“Brihaspati first in his birth from the vast light, in the highest heavenly space, with his seven fronts, with his seven rays, with his many births, drives utterly away the darknesses that encompass us with his cry.”
The importance of Brihaspati in not only Vedic astrology but in overall vedic hindu religion is paramount. The same can be gauged from the fact that Brihaspati, as a diety is invoked multiple times through various hymns in our oldest vedic scripture, the Rigveda. He is described as one of the prominent deity of Vedic era, a sage born of the first great light, the one who dispels darkness, is pure and bright, and has a special bow whose string is Rta, the basis of Dharma. This great light is nothing but the Knowledge of Truth, the divine wisdom, and that’s why he is often referred to as Dev Guru, the teacher of all the Devas. Let’s now deep delve into the modern day understanding of Brihaspati, as a planet in astronomy and its parlance and importance in our Hindu astrology. We will refer to him interchangeably with his two most common names Guru, and Jupiter in our further discussion.
Jupiter – An astronomical wonder and its astrological introduction
Jupiter is the largest of all planets in our Solar system with a mass that is 300 times that of Earth. Our seers knew this and that’s probably why they named him Brihaspati, derived from a Sanskrit word, Brihat, which literally means great or vast. Jupiter’s size reflects its expansive nature in astrology. It symbolizes growth, abundance, and the broadening of horizons.
Owing to it’s great size, Jupiter has a greater gravitational pull, almost 2.4 times that of the Earth. Due to this, it can deviate an asteroid or comet out of its usual orbit, either sucking it in or just sending it out of the solar system, thus protecting Earth and inner planets from many potential disasters. This could have been the reason why our sages and seers rated Jupiter as the biggest protector, one who can nullify many doshas if placed well in a horoscope.
Jupiter is a slow-moving planet, taking almost 12 years to complete an orbit around the Sun. This 12-year journey, takes him through each zodiac, where he spends 1 year each. There can be two meanings that can be derived from this. Since he is referred to as Guru, he treats all his disciples as equal and thus spends almost equal time in each zodiac, showering his blessings. The other meaning from its 12 year journey is mirrored in its theme of long-term growth and slow, yet steady movement.
Jupiter has around 92 moons, the most that any planet has in our solar system, which can again be understood astrologically as a dynamic and magnetic personality which acts as a role model and a mentor and guides those in his orbit or in his influence towards their life purpose. A person with a strong Jupiter in his chart naturally attracts admiration, adulation of others.
Jupiter is bright and can be easily seen with naked eyes in a clear night sky. This light is what our sages and seers associated with Gyaan or the Ultimate Knowledge, enlightenment and that’s why Jupiter is linked with wisdom, higher learning, and philosophical thought, illuminating the intellectual and spiritual side of an individual.
Thus, with the above qualities, it can be naturally understood that why our sages and seers hold Guru, or Jupiter in such high regards. The beauty of the above stated exposition is that all the modern astronomical scientific facts about Jupiter match and verify with what our ancient Vedic wisdom has been saying all along, when all these modern instruments were not even invented. How come? That’s a question we all should ponder upon!
Some Pauranic Stories Regarding Dev Guru Brihaspati
While Vedas are absolute truth and Upanishads, its essence, the Puranas are an important link that illuminates the knowledge of the Vedas and Upanishads in a story format, with deities and biggest virtues personified in human-like forms with extraordinary powers and the vices personified as Asuras or the Rakshasas. We find multiple Pauranic stories regarding Dev Guru Brihaspati, how he keeps guiding Indra, the Dev Raj or the King of the Devtas through each problem, helping him fight off the Asuras and win over them. There is an interesting story of Brihaspati and his wife Tara, and she was abducted by Moon who was besotted by her beauty.
This incident triggered a major conflict between Brihaspati and Chandra, with both Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons) siding with different parties. Eventually, the matter reached Lord Brahma, the creator god, who intervened and asked Chandra to return Tara to Brihaspati. Tara, pregnant with Chandra’s child, was reunited with Brihaspati. After the child was born, both Chandra and Brihaspati argued over who the father was. Once again, Brahma stepped in and declared that the child was Chandra’s son.
The child, named Buddha (Mercury), grew up to become a wise and knowledgeable deity, representing intellect and communication in astrology. Despite the tumultuous circumstances of his birth, Brihaspati raised Buddha, highlighting his magnanimity and virtue. However, the relations between Jupiter and Mercury could never be like the traditional Father and Son relations and therefore, in astrology also, while Mercury as a dutiful son, considers Jupiter a neutral, Jupiter, on the other hand, viewing him as a result of an illicit relation of his wife, doesn’t look upon him kindly and views him as his enemy. It is quite strange that two planets that represent knowledge and intelligence do not have friendly relations with each other.
Guru – Some important astrological points
While even a hundred-page book cannot be enough to describe the qualities and nature of Jupiter, the Dev Guru, here are some key astrological points that one must keep in their mind regarding Guru –
- Jupiter owns Sagittarius and Pisces sign and gets exalted in the Cancer sign.
- Owning the natural 9th sign of the zodiac he becomes the natural dharma karaka or the natural significator of duties, and luck.
- He is also a natural significator of wealth, progeny and overall prosperity in any chart
- Other significations of Jupiter in a chart include the native’s preceptor, his elder brother if any, elder siblings of his father etc.
- Jupiter represents Akash tatva, as Akash is all pervading, just like knowledge or Gnan.
- Jupiter or Guru is a significator of knowledge and wisdom and hence represents professions like teacher, professor etc.
- Since he represents expansionism, a person with strong influence of Jupiter on Lagna or Ascendant is often heavily built and if often overweight
- Jupiter as a deva guru is also expert in Nyayshastra and therefore can also represent Legal professions.
- Since he is the natural dhanakaraka or significator of wealth, he also represents professions related to banking, currency etc.
This list could be endless. We will cover more aspects of Jupiter in our upcoming research articles. You can also view some of our videos throwing light on some of the rare knowledge regarding Guru, or Jupiter in astrology. We will put some of the links below.