Mythology of Nakshatras

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Mythology of Nakshatras
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Mythology of Nakshatras
By: Arvind Bhagwath
Detailed study on ancient Indian Vedic and Puranic texts to

understand the mythology of 27 Nakshatras, 9 Navagrahas and 12
Sun Gods and get a comparative study with other ancient cultures
of Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Sumerians, and others.
Abstract:
Festivals in Hinduism like Vaikunta Ekadashi during winter solstice (December-
January) haunted me to find the connection between human and God via Heaven
Gate. The Vaishnava (Worshipers/Followers of Vishnu) sect believes that ‘Vaikunta Dwaram’ or ‘the
gate’ to the ‘Lord's Inner Sanctum’ is opened on this day. We see chariot festivals in almost every
major temple and millions visit their respective temples in India during this day. People believe that
the Dwaram (passage) is opened only on Vaikuntha Ekadashi, and it is believed that any person who
passes through this `Vaikuntha Dwaram' on this particular day attains salvation. The Shaiva sect
observes the day as Trikoti Ekadashi, a religious observance where all the deities in the Hindu
pantheon pay obeisance to Lord Sri Shiva. In same coincidence, we also have Christmas being
celebrated at same time all over world and something made me feel that this coincidence is also
related to Egyptian pyramids in which they believed that ‘scared gate’ enabled the deceased and
mummified pharaoh to be transformed to God at same time during Winter Solstice. The idea is
basically resurrection of God and this made me to investigate all the ancient symbols of Proto-Indo
Europeans, Egyptians, Indus Valley, Sumerian cultures etc. and was able to see almost similar myths
in every culture and was able to find a very clear relation in all human religion associated with
Circumpolar stars of Northern Night Sky that has supported in birth of human religion and cultures
which I would like to cover in this research paper. I personally believe that understanding this sacred
star astronomy and putting effort to learn the origin of first human writing will make every individual in
this world understand that we all are one and we all have developed culture and scripts from same
source of ideas. This knowledge should mainly support the cause of universal brotherhood.
MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

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Introduction - Sacred Circumpolar stars

Almost all ancient religions are based on an astrological allegory, that is, allegories of the movement
of the Sun, Moon and other visible planets and constellations as seen from the Earth. Examples
include the cult of Horus/Isis of Egyptians.
Star mythology appears to be common in all ancient cultures that has given birth to human
religions. The Meteorological or Naturist School holds that these myths initially emerged as
explanations for natural phenomena, such as the Sky, the Sun, the Moon, and the Dawn. The earth
here was perceived as a vast, flat, and circular continent surrounded by waters ("the Ocean"). In this
flat earth concept, geography of night sky relates to earth that has never-aging gods dwelling above in
the skies, and the mortal humans living beneath on earth and Cosmic River was visualization of Milky
Way flowing from North (Heaven, Top of Meru (Axis Mundi), Hara etc. that flows all the way
from Circumpolar location (Heaven) touching earth.
Circumpolar constellations in general never seem to set, and they simply rotate around the pole
star that basically supported concept of Heaven/God for people of ancient civilizations. It appeared
for them as these circumpolar constellations was controlling the movement of all
stars and planets around it. In Hindu mythology, these circumpolar constellations are referred
as Shisumara planetary system (Location of Lord) and technically known as the Kuṇḍalini-
cakra. In Egyptian ideology and early Indus Valley and Sumerian civilization, they were referred
as "Indestructible",” Afterlife”, “a perfect destination for the soul of the dead king”. This cosmology
helped them to identify yearly flooding coordinated with the summer solstice, carry out religious
rituals associated with respective Gods (Constellations) and further supported them as crucial event
for growing crops.
Circumambulation is part of every human religion and origin of worship around Peepal tree can be
traced in Indus Valley Civilization and below is Indus Valley Code for Pole Star and Peepal Tree. In
Hinduism, Women circumambulate the Peepal tree to be blessed with children or any desired
wishes. In Hindu mythology of Skanda Purana, Peepal is a symbol of Vishnu. Circumambulation
concept is also present in other religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

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In almost every ancient civilization, the Solstice axis, or visible Milky Way (cosmic river) was
identified as the Path of Souls that acted as cosmic river that flows all the way to Heaven
near Circumpolar or afterlife location. Due to this cosmology of visualizing Milky Way as Cosmic
River, any river that is north flowing or changes the direction towards north or north-easterly
direction becomes sacred or auspicious. It normally becomes a holy site and people make
offerings for the souls of their ancestors. According to Hindu belief, the soul wanders after death
until pindadan. Pindadan is traditionally offered on the banks of holy river that is North Flowing. It is
mandatory for Hindu devotees offering pindadan to shave their heads and take a holy dip.
Milky Way (Solstice Axis) of the sky is the heavenly Soma as per Vedic views. It is also the nectar
of immortality and the drink of the Gods or Yajna. I believe people of Indus valley civilization too
were masters of astronomy based on location cities which hosted this grand civilization. In several
Indus valley seals, we can find these references of star mythology and offering to Gods referring the
same solstice axis (Milky Way) that directs towards seat of God. As shown below, in front of
the unicorn is a ritual offering stand.

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As per Joydeep Sen from his book - Astronomy in India (1784-1876), when the vernal equinox
was in Orion, that constellation along with the Milky Way and Canis represented the boundary
between Devaloka(heaven) and Yamaloka (Hell). So, the river separating heaven and hell was the
Milky Way, while the dogs at the gates of hell were Canis Major and Canis Minor.
During winter solstice, the sun represented as “Soul of God or Divine Spirit” by ancient civilization
rises to its lowest point in the northern hemisphere sky which symbolizes death and then after
midwinter, the sun is reborn from the darkness, symbolizing rebirth, and the renewal of life. Many
ancient civilizations, including the Sumerians, Egyptians, Indus Valley, Greeks, and Romans, made
offerings to gods as a celebration of the sun’s return. We also have wild tales of slaughtered bulls,
human sacrifice during this time of Solstice as offering to Sun God and it was believed that animal
blood fertilized all vegetation and supported re-birth of red Sun God during Winter Solstice. Qhapaq
hucha was the Inca practice of human sacrifice, mainly using children during event of famine.
Child sacrifice was the ancient ritualistic killing of first-born child to please or appease a deity and
we have parallels of ancient RigVedic Shunahshepa theme of the child sacrifice with that of child
sacrifice that has been captured in Abrahamic religions in which Abraham showed his love of God
by his willingness to sacrifice his son. Aitareya Brahmana (7.13-18) of Rigveda mentions story of
Shunahshepa being chosen to be sacrificed in a ritual to circumpolar God like Varuna but was saved
after praying to the Rigvedic deities.
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunahshepa
Chawmos (Chitrimas from Cāturmāsyá) is a festival of the Kalash people of Pakistan during
Winter Solstice (December 7-22). It involves much music, dancing, and the sacrifice of many goats
to the god Balimain. Kalash people are Dardic Indo-Aryan indigenous people that follow religion that
was close to ancient RigVedic tribes.
Sacrificial ceremonies continue even today in many cultures and religions based on these ancient
star myths, however for economical purposes, the goats have replaced the bull or buffalo. In
Hinduism, animal sacrifice is mostly associated with Vedic Śrauta rituals, Shaktism, and in currents
of folk Hinduism strongly rooted in local popular or tribal traditions.
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_sacrifice_in_Hinduism
In later days, animal sacrifices were banned in several branches of Hinduism as religious reforms that
took place by several prominent ancient Hindu sages like Adi Shankaracharya and replaced animal
sacrifice with breaking coconut that has 3 dark spots (assumed to be like animal head). Coconut
breaking ritual in Hinduism is a form of bloodless sacrifice.
Considering earlier Geo-centric visualization, most of ancient scriptures describe Mount

