Chapter 2a - The nature of the Parisistas (of the Atharvaveda)

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occurring under the second circle, ninety yojanas; of those
occurring under the third circle, seventy youanas; of those
occurring under the fourth circle, eighty yojanas In the
case of an earthquake occurring under the jurisdiction of Agni,
it bears fruit within two months; that occurring under the
jurisdiction of Varuna fructifies immediately; that occurring
under the jurisdiction of Vayu comes into effect within three
months; and that occurring under the jurisdiction of Mahendra
takes place within a month and a half. 53
1 (g). The Comets
Comets are those heavenly bodies which move around the
Sun in an irregular orbit. Hence their appearance cannot be
calculated and predicted with precision. 54 A comet appears
usually with a flash of light called the 'tail'. The sight
of a comet is usually taken to forebode evil.
The colour of comet indicates the caste which it is
said to affect. As elsewhere, the white colour affects the
52. According to Varähamihira (BS 32.31), the expanse is
for 110, 200, 160 and 180 yojanas respectively for the
deities Agni, Vayu, Indra and Varuna.
53.
According to Varahamihira (BS 32.30), the earthquakes
relating to the constellations of Agni, Vayu, and Indra
bears their results respectively within one and a half
months, two months, and one week. He agrees with the AVP
in saying that the earthquake relating to the const ellat-
tions of Varuna bears fruit immediately.
54. Cf. BS 11.2. Varahamihira states that there are three
kinds of ketus divya, antariksa and bhauma.