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Astrology Books

By Kshitij Sharma,
Published: March 30, 2014, Last Updated: April 10, 2014

Over the years, I have collected these books on astrology that I would like to share with you. I would also like to share my experiences that I have gathered along the way and hope that some of you can benefit from them. Everyone has his/her own style of learning a new subject and I do not want to impose my style on anyone else. Therefore, I will not be telling you “how” I read a book, I will be telling you “why” I read it.

Books on astrology or any other subject for that matter are not supposed to undermine the importance of or replace gurus. If that were to be true, why would anyone of us go to school? Just glancing through books would have been sufficient to pass an examination. A teacher guiding through a course sets up a pace of learning, clarifies our doubts and teaches us to distinguish unimportant and irrelevant from important and relevant. These are some questions only a guru can answer.

To begin with, pick up any good book that tells you about the basics, e.g. mathematics and calculations behind astrology can be learnt from “Astronomy and Mathematical Astrology”. To learn the characteristics and influences of houses, signs and planets in a horoscope, “Astro Sutras” and “The Astrology of the Seers” are good books. Be sure about the language of you want to follow. Since Astrology is closely linked to Indian culture, you may be better off learning astrology in your mother tongue. With due respect to the authors of astrology books published in English language in India, the language sometimes is difficult to follow and is not what you are I are used to. It is hard to understand the concepts of astrology if the language is not good and astrology by itself is not a simple subject to learn.

Once you are familiar with basic concepts of astrology, i.e. when you are through with the initial phase of learning where a horoscope starts making sense, move on to books that are more involved. “Notable Horoscopes”, “Three Hundred Important Combinations” and good books at this stage. Such books are based on an assumption that the reader has basic background on horoscopes and astrology and some maturity to learn the yogas well and not apply them at face value. At this stage, always try to pick up a book with examples, either within the text or in a separate chapter. For each example, work it out independently and see if your line of reasoning matches that of the author’s. Unless the author is trying to introduce a totally new concept through the chart, your analysis should not be that far behind. Even if it is, do not lost heart. Only practice makes a man perfect.

You should avoid books on Western Astrology or the ones that are influenced by it, unless it is your purpose to compare the two systems. Always remember, there are move than enough avenues of learning and exploration in Vedic Astrology.

There are quite a few astrologers in India in recent times who have published books on their own original research. It is always a good idea to familiarize with teachings of such modern day gurus. Along with originality and freshness of ideas, they bring to the fore theories that are culturally more relevant in our times – e.g. they take into account the facts that medical procedures are far more advanced than even what Emperor Shaj Jahan had access to and they are readily available to the masses, marriageable age is more than 18 years etc.

Planetary combinations or yogas for astrologers are those that bestow qualities of patience, passion towards learning and self motivation on a person. If you have read through my entire article and have reached this last paragraph, chances are that you do have these qualities. Read on for my opinion on other books and if you are planning to take up this subject seriously, my best wishes are with you.



Encyclopaedia of Indian Astrology

Encyclopaedia of Indian Astrology is a dictionary cum compendium for Vedic astrology terms. It comes in two volumes – volume one that includes terms from English alphabet A to L and volume two from M-Z. From whatever little I know of Indian Astrology, this is an extremely detailed book and the author has really taken pains to put together all the terms in two books. Naturally, since this are just two volumes, the author cannot go in the details, but there is good amount of explanation available for a student of astrology to start his/her research and consult other books. The information present is concise, to the point and with Continue reading

The Stars and Your Profession

Name of the book The Stars and Your Profession, An Astrological Guide to Choosing Your Career Author Prem Kumar Sharma Publisher Rupa and Co Amazon Link The Stars and Your Profession: An Astrological Guide to Choosing Your Career The varna or caste system in India started by being based on vocation chosen by an individual before rigidity and subsequently ignominy crept in. Valmiki, the author of epic Ramayana was a dacoit and criminal before he realized his true potential and destiny and came up with a biography of the Lord Himself. The book describes characteristics of signs, planets and houses in the horoscope and the effect they have on the Continue reading

Mahadeva’s Jataka Tatva

Name of the book Jataka Tatva Author S.S. Sareen Publisher Ranjan Publications Amazon Link Mahadeva's Jataka Tatva I am an astrologer of little knowledge. Jatak tatva is a set of short shlokas divided into five parts: dealing with basic principles of astrology, place and condition at the time of birth, each of the twelve houses of horoscope, female astrology and vimshottari dasha considerations. Although the shlokas are short, they are not that easy to commit to memory due to a lack of pattern in them. Unlike the presentation of matter in “Three Hundred Important Combinations” or “Uttara Kalamrita”, no attempt is made to elucidate the shloka or to simplify its Continue reading

