Upaya: what the classical texts actually prescribe

The main text: BPHS chapter 84

In R. Santhanam's translation (Ranjan, vol. 2), chapter 84 is titled "Remedial Measures from the Malevolence of Grahas" (graha-śānti). Asked by his pupil Maitreya, Parashara answers as follows.

• 84.2. In the text's words, the joys and sorrows of all beings depend on the grahas. The text tells those who seek peace, wealth, health and long life to worship the grahas with prayer, mantra and gifts.
• 84.3–14. The image of each graha is made of its own material: copper for the Sun, rock crystal for the Moon, red sandalwood for Mars, gold for Mercury and Jupiter, silver for Venus, iron for Saturn, "glass" for Rahu in the translation (lead in Yajnavalkya) and bell metal for Ketu. It can also be painted in the graha's colour. The crystal here is the material of an image, not a stone to wear. The image to contemplate (dhyāna) is described too.
• 84.15–16. Flowers and cloth of the graha's colour, incense, a lamp, its metal and its grain are dedicated to it, and then given away.
• 84.17–20. The mantra and its count. The number of repetitions is for the whole course, not per day:

• 84.21–22. Homa (fire offering). Each graha has its own wood: arka, palasha, khadira, apamarga, pippala, udumbara, shami, durva and kusha. The offerings number 108 or 28.
• 84.23–24. Feeding: brahmins are given a dish associated with each graha.
• 84.25. Gifts (dāna): a cow with a calf for the Sun, a conch for the Moon, a bull for Mars, gold for Mercury, cloth for Jupiter, a horse for Venus, a black cow for Saturn, weapons of iron for Rahu, a goat for Ketu.
• 84.26–27. The graha that brings difficulties at a given time should be worshipped. Brahma gave the grahas a boon: they honour those who honour them.

These are the chapter's remedies; the graha's gem is given by other texts of the tradition (see below).

The same rite in the Yajnavalkya Smriti

The Yājñavalkya Smṛti is a dharma-shastra, a code of law and ritual. In I.295–308 (the grahaśānti section) it describes almost the same rite, and it may be older than this chapter of BPHS:

• each graha gets a Vedic hymn: ā kṛṣṇena for the Sun, imaṃ devā for the Moon, agnir mūrdhā for Mars and so on;
• the same woods for the fire and the same gifts are used.

The key verse (I.307) reads: yaś ca yasya yadā duḥsthaḥ sa taṃ yatnena pūjayet, "a person should carefully worship whichever graha is ill-placed for them at a given time". The remedy is aimed at the troubling graha, not at the "lucky" one.

Remedies inside the dashas: BPHS chapters 52–60

The most specific classical material gives remedies for periods. For pairs of mahadasha and antardasha, Parashara gives a condition and a remedy. Most often the condition is that the antardasha lord owns the 2nd or 7th house. Some examples:

• 55.67. Rahu mahadasha, Sun antardasha: if the Sun owns the 2nd or 7th, the remedy is worship of Surya.
• 57.6–7. Saturn–Saturn: if Saturn owns the 2nd or 7th, the remedy is Mrityunjaya japa.
• 53.63–64. Moon–Venus: the remedies are Rudra japa and the gift of a white cow and silver.
• 56.56–57. Jupiter–Sun: the remedy is recitation of the Aditya Hridaya.

In all these verses the remedies are of the same kind: japa (Mrityunjaya, Rudra, the Shiva or Vishnu Sahasranama, the Durga Saptashati), worship and gifts. The graha's gem is not named here: other texts of the tradition give it (see below). In these remedial chapters gems appear as something you give away: chapter 83 lists the gift of "a cow and five gems with gold".

Gems in the tradition

• The graha–gem correspondence does exist in the classics. It is given in Mantreswara's Phaladeepika (2.29; the work is placed in the 13th–14th century, though the date is debated): ruby for the Sun, pearl for the Moon, coral for Mars, emerald for Mercury, yellow sapphire for Jupiter, diamond for Venus, blue sapphire for Saturn, gomeda for Rahu and vaidurya for Ketu. The Jataka Parijata (2.21) gives a close set. The neighbouring verses of the Phaladeepika list each graha's grain (2.28) and metal (2.30). In his note to the verse G. S. Kapoor explains that these gems are worn to soften the harm of the grahas.
• Gem testing (ratna-pariksha) teaches the quality of a stone. It appears in Varahamihira's Brihat Samhita (chapter 80) and the Garuda Purana (chapters 68–80). Gems are worn there: by a king for prosperity, and different diamonds by different varnas. The text attributes misfortune to the owner of a flawed diamond (BS 80.18), and an expert should assess a gem (GP 68).
• Choosing a gem from the chart is the tradition of jyotisha. Its teachers (G. S. Kapoor, S. Rath, P. V. R. Narasimha Rao) give the rules: the gem of the Lagna lord, the gems of the 5th and 9th lords, the gem of the yogakaraka; never the gem of the 6th, 8th or 12th lord. How to choose it, put it on and who should not wear it: see "Mantra, giving and gem: the order of the tradition".

Where each remedy comes from

How to use this today

• Start with the mantra. The short mantras of the nine grahas, with pronunciation, are on the page "Mantras of the grahas". The BPHS count is for the whole course. At 108 repetitions a day, the course for the Sun takes about 65 days.
• Give what you can. The classical cows and horses were meant for priests. A possible modern equivalent is the graha's grain, or food for people who need it, within your means. This is our modern adaptation, not the text's instruction. You do not need to buy anything "for an upaya", and we sell nothing.
• The gem by the chart, after the mantra. The gem of a functional benefic of your Lagna, with the tradition's cautions. An exact birth time is needed.
• No fear. A difficult period is a reason to pay attention, not a verdict. An upaya is a practice, not a guaranteed result.
• Not instead of a doctor. No mantra, gift or gem treats illness. For health problems, see a professional.

Sources

• Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, tr. R. Santhanam (Ranjan Publications), vol. 2, ch. 52–60, 83, 84 (pp. 1005–1008); G. C. Sharma's edition (Sagar, 1994) numbers the same chapters two higher (84 → 86). Checked against the public text: vedpuran.net
• Yājñavalkya Smṛti I.295–308 (Grahaśānti-prakaraṇa), verse 307.
• Phaladeepika of Mantreswara, ch. 2, vv. 28–30 (wisdomlib.org); translation and notes by G. S. Kapoor (Ranjan Publications).
• Jataka Parijata, ch. 2, v. 21. G. S. Kapoor, Remedial Measures in Astrology (Ranjan Publications). Sanjay Rath, Vedic Remedies in Astrology (Sagar Publications), ch. 13.
• Brihat Samhita of Varahamihira, ch. 80 (wisdomlib.org).
• Garuda Purana, tr. M. N. Dutt, ch. 68–80 (ratna-pariksha); quotations from ch. 68 (wisdomlib.org).

Questions

See also

• Mantra, giving and gems: the order of the tradition
• How and why upayas work: tradition and research
• Graha mantras
• Vimshottari dasha

Positions and tables: sidereal zodiac, Lahiri ayanamsha — the same as professional Jyotish astrologers use, and the same calculation as the charts in JyotiSoft. Updated 2026-10-19.