Which is the best reference Lal Kitab?

Long back I had written an article by the name of "Which Lal Kitab Book" to tell Lal Kitab students which are the good and the bad books available on this subject. The article was written in year 2004 and since then, much water has flown through the Ganga. One very important development is that now almost all five editions of Lal Kitab are available in Hindi, which gives Hindi readers more options. Today, somebody asked about Lal Kitab reference books in my Lal Kitab discussion forum and this was my answer (with some enhancements) -

Lal Kitab is not a name of one single book. There are five books published during year 1939 to 1952 written by Pt. Roop Chand Joshi. One need to read all those books to understand Lal Kitab fully. In my opinion 1952 edition is the most exhaustive and must be the first book to be read by all Lal Kitab enthusiasts. 1952 edition also covers most of the content in previous editions and hence kind of super-set of all Lal Kitab editions. The best transliteration so far for 1952 edition is available in the form of "Arun Samhita", published by Hare Krishna Trust, Chandigarh. Due the nature of language used in Lal Kitab, it is very difficult to understand in one single reading. My suggestion to Lal Kitab students is that one need to read and reread Lal Kitab to understand it.

For further reading, I would suggest reading books in following sequence -

• 1942 edition (Lal Kitab - Tarmeem Shuda): Hindi transliteration of 1942 edition by Pt. Beni Madhav Goswami is available from Durga Pocket Books.
• 1940 edition (Lal Kitab ke Armaan): Hindi transliteration by Pt. Beni Madhav Goswami available from Himalaya Publications/ Sagar Publications
• 1941 edition (Lal Kitab - Teesra Hissa, also known as Gutka): Hindi transliteration by Yograj Prabhakar available from Rahul Computers, Patiala
• 1939 edition (Lal Kitab ke Farmaan): Hindi transliteration by Pt. Beni Madhav Goswami available from Himalaya Publications/ Sagar Publications. This is primarily a book on Palmistry aspect of Lal Kitab.

Two other recommended books are -

• Lal Kitab Prishthabhoomi Aur Vyakhaya by Pt. Krishna Ashant
• Lal Kitab Aur Kashta Nivaran by Sumat Prasad Kalka

Both of the above books are good introductory books, but have some serious shortcomings. For example, reasoning behind remedies is flawed in both the books. So wherever these authors have explained the working of Lal Kitab remedies, those sections should be ignored. Also Pt. Ashant book's section on background of Lal Kitab does not seems to be correct where he questions the authorship of Pt. Roop Chand Joshi. Probably both the books -Krishna Ashant's book and Arun Samhita - questioned the authorship to avoid copyright issues. Sumat Prasad Kalka's book has listed remedies for all nine planets in twelve houses. That is not only incorrect but also risky. Remedies should always be suggested by analyzing the overall chart and should not be given for individual planet position. Lal Kitab has given detailed grammar (rules for analyzing chart) and the cause of problem should be identified using the grammar and the remedies should be suggested to solve that particular problem. In other words, last two books should be used with caution.

Note:

• One can find a list of astrology book stores here.
• If you are looking for the book in English, you will have to rely on the old article for some information on the Lal Kitab books in English. Nothing much has changed on English landscape.
• I have a dedicated blog on Lal Kitab at http://www.lalkitab.in/. If you are mainly interested in Lal Kitab, you can subscribe that blog.
  

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KP Sign, Nakshatra, Sub Table

A ready reference table to calculate Rashi (Sign), Nakshatra (Star) and Sub for a given degree can be found here -

http://kpastrology.astrosage.com/reference-tables/sign-star-and-sub-table

Hindu Baby Names Table for Rashi and Nakshatra

In India, babies are generally named on Nakshatra and Charan. There are total 27 Nakshatra (constellations) and each Nakshatra contains 4 padas or charanas. This is a table from which you can select the namakshar (first character of the name). For example, the baby birth happened in 4th charan of Chitra nakshatra, so you have to select fourth character in the last column in front of Chitra row. The table suggests that the name should begin with 'Re' (री) alphbet of Devanagri (Hindu/ Sanskrit) Varnamala. You can find nakshatra and charan using any vedic astrology software. http://www.astrosage.com/ is a free software and you can use that as well.

