Cities in the sky and guests of the cosmos

(Taken from the Gandharvanagaralakṣaṇādhyāyaḥ - Chapter 36 of the Bṛhat Saṁhitā)

After discussing rainbows as cosmic signs, the Brihat Samhita leads us, in the next chapter, into even more surprising territory. Here we are no longer just looking at atmospheric phenomena or luminous symbols in the sky. Here Varāhamihira speaks openly of “aerial cities”, of apparitions in the sky that do not belong on Earth, and does so with a disarming naturalness.

We are in the 6th century Of our era. Yet the tone of the Gandharva-nagara-lakṣaṇādhyāyaḥ-Chapter 36-is anything but mythological or fantastic. Varāhamihira treats these events as known, observable, interpretable phenomena as common as the appearance of a rainbow. There is no awe, no emphasis on his part: there is only a description, classification, symbolic reading of a phenomenon in the sky.

The very title of the chapter is already a powerful statement: gandharva-nagara-lakṣaṇa-adhyāya.

Nagara means fortified city. Gandharva denotes a definite category of celestial, nonterrestrial beings endowed with their own lokas, worlds or dimensions of existence. Gandharvanagara is thus “the city of the Gandharvas”, a city that does not rest on the earth, but appears in the sky. A fortress in the sky, floating silently in the atmosphere.

If we read this term with contemporary eyes, the parallels are immediate: an aerial city, a mother ship, a complex structure manifested in atmospheric space. Not a single object, but an organized whole. Exactly what today, in modern circles, would be referred to as a UFO or UAP of structured type.

Varāhamihira does not discuss whether they exist or not. For him they exist. The point is not the ontology of the phenomenon, but its meaning in terms of astrological interpretation.

In first verse we read:

udagādi purohitanṛpabalapatiyuvarājadoṣadaṃ khapuram | sitaraktapītakṛṣṇaṃ viprādīnāmabhāvāya || 1 ||

The translation tells us that if the appearance of Gandharva-nagara is seen in the north, the priests will suffer; in the east, the rulers; in the south, the army commanders; and in the west, the crown prince. Again, as in the chapter on rainbows, the directions are not random, but linked to precise functions of the social and political order. I colors of the appearance-white, red, yellow, black-indicate which classes or groups will be involved: Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya and Śūdra.

It is not the phenomenon itself that is “good” or “bad.” It is its placement in space that makes it significant.

In second verse Varāhamihira adds:

nāgaranṛpatijayāvahamudagvidiksthaṃ vivarṇanāśāya | śāntāśāyāṃ dṛṣṭaṃ satoraṇaṃ nṛpativijayāya || 2 ||

If the aerial city appears in the north, citizens and rulers will suffer; if it appears in the corners, mixed races will suffer; but if it is seen in the direction opposite the Sun, then rulers will gain victory in war. This is a fundamental detail. The orientation with respect to the Sun - that is, with respect to the primary source of light and consciousness-it completely changes the meaning of the apparition.

Again, there is no superstition: there is symbolic reading of the sky as a map of power and collective karma.

The third verse further broadens the picture:

sarvadigutthaṃ satatothitaṃ ca bhayadaṃ narendrarāṣṭrāṇām | caurāṭavikān hanyāddhūmānalaśakracāpābham || 3 ||

If the Gandharva-nagara appears in all directions And for a long time, then sovereigns and kingdoms will suffer. If its shape or its color recall smoke, fire or rainbow, to suffer will be thieves and forest men.

Interestingly, Varāhamihira uses. very concrete visual terms: smoke, fire, Indra's bow. These are not vague metaphors, but references to recognizable shapes and colors.

In fourth verse description becomes even more physical:

gandharvanagaramutthitamāpāṇḍuramaśanipātavātakaram | dīpte narendramṛtyurvāme'ribhayaṃ jayaḥ savye || 4 ||

If the Gandharva city appears pale or whitish, it will bring suffering from lightning and storms. If it appears in the direction of the Sun, the chief ruler will die. If it is seen on the left side, there will be danger from enemies; if on the right side, there will be victory. Right and left, as always in Vedic symbolism, are not simply spatial coordinates, but energy polarities.

Finally, the fifth verse Is perhaps the most impressive:

anekavarṇākṛti khe prakāśate puraṃ patākādhvajatoraṇānvitam | yadā tadā nāgamanuṣyavājināṃ pibatyasṛgbhūri raṇe vasundharā || 5 ||

When a city appears in the sky Of many shapes and colors, adorned as it is with flags, banners and bows, then wars so bloody will cross the land that the ground will drink the blood of elephants, men and horses. Here the Gandharva-nagara is not just a sign: it is a precursor of collective events Of enormous magnitude.

This chapter has only five verses. Yet it describes a reality that, in Varāhamihira's time, was evidently known, observed, catalogued. It is not presented as something rare or incredible, but as part of the language of heaven.

If we read it today, with our modern sensibilities, the parallelism with the concept of spaceships, UFOs, mother ships is inevitable. But what is really striking is not the “what” but the “how.” Varāhamihira does not ask where these beings came from. He knows that they are not terrestrial, who have their own lokas, and that their appearance has symbolic and karmic consequences.

Like rainbows, like Rahu and Ketu, Gandharva-nagaras do not create events: they reveal them. They are threshold signs, messages that cross dimensions and remind us that reality is much larger than what we are used to seeing.