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In short
A sloka is a verse of a Sanskrit text. On this site a citation such as "BPHS Ch. 29 Sl. 1-5" points to a chapter and a range of verses in the English translation held in the project's library. Sloka numbers can differ between editions, so each citation names the text it was read in.
What the term means
A sloka (also written shloka) is a verse, the unit in which Sanskrit technical texts such as BPHS were composed. A rule of astrology is usually stated in one sloka or a short run of them, so the sloka is the natural thing to cite. This site abbreviates it "Sl.": "Ch. 46 Sl. 12-15" is chapter 46, verses 12 to 15.
Where the term comes from
The English translations in the project's library keep the verse numbers. In BPHS each paragraph opens with its number, and several verses translated as one paragraph carry a range, such as "1-6." at the head of Ch. 30. The Bhrigu Sutras number by sutra instead: the Sun in the 1st house is "Sutras 1-21". Saravali's translation opens with an index that captions its important verses. A sloka is short and dense, so it is often read more than one way; the BPHS translator's note to Ch. 30 records "more than two views" on a single sloka about the Upa Pad.
How this app uses it
- The engine does not compute anything called a sloka. It cites them: a comment above a function names the chapter and slokas the code follows, for example BPHS Ch. 29 Sl. 1-5 above the Arudha Lagna.
- The sources page lists each citation with its chapter and sloka beside the engine line that uses it, so a reader can check the code against the verse.
- Where a numbering may not match other printings, the code says so. The Chara Dasha rules are cited as Ch. 46 Sl. 158-167 "in the edition this app reads".
- Where a sloka is ambiguous, the code names the reading it chose rather than presenting one view as the only one. The methodology page covers this.
Pages that use this term
- Navamsa: the second chart - cites the slokas that fix the D9 count.
- Antardasha and Pratyantardasha - the sub-period rule, sloka by sloka.
- Ishta Devata and the Karakamsa - what one passage of Ch. 33 says and does not say.
- Kaal Sarp Dosha explained - a term the slokas of BPHS do not contain.
- Chara Dasha calculator - built on the Ch. 46 slokas quoted in the engine.