PRASHNA MARG (PRASNA MARGA) VOL-I & II | by Shukdev Chaturvedi & J Bhasin

Prasna Marga is a distinctive and authoritative classical text of Hindu astrology, primarily devoted to horary astrology, as the term Prashna denotes horary inquiry. Composed in Sanskrit in the form of verses, this work was written in 1649 A.D. at Edakad near Tellicherry in present day Kerala by Narayanan Nambutiri of the Panakkattu house, a Namboodiri Brahmin scholar. The author later composed a concise commentary on his own work titled Durgamartha Prakasini.

The text became accessible to English readers through the celebrated commentary authored by Punnasseri Nambi Neelakantha Sarma, a disciple of Kerala Varma. Prasna Marga encapsulates the essential Parashari principles and presents them in a concise yet profound manner. It is traditionally asserted that a practitioner well versed in the six branches of Jyotisha and knowledgeable of this text will not falter in astrological prediction.

Renowned as the most comprehensive and detailed treatise on horary astrology, Prasna Marga occupies an exalted position in the corpus of Indian astrological literature. Without engaging deeply with this work, the vast richness of Jyotisha cannot be fully appreciated. A notable feature of the text is its assignment of fixed Sarvashtakavarga bindu values to each house, above which prosperity is indicated, a concept derived from the Ashtakavarga system explained in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, the foundational text of predictive astrology.

Additionally, Prasna Marga employs several advanced and now rarely practiced techniques such as Navamsa Navamsa and Navamsa Dvadasamsa analysis, which were actively used in earlier traditions. These elements further underscore the depth, originality, and enduring significance of this classical work.