The Zodiac in Bhagavatam
There are twelve ‘Rasis’ (zodiacs) in the Indian Horoscope and each one of them represents something particular in life.
The first zodiac represents life.
The second house represents family and wealth. The third house represents younger brothers, short travel etc.
The fourth house stands for comforts and happiness, mother, vehicle etc. The fifth place represents ‘Punya’ (merits), ‘Putra’ (son) etc.
The sixth represents stands for debts, laziness, prestige in the society, lack of punctuality, inconsistencies etc.
The seventh house represents neighbours, colleauges, friends, business partners, family partners, your surroundings etc.
The eighth stands for accidents, unexpected miseries, dangerous situations in life (‘Prana Sankata’).
the ninth house represents the assets and merits accrued by our ancestors, father, heriditary wealth, treasures, etc.
The tenth zodiac stands for breadwinning for life – the job.
The eleventh stands for gains, income, awards, favours etc. and the twelfth represents loss, wisdom, death and liberation (‘Mukti Sthaana’)
Srimad Bhagavatam contains twelve cantos, which represents the twelve zodiacs in a horoscope:
The first canto talks about King Parikshit’s lifespan being endangered.
The second canto talks about Sri Suka showing King Parikshit the way to liberation. Here he says that the illustrious Sadhus and Mahans are your very family. Getting a Guru (an illlustrious Guru like Sage Suka) is indeed the most invaluable wealth.
The third canto talks in detail about the life and generations of Uttanapaada and Priyavrata who are none but our siblings.
The fourth canto talks about the comforts that Dhruva wanted to enjoy and what it entailed. It goes to show the meaning of the four Purushartas – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha; how Dhruva, even after his meditation, came back to the kingdom and ruled it, illustrating all the Purushartas. The life history of Prithu shows what the true comforts should be — listening to the glories of the Lord etc.
The fifth canto talks about Jadabharata’s life history and the initiation of King Rahugana in the path of Jnana by Jadabharata. It also talks about yet another ‘Upadesa’ — the Jnana Upadesa (initiation of the Supreme Knowledge) of Sage Rishabha Yogi to his children
The sixth canto talks about two stories; it talks about the sins acquired by two varied personalities — one of a well-educated, well-bred human being by name Ajamila and the other being Indra, the king of the Devas. The Purana goes to show that in either of these two cases, it is the Lord (and the Lord’s Name) which gives deliverance from these sins).
The seventh canto talks about Prahlada’s story where it shows the importance of association with good-natured (‘saatvic’) people.
The eighth canto starts with the elephant king Gajendra being put into terminal danger and shows us the supreme truth that the only way to escape the pangs of death and misery is surrender unto Lord. It talks about Amrutha Mathana which shows how wealth is important to our life. Not stopping with that, it talks about Bali and Vamana Charitra to show that the wealth so earned must be surrendered to the Almighty.
The ninth canto talks about the lineages of different dynasties – of the Sun and the Moon dynasties who are none but our ancestors. It talks about the great deeds / merits of our forefathers who have relinquished their worldly lives for the sake of Satsang and the Lord.
The tenth canto talks about Lord Krishna’s divine story. ‘Nityam Dasamasya Pataath’ (One should read the tenth canto everyday) – indicates how one should spend one’s lifetime.
The eleventh canto talks about Jnaana through the different ‘Gita’s, clearly showing that attainment of Jnaana is verily the ‘gain’ in our life.
The twelfth canto talks about the Mukti of Parikshit and shows us that ‘Nama Sankirtan’ is verily the path to liberation.