Tajika: Medieval Arabic Astrology in Sanskrit

In episode 268 of the podcast Dr. Martin Gansten joins the show to talk about his new translation of a 17th century Sanskrit text on Tajika astrology, which focuses on annual predictive techniques derived from medieval Arabic sources.

Martin is a historian of religion as well as a Sanskrit scholar, who specializes in the study of the history and transmission of ancient astrology.

Earlier this month he published The Jewel of Annual Astrology: A Parallel Sanskrit-English Critical Edition of Balabhadra’s Hāyanaratna.

Balabhadra Daivajña was a court astrologer who lived in India in the 17th century. His book called the Hāyanaratna was written in 1649 CE, and his goal was to write a comprehensive survey of the approach to making yearly predictions that is unique to the Tajika tradition.

The Tajika tradition was founded sometime around the 13th century when a compilation of medieval Arabic texts on astrology were translated into Sanskrit, probably starting with an author named Sa…