Nadi Shastra (Palm leaf astrology)

Nadi Shastra is a unique form of astrology in which an individual can read his destiny inscribed on Palm leaves thousands of years ago . One`s past, present and future is read with unbelieving details by an expert Nadi reader. The most amazing fact remains that a person reads his/ her Nadi leaf only at a predestined time in his/her life. (Predestined thousands of years ago, that is!!).

Nadi in Tamil means `in search of`. A person learns about his life patterns by going through palm leaves that provide actual facts of his life on the exact time it has was meant to be told .

A great deal of Nadi Shastra is based purely on astrological foundations. Other readings combine astrology and palmistry. There are various `Samhitas` (Nadi literature) named after various ancient Rishis.

Nadi shastra is one of the most amazing confirmation of the intuitive powers and developed knowledge of the ancient sages, who possessed the capability of seeing the future of the entire universe.

Nadi also means very small arc of the zodiac of dimension ranging from 1/500 of a sign to 1/600 of the arc. The thousands of life patterns are written, based on the possible astrological combinations. It is presumed that the Sapta Rishis (Seven Sages)--Agasthya, Kausika, Vyasa, Bohar, Brigu, Vasishtha and Valmiki had outlined the lives of each person on palm leaves through their Yogic and intuitive Powers. The ancient sages has written theses calculations in Sanskrit, which were later translated in Tamil.

The Tamil Nadi literature is written on palm leaves in the language of Vatta Ezhuthu (an ancient dialect of Tamil), with the aid of a sharp instrument known as Ezhuthani. The language is poetic and can be interpreted correctly only by the Nadi experts. This knowledge is kept sacred and is handed down from generations to generations, purposely excluding any public disclosure. Although Nadi readers and leaves are scattered all over India, most of them are centered in Tamil Nadu. That is the reason Nadi shastra is often referred as the most prominent branch in Tamil Astrology.

The primary center for Nadi Shastra is in Vaitheeswarankoli, near Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu, a state in South India. Here Lord Shiva is said to have assumed the role of a `Vaidhya` or doctor, who alleviated the miseries of his devotees.

Nadi reading is not prejudiced to any caste, region, or nationality. All human beings have their destiny recorded and preserved. Due to manhandling of the leaves, certain leaves are considered to be damaged or lost. And there are certain leaves that are scattered. That is, a leaf corresponding to one person may not be available to one particular Nadi reader, and might be there with the other reader somewhere else in India. Still, many people are the first hand experience holder of the humbling experience in which they encounter the details pertaining to their lives on a mere leaf meant for them ever since thousands of years ago.

Origin of Nadi Shastra

Precise date of origin of Nadi Shastra is not known. But sages and yogis of about 2000 years ago are the authentic writers of the Nadi leaves. They wrote the destiny of each and every human being to be born on this earth. They even did the prediction of the time when the individual will read his leaf. It is believed that the records were originally written on animal skin and later were transferred to palm leaves. The palm leaves are preserved by applying oil extracted from Peacocks` blood on auspicious muhurtas.

Under the "Chola" ruler ship, these records were translated in Tamil language. Maratha and Chola rulers were the great patrons of this art who endeavored to preserve these sacred records. Their major record collection was kept in Saraswati Mahal library in Tanjore.

After the British invasion, the palm leaves were sold to various keen buyers. The Valluvar community of south India, who were the ardent followers of astrology, bought maximum leaves. Astrology families of vaitheeswarankoil, near Chennai bought them as well. This is where the main hub of Nadi shastra resides till date.

Reading in Nadi Shastra

To begin with, a Nadi seeker`s thumbprint is taken in order to select the appropriate possibilities of leaves stack. According to Nadi shastra, thumbprints are categorized in 108 Varieties. After a rudimentary classification, search of the right leaf begins. The search is usually time taking, and may range from few minutes (the lucky ones!), to few hours (generally!), to few days and even years.

In step two, certain questions are asked related to our present situations in life. The questions may range from asking about the siblings, to the personal mishaps that occurred in the past. Accordingly stacks are discarded or considered for further investigation.

Finally a leaf is reached (if you are not too unfortunate!), where all your answers are predicted correctly. The journey of insight begins now. The leaf is further read out to give details of one`s parents, and even spouse`s name. This forms the general reading, where your past and future is read broadly, your karmic pattern is described, and even methods to remove the bad influences are explained by the Nadi reader.

Nadi readings are classified as `kandams` or chapters. A reader then can go in further details of your life based on the twelve houses of your horoscope. It will read the twelve chapters with specific attributes of your life.

Chapter 1:

This chapter will give knowledge about the seeker, his name, his identity, his destiny and life pattern in general. It will also tell about the subject`s siblings, details about his / her profession, and details about the parents such as their names and work. In short the comprehensive information about entire life is read out.

Chapter- 2

This chapter provides details about communication skills of the Nadi seeker along with his eyesight. It depicts the wealth aspects in his life, along with possibilities in education. It also reveals the particulars about seeker`s family.

