THE SIXTEEN DIVISION OF RASHIS

1. O Maharishi Parasar, I have known from you about the Grahas, Rashis and their descriptions. I desire to know the details of various divisions of a Rashi, will you please narrate. 2-4. Names of the 16 Vargas. Lord Brahma has described 16 kinds of Vargas (Divisions) for each Rashi. Listen to those. The names are Rashi, Hora, Dreshkan, Chaturthans, Saptans, Navans, Dashans, Dvadashans, Shodashans, Vimshans, Chaturvimshans, Saptavimshans, Trimshans, Khavedans, Akshavedans and Shashtians. 5-6. Rashi and Hora. The Rashi, owned by a Grah, is called its Kshetra. The first half of an odd Rashi is the Hora, ruled by Surya. While the second half is the Hora of Candr. The reverse is true in the case of an even Rashi. Half of a Rashi is called Hora. These are totally 24, counted from
Mesh and repeated twice (at the rate of 12) in the whole of the zodiac. 7-8. Dreshkan. One third of a Rashi is called Dreshkan. These are totally 36, counted from Mesh, repeating thrice at the rate of 12 per round. The 1st, 5th and the 9th Rashis from a Rashi are its three Dreshkanas and are, respectively, lorded by Narada, Agasthya and Durvash. 9. Chaturthans. The Lords of the 4 Kendras from a Rashi are the rulers of respective Chaturthans of a Rashi, commencing from Mesh. Each Chaturthans is one fourth of a Rashi. The deities, respectively, are Sanak, Sanand, Kumar and Sanatan. 10-11. Saptans. The Saptans (one seventh of a Rashi) counting commences from the same Rashi in the case of an odd Rashi. It is from the seventh Rashi thereof, while an even Rashi is considered. The names of the seven divisions in odd Rashis are Kshaar Ksheer, Dadhi, Ghrith, Ikshu, Ras, Madhya and Suddh Jal. These designations are reversed for an even Rashi. 12. Navans. The Navans calculation are for a Movable Rashi from there itself, for a Fixed Rashi from the 9th thereof and for a Dual Rashi from the 5th thereof. They go by designations Deva (divine), Manushya (human) and Rakshasa (devilish) in a successive and repetitive order for a Movable Rashi. (Manushya, Rakshasa and Deva are the order for a Fixed Rashi, while Rakshasa, Manushya and Deva are a Dual Rashi’s order) 13-14. Dashans. Starting from the same Rashi for an odd Rashi and from the 9th with reference to an even Rashi, the 10 Dashansas, each of 3 degrees, are reckoned. These are presided over by the ten rulers of the
cardinal directions, viz. Indra, Agni, Yama, Rakshasa, Varuna, Vayu, Kuber, Isan, Brahma and Ananth in case of an odd Rashi. It is in the reverse order, that these presiding deities are reckoned, when an even Rashi is given. 15. Dvadashans. The reckoning of the Dvadashans (one twelfth of a Rashi, or 2½ degrees each) commences from the same Rashi. In each Rashi the presidentship repeats thrice in the order of Ganesh, Ashvini Kumar, Yama and Sarpa for the 12 Dvadashansas. 16. Shodashans (or Kalans). Starting from Mesh for a Movable Rashi, from Simh for a Fixed Rashi and from Dhanu for a Dual Rashi, the 16 Shodashansas (16th part of a Rashi, i.e. of 1°52’30”) are regularly distributed. The presiding deities of these repeat in the order Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Surya four times in the case of an odd Rashi. It is reverse in the case of an even Rashi, that these ruling deities are understood. 17-21. Vimshans. From Mesh for a Movable Rashi, from Dhanu for a Fixed Rashi and from Simh for a Common Rashi: this is how the calculations of Vimshansas (1/20th of a Rashi, or 1°30’ each) are to commence. The presiding deities of the 20 Vimshansas in an odd Rashi are, respectively: Kali, Gauri, Jaya, Lakshmi, Vijaya, Vimal, Sati, Tara, Jvalamukhi, Sveta, Lalita, Bagalamukhi, Pratyangir, Shachi, Raudri, Bhavani, Varad, Jaya, Tripura and Sumukhi. In an even Rashi these 20 deities, respectively, are Daya, Megha, Chinnasi, Pisachini, Dhumavathi, Matangi, Bal, Bhadr, Arun, Anal, Pingal, Chuchchuk, Ghora, Vaarahi, Vaishnavi, Sita, Bhuvanesvari, Bhairavi, Mangal and Aparajit. 22-23. Chaturvimshans. The Chaturvimshans (1/24th part of a Rashi, or 1°15’ each) distribution commences from Simh and Kark, respectively, for an odd and an even Rashi. In the case of an odd Rashi the ruling deities repeat twice in the order of Skand, Parusdhar, Anal, Vishwakarma, Bhag, Mitr, Maya, Antaka, Vrisha-Dwaja, Govinda, Madan and Bhima. Reverse these from Bhima twice to know the deities for the Chaturvimshans in an even Rashi. 24-26. Saptavimshans (Nakshatrans, or Bhans). The Saptavimshans Lords are, respectively, the presiding deities of the 27 Nakshatras, as under: Dastra (Ashvini Kumar), Yama, Agni, Brahma, Candr, Isa, Adhiti, Jiva, Ahi, Pitar, Bhag, Aryama, Surya, Tvasht, Marut, Chakragni, Mitr, Vasava, Rakshasa,