Meru/Lingam as the Central Pivot of the Universe and the entire cosmos revolves around it. 7
Sages (Big Dipper), Draco, the Sun, Moon and Stars paying obeisance
while circumambulating the Holy Mountain Meru or around Shishumara Planetary system.
In Hindu mythology, these circumpolar constellations are referred as Shisumara planetary

system and other stars are also fixed on different sides of the Śhiśumāra planetary
system according to the calculations of ancient Vedic astronomers. Even in current world and to
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concentrate their minds, Vedic sages worship the Śhiśumāra planetary system, which is technically
known as the Kuṇḍalini-cakra.
Distinctive pattern of constellations along zodiac path doing circumpolar movements around
pole star have supported in development of mythological stories as per astrological ages and you
can find several such similar examples in Greek and Roman mythologies. I have tried to cover
details of these Nakshatras as below and more details are present in my personal blog:
https://ancientstarmyths.blogspot.com/

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Importance on Alignment of Temples in Cardinal directions

The basic idea of any ancient temples is a representation of the macrocosm (Geo-Centric view of
the universe), and ancient temples are aligned in cardinal directions, in the directions of solstices
and other solar events. As we have learnt now from previous explanation, Solstice Axis represents
Heaven Gates towards Circumpolar location (Heaven), and Sun was represented as Soul of
God/Divine spirit. The day of summer solstice or when the Sun is exactly over head is auspicious
in every religion.
NOTE: This image is edited for explaining Mandala concept using Iconography of original photos from below site for non-commercial purpose and
they have Copyright from Mark Schumacher-https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/mandala1.shtml

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Origins of Mandala art comes from Axis Mundi/Mandala concept of circumpolar stars.
Further, in Hindu rituals, the symbol with arms pointing clockwise (卐) is called swastika. If you try to
locate the ancient Ramayana verse on ‘Dhruvam sarve Pradakshinam’ it refers Dhruvam as the pole
star and these seven sages (Saptarishis) (Big Dipper) offer Pradakshinam or
circumambulation. The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit root swasti, which is composed of –
Su (सु) – good and Asti (अस्ति) - to be or there is
Most of Hindu rituals in which devotees doing Pradakshinam or circumambulation around God, holy
hills, Pradakshinam around Agni God (Fire) during Hindu marriage rituals have been associated with
this cosmology.
Even Valmiki Ramayana verse that mentions “Dhruvam Sarve Pradakshinam” and probably this
could be with reference to Thuban as Pole Star (Dhruva) and as the earth’s axial precession got
changed, the location of Pole Star has changed to current Polaris.

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Details of 28 Nakshatras:
Let me begin this research post with Nakshatras of classical Hindu astrology. In classical Hindu
astrology, the 27 Nakshatras are the signs of a lunar-based zodiac, in compliment to the twelve-sign
solar-based zodiac. The Moon travels approximately 27.3 days to complete its orbit around the Earth
relative to the "fixed" stars (the Moon's sidereal period), about 13° 20' per day, hence the 27
Nakshatras, also referred to as "Lunar Mansions".
In other words, 360-degree rotation is divided in to 27 nakshatra signs 13 degree and 20 minutes
each. Padas are 3° 20' extensions of each Nakshatra, which articulate and augment the expression of
each Nakshatras overall quality.
In Hindu Puranic scriptures, creator God Daksha had 27 daughters who are referred
as 27 Nakshatras in night sky and are married to Mood God (Chandra). These Nakshatras are the 27
divisions of the zodiac based on the moon's daily motion of 13 degrees and 20 minutes. 27 daughters
of Daksha (Creator God) who got married to Moon God form 27 days of a month. The Moon travels
the zodiac in 27.3 days spending roughly one day with each of his wife.
NOTE: The Moon or Chandra is said to have 27 (not 28) wives with whom he stays for one day in a
sidereal lunar month. Each of the 27 asterisms is feminine: only Abhijit is masculine. Abhijit Nakshatra
is an auspicious time in the Hindu Calendar.

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Aśvaḥ (अव) is the Sanskrit word for a horse, one of the significant animals finding references in the
Vedas as well as later Hindu scriptures. The Ashvins are mentioned 376 times in the Rig Veda, with
57 hymns specifically dedicated to them: 1.3, 1.22, 1.34, 1.46-47, 1.112, 1.116-120, 1.157-158,
1.180-184, 2.20, 3.58, 4.43-45, 5.73-78, 6.62-63, 7.67-74, 8.5, 8.8-10, 8.22, 8.26, 8.35, 8.57, 8.73,
8.85-87, 10.24, 10.39-41, 10.143. Ašvieniai are divine twins in the Lithuanian mythology, identical to
Latvian Dieva dēli and the Baltic counterparts of Vedic Ashvins.
Reference as per Rig Veda:
Indra (King of the Gods in Vedas) had knowledge to produce elixir of immortality referred as Soma
and he did not want this knowledge to get into the wrong hands and had taught it only to sage Dadichi
but laid a curse upon him: “If you teach this to anyone your head must come off. “The Aśvinī twins
wanted to learn this secret and being master surgeons, they cut off the sage’s head and the head of a
horse and swapped the two. Through “the horse’s mouth” they learned this secret of Vedas and then
they swapped the heads back to their original owners.
However, in few Hindu scriptures, Asvini is one among 27 constellations as the Daughters of Daksha
and these Nakshatras were married to Chandra (Moon).
They are referred as twin Gods of Health and the Prayer of Brahmavadin Gosha can be found in
Mandala 10 of Rig-Veda. It is a story of miracle of Ashwini-Kumaras curing Gosha of her skin problem
and restoring her beauty.
आ वामगन सुमतिवााजिनीवसू नयजववना हर्तसुा कामायंसि |

अभूिं गोपा ममथुना शुभस पिी परियायाम्णो दय
ु ाानशीमहह ||Rv. 10.40.12 ||
Explanation: O Ashwini kumaras full of wealth and food. Be pleased with us, be helpful to us in
fulfilling our desires, and be graceful to us. Let us decorate the home of husband by becoming his
beloved.
There are several such hymns in the Rig Veda in praise of the Ashwini Kumaras and below are few
more references:
To he who was blinded, O Asvins, ye gave eyes. Great and weal-giving is your aid, O Asvins, ye
made whole the cripple. Ye saved Rebha from tyranny. Ye made the barren cow of Sayu stream
refreshing milk, and Vandana was helped with extended life. Doers of marvels, skillful workers, ye
restored Vandana, like a vehicle worn out with length of days. From earth ye brought the sage to life
in wondrous mode. As charioteers skilled in driving, ye then went to him who mourned in a far distant
place, him who was left forlorn by treachery of his sire. Rich with the light of heaven was then the help
ye gave, and marvellous your succour when ye stood by him.”