Chapter- 3

This chapter tells all that is to be told about one`s brothers or sisters. The number of siblings, along with their name and the nature of relationship with them is conveyed with accuracy.

Chapter- 4

This chapter defines our mother, and our relationship with her. It also defines about our assets, inheritance, domestic comforts etc.

Chapter- 5

This chapter informs about the past, present and future of Nadi seeker`s children. It brings forth the possibilities of having children, their birth, their lifespan and life in general.

Chapter - 6

This conto explains about the possible obstacles in the life of the Nadi seeker. The obstacles can be in form of debts, diseases, and litigations. The Nadi explains about the details relevant to the subject and provides with a forewarning.

Chapter- 7

This chapter offer factual details about the Nadi seeker`s marriage (like the date and time of marriage, along with spouse`s name). If the person is about to get married, than the Nadi leaf tells about the auspicious time to conduct the ceremony. If required, it also explains the remedies for removing any obstacle in getting married.

Chapter - 8

This chapter divulges the details about the seeker`s lifespan, court battles, and possibilities of any accidents.

Chapter - 9

This chapter explains about the subject`s father, ancestral property, wealth, and spiritual inclinations.

Chapter - 10

In this chapter, details about the professional life of the Nadi seeker is explained out, along with the profession that are liable to suit him or give them benefits. It also talks about the possible losses in business.

Chapter- 11

This chapter discloses specifics about the income, accumulated wealth and monetary gains of the seeker. It also relates to one`s honor and success in society. The chapter also indicates about love affair or prospects of second marriage, if any.

Chapter - 12

This chapter signifies our expenses and next birth. Monetary gains and losses are explained in details.

Apart from the usual 12 houses that are explained in the horoscope, there are additional chapters that give much deep insight for overall karmic patterns, and benefit of the Nadi seeker.

Chapter - 13

This particular chapter deals with past birth. It gives explanatory details about relating the difficulties in this life with that of the karmas of the past life. Not only that, it tells us the way to lessen the karmic burdens and elevate our karmic pattern in this life itself.

Chapter- 14

This chapter suggests the way to obtain the talisman from the suitable deity, in order to remove the effects of all the evil spirits and hurdles in general. This chapter tells you to enhance the good influences in your life and diminish the bad ones.

Chapter- 15

Chapter 15 deals with the cures related to the chronic illness that the seeker might have to go through. It suggests about the prevention, type of medicine to be taken and how to be taken in details.

Chapter- 16

This chapter tells about the Dasa and bhakti period in the native`s life, with appropriate details of favourable and unfavourable times.

There can be another chapter on prasna, in which any question asked could be answered.

According to Nadi astrology, knowing your destiny is not enough. One has to take some actions in order to burn negative old karmas and make way for the fulfillment of the destiny of our desires. Nadi shastra provides detailed remedies for the same. These remedies include certain rituals to be performed in the temples.

Nadi Literature

There are more than 24 Granthas on Nadi shastra. Most of them are named after the sages who developed them. Yet, not every Nadi Grantha is effective. There exist some Granthas poorly written or interpreted that can unravel past with accuracy, but do not interpret about future and remedies with the same kind of precision.. One should be aware about these malfunctioning texts before consulting a reader. Nadi Granthas are known as Nadi Samhitas in northern India.

Many of the Granthas, still in original Sanskrit texts, are stored in libraries or temple vaults. Many Nadi leaves are also stacked away for the use of future generations.

Some important Nadi Granthas are Guru Nadi; Sutra Nadi; Markandeya Nadi; Nandi Nadi; Suka Nadi; Sudha Nadi; Saraswati Nadi; Dhruva Nadi; Satya Nadi; and Chandra Nadi. Among these Sukra and Dhruva Nadis are important ones; they give fairly accurate life history.

There are two types of original Granthas on Dhruva Nadis, namely satyacharya and jai muni, based on Sayan system unlike other Nadis that are based on Nirayan system. Satya Nadi deals with the prominent people in every field, along with details about their life and accomplishments.

In various Nadis like Bhrigu Samhita, Horoscope is related with the Nadi shastra, the outcome of which is derived by different permutations and combinations. This is unlike many Nadis who use Nadi amsha (part of any sign), and go on detailing about person`s event and happening in life.

There are Nadi Granthas whose basis of reasoning is given astrologically, whereas, in some cases the records are based without any tangible reason. This lack of apparent reasoning leaves the learners utterly confused.

Whatever the controversies related with this branch of astrology is, the fact remains that Nadi shastra is getting more and more popular in modern times. The recipients of the predictions provided by it are deeply impressed by the detailed revelation of facts. Indeed it`s a miraculous experience to know that one`s life have been written on a palm leaf thousands of years ago, by the representatives of profound wisdom of ancient India.

It is considered that 40% of today`s population only can access records of their destinies. The person seeking his life pattern will himself come to consult the leaves. Even the exact time when the seeker of that particular leaf will arrive is written out in the leaf.

Nadi shastra is the most amazing accomplishment of ancient India. It strengthens our belief in destiny being the guiding force of our existence.