Glossary · concept
Astangata (Combustion)
Also written combustion · combust · graha too close to the Sun
Astangata ("set", "gone to rest") is combustion: a graha so near Surya (the Sun) that it disappears in the glare and cannot be seen. Each graha has its own orb of combustion — a few degrees to a dozen or more — within which the tradition reads it as weakened, its significations dimmed for a time.
It is a recurring, temporary condition, not a calamity: as the graha pulls away from the Sun it "rises" again (heliacal rising) and recovers its voice. Budha and Shukra, never far from the Sun, go combust most often.
Combustion is one of several strength conditions Jyotish weighs alongside dignity and retrogression.
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