonite and Favorite deity: Lord Hanuman

In Buddhism Rahu is one of the krodhadevatas (terror-inspiring gods). Rahu as

Provider of Success and strength makes the mankind realize its best and worst
aspects of human potential.

Rahu, Ketu and Kalsarpa Yoga

KalSarpa is a conjunction of Kal meaning death or god

of death and Sarpa meaning the serpent. Its been one of
the most feared dreadful yoga’s like Sadesati. Kalsarpa
yoga is formed when all planets on one’s horoscope are
hemmed between Rahu and Ketu. If any of the planets
is outside of Rahu and Ketu axis Kalsarpa yoga does not
exist.

There are 12 different types of Kalsarpa yoga based on

the location of Rahu and ketu wiz,
Anant Kalsarpa Yoga Kulika Kalsarpa Yoga Vasuki Kalsarpa Yoga
Shankapal Kalsarpa Yoga Padma Kalsarpa Yoga Mahapadma Kalsarpa Yoga
Takshak Kalsarpa Yoga Karkotik Kalsarpa Yoga Shankhnaad Kalsarpa Yoga
Paatak Kalsarpa Yoga Vishakt Kalsarpa Yoga Sheshnag Kalsarpa Yoga

When scholars studied this phenomenon in detail there are no reference found in any
of the classical texts like Brihat Parashar Hora Shastra, Brihat Jatak, and Saravali
etc. While the debate continues about whether its real or no it simply forms a
interesting astronomical combination which we will touch up in the later part of the
paper.

Part II : The Astronomy and Rahu, Ketu…

So far what we have really learnt is Rahu and Ketu are two invisible entities in Indian
Astrology. They are enemies of the Sun and the Moon, who at certain times of the
year (during conjunction or opposition) swallow the Sun or the Moon causing either a
solar or a lunar eclipse. In Sanskrit this is known as grahanam or seizing.
The story in the introduction might sound childish but believe me it is a very
powerful metaphor for what actually happens when an eclipse takes place. To
understand this metaphor it’s worth travelling back to school days to understand
when eclipse (Lunar or solar) happens.

An eclipse is defined as an astronomical event in which one celestial object moves

into the shadow of another. Eclipses bring
the Moon, Earth, and Sun into physical
alignment, creating a shadow somewhere
on Earth, which supposedly shows the fall of
old powers and the rise of new ones,
whether personally, interpersonally, or
transpersonally. While we get 13 New and

Full Moons each year, only 2 of each

create a Lunar Eclipse or a Solar
Eclipse.
An eclipse of the Sun or solar eclipse
occurs when the shadow of the Moon
falls upon the Earth. Those within the
area of the Moon's shadow see total,
partial or (sometimes) an annular
eclipse. An eclipse of the Moon or lunar eclipse occurs when the shadow of the Earth
falls upon the Moon.

Let’s go slightly deeper in astronomy to understand what astronomical events cause

eclipses and what is an orbital node?

According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (2001-07), an Orbital node is

a point at which the orbit of a body
crosses a reference plane. One
reference plane that is often used is
the plane of the earth’s orbit around the sun which is ecliptic. We also know moon
has a orbit around the earth which inclination of 5°9´ (btw due to this inclination
eclipses does not happen every month)

When the orbit of the

Moon crosses the earths
orbit around sun which is
ecliptic there is a
favorable condition for
eclipse. The cross section
of orbits is called as lunar
nodes as mentioned in the

(Photo courtesy: http://www.planetarypositions.com)

diagram. There are two different types of lunar nodes
a) The ascending node is usually quoted as the angular position at which a
celestial body passes from the southern side of a reference plane to the
northern side, hence 'ascending'
b) Descending Node: It is the point at which an orbiting body passes from the
northern side of a reference plane to the southern side, hence 'descending'

These two points are exactly opposite to each other. And the line joining them is
called as lunar node axis. The lunar nodes are represented by a horseshoe symbol.
The horseshoe is open on the bottom for the north node and open on the top for the
south node.

Now let’s go back to the astrology where we discussed Rahu and Ketu, their
description and properties and the very function i.e. occasionally swallows the sun or
the moon, causing eclipses.

Based on the above astronomical explanation about nodes, it’s a no brainer to map
these nodes to Rahu and Ketu. Since these nodes are positions of mathematical
calculations, therefore, they are referred as invisible or shadow planets. From an
astrological perspective as well this is taken care of by mentioning that since these
are not planets, they only modify the influences of the other planets.

Conclusion

• The ancient Hindu observers of the sky were aware of the cause of the solar
and lunar eclipses and so described the process in the language of metaphor.
• There is no evidence of Kalsarpa yoga in any known ancient documents of
Indian/Hindu Astrological reference books. According to the known the
astrologer K. N. Rao, it should be treated as one of the biggest frauds in
astrology
• Talking about the Kalsarpa yoga, i.e. all planets between the lunar node axis
is a great celestial event and needed to be further studied

References:
http://www.pantheon.org/areas/folklore/folktales/articles/rahu.html
http://www.sanskrit.org/www/Astronomy/Rahu.html
http://www.planetarypositions.com
http://www.trambakeshwar.com/kalsarpa.htm
http://www.indianetzone.com/2/ketu.htm
http://www.indianetzone.com/2/Rahu.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_node
http://www.gcse.com