Nakṣatra

[VicDiCara]

I am impressed with Kairon, thank you for producing excellent software.

* My first request is for Vedic Nakṣatra.

This would not just be a different type of wheel graphic, however, because the Nakshatra are segments of sidereal space, like the fixed stars, but unlike fixed stars they cover 13º20' space.

The center of Citra nakṣatra is supposed to be Spica, 6º40' to either side are the starting and ending borders of Citra. Once this is calculated the remaining 26 are just equal 13º20' divisions from those borders.

Is this possible to do now? If now, can it be an update? It would make this application EXTREMELY useful for the growing number of Vedic astrologers using sidereal nakṣatra and tropical signs.

* My second request is to be able to generate one line of comma or tab-separated text with the user's data (name, place, date, time) and, for each planet, the zodiac degree, speed, and declination.

Even better if this could directly be saved to a text file on disk, but good enough if it just goes to the clipboard or to the text output areas you already have set up.

THANK YOU!

[jyotirvidya]

Hi Vic,
Just a fellow user here -- there are some differences between present state of iKairon vs. Kairon for Mac. I have a feeling desktop version is lagging behind its i-cousin in updates for now...

I am familiar with your work so I understand you use the tropical zodiac with actual nakshatra overlay?
So in iKairon there is the Nakshatra option, as a listing display, though I think it's only useful if using sidereal option. That is, it can display 'tropical nakshatras' if chart is left in tropical. Eg. Moon now in U Phalguni by actual nakshatra (3 Sidereal Virgo), but if left tropical it can display a 'nakshatra Moon' in Chitra 28 Virgo. Could be confusing. Though if you switch back and forth between tropical and sidereal settings you can get the info you're looking for?
General Settings: Calculations: Sidereal; then Prefences:Lists:Vedic:Nakshatras
(and both kairons have all the various ayanamsha options)

Conversely in present edition Kairon for Mac, you can use the default chart wheel set to lunar mansions preference, but that only display those 28 fixed western 'lunar mansions' not actual nakshatra.

Also your second question, you can kind of do that in desktop version now (minus declination and speed). First click the "Text Representations" button from the menu bar, and then the "AAF file" heading for single line of info, and then Generated Text:InnerPos (button) for the planet info; and in iKairon there is declination (no speed), and also "Vedic dignities" listed too.

PS despite my handle I'm not a jyotishi!

[mehemptah]

yes, thank you for your reply, jyotirvidya, the desktop-version has really not been updated quite for a while and is partly ahead and partly behind its iOS sibling. The new desktop version has an ephemeris view that displays displays name, longitude, latitude, azimuth, altituide, rectascension and declination and i guess i should make it an option which are displayed. It is not yet a tab-separated text, but i am in the process of creating reports, and in this line it will be reallized that way.
those lunar mansions in kairon 3.6 have been added by user request, before i knew about the nakshatras - i wonder if they are of any use, actually.
do you know does anybody use those lunar mansions? maybe i just misunderstood the request?
does your name mean "wisdom through light"? it really sounds nice.

[jyotirvidya]

Hi Kilian,
You're welcome - looking forward to next update!
The lunar mansions can have different meanings: I think the way you have implemented them might align with how they are used in western magick traditions (see Christopher Warnock or Peter Stockinger, https://starsandstones.wordpress.com/ma ... ephemeris/ for those uses) which seem to be divided up sections of tropical zodiac, the lunar phase 'sidereally' counted along the ecliptic; vs then another method in the esoteric tradition like Yeats' Vision, which is based on same interval of 12° 51' but according to synodic phase; and then the Nakshatras. Personally to me it seems the western magick tradition has confused the tropical lunar mansions with nakshatras though I wonder how their elections work out! (Since they figure based on position of moon in tropical sections vs sidereal nakshatra sections of zodiac)
Maybe Vic can chime in on this too...
And thanks, Jyotir Vidya is the sanskrit name for astrology = "the science of light", as you said. Also the Goddess of Astrology herself!
-David

[mehemptah]

the next update is out now, you find it here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kairon/id ... ls=1&mt=12

[jyotirvidya]

Hi Kilian,
Just responding to say I really appreciate the newest version, especially after latest update. It's really well integrated. I am telling all my friends about it - congratulations and thank you!

[Davki]

Hi Kilian,

I'm also thankful for the integration of Nakṣatras into Kairon.

While the currently prevalent system is indeed the equal distribution of segments of 13º20 along the longitude of the zodiac,
this was not the original method of determining Nakṣatras. Rather, there are so-called yogatārās, 'fiducial stars', if you will, to indicate the positions of the Nakṣatras in the sky. Working with those can be tricky, because of relative position etc.

However, the ancients had a (equally old and venerable) system of accounting for the yogatārās while keeping calculation simple. It consists of assigning either the full 13º20 to a nakṣatra, or half the length or 1,5.

It goes as follows (citing from Dr. Arjun Pai's "Research on Nakshatras, page 11):
"In this unequal nakshatra division system there are 15 nakshatras of normal length which is 13° 10' 35’’ which is the mean daily motion of the Moon. The nakshatras Bharani, Ardra, Ashlesha, Svati, Jyeshtha and Satabhisaj were of half the above length and the nakshatras Rohini, Punarvasu, Uttara Phalguni, Vishakha, Uttara Ashada and Uttara Bhadrapada were of one and half times the normal length, and Abhijit Nakshatras length was only 4° 14' 15’’ the residue fo the circle."

If using 27 naksh. Abhijit is ignored.

I really like this system because it keeps all the yogatārās in their corresponding nakṣatras (otherwise, the yogatārā of e.g. Viśākhā would in Swati, the y. of Purvāṣādhā in Mūla etc.!) and is still easy to calculate. Even the padas and hence positions in the D9 (navaṁśa chart, one of the major reasons, I suspect for the victory of abstract mathematics over nature and tradition) can be easily seen.

So, if this option could be implemented, I'd be extremely grateful.