View of PVR Narasimha Rao

Quote:
Some scholars take houses only with respect to lagna and only in rasi chart. They
prepare something called "bhaava chakra" or "chalit chakra", in which houses can start in
one rasi and end in another. They take lagnas longitude to be the mid-point of the first
house and construct all the houses accordingly. In the "equal house method", they take a
30 arc with center at lagna as the 1st house. The next 30 arc is taken as the 2nd house and
so on. This method is popular among Indian astrologers. Another method taught by
Sripathi is more complicated and it is also popular. However, this author recommends
neither. Each rasi is a house. The rasi containing the reference point chosen is the 1 st
house and the next rasi is the 2nd house.
Though there are some indirect references in BPHS19 suggesting that Parasara
supported house divisions placing houses in 2 rasis, there are quite a few direct references
making it amply clear that each house falls in one rasi. Parasara taught us to find
houses by counting rasis from the reference chosen. Moreover, only this approach is
logical as we go to divisional charts. Parasara's treatment does not differentiate between
rasi and divisional charts, as far as the basic techniques go. So readers are advised to
ignore all the discussions found in other textbooks on house division methods, "bhaava
chakra" and "chalit chakra".
Unquote.
View of B V Raman (pg.93 A manual of Hindu Astrology:
Quote:
The conception prevalent amongst some astrologers that the Rasi Chakra and the Bhava
Chakra are the same is erroneous. After the Lagna Sphuta (longitude of the ascendant)
has been determined, the limits and durations of other Bhavas have to be ascertained. In
India, there are two schools of thought bearing on the question of Bhava Sphutas (house
division). According to one view, shared by a vast majority of people not only in India
but also in Europe and America, the length of each Bhava will be 30 degrees the
influence extending 15 degrees on either side of the ascending degree (equal house
system). According to the other view, this system is unscientific because it ignores the
relationship between the ecliptic and equator which should be considered for determining
the dimensions of the Bhavas. Classical writers like Sripathi favour the determination of
Bhavas on the lines given in the following paragraphs. In our own humble experience
extending for nearly 35 years the equal house system appears to yield more satisfactory
results. The student of astrology need not concern himself with such controversial issues.
He may safely follow the Sripathi (known in the West as Porphyry method), expounded
in the following pages.
Unquote.

On the basis of the above mentioned views, it is felt that the house division cannot be
reasoned to be equal across the different
latitudes of the Earth. The sign influence
on the House and the planets posited
therein have to be scientifically worked out
on the basis of the latitude and longitude of
the place of the birth. Hence I consider that
the Sripathi Padhati is more logical and
meaningful.
The JHora software has made available
popular methods of House division system
followed as shown in the snapshot of the
context menu. In line with my above
mentioned judgement, the two items
(shown in the image as selected) should be
selected.
Views of Pandit Gopeshkumar Ojha expressed in Hindu Predictive Astrology (pg.
91):
The sign ascending is the first house and any planet therein is deemed to be in the first
house. The sign next to the ascendant sign will constitute the second house and any planet
therein will be deemed to be in the second house. This is the principle the old Hindu
astrologers followed. The sign and the house were deemed synonymous. All the Yogas
given in ancient Hindu astrological texts are based on this principle. The aspects between
planets are also on this basis. So for beginners we suggest that they skip over the
subsequent paragraphs dealing with house division. The more serious students of
astrology are however, advised to study what follows.
In Western astrology there are various methods of house division the Placidian,
Campanain or those followed by Porphyry or Regiomontanus. For the last one thousand
years or more, due to contacts with Western and Middle Eastern systems of astrology, the
method known as Porphyrys system has been in vogue in India and has become
enshrined in Indian texts. This consists of calculating the degree at the meridian and the
difference between the meridian degree and the ascendant (ascending degree) is trisected
and the cusps of the eleventh and twelfth houses fixed on this basis. Hindu astrologers
have now been claiming this as the Hindu method of house division. But this is not so.
This is an imported system and not an indigenous one.
The original Hindu method is what is known as the equal house division. Parashar,
Jaimini, Mantreshwar, all followed this method. Acording to this method if the cusps of
the 1st house is 7-22239, the cusp of the 2nd house will be 30 apart from the 1st house
and the junction between the 1st house and the 2nd house will be 15 away from the 1st
house. This is the point where the 1st house ends and the 2nd house commences.

Currently in India the other system of house division prevailing is by trigonometrically

determining the tenth cusp and then the distance between the M.C. (Meridian Cusp) and
the ascending degree is divided into three parts. This is described in Paddhati books in
Sanskrit and largely followed in India. But as we consider the equal house division
more scientific and the older Hindu method, we are using it in this book. We would
however recommend that beginners follow the simpler method, which is also
followed by the majority and that is to treat the entire ascending sign as the first
house, the next sign the second house, and so on.