Illustration of Jyotish, Astrology, and Shakun Shastra in Maharshi Valmiki’s Shrimad Valmiki Ramayan

Abstract

The massive tree of the Indian knowledge system has numerous widespread and intense branches of ancient beliefs and practices. Religion, science, Ayurveda, palmistry, astrology, philosophy, classical dance, classical music, mathematics, medicine, surgery, jyotish, architecture, yoga, vastu-shastra, and literature are its leaves. Diverse spheres of wisdom corresponding to the above-mentioned domains are its fruits. Maharshi Valmiki was a great astrologer and a foreseer too. He was ‘trikaldarshi’ as he could see past the present and the future. His knowledge of ‘Jyotish vigyan’ was unparalleled. My paper focuses on the depiction of Jyotish along with various planetary positions and their effects on human lives, as written in Shrimad Valmikiya Ramayanam.