[Advaita-l] Gurubala in Upanayana

[Anand Hudli]

A person is said to have Gurubala, at any given time, if the planet
Brihaspati (Jupiter) is transiting the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, or 11th
position (rAshi), counted from the JanmarAshi (ChandrarAshi at birth,
also known as Moon sign). Dharmasindhu:
dvi-pancha-sapta-nava-ekAdashastho guruH shubhaphalapradaH. A person
is said to have Chandra bala, at any given time, if the Moon (Chandra)
is transiting  the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th, or 11th position, again
counted from the JanmarAshi. For upanayana purposes, it is important
for both the father and the vaTu (the boy) to have both Gurubala and
Chandrabala at the time of upanayana. However, as the Dharamasindhu
clarifies, it is permissible if only the vaTu has Guru and Chandra
balas, but not the father. Since the Moon is a fast moving Graha
(approximately crossing over a rAshi in about 2 1/2 days), the really
critical factor seems to be the Gurubala. If Jupiter is in the 1st,
3rd, 6th, or the 10th, it is not a favorable situation for the
upanayana, but this unfavorable situation can be mitigated by
performing Brihaspati (Guru) shAnti, including pUjA and homa to
propitiate Guru. By doing so, Guru is said to become favorable for the
upanayana. However, if Jupiter is in the 4th, 8th, or the 12th, he is
considered to be especially unfavorable. In this case, the intensity
of the pUjA, homa, etc, to propitiate Guru must be two-fold (for 4th
or 12th) or  three-fold (for the 8th position).

Finally, if the upanayana is being performed in the eighth year of the
vaTu, then there is no need to worry about Gurubala. If the upanayana
is being performed during the chaitra-mAsa, when sUrya is in the mIna
rAshi (roughly between March 14 to April 14), then again there is no
need to worry about Gurubala. Or, Brihaspati shAnti may be performed
immediately before the upanayana.

There is also the matter of shAkhAdhipatibala. For rigvedins, the
shAkhAdhipati is Guru, for yajurvedins shukra, for sAmavedins kuja
(mangala), for atharvavedins Budha. Dharmasindhu: gurushukrau
bhaumabudhau RgvedAdi-adhipAH smRtAH. And varNAdhipatibala is also to
be considered. For BrAhmaNas, Guru and shukra are the varNAdhipas, for
KShatriyas sUrya and mangala (kuja), and for vaishyas chandra and
budha. For the father, sUrya bala is important, which means sUrya must
be transiting the 3rd, 6th, 10th, or 11th position from the father's
JanmarAshi. For the vaTu, shAkhA-varNa-adhipati bala is important.
Dharmasindhu: pituH sUryabalam shreShThaM shAkhA-varNeshayorbaToH.
However, Gurubala and Chandrabala are important for everyone (all
fathers and vaTus). Dharmasindhu: piturbaToshcha sarveShAM balaM
vAkpatichandrayoH.


Anand