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The name Bharaṇī comes from the word bharaṇa, which means, “to maintain, bear”. The vulva is
symbol for Bharaṇī because it symbolizes bearing children, which itself summarizes the main
characteristic of this star.
Bharani is seen as being under the domain of Yama, the god of death.
Reference in Bhagavad-Gītā (10.29):
पपिॄणामयामा चाजमम यमः संयमिामहम ् ॥ २९॥

“Among enforcers I am Yama.”
In Jyotisha, Bharani is ruled by Shukra (the planet Venus). Also, it is classified as a Cruel or Active
nakshatra and under astrological beliefs, works of a harmful or deceptive nature are best conducted
while the moon is in Bharani.
Bharani is ruled by Yama, the God of Death. Its basis above is the removal of life from the body.
Bharani Nakshatra takes away that which has reached its term of life to a new condition. It shows the
movement of the soul away from the body. Yama guides the soul to the astral plane, where it can
experience the result of its karma from the present life and prepare for the life to come.
As similar reference from Rig Veda (7.59.12), famous Mahāmrityunjaya Mantra can be effective for
dealing with Bharani if one chants it with the intention does not escape one’s difficulties, but to
prosper from them.
ॐ त्र्य॑म्बकं यजामहे सु॒ गन ्ं॑ पष्टु॒ व्ध॑नम ् ।

उु॒ वाधु॒रु॒कमम॑वु॒ ब ्॑नान ् मु॒ त्योमक्ष
ध ीयु॒ मा ऽमता॑त ् ।
Explanation: ‘We worship the three-eyed One (Lord Shiva) who is fragrant and who nourishes all
beings; may He liberate me from death, for the sake of Immortality, even as the cucumber is severed
from its bondage (of the creeper.’
According to a legend, Markandeya was the only one on the earth who knew this mantra. The Moon
was once in trouble, when cursed by King Daksha. Markandeya gave the Mahamritryunjaya Mantra to
Sati, Daksha's daughter, for the Moon. This mantra is also called the Rudra mantra, because it is a
component of the "life-restoring" practice given to the primordial sage Shukracharya after he had
completed an exhausting period of austerity. This mantra is addressed to Shiva for warding off
untimely death. It is also chanted while smearing Vibhuti over various parts of the Body and utilized in
Japa or Homa (havan) to get desired results.

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Krittika Nakshatra is the 3rd star in the Zodiac. It extends from 26.4 deg Aries to 10 deg of Taurus.
The star is named after the Lord Karthikeya, Son of Lord Shiva. Lord Karthikeya is also the
commander of the God.
In Hindu Puranic reference and when the demon Taraka was destroying the world and creating
tremendous problems for all creatures and the gods. To defeat demon Taraka, all the gods united and
got a seed from Lord Shiva and Shakti, the seed was thus cast in fire and protected by blue water.
The Krittika (six nurses of Karthikeya) were requested to nourish it in their womb. Since six women
came to feed him, he split (“Krittika”) into six forms to nurse from each mother simultaneously. He is
known as Karthikeya because he was nursed by the Krittika. Karthikeya was thereby born and on the
seventh day after his birth killed the mighty demon Taraka and thereby relieved the gods from the
demons.
This star is also the name of its goddess-personification, who is a daughter

of Daksha and Panchajani, and thus a half-sister to Khyati. Spouse of Krittika is Chandra ("moon").
In few of Hindu scriptures, the seven stars of the Big Dipper represent the seven sages. The six main
stars of the Pleiades are their six divorced wives – unfortunate goddesses. The seventh wife,
Arundhati remains near her husband Vashistha as the star Alcor very close to Mizar.
Krittika is also known as the "Star of Fire" and is related to a commander, fighter, foster mother and
glow of power, physical and creative force. Krittika being a female nakshatra suggests passivity,
indicating that Krittika needs outer energy or life circumstance to activate their power.
In ancient Mesopotamia they were simply known in Sumerian as MUL.MUL (𒀯𒀯) and people of
Mexico knew them as "Seed Stars”. In ancient Persian religions, the Pleiades is primarily known as
Parvin pronounced Parveen. It too is a common given name of Iranians, Afghanis and some
Pakistanis.
In Greek mythology, the stars of Pleiades represented the Seven Sisters. Several of the most
prominent male Olympian gods (including Zeus, Poseidon, and Ares) engaged in affairs with the
seven heavenly sisters. These relationships resulted in the birth of their children.
Interesting fact is Vedic astronomers calculated that Pleiades was rising star at the horizon around
2950 BCE that helps to give date during the Satapata Brahmana.
However, this is also true in three below cases: The Shatapatha Brahmana mentions that the Krittika
(the Pleiades) "do not swerve from the east". This would have been the case with precision at 2950
BCE and was true also about 2000 BCE but was still true to within 8-13 degrees (viz., East by north)
around the 8th to 6th centuries BCE, the assumed date of the text's composition.

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Rohini (िोहहणी) is a goddess in Hinduism and the favourite consort of Chandra, the moon god. She is
a daughter of Daksha and sister of the 26 other Nakshatras.
As per Shiva Purana, when Daksha gave away his 27 daughters, he got an undertaking that Chandra
would not show favouritism towards any of his wives. However, Moon God (Chandra) is drawn to
Rohini. Daksha comes to know of Chandra Deva spending more time with Rohini gets cursed by
Daksha. However, Moon God (Chandra) prays to Shiva and gets a boon with a compromise. During
Krishnapaksha Chandra would wane and during Shuklapaksha, the bright part of the lunar fortnight,
Chandra would wax. This explains the waning and waxing moon.
The moon is exalted in this nakshatra and very powerful in this nakshatra. In Vedic theology the moon
is considered a manifestation of the mind of God.
Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated as birth of Lord Krishna when Sun is in own sign and Moon in
Rohini Nakshatra.
In most of ancient Hindu Puranas, we have this famous word 'Rohini Sakata Bhedanam'. This
phenomenon was observed during the times of Ramayana when Ravana abducts Sita and also
during Mahabharata War. Great wars and destruction happened every time this peculiar phenomenon
appeared in the sky.
In 46th chapter in Aranya Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana, Rohini is mentioned as dear wife of the moon
and compared with Sita. Here bad planet would be Saturn when he abducts Sita.
Taam apashyat tato baalaam raaja putriim y ashasviniim || 3-46-5

rohiNiim shashinaa hiinaam grahavat bhR^isha daaruNaH |
Explanation: Rohini is the key star and dear wife of the Moon will be in lunar asterism of the same
name, and when she comes in the view of planets like Saturn and Mars astrology predicts earthly
havocs. Hence, Ravana is compared with such a planet and Sita with Rohini.
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, King Dhritarashtra is the King of the Kuru Kingdom and we can find
similar comparison In Bhīṣmaparva 2, Vyāsa informs King Dhritarashtra on bad omens that happened
during Mahabharata war and explains about Saturn in Rohini.
Rohiṇīṃ pīḍayanneṣa sthito rājañśanaiścaraḥ

vyāvṛttaṃ lakṣma somasya bhaviṣyati mahadbhayam
Explanation: Saturn stands tormenting Rohini, O king. The (hare) sign of the Moon has disappeared.
There will be great danger/fear.

