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Introduction
Kukkuta Sastra (also called Cock Astrology) is a form of divination based on cockfighting, commonly believed in coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is particularly prevalent in state, especially in the districts of Krishna, Guntur, East and West Godavari during the Sankranti festival. Kukkuta Sastra with reference to the calendar and cock color "is almost certainly associated to a "cock almanac" reported in South India (Saltore 1926-1927, pp 319–327)" and a religious claim of foretelling the future "merely by indicating the color associated with the strongest planet in an Horary Figure".
Contents
- Introduction
- Variety of Fighter Cocks
- Zodiac Results
- Weekly Results
- Forbidden Directions
- Disarvanam
- Kavargu
- Chavargu
- Tavargu
- Thavargu
- Pavargu
- Yavargu
- Savargu
- Various states of Fighter Cocks
- States during Weeks of Sukla Paksha
- References
Kukkuta Sastra with further reference to the calendar, the cock within an astrological and religious schema and that divine association as with Lord Murugan and the rooster, his flag, "refers to the sun" and also associated with Ahmuvan, an Indus Valley Deity
A further understanding of the need of the kukkuta being within a religious and astrological context may be taken from the Akkadian, Shidallu or the Sumerian, SIPA.ZI.AN.NA (the True Shepherd of Anu or Heavenly Shepherd) and his accompanying cock representing the herald of the gods with the divinely ordained role "to communicate the messages of the gods". and being from the religions of the pre-Vedic Aryans and the Indus Valley and similar to the ancient religions of the Mediterraneans as determined from "findings of excavations of Mohonjodaro and Harrappa". Further understanding of the possible significance of kukkuta sastra and the kukkuta association with Mohenjo-daro may be gained from the original Dravidian name of Mohenjo-daro which seems to have been recorded in the ancient Indus script. With the understanding that kukkuta means rooster or cock, Dr. Iravatham Mahadevan, in a paper presented at the World Classical Tamil Conference 2010, brought forth the literal meaning of Kukkutarma, as "the ruined city of the cock". Mahadevan also drew attention to an Indus seal from Mohenjo-daro, which has an inscription featuring the Indus ideogram for "city" and a pair of cocks, inferring that "the Indus seal has recorded in the Indus script the original Dravidian name of the city, IA kukkuta-arma, with the ideographic suffix CITY added to it".
Similarly, kukkuta sastra as a form of divination is also exampled within Javanese-Balinese religious understanding as revealed within "Tatempuran, Javanese-Balinese prose treatise on marks of fighting-cocks, divination of cock-fighting" and "palm leaf notes on divination referring to fighting cocks" found within the inventory of the library of the University of Leiden.
Kukkuta Sastra discloses various types of fighter cocks, their care and medication, the influences of various Zodiac signs on the cocks and their winning strategies, and rules to be followed by the owner of the cock before putting the bet. In Sanskrit, Kukkuta means a Cock (also called Rooster). Kukkuta Sastra became popular after the Bobbili and Palanadu Wars which were the result of Cock Fighting.
Variety of Fighter Cocks
Cocks are named according to the colors of their feathers.
Zodiac Results
Planetary influences works not only on man, but also on birds and animals. Such influences show variations in blood circulation in a cock's body. The following are the 27 star movements and their influences on fighter cocks.
Weekly Results
In the cockpit, the participant should face the direction of the cock as per the name of the week
The following table shows when the cocks remain feeble during a month
Forbidden Directions
Care is needed while betting at the time of Rohini Nakshatra– ruled by Brahma, Uttara phalguna ruled by Aryamu, Jyeshta Nakshatra ruled by Indra, Poorvabhadra Nakshatra ruled by Ajacharana.
Disarvanam
Disarvanam (also known as going in Direction) means knowing the direction and name of the place where the cockfight is held. The competitor should know where the cockfight is going on, and should know in which direction he starts to go towards the place. The direction in which he should go depends on the first letter of his name. If a competitor's name starts with any of the vowels in Telugu alphabet, the place of cockfight should be in the direction of south-east or north-east, south-west or north-west. Going in east or north directions bring more gain, in south-east and south-west brings little gain, in west or north-west brings disputes, in north-east brings fear and harm.
Kavargu
If the first letter of the competitor's name is any of the consonants such as Ka, Kha, Ga, Gha, it is Kavargu. For person of this kind, it is better that the place of cockfight lies either on south-east or south or south-west or north-east direction from his house. The following table shows the results as per the direction in which the competitor goes.
Chavargu
If the first letter of the competitor's name is any of the consonants such as Cha, Chha, Ja, Jha, Ini, it is Chavargu. For person of this kind, it is safe that the place of cockfight lies either on east, or south-west, or west or south to his house. The following table shows the results as per the direction in which the competitor goes.
Tavargu
If the first letter of the competitor's name is any of the consonants such as Ta, Tha, Da, Dha, Nna, it is Tavargu. For person of this kind, it is safe that the place of cockfight lies either on south-east or south-west or west or north-west to his house. The following table shows the results as per the direction in which the competitor goes.
Thavargu
If the first letter of the competitor's name is any of the consonants such as Tha, Thha, Da, Dha, Na, it is Thavargu. For person of this kind, it is safe that the place of cockfight lies either on south or west or north-west or north to his house. The following table shows the results as per the direction in which the competitor goes.
Pavargu
If the first letter of the competitor's name is any of the consonants such as Pa, Pha, Ba, Bha, Ma, it is Pavarlu. For person of this kind, it is safe that the place of cockfight lies either on south-west or north-west or north or north-east to his house. The following table shows the results as per the direction in which the competitor goes.
Yavargu
If the first letter of the competitor's name is any of the consonants such as Ya, Ra, La, Va, it is Yavarlu. For person of this kind, it is safe that the place of cockfight lies either on east or west or north or north-east to his house. The following table shows the results as per the direction in which the competitor goes.
Savargu
If the first letter of the competitor's name is any of the consonants such as Sae, Sha, Sa, Ha, Ala, it is Savargu. For person of this kind, it is safe that the place of cockfight lies either on east or south-east or north-west or north-east from his house. The following table shows the results as per the direction in which the competitor goes.
Various states of Fighter Cocks
In Astrology there are 9 states for nine planets. Similarly for birds, there are 5 states for five timings of a day. Bojana State (Eat) – cock wins the bet; Vrishasalla / Rajya State (Rule)- cock wins the bet; Gamana State (Move)– result is poor, and only normal profit is expected; Nidra State (Sleep) – This state brings defeats for the cock; Japavasta / Marana State (Death) – cock dies in this state at the fight.
States during Weeks of Sukla Paksha
The following table shows the states of fighter cocks during Sukhla Paksha. Compare the species and their respective times.