Graha and Bhava Balas Part 8: Temporal Strength Part 2
We've mastered the natural cycle strengths (day/night, lunar phases, daily thirds). Now we tackle the most mathematically demanding Kala Bala components: the planetary lords of time units.
Ancient Vedic astronomy divides time into nested cycles—years, months, weeks, hours—each ruled by a specific planet. The planet ruling your birth time unit gains strength, as if sitting on a throne during its reign.
Challenge ahead: These calculations require Ahargana—the number of days elapsed since creation. B.V. Raman provides lookup tables to simplify this for dates 1827-2000. For other dates, astronomical calculation is needed.
Ahargana = "heap of days" = total terrestrial days from cosmic creation to birth date. For our Standard Horoscope (Oct 16, 1918), Ahargana = 714,404,130,045 days.
Simplified Method (1827-2000)
B.V. Raman provides condensed Ahargana using epoch: May 2, 1827 (Wednesday).
- Find Ahargana for Dec 31 of previous year (Table I in original text)
- Add days from Jan 1 to birth date (Table II)
- Result = condensed Ahargana for birth
Standard Horoscope Example:
- Dec 31, 1917: 33,116 days
- Jan 1 - Sep 30, 1918: 273 days
- Oct 1-16, 1918: 16 days
- Total: 33,405 days
The Four Time Lords
Abdadhipathi = lord of the astrological year (360 days) in which birth occurs.
1. Ahargana ÷ 360 = Years (quotient), discard remainder
2. Years × 3 + 1 = Sum
3. Sum ÷ 7 = weeks (discard), keep remainder
4. Count remainder from epoch weekday (Wed) → Year lord
Example: 33,405 ÷ 360 = 92 (years) × 3 + 1 = 277 ÷ 7 = remainder 4
Wed + 4 days = Saturday → Saturn gets 15 shashtiamsas
Masadhipathi = lord of the astrological month (30 days) of birth.
1. Ahargana ÷ 30 = Months (quotient), discard remainder
2. Months × 2 + 1 = Sum
3. Sum ÷ 7 = weeks (discard), keep remainder
4. Count from epoch weekday → Month lord
Example: 33,405 ÷ 30 = 1,113 (months) × 2 + 1 = 2,227 ÷ 7 = remainder 1
Wed + 1 = Wednesday → Mercury gets 30 shashtiamsas
Varadhipathi = lord of the weekday of birth (simplest calculation).
Ahargana ÷ 7 = remainder → count from epoch weekday
Example: 33,405 ÷ 7 = remainder 1 → Wed + 1 = Wednesday
Birth was Wednesday → Mercury gets 45 shashtiamsas
Horadhipathi = lord of the planetary hour (hora) of birth.
Each day has 24 horas starting at sunrise. First hora = weekday lord. Subsequent horas cycle through planets in order: Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars (distance from Earth).
Calculation:
- Find hours from sunrise: (Birth time - Sunrise time)
- Or if using ghatis: Ghatis from sunrise ÷ 2.5 = hours
- Look up hora lord in table below
Example: Birth 20 gh 16 vig from sunrise ÷ 2.5 = 8.1 hours → 9th hora
Wednesday, 9th hora = Moon → Moon gets 60 shashtiamsas
The 24-hour cycle from sunrise to sunrise, with planetary rulership:
| Hora | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat |
| 2 | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup |
| 3 | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars |
| 4 | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun |
| 5 | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus |
| 6 | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc |
| 7 | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon |
| 8 | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat |
| 9 | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup |
| 10 | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars |
| 11 | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun |
| 12 | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus |
| 13 | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc |
| 14 | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon |
| 15 | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat |
| 16 | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup |
| 17 | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars |
| 18 | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun |
| 19 | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus |
| 20 | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc |
| 21 | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon |
| 22 | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat |
| 23 | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars | Merc | Jup |
| 24 | Merc | Jup | Venus | Sat | Sun | Moon | Mars |
Pattern repeats: Sun→Venus→Mercury→Moon→Saturn→Jupiter→Mars (7-planet cycle, 24÷7 = 3 complete cycles + 3 horas)
| Time Unit | Lord | Strength (Shashtiamsas) |
|---|---|---|
| Year (Abdabala) | Saturn | 15.0 |
| Month (Masabala) | Mercury | 30.0 |
| Weekday (Varabala) | Mercury | 45.0 |
| Hour (Horabala) | Moon | 60.0 |
Mercury dominates with 75 total (30+45) from ruling both month and weekday. Moon gains 60 from hour rulership. Saturn collects 15 from year lordship.
We've completed 7 of 9 Kala Bala components. Part 9 covers the final two:
- Ayana Bala — Strength from declination/seasonal position (Northern vs Southern celestial course)
- Yuddha Bala — Planetary war strength when planets conjoin closely
Then we'll total all 9 Kala Bala components to get complete Temporal Strength—the most complex of the six Shadbalas.
Key Takeaway: Time units nest like Russian dolls—years contain months, months contain weeks, weeks contain days, days contain hours. Each layer has a planetary ruler gaining strength during its reign. The finer the time division, the more strength awarded (hour lord gets 60, year lord only 15).