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Sanskrit mṛgaśiraṣa (popularly spelled Mārgaśīrṣa/Mṛgaśira) (Devanagari: मग

ृ शीर्ष) (Tamil:
மிருகசீரிடம் ) (Sinhalese: Muwasirasa) (Kannada: ಮೃಗಶಿರ) the 5th nakshatra or lunar mansion as
used in Hindu astronomy and astrology is the constellation Orion. The term Mṛgaśira (मग
ृ शशर) a
composite of two Sanskrit words, mṛga (मग
ृ ) meaning animal/beast and śira (शशर) meaning head or
precisely, the top of the head. Thus Mṛgaśira (मग
ृ शशर) is the correct name of the star, while
Mārgaśīrṣa (मागषशीर्ष) is the name of the month related to Mṛgaśira, i.e., the month in which moon will
be in conjuncture with the Mṛgaśira nakshatra. In Malayalam it is called Makayeeram.
Mahabharata (Vana.221.15) tells us that Soma’s brother is Agni, and his sister is Rohini. The two
brothers, Soma and Agni stand on both sides of their sister. To one side of Rohini is Soma’s star,
Mṛgaśīrṣā. To the other side is Agni’s star, Krittika.
B G Tilak in his ‘Orion and antiquity of Vedas’ mentions on Bhagvad Gita with Lord Krishna saying:
'Among Nakshatras I am Mrigashirsha' (Among the asterisms on ecliptic, I am the Orion). In Vedic
thought the two stars Rohini and Mrigashirsha are thought to be the most sacred region in space and
are described as the head of Prajapati.
In Vedic tradition, soma (Sanskrit: सोम) is a ritual drink] of importance among the early Vedic Indians.
In both the ancient religions of Historical Vedic religion and Zoroastrianism, the name of the drink and
the plant are the same. The Rigveda mentions it particularly in the Soma Mandala. Several section of
Ṛig Veda (9) is dedicated to Soma as giver of immortality (Amrita). Rig Veda 9.42 goes refers Soma
the “immortality of the immortals” and the “godhood within the gods.” Elixir made from the Soma plant
is known for giving legendary power for several Rig Vedic Gods to fight against evils.
Below is famous Mrigashirsha Mantra from Nakshatra Suktam praising arrival of Soma (Moon God)

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Ardra is the name of a nakshatra in Hindu astrology, the sixth depending on numbering scheme
used. The Sanskrit name Ārdrā translates to "green" or "the moist one". It is associated with the
star Betelgeuse (α Ori). The presiding deity is Rudra, its symbol is a teardrop, and the ruling planet is
Rahu. In Tamil and Malayalam, Ardra is referred to as Tiruvātirai and Tiruvātira respectively.
Thiruvathira or Thiruvathirai or Arudhra Darisanam is a Hindu festival celebrated in the Indian states
of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In Thillai Chidambaram 10-day Festival is held during Thiruvathirai. On the
9th day night Maha Abhishekam will be done to Lord Nataraja. It takes place on the full moon night in
the Tamil month of Margazhi (December–January) and this is also the longest night in a year. If you
observe the moon and its Nakshatras crossing one by one, we understand the significant days of
these festival and uncover new layers of meaning. It starts with Rohini‑Hyades on the 8th day, and of
Mriga‑shiras‑Labda Orionis on the 9th day and finally during the night after the 9th day we see the full
moon in Arudra--Betelgeuse.
Winter Chariot Festival is Margari Tiruvadirai that happens in the holy Ardra in the month of Margari.
Margari being the month of the middle of December till the middle of January. It is same time during
Winter Solstice, even Christmas is celebrated, and this is also the longest night in a year.
Most of the temples around the world with Lord Nataraja and Shiva as deity perform the Arudhra
Darshan during this day.
Arudra or cosmic dance of Nataraja represents five activities – Creation, Protection, Destruction,
Embodiment and Release. It is essentially a Shaivite festival and celebrates the cosmic dance of Lord
Shiva, which is represented by the Nataraja form. Arudhra (Thiruvathirai in Tamil) signifies the golden
red flame and Shiva performs the dance in the form this red-flamed light. Lord Shiva is supposed to
be incarnated in the form of Lord Nataraja during the Arudra Darshan day.
Thiruvathira is the nakshatra or "star" of Lord Shiva as per the Malayalam calendar. It is believed that
on this day, the Goddess Parvathi finally met Lord Shiva after her long penance and Lord Shiva took
her as a saha-dharma chaarini (equal partner). Both Parvathi and Shiva present this ideal to devotees
in the form of Ardhanarishvara (half male, half female form).
The Skanda Purana also mentions that Brahmā once had an argument with Rudra, during which
Rudra decapitated one of Brahma’s heads (originally, he had five). Rudra threw the head into space,
and it became the stars of Mṛgaśīrṣā, the nakshatra which comes after Brahma’s Rohini. Searching
(mṛga) for the head (śira), Rudra came to reside in the nakshatra next to Mṛgaśīrṣā, Ārdrā.

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Punarvasu is a Nakshatra in Hindu astrology, which refers to the two brightest stars in the
constellation of Gemini: Castor and Pollux. The stars Castor and Pollux (or in Greek, Polydeukes)
were twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri. In Latin the
twins are also known as the Gemini (literally "twins")
The word Punarvasu is derived from Puna+ Vasu, which means return, renewal, restoration or
repetition. The goddess of Punarvasu is Aditi (Mother of all Sun Gods)
As per Mahabharata (Śānti.34.96-98), Budha (Mercury God) came to Aditi’s home for food and not
getting served when he was hungry, he curses her to take re-birth again and again. She was mother
for Vivasvān second time. Yima was son of Vivasvan.
If you observe correctly, Sanskrit Yama is also interpreted as "the twin," perhaps reflecting an Indo-
Iranian belief in a primordial Yama and Yami pair. We can locate parallels between Avestan Yima and
Sanskrit Yama, for instance, Yima was the son of Vivaŋhat, who in turn corresponds to the
Vedic Vivasvat, "he who shines out", a divinity of the Sun.
The Gods, the children of Aditi, are basically and essentially are different from children of Diti, who are
demons. This nakshatra is all about getting things back to it.
This is the birth nakshatra of Lord Rama as captured in Valmiki Ramayana.
“On completion of the ritual six seasons have passed by and then in the twelfth month, on the ninth
day of Chaitra month [April–May,] when the presiding deity of ruling star of the day is Aditi, where the
ruling star of day is Punarvasu (Nakshatra), the asterism is in the ascendant, and when five of the
nine planets viz., Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus are at their highest position, when Jupiter
with Moon is ascendant in Cancer, and when day is advancing, then Queen Kausalya gave birth to a
son with all the divine attributes like lotus-red eyes, lengthy arms, roseate lips, voice like drumbeat,
and who took birth to delight the Ikshwaku dynasty, who is adored by all the worlds, and who is the
greatly blessed epitome of Vishnu, namely Rama.”
- Book I: Bala Kanda, Ramayana by Valmiki, Chapter (Sarga) 18, Verse 8, 9, 10 and 11

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Pushya nakshatra (Cancri) is the 8th of the 27 Nakshatras. Puṣya’s primary symbol is a lotus.
The Presiding of this nakshatra is Brihaspati Planet Jupiter himself. He is the Guru of the Gods (has
been guru of Ganesh and Karthikeya himself etc.), main priest of the gods court, lord Shiva had made
Brihaspati into Planet Jupiter. Therefore, Jupiter is exalted in Pushya Nakshatra.
Rig Veda (4.40.1) mentions Brihaspati as the son of Angiras
As per ancient Hindu Puranic reference, Brihaspati (Jupiter), the Guru of the Gods had a very
beautiful wife named Tara. One day when she was moving in sky near Chandra’s (the Moon’s)
house, Moon God (Chandra) fell in love with her immediately, and she also fell in love with him.
Brihaspati started to miss Tara and started looking for her. When he found out that she was with
Moon God (Chandra), he sent his disciple to bring Tara back. But Tara would not come. Finally,
Brihaspati decided to go himself could not persuade Tara to come back to him. This made Brihaspati
to become very angry and finally Indra and other deities persuaded Moon God Chandra to return
Tara. However, upon Tara's return to her husband, Brihaspati discovered that she was pregnant who
gave birth to Buddha (Mercury Planet). Budha's son was Pururavas who established
the Chandravanshi Dynasty (Lunar Dynasty) in Hindu mythology as shown below.

