Muhoortha Padavi

Completion of an unfinished task gives immense ecstasy and accomplishing a task left out by a Doyen multiplies it. This work is such an assignment. The legend is Prof. N.E. MUTHUSWAMI, who brought Vedic Astrology to the common people of Kerala through simple Malayalam. After completing the major portion of translation of MUHURTHA PADAVI into English, he had to leave abode in 2005. The manuscript was lying idle since then. His adored Son Shri Easwaranji asked me whether I can take up the task of completing this work during one of our conversations, in March 2021 and accepted the request. I proudly present the completed task before you in this form. I do not claim that I could do match to the level and standard of translation of the great man. I cannot match his stature either in Vedic Astrology or in his proficiency on Sanskrit and English languages. As such there may be lacunae in this work. So my humble request to all readers is to bring the lacunae in my writings, so that they can be improved in next editions.

About Prof. N.E.MUTHUSWAMY

Prof. N. E. MUTHUSWAMI was born in Noorani village in Palakkad district in Kerala in 1925 to Shri N.S. Easwara Iyer and Smt AV Ananthalakshmi Ammal, as their fourth Son. After primary education he joined Trivandrum Sanskrit College and completed MAHOPADYAYA in Sanskrit in 1945 with first rank. After this course he had undergone 6 year Diploma course in Ayurveda. During these 6 years he also completed SAHITYARATNA and HINDI VIDWAN examination in Hindi.

He started his career as a Hindi teacher. Later he worked as Hindi lecturer in Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum, SN College, Kollam and ST Hindu College, Nagarcoil. In 1954, he started his career as Government servant as Hindi Lecturer in University College, Trivandrum. He became a Professor at Government College, Pattambi and afterwards he worked as the Principal of the Hindi training college, Trichur. He retired from services in 1985, as the Editor of Publications Department of Ayurveda College, Trivandrum. As the editor he had translated and published many classics of Ayurveda from Sanskrit to Malayalam. He also published an Ayurveda Dictionary in Malayalam. During his service as a teacher, he was well known to his students and colleagues as a good teacher, friend and a well wisher. He was known to the student community as a walking encyclopedia. His simple way of explaining the complicated Sanskrit verses endeared the student community.

After the retirement from Govt services, he took up propagation of Astrology as his mission. He founded Jyotisha Parchara Sabha for this purpose. Under this Sabha's auspices he conducted many seminars, workshops on the subject all along Kerala. He commenced evening classes to teach Astrology in Trivandrum. Many prominent practicing Astrologers in Kerala are his students. He started writing books on Astrology, when he felt that there is a serious lack of books available on Astrology to learn it a systematic way to the common man. With his extensive knowledge of Sanskrit, Hindi, English, Malayalam and Tamil, he started translating and editing classics in Sanskrit to Malayalam and they became the backbone of the learning process for common man to learn this subject.

Soon after the release, his fundamental series JYOTISHA PATAMALA became very popular among the beginners for learning Vedic Astrology. He wrote more than 70 books comprising the different areas of Astrology in simple Malayalam, understood easily by the common man. Though they were simple enough for the common man, they were with scholarly values and hence were well received by the elite scholars of Vedic Astrology. He went to the extent of publishing a Dictionary of Vedic Astrology in Malayalam, Jotisha Phala Nighantu, for making to the learners, the extant knowledge of Astrology.

He translated KRISHNEEYAM to English and Hindi with commentaries. He took the specialty of Kerala Jyotisha ASHTAMANGALA PRASHNA to the world by presenting a book in English. His Other works in English include the two volume encyclopaedia of Indian Astrology which is a magnum opus on Indian Astrology comprising to more than 1200 pages and covering enire gamut of Indian Astrology. He felt the need of preserving the classics in Astrology which in Sanskrit should be preserved in its pure form. So he went to the extent of publishing CDs of recitation of the original Shlokas in Sanskrit like Prashnamarga, Jaathaka parijatham, Phaladeepika, Varaha Hora, Krishneeyam, Jatakadesam and Saravali.

He never left any area of learning in Vedic Astrology unturned and brought them to the common man's understanding. He always felt that proper education of concepts were the right way of promoting astrology. He brought Vedic Astrology to the doors of common man. All these herculean tasks were accomplished almost single-handedly by him with extreme devotion and sincerity. He passed away in 2005 at the age of 80.

I feel honored to complete his translation of MUHURTHA PADAVI, which was left uncompleted by him. As said earlier I do not claim justice to the unfinished portion of this text. But with my limited knowledge in Astrology and grip on Sanskrit language I tried my level best to deliver justice to the subject.

**Contents and Sample Pages**