No	Nakshatra	First Letter of Baby's Name for all four charan/ pada
1	Aswini	Chu (चू) , Che (चे), Cho (चो), La (ला)
2	Bharani	Lee (ली), Lu (लू), Le (ले), Lo (लो)
3	Krithika	A (आ), E (ई), U (उ), Ea (ऐ)
4	Rohini	O (ओ), Va (वा), Vi (वी), Vu (वू)
5	Mrigashiras	We (वे), Wo (वो), Ka (का), Ki (की)
6	Aardhra / Arudra (Telugu)	Ku (कू), Gha (घ), Ing (ङ), Jha (झ)
7	Punarvasu	Ke (के), Ko (को), Ha (हा), Hi (ही)
8	Pushyami	Hu (हू), He (हे), Ho (हो), Da (डा)
9	Ashlesha	De (डी), Du (डू), De (डे), Do (डो)
10	Magha/Makha	Ma (मा), Me (मी), Mu (मू), Me (मे)
11	P.Phalguni/ Poorva Phalguni / Pubba (Telugu)	Mo (मो), Ta (टा), Ti (टी), Tu (टू)
12	U.Phalguni/ Uthraphalguni / Uttara (Telugu)	Te (टे), To (टो), Pa (पा), Pe (पी)
13	Hastha	Pu (पू), Sha (ष), Na (ण), Teha (ठ)
14	Chitra	Pe (पे), Po (पो), Ra (रा), Re (री)
15	Swaathi	Ru (रू), Re (रे), Ro (रो), Taa (ता)
16	Vishaakha	Tee (ती), Tue (तू), Teaa (ते), Too (तो)
17	Anuraadha	Na (ना), Ne (नी), Nu (नू), Ne (ने)
18	Jyeshta	No (नो), Ya (या) Yi (यी), Uu (यू)
19	Moola	Ye (ये), Yo (यो), Ba (भा), Be (भी)
20	P.Shada/Poorvashaada	Bu (भू), Dha (धा), Ea (फा) Eaa (ढा)
21	U.Shada/Uthrashaada	Be (भे), Bo (भो), Ja (जा), Ji (जी)
22	Shraavan	Ju (खी), Je (खू), Jo (खे), Sha (खो)
23	Dhanishta	Ga (गा), Gi (गी), Gu (गू), Ge (गे)
24	Shathabhisha	Go (गो), Sa (सा), Si (सी), Su (सू)
25	P.Bhadra/Poorvabhadra	Se (से), So (सो), Da (दा), Di (दी)
26	U.Bhadra/Uthrabhadra	Du (दू), Tha (थ), Jha (झ), Jna (ञ)
27	Revathi	De (दे), Do (दो), Cha (चा), Chi (ची)

In certain section of India, especailly north India, the name is selected based on the Rashi (Moon Sign). Here is a table for names based Rashi -

Naming baby based on rasi (North India)

Rasi	First Letter of Baby's Name
Mesa	A, L, E (अ, ल, ई)
Vrishabha	Ba, Va, U (ब, व, ऊ)
Mithuna	Ka, Gha (क, छ, घ)
Karka	Da, Ha (ड, ह)
Simha	Ma, Ta (म, ट)
Kanya	Pa, Tha ( प, ठ, ण )
Tula	Ra, ta (र, त)
Vrischika	na, ya (न, य)
Dhanu	bha, dha, pha, dha, (भ, ध, फ, ढ)
Makar	kha, ja (ख, ज)
Kumbha	ga, sa, sha, Sh (ग, स, श, ष)
Mina	da, cha, tha, jha (द, च, थ, झ)

Nakshatra Calculation

Here is a reference table for calculating Nakshatra & Nakshatra lord given the longitude/ degree:

No	Nakshatra(Star)	Longitude(Sign-Deg- Min)	Lord
1	Aswini	00-00-00	Ketu
2	Bharani	00-13-20	Venus
3	Kritika	00-26-40	Sun
4	Rohini	01-10-00	Moon
5	Mrigasira	01-23-20	Mars
6	Aridra	02-06-40	Rahu
7	Punarvasu	02-20-00	Jupiter
8	Pushya	03-03-20	Saturn
9	Aslesha	03-16-40	Mercury
10	Magha	04-00-00	Ketu
11	Poorvaphalguni	04-13-20	Venus
12	Uttaraphalguni	04-26-40	Sun
13	Hasta	05-10-00	Moon
14	Chitra	05-23-20	Mars
15	Swati	06-06-40	Rahu
16	Visakha	06-20-00	Jupiter
17	Anuradha	07-03-20	Saturn
18	Jyehsta	07-16-40	Mercury
19	Moola	08-00-00	Ketu
20	Poorvashadha	08-13-20	Venus
21	Uttarashadha	08-26-40	Sun
22	Sravana	09-10-00	Moon
23	Dhanshita	09-23-20	Mars
24	Satabisha	10-06-40	Rahu
25	Poorvabhadrapada	10-20-00	Jupiter
26	Uttarabhadrapada	11-03-20	Saturn
27	Revati	11-16-40	Mercury

You can also calculate your Nakshatra from AstroSage.com by casting your chart and looking at birth details page.