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Ashlesha (Sanskrit: आश्लेर्ा or Āśleṣā) is the 9th of the 27 Nakshatras in Hindu astrology. Ashlesha is
also known as the Clinging Star or Nāga. It is known as the Hydra
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.16) mentions story of Powerful Naga named Kāliya. As per mythology,
Kāliya had made his near Vrindavan (Krishna’s place) fearing Garuda. However, his toxicity made the
lake poisonous killing several animals nearby. Hence Lord Krishna challenged Kāliya and evicted him.
Below is Lord Krishna fighting Kāliya (serpent) and its parallel can be drawn with Greek and Roman
myths with Hercules and Hydra Constellation.
In famous Samudra mantan mythology of Hindu scriptures and during churning the Ocean of Milk for
elixir of immortality, Vasuki, the king of serpents became the churning rope for Devas and Asuras.
The Greek constellation of Hydra is an adaptation of a Babylonian constellation:

the MUL.APIN includes a "serpent" constellation (MUL.DINGIR.MUŠ) that loosely corresponds to
Hydra. It is one of two Babylonian "serpent" constellations (the other being the origin of the
Greek Serpens), a mythological hybrid of serpent, lion, and bird.
In Chinese astronomy, the stars that correspond to Hydra are located within the Vermilion Bird and
the Azure Dragon.

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Magha Nakshatra is 10th out of 27 Nakshatras in Vedic Astrology.
The symbol of Maghā, a throne, is an image of inherited power. Indra, the king of the gods, seated on
the throne of paradise is known as Maghavan.
Deity of Magha are Pitrs tells about the forefathers, departed ancestors. The Manu-Smṛti’s third
chapter tells us that Pitṛ are divine beings who are the “forefathers” of us all. As per Hindu scriptures,
at the beginning Lord Brahma manifested 10 sons, called the Prajapatis to create and operate the
world. They are the original Pitris as all creation originated from them.
In Hindu astrology, when the Moon transits Magha Nakshatra it is extremely auspicious and important
to remember and honor our ancestors and express our gratitude to them.
Brihat Jataka of VārāhaMihira mentions that one born in Magha will enjoy great wealth, enjoyments,
respecter of elders
Taittiriya Brahmana an ancient Vedic text says Magha is ruled by the Ancestors.
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, King Dhritarashtra is the King of the Kuru Kingdom and Bhishma
Parva talks about all these astronomical movements to King Dhritarashtra particularly mentioning all
astronomical bad omens during Mahabharata War. This below shloka particularly mentions Magha
Nakshatra and Planet Mars.
Senayoraśivaṃ ghoraṃ kariṣyati mahāgrahaḥ

Maghāsvaṅgārako vakraḥ śravaṇe ca bṛhaspatiḥ (6.3.13)
Explanation: This great planet will cause frightful mischief to both the armies. Mars wheeleth towards
Magha and Brihaspati (Jupiter) towards Sravana

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Purva phalguni nakshatra is the 11th nakshatra out of the total 27 nakshatras. In Leo sun sign this
nakshatra extends from 13-degree 20 minute to 26-degree 40 minute. The deity God of this nakshatra
is ‘Aryaman’, who is one of the 12 sons of Sun’s mother Aditi.
Aryaman is one of the early Vedic Hindu deities. His name signifies "Life-Partner", "close friend",
"Partner", "play-fellow" or "companion". He is the third son of Aditi, the mother of the Adityas and is
depicted as the mid-morning sun disk.
Aryaman is commonly invoked together with Varuna-Mitra, Bhaga, Bṛhaspati, and other Adityas and
Asuras. According to Griffith, the Rigveda also suggests that Aryaman is a supreme deity alongside
Mitra and Varuna. According to the Rig Veda, Indra who is traditionally considered the most important
deity in the Rig Veda is asked to obtain boons and gifts from Aryaman. Hindu marriage oaths are
administered with an invocation to Aryaman being the witness to the event.
Purva Phalguni in the Vedic order is ruled by Aryaman, the God of contracts and unions. It gives the
power of procreation (prajanana shakti). Its basis above is the wife or the female partner. Its basis
below is the male or masculine partner. These together bring about the creation of the fetus
As per ancient reference in Hindu scriptures, the deities of Purva Phalguni (Aryaman) and Uttara
Phalguni (Bhaga) and both are closely linked. Both are intimately connected with marriage and its
associated rewards and responsibilities. Aryaman upholds societal traditions and contracts made
between two people, such as the wedding ceremony.
In the Avesta, Airyaman (or airiiaman) is both an Avestan language common noun as well as the
proper name of a Zoroastrian divinity. Divinity Airyaman, who is the yazata of health and healing. The
third Yasht, which is nominally a hymn to Asha Vahishta is for the greater part a praise of
the airyaman ishyo, which in Zoroastrian tradition is an invocation of the divinity Airyaman.
The common meaning of airyaman/aryaman as "member of community" is preserved in both Avestan

and Vedic sources.
In Indian Hindu wedding rituals, the wedding fire is referred to as the Aryaman fire. In any Hindu
marriage rituals, you can find that newly wedded couples hold hands by circumambulating the
Aryaman fire with seven steps and together they pledge each other “With these seven steps you have
become my life partner. May I deserve your love and support and make you one with me.”
Hymen (Ancient Greek: Ὑμήν), Hymenaios or Hymenaeus, in Hellenistic religion, is a god of marriage
ceremonies, inspiring feasts and song. Hymen is the son of Apollo. Hymen's name is derived from the
Proto-Indo-European root *syuh₁-men-, "to sew together," hence, "joiner;" it is also recorded in Doric
Greek as Ῡ̔μᾱ́ν (Hyman) like Aryaman. Hymen is supposed to attend every wedding. If he did not,
then the marriage would supposedly prove disastrous, so the Greeks would run about calling his
name aloud. He presided over many of the weddings in Greek mythology, for all the deities and their
children.

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Hymen was mentioned in Euripides's The Trojan Women, where Cassandra says:
Bring the light, uplift and show its flame! I am doing the god's service, see! I making his shrine to glow
with tapers bright. O Hymen, king of marriage! blest is the bridegroom; blest am I also, the maiden
soon to wed a princely lord in Argos. Hail Hymen, king of marriage!
Uttara phalguni nakshatra is the 12th nakshatra out of the total 27 nakshatras. The deity God of this
nakshatra is ‘Bhaga’, who is one of the 12 sons of Sun’s mother Aditi.
Bhaga is the God of happiness. This god is also referred as chayani shakti, power is the giving of
prosperity (through marriage or union). Its basis above is the wealth gained from one’s own family or
from one’s partner. These together bring about the accumulation of wealth.
In the Rigveda, the personification of Lord Bhaga is attested primarily in RV 7.41, which is devoted to
the praise of the Bhaga and of the deities closest to him, and in which the Bhaga is invoked about 60
times, together with Agni, Indra, the dual Mitra-Varuna, two Ashvins, Pusan, Soma and Rudra.
The 5th/6th-century BCE Nirukta (Nir. 12.13) describes Bhaga as the god of the morning. In the
Rigveda, the Bhaga is named as one of the Adityas, the seven (or eight) celestial sons of Aditi, the
Rigvedic mother of the gods. In the medieval Bhagavata Purana, the Bhaga reappears with the
Puranic Adityas, which are by then twelve solar gods.
Bhaga God is referred Sauptika Parva of Mahabharata in which Rudra by anger plucks Bhaga’s eye
when surplus shares of sacrifices were not shared correctly by Gods like Savitur, Pusha. Rudra cut of
Savitur hands and he took the teeth of the God Pushan.

