Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra
bri-HAHT pah-RAH-shah-rah HOR-uh SHAHS-trah
Definition
The *Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra* (BPHS) is a Sanskrit astrological compendium credited to the sage Parashara, and traditionally seen as the founding textbook of the Indian tradition known as Jyotish. Written as a dialogue, it surveys Indian astrological doctrine across the signs, the lunar mansions (nakshatras), the planetary periods (dashas), and chart-pattern teachings. By the way its layers of text sit on one another, the surviving version is generally dated to the post-Gupta period (c. 4th–7th century CE), built on an older oral core.
In Tradition
Within the Indian tradition, BPHS is the primary curriculum text — the source from which later Jyotish authority flows. Outside that tradition, scholars read the surviving text as a layered compilation whose chapters belong to different historical periods. For readers who do not work in Sanskrit, the standard reference is the modern English critical apparatus by R. Santhanam (1984) and G. C. Sharma (1995).
In Practice
In Jyotish teaching, BPHS is the main curriculum reference: teachers and students consult it as the doctrinal source for the Indian tradition's technical apparatus. (The detailed Indian-tradition technique sits outside the scope of this glossary, which is anchored in the Hellenistic-Arabic-Western lineage. For the doctrinal content of BPHS, see the Vedic-tradition documentation.)
Historical Origin
Sanskrit manuscript witnesses circulate from the medieval period onward. Modern English editions include R. Santhanam (Ranjan Publications, 1984, copyrighted-modern), G. C. Sharma (Sagar Publications, 1995, copyrighted-modern), and Bepin Behari's partial commentary editions. The layering and dating of the manuscripts are discussed in David Pingree's catalogues of Sanskrit astronomical and astrological literature (Pingree, *Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit*, 1970–1994). The attribution to the Vedic sage Parashara is traditional rather than text-critical.
Further Reading
- Parashara (trans. R. Santhanam), Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra
- David Pingree, From Astral Omens to Astrology, from Babylon to Bīkāner