History of KP Astrology

Krishnamurti Paddhati Astrology is a system of astrology that takes its name from its inventor. He was the late Prof. K.S. Krishnamurti (1902-1978). Essentially, he formulated a new technique for making predictions. It is based on the stellar system of prediction and the 'Sub Lords'. It has gained a large following mainly because of its simple technique that is easy to apply and also because of the accuracy of its predictions.

Initially, the stellar system was developed by two friends, the late R. Gopalakrishna Row and the late N.V. Raghava Chary. The two were Prof. Krishnamurti’s close friends. Prof. Krishnamurti went beyond the system they developed by doing further research for many decades.

He invented a smaller division of each star/constellation in the zodiac, which was based on the unequal proportion of the Vimsottari Dasa system. He named this as 'Sub' or sub-division of a star. The proper evaluation and application of the Sub Lords lie behind the KP technique.

KP vs Vedic and Western Astrology

Many KP students and practitioners assume that Prof. K. S. Krishnamurti did not believe in traditional Vedic astrology. But this is not true. But Mr. K Hariharan, the younger son of Krishnamurti, refuted this in his book 'Notable Persons and KP' where he asserts that his father did not speak ill of Hindu or Western astrology. On the contrary, he exhorts astrology students to master the works of the sages and other astrology books written by renowned scholars. He believed that it was needed to understand the fundamentals of traditional astrology to understand and apply his own system.

The original KP books/readers (2 volumes) came out in 1966. The publisher was Sagar Publications.

Later, Modern Astrological Institute published the same 2 volumes as a ‘revised’ edition. It was KSK who owned this Institute. The revised version continued to be sold until the end of 1971. A reader on Horary Astrology was also published in June 1970.

KSK also published 10 Readers of KP. These came out when he was alive. But Readers 7 to 10 were not in bound volumes. They were type-written, photocopied bundles of paper.

Later the 10 Readers were clubbed together and brought out as 6 Readers. These had many additions and deletions.

From 1971 onwards, there was some propaganda in A&A about the improvisations in the 1971 readers. When he was sick in 1971, there was no one to prevent any changes in the original Readers.

The 6 Readers came out when KSK’s health was deteriorating. They were all available for sale at the end of 1971. KSK expired in March 1972.

One can summarize the above events as given below:

1. The most original versions of KP Astrology are the 1966 KP 2 vol Readers (Sagar edition and MARI edition).

2. KSK’s Horary Astrology was published as a separate reader before the 10 Readers were created.

3. KP 10 Readers are an expansion of KP articles published in A&A from 1963 till 1971 by KSK.

4. 1971 6 Readers are a ‘regrouped’ version of the previous 10 Readers with many additions and deletions that were not in the original 1966 Readers.

5. 1971 6 Readers are more comprehensive in certain topics and chapters.

6. The 1966 versions of Sagar and MARI contain the original KP principles.

The choice is between originality and comprehensiveness when one compares the 10 Readers and the 6 Readers. The changes in the 6 Readers were not due to KP’s intervention in most cases but due to his ill health.

Uniqueness of the KP System

There are many differences between traditional astrology and the Krishnamurti model. The differences lie in the method of making predictions.

KP is a unique system that offers very accurate predictions when it comes to the timing of an event’s occurrence, almost to the very minute. It achieves this accuracy by using tools and techniques created by Prof. K. S. Krishnamurti. These are not found in Vedic Astrology.

However, KP uses the 9 planets along with their same significations, the same 27 Nakshatras with their natural significations, and the same Zodiac with its 12 signs from Aries to Pisces with their natural significations. When it comes to the zodiac and its signs, stars, planets, and house (bhavas), traditional astrology and KP consider them in the same way for their natural signification.

The astrological qualities and significance of the 9 planets are the same in both systems. So is the astrological signification of the 12 houses (bhavas).

The most important difference between KP and traditional astrology has to do with the methods used to make a prediction. Traditional astrology uses various charts and tables apart from the birth or horary charts. KP uses only a few tools that are constant in all situations. Two fundamental tools form the basis of the KP system - the Placidus House Division and the Sub-division of the constellation.

KP follows the Placidus or Semi-Arc system of house division. Here, the birth or the horary chart is cast, taking into account the exact latitude and longitude of the querant or the place where the astrologer is sitting during the analysis (if it is a horary chart). In the Placidus system, all the 12 houses may not be of equal length (longitude). Some houses can be more than 30' in length, but some houses are less than that. Also, two houses or bhavas may be in one zodiac sign and a sign which does not hold any house cusp.

KP astrology predicts bhava/house results mainly on the basis of the house cuspal sub lords and the sub lord's stellar or constellational significations. Planetary effects are based on the planet's occupancy in a certain star and a sub-division within that star.

So, in KP, even though the cuspal sub position happens to be a very specific area demarcated by each of the 12 houses, these sub-areas are under the lordship of the nine planets. Hence, to make an accurate prediction, the significance of a house (through the cuspal sub lord) is considered through the nine planets' house signification.

The Ruling Planets Tool

KSK also created a new tool - the Ruling Planets (RP). These offer divine guidance when the astrologer requires clarifications on some issues that may hinder him from coming to a final judgment. These ruling planets comprise the master key in KP. If you become an expert at using these, you can master this system. RP’s use in applied prediction is infinite.

KSK also provided a set of sub numbers from 1 to 249. This is a very effective tool for analyzing Horary (Prashna) charts where certain specific questions need to be answered or where the native’s birth time is unknown. These sub numbers are the sub-divisions (also called 'subs') of each of the 27 stars in the proportion of the Vimsottari Dasa system. In traditional astrology, there is no such division of the stars.