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Hasta Nakshatra is the 13th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology. The Hasta Nakshatra ranges from
degrees 10 – 23:20 and falls in the Virgo sign.
The presiding deity of Hasta Nakshatra is Savitur – the Sun God. It is said and believed that this God
helps in imparting transforming and creative energy. Sun God is also believed to be the inspiration
giver
He is sometimes associated with Surya or at other times distinguished from Surya, "the Sun". When
considered distinct from the Sun proper, he is conceived of as the divine influence or vivifying power
of the Sun. The Sun before sunrise is called Savitur, and after sunrise until sunset it is called
Sūrya. Savitur is celebrated in eleven whole hymns of the Rig Veda and in parts of many others, his
name being mentioned about 170 times in aggregate.
Savitur disappeared as an independent deity from the Hindu pantheon after the end of the Vedic
period, but in modern Hinduism his name occurs in the well-known Gayatri mantra (taken from book
three of the Rigveda; RV 3.62.10), which is therefore also known as the Sāvitur. The Gāyatrī mantra
is dedicated to Savituṛ, a Vedic Sun deity.
oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ
tat savitur vareṇyaṃ
bhargo devasya dhīmahi
dhiyo yo naḥ prachodayāt
– Rigveda 3.62.10
Explanation: May we attain that excellent glory of Savitur the god: So, may he stimulate our
prayers
According to Yaska, Sanskrit scholar of the 5th century BCE, who made various attempts to interpret
difficult Vedic mythologies in his work Nirukta (Etymology) (12, 12), the time of Savitr’s appearance is
when darkness has been removed. Sayanacharya (on Rig Veda) remarks that before his rising the
sun is called Savitr, but from his rising to his setting, Surya.
Savitr has golden arms and is broad-handed or beautiful-handed. He has a golden chariot with a
golden axle, which is omni-form, just as he himself can assume all forms. Savitr has been attributed to
as upholding the movables and immovable, which signifies the maintenance of Ṛta (Cosmic Order).
Savitr is a beneficent god who acts as protector of all beings, who are provident and guard the world
of spirits. Being an Aditya, Savitr is true to the Eternal Order and act as the score exacter.
Chitra Nakshatra is the 14th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology.
Chitra is ruled by Tvastar, the Cosmic craftsman. Vishwakarma is the divine draftsman of the whole
universe and the official builder of all the gods’ palaces. Below are some of his contributions as per
Hindu mythological scriptures.

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• Indra’s Palace: After Indra became the king of the devas, he requested Vishwakarma to make
palace for him. After Indra killed Vritra, Indra had Vishwakarma redo the palace and make it
more grand multitudinous times.
• Palace for Kubera: This palace near Alakapuri is said to be most beautiful gardens in the
universe. These were created by Vishwakarma.
• On an invitation of Lord Krishna, He also built the city “Indraprastha” for Pandavas.
• Lankapuri: This city, made entirely of gold, was originally created by Vishwakarma and as per
mythology, demons like Sumali and his brothers seized the city from Vishwakarma and later,
Ravana took over and started ruling. After Ravana’s death in the Ramayana, Vibhishana, his
righteous brother, ruled for a very long time.
• Dwaraka: When Jarasandha kept attacking the Yadavas at Mathura, Krishna and the
Yadavas moved to an island near Saurashtra. There, Krishna invoked Vishwakarma to build a
beautiful city.
• Yamapuri: Vishwakarma also created Yamapuri for God Yama and his other advisors and
ministers.
• Shraddhavati: This is the city of Varuna. It was built by Vishwakarma in the ocean.
In the Yajurveda, Purusha Sukta and the tenth mandala of the Rigveda, his character and attributes
are merged with the concept of Hiranyagharbha/Prajapathy or Brahma. Tvastar is mentioned 65 times
in the Ṛgveda and is the former of the bodies of men and animals,' and invoked when desiring
offspring, called garbha-pati or the lord of the womb.
As per the Ṛgveda, Tvastar, also known as Rathakāra, belongs to the clan of the Bhṛgus. Similarly, as
mentioned in the epic Mahabharata, Tvastar or the Rathakāra is Śukrācārya's son, Śukrācārya (the
mentor of the asuras) is Bhṛgu's grandson and Vāruṇibhṛgu's son. He is the father of Saranyu, who
twice bears twins to Vivasvat (RV 8.26.21), including Yama and Yami, also identified as the first
humans. Tvastar is a solar deity in the Mahabharata and the Harivaṃśa. He is mentioned as the son
of Kāśyapa and Aditi and is said to have made the three worlds with pieces of the Surya.
Swati Nakshatra is the 15th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology in Bootes constellation.
Swati is ruled by Vayu, the God of the Wind. The word for air (Vayu) or wind (Pavana) is one of
the classical elements in Hinduism.
Pavan is also a common Hindu name. Pavana played an important role in Anjana's begetting
Hanuman as her child so Hanuman is also called Pavanaputra "son of Pavana" and Vāyuputra.
In the hymns, Vayu is "described as having 'exceptional beauty' and moving noisily in his shining
coach, driven by two or forty-nine or one-thousand white and purple horses. A white banner is his
main attribute." Like the other atmospheric deities, he is a "fighter and destroyer", "powerful and
heroic."

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“Vayu, in his aspect of up lifter of oblation. This elevation of the heart is also worship, and
thus the devas come near to faith, inspired by Vayu.”
Rig Veda 10, 151
Vāyu-Vāta is the Avestan language name of a dual-natured Zoroastrian divinity of the wind (Vayu)
and of the atmosphere (Vata). The names are also used independently of one another, with 'Vayu'
occurring more frequently than 'Vata', but even when used independently still representing the other
aspect.
Both the words Vāta and Vāyu have almost identical meanings in Sanskrit or Vedic traditions.
Although there is no god representing Vata in Vedic religion, there is the god Vayu representing air as
mentioned above. The word Vata is still used today in many Indian languages to denote atmosphere.
Atmosphere in Hindi, Marathi etc., is called Vatavaran.
In East Asian Buddhism, Vāyu is a Dharmapala and often classed as one of the Twelve
Devas grouped together as directional guardians. He presides over the northwest direction.
In Japan, he is called "Fūten". He is included with the other eleven devas, which include Taishakuten
(Śakra/Indra), Katen (Agni), Enmaten (Yama), Rasetsuten (Nirṛti/Rākṣasa), Ishanaten (Īśāna),
Bishamonten (Vaiśravaṇa/Kubera), Suiten (Varuna) Bonten (Brahmā), Jiten (Pṛthivī), Nitten
(Sūrya/Āditya), and Gatten (Candra).
Vishakha Nakshatra is the 16th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology in Librae constellation.
Vishakha is ruled by Indra and Agni, who represent the powers of heat and lightning in the
atmosphere.
Indrāṇī is considered, “Queen of the Gods.” Among the Navagraha, she is associated with Śūkra
(Venus) as his overruler. She is the consort of Indra and daughter of the Asura.
She is called the goddess of anger, wrath, and jealousy. She is also named Sachi/Shachi (Śakti), as
well as Aindri, Vajri, Mahendri, Pulomaja, and Poulomi. A hymn in the Rigveda describes her jealousy
of rivals. Being the goddess of jealousy, she is believed to help in destroying jealousy.
According to ancient Vedas, she was a female shadow of Indra, but other Vedic literature suggests
that she developed the idea of Śakti (what a fantastic “shadow”) and became the role model for all
Devi in the later period. Unlike most other devi, Shachi/Indrāṇī is an independent force. In fact, rather
than Indrāṇī being named after Indra, it’s Indra who was named after Indrāṇī.
Indrāṇī rides/is associated with lions and elephants and, like Indra, rides a charging white
elephant. She is the essence of beauty and was referred to as “The Endless Beauty” in Hindu epics
and very beautiful in the Rigveda, with exceptionally beautiful eyes (one thousands of them).
According to the Taittiriya Brahman, Indra desires Indrāṇī as his wife above all others [simply]
because of her captivating, voluptuous features. She’s dark-skinned, with two, four, or six arms and is

