YOGA (COMBINATIONS)
There are 27 Yogas in all. They are as under:
1) VISHAKUMBHA, 2) PREETI, 3) AAYUSHMAN,
4) SAUBHAGYA, 5) SHOBHANA, 6) ATIGANDA,
7) SUKARMA, 8) DHRITI, 9) SHOOLA, 10) GAND,
11) VRIDDHI, 12) DHRUVA, 13) VYAGHAATA,
14) HARSHANA, 15) VAJRA, 16) SIDDHI,
17) VYATIPAATA, 18) VARIYAANA, 19) PARIGHA,
20) SHIVA, 21) SIDDHA, 22) SADDHYA, 23) SHUBHA,
24) SHUKLA, 25) BRAHMA, 26) INDRA,
27) VAIDHRITI.
KARANA Half of the part of a Tithi is called a Karana i.e. There are two Karanas in a Tithi. There are 11 Karanas altogether. They are:1) BALA, 2) BAALAVA, 3) KAULAVA, 4) TAITIL,
5) GARA, 6) VANIJA, 7) VISHTI, 8) SHAKUNI,
9) CHATUSHPADA, 10) NAAGA, 11) KINSTUGHNA
The first 7 of these Karanas are movable (Chara) i.e. it cannot be predetermined as to on which dates, these are going to occur, but the last 4 Karanas are fixed (Sthira), and hence can be predetermined. VISHTIKARANA is also called 'Bhadra' and commencing any work during this time is prohibited. Bhadra is marked very clearly in every panchanga.
VAAR (DAYS) There are 7 days i.e. Sunday (Ravivaar), Monday (Somavaar), Tuesday (Mangalvaar), Wednesday (Budhvaar), Thursday (Brihaspativaar), Friday (Shukravaar) and Saturday (Shanivaar). The counting of days begins from the sunrise of the first day to the sunrise of the second day.
In astrology, this system is known as 'AHORATRA', which means day and night taken together. Omitting the first letter 'A' and the last three letters 'T','R','A', the word 'HORA' is coined from which, the English word 'HOUR' originated. There are 24 HORAS in all. Now the question arises, why is the day coming after Sunday is named Monday, Why not other day. To understand this, we will first have to understand the positions of the planets, in the space. In astrology, the respective position of the planets are given as under – Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon. Therefore, Saturn is the highest or the farthest planet. Below the Saturn is Jupiter, below Jupiter is Mars, below the Mars is Sun, below the Sun is Venus, below Venus is Mercury, and below Mercury is Moon. All the planets are revolving around the Sun in their respective orbits. Since there are 24 Horas in a day combined with night, therefore, each Hora consists of an hour.
The ‘Lord’ of each Hora is a planet from the nearest lower orbit.The Lord of the first HORA is the Sun. In the beginning of the creation, the Sun was visible first of all and for that very reason, it has been considered as the lord of the first Hora and also the first day has been named after it. The next Hora is named after 'Shukra' (Venus, which is the lord of the second HORA, and whose orbit is just below the Sun. The lord of the third Hora is 'Budha' (Mercury) whose orbit is just below that of Shukra (Venus). The lord of the fourth Hora is the Moon (Chandrama), whose orbit is below that of Venus and so on. In this way, the lord of the 24th HORA is again Mercury and the Moon (Chandrama). The following chart clearly shows the positions of the planets (horizontally) in order, and the days of the week (vertically) in order. From the Hora chart, it is quite clear that the Moon is the lord of the first Hora (Hour) of the second day(Monday), hence the next day after Sunday is called Monday. Similarly, the lord of the first Hora of the third day is Mars (Tuesday), the lord of the first Hora of the fourth day is Mercury (Wednesday), the lord of the first Hora of the fifth day is Jupiter (Thursday), the lord of the first Hora of the sixth day is Venus (Friday) and the lord of the first Hora of the Seventh day is Saturn (Saturday). Therefore, the name of the days in order are Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
GENTLE DAYS Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are considered as the 'gentle' days. These days are considered auspicious for commencing any good work.
CRUEL DAY S Tuesday, Sunday and Saturday are considered as 'cruel' days. Saturday is considered an auspicious day for undergoing operation. Thursday is considered auspicious for starting education. Wednesday is considered auspicious to start any business.