Vyatipata & Vaidhriti

Vyatipata- Calamity & Vaidhriti- Separator

Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are two of the most unfavorable blemishes, with Vyatipata being somewhat more unfavorable than Vaidhriti. According to the Surya Siddhanta:

“Owing to the mingling of the nets of their equal rays, the fire arising from the wrathfulness of their gaze, being driven by the Pravaya, is originated unto the calamity of mortals. Since a fall at this time often causes the destruction of mortals it is known as Vyatipata, or by a difference of title as Vaidhriti. Being black, of frightful shape, bloody eyed, big bellied, the source of misfortune to all, it is produced again and again.”

When the Sun and Moon are in different Ayanas, but upon the same side of the equator, with their minutes of declination the same, and the sum of their longitude is 180 degrees, Vyatipata is present.
This is a different Vyatipata then the Yoga of the same name, and is also known as Mahapata “Great Fall.” The following diagram illustrates Vyatipata:

The Sun’s and Moon are in different Ayanas, but upon the same side of the equator. Their minutes of declination from the equator are the same, both being north of the equator. 

The Sun’s tropical longitude is 15º Virgo (f), or 155º, 

The Moon’s tropical longitude is 15º Aries (a), or 15º. 

The sums of their longitudes, 155º + 15º is 180º, Vyatipata is, therefore, present. 

When the Sun and Moon are in the same Ayana, but upon different sides of the equator, one south and the other north, with their minutes of declination the same, and the sum of their longitude is 360 degrees, Vaidhriti is present. This is a different Vaidhriti then the Yoga of the same name. The following diagram illustrates Vaidhriti:

The Sun and Moon are in the same Ayana, namely Dakshinayana.

Their minutes of declination from the equator are the same, the Moon being south and the Sun north. The Sun’s tropical longitude is 15º Leo, or 135º, 

The Moon’s tropical longitude is 15º Scorpio, or 225º. 

The sums of their longitudes, 135º + 225º is 360º, Vaidhriti is, therefore, present.

Since Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are considered in respect to the Sun and Moon’s placement in reference to the equator and the Ayana, the calculation of Vyatipata and Vaidhriti must be done with their tropical positions. Due to the changeable latitude of the Moon, which affects its declination, the exact calculation of Vyatipata and Vaidhriti is a bit tedious.

To calculate the exact moment of Vyatipata and Vaidhriti:

1. Determine the time the sum of the longitudes of the Sun and Moon comes to 180 for Vyatipata, or 360 for Vaidhriti. (Make sure to expunge multiples of 360; if their sum is 540, subtract 360 to arrive at 180.)

2. Then:

a) If the Moon is in tropical Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Libra, Scorpio or Sagittarius, and if the Moon’s minutes of declination (whether north or south) are greater than the Sun’s, then go back in time until their minutes of declination are exactly the same, to arrive at the exact time of Vyatipata or Vaidhriti as the case may be.

b) If the Moon is in tropical Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Libra, Scorpio or Sagittarius, and if the Moon’s minutes of declination (whether north or south) are lesser than the Sun’s, then go forward in time until their minutes of declination are exactly the same, to arrive at the exact time of Vyatipata or Vaidhriti as the case may be.

c) If the Moon is in tropical Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Capricorn, Aquarius or Pisces, and if the Moon’s minutes of declination (whether north or south) are greater than the Sun’s, then go forward in time until their minutes of declination are exactly the same, to arrive at the exact time of Vyatipata or Vaidhriti as the case may be.

d) If the Moon is in tropical Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Capricorn, Aquarius or Pisces, and if the Moon’s minutes of declination (whether north or south) are lesser than the Sun’s, then go back in time until their minutes of declination are exactly the same, to arrive at the exact time of Vyatipata or Vaidhriti as the case may be.

Note: Going forwards or backwards in time as necessary to make the minutes of the Sun and Moon’s declinations equal will change the sum of their longitudes to be somewhat less or greater than 180 degrees or 360 degrees as the case may be, which is acceptable as it is declination that is the crucial factor for determining Vyatipata and Vaidhriti.

After determining the exact moment of Vyatipata or Vaidhriti, their duration must be determined. The exact moment of Vyatipata or Vaidhriti is the time when the center of the Sun and Moon have the same minutes of declination. Their duration, however, is determined as follows:

1. Find half the sum of the diameters of the Sun and Moon’s disks. (Determining the exact apparent dimensions of the Sun and Moon is dependent upon several astronomical factors quite beyond the scope of this text. If one does not have access to means of determining their apparent diameters, than one should use their mean apparent diameters. The mean apparent diameter of the Sun is 32’3.6”, of the Moon 31’7”. Half the sum of their mean diameters is 31’35.3’)

2. Multiply the sum of half their diameters by 24 (since there are 24 hours in a day). (At this point it is most simple to first convert the half sum of their diameters to seconds; converting the half sum of their mean diameters to seconds yields 1895.3 seconds. 1895.3

multiplied by 24 gives 45487.2)

3. Divide the sum found in #2 above, by the difference of the daily motions of the Sun and Moon to arrive at the time in hours that Vyatipata or Vaidhriti is in effect before and after its exact occurrence. (If one does not have access to the actual daily motions of the Sun and Moon, one should use their mean daily motions. The average daily motion of the Sun is 59’ 8.3’’ degrees, and the Moon 13º10’34.8’. The average difference in their daily motions is, therefore, 12º11’26.5”. Converting 12º11’26.5” to seconds yields 43886.5 seconds. Dividing, 45487.2, as shown in #2 above, by 43886.5 yields 1.036, which are the hours that Vyatipata or Vaidhriti are in effect, before and after their exact occurrence. 1.036 hours are 1 hour, 2 minutes and 11.3 seconds.) 

The duration of Vyatipata and Vaidhriti as just determined is the time during which they are most unfavorable, during which time the Surya Siddhanta states:

“The time between the moments of the beginning and end is to be looked upon as exceedingly terrible, having the likeness of consuming fire, forbidden for all works.”

Even though the period as just determined is the most severe part of Vyatipata and Vaidhriti, their influence is present, though to a lesser degree, during the entire time that the declinations of any part of the Sun and Moon’s disks have the same minutes. To determine the periods during which any part of the disks of the Sun and Moon have the same minutes of declination:

1. Take half the sum of the Sun and Moon’s disks as determined above.

2. From the time of the exact moment of Vyatipata or Vaidhriti, go backwards in time until the difference in declination of the Sun and Moon is equal to half the sum of the Sun and Moon’s disks, this is the very beginning of Vyatipata or Vaidhriti’s influence. 

3. From the time of the exact moment of Vyatipata or Vaidhriti, go forwards in time until the difference in declination of the Sun and Moon is equal to half the sum of the Sun and Moon’s disks, this is the very ending of Vyatipata or Vaidhriti’s influence.

As can be seen, calculating Vyatipata and Vaidhriti is quite tedious, unless one has software that will do the task. Fortunately, each of them is only present once a month, so they do not need to be calculated very often. Vyatipata and Vaidhriti must absolutely be avoided, so do not ignore them.