The Vishnu Purana 2 (Part II)

2^nd House & Vision

But, where is ‘Fire’ in the 2^nd house? We all know it to be a prithvi (Earth) sign with Venus, a Jala planet, as its Lord. So, where is the Agni?

Here, the deity of the 2^nd house, Vayu, holds the key. We have already seen that nakshatras are ruled by Vayu tattva…so proceeding to look closely at the nakshatras of Taurus..we see that the 1^st nakshatra is Krittika ruled by Sun, 2^nd is Rohini ruled by  Moon and the 3^rd is Mrigashira ruled by Mars….indicating the Tretagni that rule all existence. This is the collective Agni / Light / all encompassing vision of Shiva that Ketu represents…an inner vision powered by intense introspection. While Sun and Moon represent terrestrial vision (horizontal eyes), the third eye represents inner vision trained towards moksha (vertical eye). Hence that is why 2^nd house rules eyes and Trikonas (5^th & 9^th sign) from there, namely Virgo (6^th) and Capricorn (10^th) also indicate eye sight (because they contain the same triad of nakshatras) and any afflictions to these houses can impair vision.

Let us examine some connected yogas to understand this concept:

Trilochana Yoga

Sun, Moon, Mars are in trines from each other (original source unknown). Great wealth and high intelligence is bestowed upon the person, along with long life and terror to his enemies.

We can see that all the results attributed to the yoga are modelled on Shiva, and it is not to be forgotten here that the other granthi being activated (see table) is ‘Saphalata’ and the siddhi being granted is bravery or Parakrama. Parakrama (Bravery) is an attribute of Vayu, because 3^rd house rules Parakrama and the natural 3^rd house is Gemini, which is an Airy sign.     

Netranasa Yoga

The lords of the 10th house and the 6th house and the 2nd house are placed in (or aspect) the Lagna or all in Neechamsha, while Sun and Moon are not in great strength (original source unknown). The person becomes blind in his lifetime, possibly in connection to or due to the discontent of rulers.

Andha Yoga

Mercury and Moon are placed in the 2nd house or the lord of the Lagna and the 2nd house lord are conjunct Sun in the 2nd house (Sarvartha Chintamani 9/2/9). The person is night-blind or is born blind.

Andha Yoga II

Mars, Moon, Saturn and Sun should respectively occupy the 2nd, 6th, 12 and the 8th house (Sarvartha Chintamani 9/2/9). The person might be blind or have a very defective eyesight.

 

In the above chart, it can be seen that the 2^nd house from lagna is afflicted by the direct aspect of Sun; the 2^nd Lord is conjoined Rahu and waning Moon and is also aspected by Mars; the 6^th house has the malefic aspect of Saturn and Mars along with rasi drishti of Sun; and the 10^th house has the rasi drishti of Rahu and Ketu, all pointing to impaired vision. Ofcourse 2^nd Lord Venus being exalted bestowed upon him a beautiful voice. 

The 7^th house, in this chart is more powerful, with exalted Venus conjunct Moon and Rahu. The second house from Moon sign and from Venus (the 2^nd Lord of the natural zodiac) is afflicted by exalted Sun, the 6^th house has Saturn and Mars and the 10^th house has malefic aspects from Rahu & Ketu, and all these factors inflicted blindness on Stevie Wonder from birth.

Gemini : Surya / Maruts  

Sūrya represents the “Maha dyuthi’ or Supreme Light. Surya has hair and arms (rays) of gold, and represents the Energy of the world. He is said to drive through the heaven in his legendary chariot driven by seven horses or one horse with seven heads, representing the seven colours of the rainbow or the seven chakras. In Vedas He is revered as the presiding deity of Sky / Akasha, immediately bringing to mind the fact that Jupiter is a higher octave of Sun and both are linked to the ‘Hamsa’. Surya is worshipped as ‘Pratyaksha Daivam’ or the visible form of God that one can see every day.

Why is Mercury the Karaka for Intelligence?

Surya is also the karaka for 1^st house, head / intelligence and I always wondered why Mercury should be the karaka for intelligence in Vedic astrology. The symbol of Gemini holds the answer for this puzzle. The two faces … pair of a man and a woman.. which is the symbol of Gemini, actually stand for the two hemispheres of the brain…the right and the left…which are like twins, yet are different in every other way. The left side of the body is controlled by the right brain, which rules intuitive, holistic, random and subjective attitudes while the right side of the body is controlled by the left brain which rules over logical, analytical, sequential and objective functions.

The Ida and Pingala nadis are often seen as referring to the two hemispheres of the brain. Pingala is the extroverted Surya nadi, and corresponds to the right hand side of the body and the left brain. Ida is the introverted Chandra nadi, and corresponds to the left hand side of the body and the right brain.

That’s why the Uttarayana and Dakshinayana culminate and commence from the end of Gemini. These two transits respectively stand for the Pingala and Ida influences. Perhaps that is why, in Dikchakra & Vastu, the Vastu Purusha’s head is in the Ishanya (North-East : Gemini) direction.  

Incidentally, Gemini also houses Arudra nakshatra …the only full nakshatra of Gemini, whose symbol is the head, ruled by Rahu (head again). Incidentally the tear drop, which is also the symbol of Ardra, indicates that the dakshinayana is about to begin.

From the table 1.3 (refer Vishnu Purana 2 (Part I)), we see that one of siddhis ruled by this house is that of “palana’ /  administration, as the sign has Surya as the deity. We also know that the 3^rd house is connected with short travel. 

Yanavanta Yoga

The classic Yanavanta yoga is formed when Venus and Moon are in 3 / 11 from each other. This bestows vehicles, properties and also great management capabilities. Vehicles and properties can easily be understood by the significations of Venus (vehicles) and Moon (properties). But the Management / administrative capabilities come from the sign Gemini, which is hemmed in between Taurus and Cancer, which are ruled by Venus and Moon respectively. Thus Venus and Moon, as the Lords of Taurus and Cancer, form a natural kartari on Gemini, which, as we have already seen, represents “ayana’ or journey. 

In the above chart, we can see the classic yoga formation around Gemini, and his intelligence and administrative capacities are truly legendary!! Of all the Vishnu avataras, perhaps he was the highest ‘Medhavi’ (genius) and certainly we can not hope for a better “Yanavanta’ than Sri Krishna to steer us to the ‘Other Shore’!

From the table 1.3, we have observed that Maruts are another set of deities for Gemini. Maruts are the Rudras or the storm deities, varying from 2 to 11 to 60 and they are described as aggressive, armed with lightning and thunderbolts and roaring like lions (Sun), and residing in the north.

 

According to a legend, Diti, the Maruts' mother, aspired to give birth to a son who would be more powerful than Indra and remained pregnant for one hundred years. Indra prevented it by throwing a thunderbolt at her and splintering the fetus into the many less powerful deities.

Any vertical cross section in Medical parlance is known as a Sagittal section…can it be that the arrow (thunder bolt) of Sagittarius (Indra) is aimed at the head, splitting it into two hemispheres…split personalities..