Jataka Parijata

Name of the book Jataka Parijata Author Dr. Sureshchandra Mishra Publisher Ranjan Publications, New Delhi Amazon Link Jataka Parijata Volumne 1 and Jataka Parijata Vol. 2 Jataka Parijata is one of the oft quoted works on Vedic Astrology and predictive analysis. I have a Hindi edition published by Ranjan Publications and the above links in Amazon are different ones. Dr. Mishra has done a lot of research and has come out with many astrology books and Jataka Parijata is one of them. Hardbound books are worth purchasing. Jataka Parijata is required to be read in conjunction with Brihat Jatakam and Saravali. The recommendation is to read this book after finish Continue reading

Important Planetary Yogas

Name of the book चुने हुए ज्योतिष योग Author Kalidasa, commentary by Jagannath Bhasin Publisher Ranjan Publications, New Delhi, India Language Hindi It is important to realize the genius behind Shri Jagannath Bhasin and his overall contribution to the field of Vedic Astrology in India. This book, like his other one Uttara Kalamrita, is an absolute must for any beginner. These books are in Hindi, but that should not matter as the publisher Ranjan Publications keeps these books both in Hindi and English. This book would immediately be compared to Three Hundred Important Combinations by Dr. Raman. However, there is no room for comparison. Both of these books are a Continue reading

Esoteric Principles of Vedic Astrology

Name of the book Esoteric Principles of Vedic Astrology, a Tretise of Advanced Predictive Techniques Author Bepin Behari Publisher Sterling Publishers (I) Pvt Ltd. Amazon Link This is a book on Vedic Astrology that is written with one goal in mind – to be relevant in today’s world, and yet be completely faithful to the literary works on astrology. It is a must have book. The organization is pretty simple. The author assumes basic knowledge and familiarity with structure of a janma kundali, ascendant, houses, planets, rashis etc and then jumps directly to the relevant issues that affect us the most. Astrology is often said to be a guide and Continue reading

Dashaphal Darpan

Name of the book Dashaphal Darpan Author Pt. Shrinivas Pathak Editing and Commentary Dr. Sureshchandra Mishra Publisher Ranjan Publications, New Delhi, India Dr. Sureshchandra Mishra mentions in the foreword of the book that any book on Vimshottari Dasha can only be written on the basis of Brihat Parashara Hora Shashtra and LaghuParashari. Therefore to be able to learn to apply Vimshottari Dasha to a janma kundali i.e. Vedic horoscope, one must learn, understand and comprehend BPHS completely. It has not been easy for astrologers throughout the centuries as there have been many versions of BPHS floating around and they do not always agree with each other. This is because during Continue reading

Astronomy and Mathematical Astrology

Name of the book Astronomy and Mathematical Astrology Author Deepak Kapoor Publisher Vineeta Kapoor Amazon Link Astronomy and mathematical astrology (Vedic astrology series) Astronomy and Mathematical Astrology was the first book on astrology that I purchased. Correspondingly, I consider Deepak Kapoor to be my first guru on this subject. The book starts with a general explanation of astronomy. These chapters present modern theory of astronomy, e.g. planets and how they revolve around Sun in the solar system, Kepler's laws of planetary motions etc. These can be given a miss if one remembers the course work in Science and Physics during middle and high school. Still, the explanation is not out Continue reading

Astro Sutras

Name of the book Astro Sutras Author J.N. Bhasin Publisher Sagar Publications, New Delhi, India Amazon Link Astro sutras, In sixteen chapters, this short book covers basics of Indian astrology - basic traits of planets, their lordship of various signs, rules of friendship and enmity between planets, exaltation and debilitation signs and drishti of aspects of the nine planets along with Rahu and Ketu. In the first few chapters, the author covers principles of planets, signs and houses as explained above. He also explains natural benefic and malefic qualities of planets and how these qualities could be further modified especially by occupation of their signs by other planets. e.g. a Continue reading

The Astrology of the Seers

Name of the book The Astrology of the Seers, A comprehensive guide to Vedic Astrology Author Dr. David Frawley Publisher Motilal Banarasidas, New Delhi, India Amazon Link Astrology of the Seers The Astrology of the Seers really is comprehensive and as the name suggests, proves to be a wonderful guide on Vedic Astrology. I have a confession to make, I did not buy this book, but borrowed it from my uncle and liked it so much that I never returned it back. The book was not available from any of the Indian and foreign book stores at the time. From the day I have started reading it, it refuses to Continue reading

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