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armed with the Vajra (thunderbolt), goad, noose, and lotus stalk. Adorned with variety of ornaments,
she wears the kiriṭa mukuṭa.
Indrāṇī’s consort, Indra, killed her own father, Puloman, as he was an Asura. Indrāṇī and Indra were
parents to Jayanta, Jayanti, Midhusa, Nilambara, Rbhus, Rsabha, and Chitragupta.
Anuradha Nakshatra is the 17th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology in Scorpionis constellation.
Anuradha is ruled by Rig Vedic God Mitra, the Divine Friend. Mitra is a divinity of Rig Vedic
culture, whose function changed with time. In the Mitanni inscription of ancient Babylonian kingdom,
Mitra is invoked as one of the protectors of treaties as captured below:
In the Rigveda, Mitra appears primarily in the dvandva compound Mitra-Varuna, which has essentially
the same attributes as Varuna alone. In the late Vedic texts and the Brahmanas, Mitra is increasingly
associated with the light of dawn and the morning sun (while Varuna becomes associated with the
evening, and ultimately the night). In the post-Vedic texts – in which Mitra practically disappears –
Mitra evolved into the patron divinity of friendship, and because he is "friend", abhors all violence,
even when sacred.
índram mitráṃ váruṇam agním āhur / átho divyáḥ sá suparṇó garútmān
ékaṃ sád víprā bahudhâ vadanty / agníṃ yamám mātaríśvānam āhuḥ
"They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni / and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutman."
"To what is One, sages give many a title / they call it Agni, Yama, Matarisvan." (trans. Griffith)
– Rigveda 1.164.46
In the Atharvaveda, Mitra is associated with sunrise, and accordingly, Mitra is worshipped in the
sunrise prayers of the Hindus. The morning upasthaana prayer, recited to the risen sun after
contemplation on the sacred Gayatri mantra, is a collection of Vedic verses addressing Mitra.

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Mitra is also the name of an Indo-Iranian divinity from which the names and some characteristics of
Rigvedic Mitrá and Avestan Mithra derive. The name Mithra was adopted by the Greeks and Romans
as Mithras, chief figure in the mystery religion of Mithraism.
Jyeshtha Nakshatra is the 18th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology in Scorpionis constellation.
Jyeshta is ruled by Indra, the ruler of the Gods. Indra is praised as the highest god in 250 hymns
of the Rigveda
इन्द्रस्य नु वीययाणि प्र वोचं ययनन 1. Now I shall proclaim the heroic deeds of Indra,
those foremost deeds that the mace-wielder
चकयर प्रथमयनन वज्री । performed:
अहन्द्नहहमन्द्वपस्ततर्ा प्र वक्षिय He smashed the serpent. He bowed out the waters.
He split the bellies of the mountains.
अभिनत्पवातयनयम ् ॥१।। 2. He smashed the serpent resting on the mountain—
अहन्द्नहहं पवाते भिश्रिययिं त्वष्टयस्मै for him Tvaṣṭar had fashioned the resounding [sunlike]
mace.
वज्रं स्वयं ततक्ष ।
Like bellowing milk-cows, streaming out, the waters
वयिय इव धेनवः स्यन्द्र्मयनय अञ्जः went straight down to the sea.
समुरमव जग्मुरयपः ॥२।।
—Rigveda, 1.32.1–2
In the Brahmavaivarta Purana, Indra defeats Vritra and releases the waters. In post-Vedic texts,
Indra’s importance declines, and he evolves into a minor deity in comparison to others in the Hindu
pantheon, such as Shiva, Vishnu, or Devi. In Puranic mention, he becomes a source of nuisance
rains sent out of anger with an intent to hurt mankind and Krishna as an avatar of Vishnu, comes to
the rescue by lifting Mount Govardhana on his fingertip, and letting mankind shelter under the
mountain till Indra exhausts his anger and relents. In the post-Vedic period, he rides a large, four-
tusked white elephant called Airavata. The Sangam literature also describes Indhira Vizha (festival for
Indra), the festival for want of rain, celebrated for one full month starting from the full moon in Chitrai
and aspects of Indra as a deity are cognate to other Indo-European gods; they are thunder gods such
as Thor, Perun, and Zeus who share parts of his heroic mythologies, act as king of gods, and all are
linked to "rain and thunder".

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Mula Nakshatra is the 19th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology in Scorpionis constellation.
The Mula constellation is at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy (Galactic Center). Mula (or Moola)
Nakshatra is the Vedic constellation which translates as “the root.” It is that this location
during winter solstice (Dec 23rd, 24th and 25th), the sun rises to its lowest point for people of northern
hemisphere and appears as reborn from the darkness, symbolizing rebirth and the renewal of life.
Ancient Egyptians believed that the Sun God (RA) dies and is reborn during this time of winter
solstice.
In Hindu mythology, Mula is ruled by Nirriti, the Goddess of destruction. It has the power to
ruin or destroy. Nirriti is the Hindu goddess of deathly hidden realms and sorrows, one of
the dikpāla ("guardians of the directions"), representing the southwest. The name Nirriti has the
meaning of "absence of ṛta", meaning 'disorder', or 'lawlessness', specifically the absence of divine or
cosmic order.
Nirṛtī is a Ketu-ruled nakshatra in the Vedic astrology, strongly associated with Kali in the form
of Dhumavati. Nirṛtī is mentioned in a few hymns of the Rigveda, mostly to seek protection from her or
imploring for her during a possible departure. In one hymn (X.59), she is mentioned several times.
This hymn, after summing up her nature, also asks for her in departure from the sacrificial site.
In the Atharvaveda (V.7.9), she is described as having golden locks.
In the Taittiriya Brahmana (I.6.1.4), Nirṛtī is described as dark, dressed in dark clothes and her
sacrificial shares are dark husks.
In the sacred Shatapatha Brahmana (X.1.2.9), she is associated with the southwest quarter as her
region. In the Vedas, Nirṛti represented the lightless realm of disorder that was held at bay by ṛta and
the Vedic rituals. In later Hindu thought, this realm of non-existence was replaced with various hell
realms, and Nirṛti was re-conceptualized as a deity- the daughter of Adharma (the embodiment of
non-dharmic behavior) and mother of Naraka, a personification of the hell realms.
In Puranic story, Nirṛtī is known as Alakshmi and below is Srisukta mantra.
kṣhutpipāsāmalāṁ jyeṣṭhām alakṣmīṁ nāśayāmyaham,
abhūtimasamṛddhiṁ cha sarvāṁ nirṇuda me gṛihāt.
I shall venerate the elder sister of Lakshmi, Alakshmi, the embodiment of inauspiciousness and such
evil as hunger, thirst, and the like for extinguishing such qualities from me. O Lakshmi! Drive out from
my abode all misfortune and poverty.

