Combustion

ah-STAHN-gah-tah

sanskrit: अस्तंगत (Astangata)

Definition

Combustion, or Astangata, is what Jyotish calls a planet sitting too close to the Sun in longitude. The Sun overpowers its light, so the planet is 'set' or 'burnt up' and loses its rays and strength. Weakened this way, it may be left powerless to deliver fully what it signifies. The Sanskrit name means 'gone to setting,' and a combust planet does not rise heliacally while combustion lasts; the moment it pulls free, that is called heliacal rising, or Udaya. Rahu and Ketu are mathematical points, so they are never combust.

In Tradition

Both the classical and the modern Jyotish literature read combustion as a disqualifying weakness, not just an astronomical fact. With the Sun overpowering the planet, its promised good effects tend to fail or arrive only partway, while it stays liable to give adverse results. Several sources add a finer point: combustion damages a planet's outer, worldly significations more than its inner or spiritual ones.

In Practice

When you read a chart, a combust planet counts as impaired — most visibly for the houses it rules and the relatives it stands for, such as the mother for the Moon or the spouse for Venus. The catch is that sources disagree on how close to the Sun a planet must come before it is considered combust. Frawley gives 8°30' for Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, 15° for the Moon, 4° for Venus and 2° for Mercury; Sutton gives Moon 12°, Mars 17°, Mercury 13°, Jupiter 11°, Venus 9°, Saturn 15°; Jataka Parijata gives Moon 12°, Mars 17°, Mercury 14° (12° retrograde), Jupiter 11°, Venus 10° (8° retrograde), Saturn 15°; Cole gives a general 8°–12°, and Rao about 3°. In the Pindayu longevity systems, a combust planet's computed lifespan is cut in half, with Venus and Saturn exempted. A favourable sign or house can soften the damage, and Rao cautions that combustion is often over-read.

Historical Origin

Combustion is attested across the classical Jyotish texts. Varahamihira's Brihat Jataka ranks Astangata alongside the depression sign as one of a planet's weakest conditions, and as a bar to certain yogas. The Brihat Parashara Hora Sastra covers it in its planetary-strength rules (Ch.7) and in the longevity reductions (Ch.43, 'Astangata Harana'), and Jataka Parijata (Vaidyanatha Dikshita) likewise halves a combust planet's Ayurdaya. Modern authors elaborate it, including Frawley, Sutton, Raman, Rao, Cole, deFouw and Svoboda, and Charak.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Further Reading