Shashtiamsa

Definition

Shashtiamsa is the one-sixtieth slice of a zodiac sign — the D-60, a divisional or varga chart that splits each 30-degree sign into sixty equal parts of half a degree (30 minutes of arc). Several sources call it the finest standard varga: the finest of the sixteen vargas in BPHS Chapter 6, and the finest of the Dasavarga divisions in the Brihat Jataka. Each of the sixty parts carries a name graded as benefic or malefic, and you read those names forward for odd signs and in reverse for even signs.

In Tradition

Across these classical and modern sources, astrologers treat the Shashtiamsa as the finest standard varga of a sign: each of the sixty named parts carries a benefic or malefic quality, read forward for odd signs and in reverse for even signs. Where a planet falls among these named divisions refines whether its result is read as auspicious or inauspicious.

In Practice

A jyotishi (Vedic astrologer) reads a planet by the named Shashtiamsa it sits in, treating the benefic or inauspicious flavour of that name as the quality the planet picks up there. In Raman's combinations, a planet in a "cruel" Shashtiamsa sharpens a malefic placement: the 2nd lord in a cruel one feeds Vishaprayoga and Sahodareesangama yogas, the 4th lord in evil ones feeds Bandhubhisthyaktha Yoga, and the Karascheda, Sirachcheda and Galakarna Yogas hang their severe results on cruel Shashtiamsas. Cole instead reads the division as past-life karma: a 9th lord in the ghora-shashtiamsa points to disrespect for tradition, while in the amrita-shashtiamsa the person serves it fully. Because the division is so fine — shifting about every two minutes of clock time — you need an accurately recorded or rectified birth time, and Charak notes it is rarely used correctly in practice.

Historical Origin

The Shashtiamsa appears in classical Jyotish texts, including Varahamihira's Brihat Jataka (in its chapter on the amsas, the sign-divisions) and the Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra (Chapter 6); Santhanam's translation supplies the lord-calculation and the part-names such as Ghora, Rakshasa and Deva. Both Charak and Cole note Parashara's strong emphasis on its predictive weight. Modern authors carry it forward — Raman treats it as a grade of cruelty, and Cole frames it as a past-life chart.

Further Reading

• Santhanam, Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra, Ch.6 Sl.33-41
• Usha & Shashi, Brihat Jataka, Ch.VII "Amsas Explained"
• Raman, Three Hundred Important Combinations
• Charak, Elements of Vedic Astrology, Vols 1 & 2 (Fourth Edition), Ch.X-XIV
• Cole, Science of Light Vol. I