Samhita school
Brihat Samhita · बृहत् संहिता
The great compendium of mundane astrology, omens and applied sciences.
Attributed to
Varahamihira
Approximate period
c. 550 CE
Rights status
source_text_public_domain
What it covers
Rainfall and harvest indications, eclipses and comets, planetary risings, plus architecture, gemmology, iconography and omen material.
Encyclopaedic samhita on mundane astrology, omens, meteorology, muhurta and iconography.
Signature methods
- Seasonal and agricultural forecasting
- Eclipse, comet and planetary-war material
- Applied chapters far beyond astrology proper
What makes it different
The single richest record of classical Indian observational and civic knowledge attached to astrology.
How the Samhita school reads a chartChapter-by-chapter summary
Brihat Samhita runs to more than a hundred short chapters across many subjects. The groups below organise them by topic rather than by strict number.
How to work through Brihat Samhita
- 1This is mundane and applied material, not natal astrology — read it for civic, seasonal and observational subjects.
- 2The applied chapters (architecture, gemmology, agriculture) stand on their own and can be read independently.
9 entries covering the full text
These summaries describe what each chapter covers in Astravya's own words. No verses are translated or reproduced.
Glossary
- Utpata
- Portent or unusual natural event treated as significant.
- Vastu
- Traditional architectural doctrine covered in its chapters.
Published rules cited from this text
No rules from this text have been published yet. Entries appear here once a reviewer releases them.
Sanskrit source text is public domain; modern English renderings are not.
Every summary on these pages is Astravya's own wording of a classical principle. Sanskrit verses are not reproduced unless the source wording is out of copyright or licensed, and each published rule records its chapter, verse and rights basis.