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Purva Ashadha Nakshatra is the 20th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology in Sagittarius constellation.
Purvashadha is ruled by the Waters (Apas). Ap (áp-) is the Vedic Sanskrit term for "water.
Apas is also the Avestan language term for "the waters” and Āb (plural Ābān) is the Middle Persian-
language form. The ape zaothra ceremony—the culminating rite of the Yasna service (which is in turn
the principal act of worship)—is literally for the "strengthening of the waters. The Indo-Iranian word
also survives as the Persian word for water, āb, e.g. in Punjab (from panj-āb "five waters"). In Tamil,
Ap means water, and has references in poetry.
In the Rigveda, several hymns are dedicated to "the waters" (āpas): 7.49, 10.9, 10.30, 10.47. In the
oldest of these, 7.49, the waters relate to the drought of Indra. Agni, the god of fire, has a close
association with water and is often referred to as Apām Napāt "offspring of the waters". In Vedic
astrology, the female deity Apah is the presiding deity of the Purva Ashadha asterism, meaning "first
of the aṣāḍhā", with aṣāḍhā "the invincible one" being the name of the greater constellation.
In the most celebrated hymn of creation – Nasadiya Sutktha which occurs in the Tenth Book of Rig
Veda, as also in the Vak Suktha (RV.10.8.125) and in the Hiranya-garbha Suktha (RV. 10.121 ) the
terms Salila and Apah represent Great Waters or the primeval waters or the primeval matter of
creation. They stand for the manifest as also for the un-manifest primeval
matter: Prakrti or Vak or Aditi or Viraj.
The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, refers to water as the first creation. In the be-ginning there was only a
creator from whom the water formed, from it, the foam was formed- Prajāpatirvā
idamagra āsīt / tasmāt puruṣāttaptāpo jāyante, apāṁ taptānāṁ pheno jāyate (VI-1.3)
Apam Napat is a deity in the Indo-Iranian pantheon associated with water. In Yasht 19 of the
Zoroastrian Avesta Apąm Napāt appears as the creator of mankind. However, since in Zoroastrianism
Ahura Mazdā is venerated as supreme creator, this function of Apąm Napāt has become reduced.
The Abzu or Apsu is the name for freshwater deity in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology. Abzu (apsû)
is also depicted as a deity in the Babylonian creation epic.
Certain tanks of holy water in Babylonian and Assyrian temple courtyards were also called abzu
(apsû). Typical in religious washing, these tanks were like Judaism's mikvot, the washing pools of
Islamic mosques, or the baptismal font in Christian churches.

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Uttara Ashadha Nakshatra is the 21st Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology in Sagittarius constellation.
Uttarashadha is ruled by the Universal Gods (Vishvedevas).
The Visvedevas are the various Vedic gods taken together as a whole. In the Rigveda a number of
hymns are addressed to them, including (according to Griffith) 1.89, 3.54-56, 4.55, 5.41-51, 6.49-52,
7.34-37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 8.27-30, 58, 83 10.31, 35, 36, 56, 57, 61-66, 92, 93, 100, 101, 109, 114, 126,
128, 137, 141, 157, 165, 181.
RV 3.54.17 addresses them as headed by Indra: This is, ye Wise, your great and glorious title, that all
ye Deities abide in Indra. (trans. Griffith)
Though many devas are named in the Rig Veda only 33 devas are counted, eleven each of earth,
space and heaven. In later Hindu scriptures, they form one of the nine ganadevatas (along with the
Adityas, Vasus, Tushitas, Abhasvaras, Anilas, Maharajikas, Sadhyas, and Rudras). According to the
Vishnu Purana, they were the sons of Vishvā, a daughter of Daksha, enumerated as follows: 1. Vasu
2. Satya 3. Kratu 4. Daksha, 5. Kala 6. Kama 7. Dhrti 8. Kuru 9. Pururavas 10. Madravas, with two
others added by some, 11. Rocaka or Locana, 12. Dhvani Dhuri
Sometimes it is unclear whether a reference to Vishve-devas refers to all Devas collectively, as in the
Rigveda, or to the specific group as enumerated in the Puranas.
According to Manu (iii, 90, 121), offerings should be made daily to the Visvedevas. These privileges
were bestowed on them by Brahma and the Pitri as a reward for severe austerities they had
performed on the Himalaya.
The Viswadevas incarnated on Earth due to the curse of sage Vishwamitra, as the 5 sons
of Draupadi with the Pandavas - the Upapandavas. They returned to their original form after being
killed by Ashwatthama at night.

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Sravana Nakshatra is the 22nd Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology in Aquilae constellation.
Shravana is ruled by Vishnu, the preserver among the great trinity of Hindu deities.
Shravana or Śravaṇa (Sanskrit: श्रवण) is derived from the root श्रवः (hearing or the ear), and means –
'the ear', 'the hypotenuse of a triangle', 'the act of hearing', 'study', 'fame', 'glory', 'that which is heard
or revealed'. In Hindu philosophy and rituals, the hearing of the secrets of the Upanishads from the
Guru is called Shravana.
Shravana star has several references in Hindu mythology also related to Onam festival and these
three stars are pictured as the 3 footprints of Vamana in His gigantic Trivikrama form.
We also have mythology of Shravan Kumar whose parents were old and blind, and he would carry
them in two baskets hanging on either side from a rod on his shoulders like a weighing scale that
almost resembles Aquila formation. Shravan Kumar, even today, is remembered for his dedication
towards his parents. Altair in the Aquila constellation has been named after Shravan.
We also have Kanwar Yatra festivals that run during the monsoon month Shravan (July — August).
Kanwar Yatra is named after the kānvar (कांवड़), a single pole (usually made of bamboo) with two
roughly equal loads fastened or dangling from opposite ends. This practice of carrying Kavad as a
part of religious pilgrimage, especially by devotees of Lord Shiva and is widely followed throughout
India. This ritual is related to the churning of the ocean of milk in the Hindu Puranas in which Lord
Shiva consumes poison that came out before Amrita to save the world. Holy water of Ganga is carried
using Kavad and then poured on Shiva's temple thus releasing Shiva from the negative energy of the
poison.
Dhanishta Nakshatra is the 23d Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology.

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Dhanishta is ruled by the eight Vasus, the Gods of abundance that rule the earthly sphere.
Aditi (Daughter of King Daksha) with sage Kashyapa (Son of Marichi) had 33 sons who are
referred as Devas. Twelve are called Aditya including Surya that form 12 months of Hindu
calendar, eleven are called Rudras and eight are called Vasus. Aditi (Sanskrit: अहदति "limitless")
is mother of the gods (devamata) and all twelve zodiacal spirits from whose cosmic matrix, the
heavenly bodies were born. She may be a feminized form of Brahma and associated with the primal
substance (mulaprakriti) in Vedanta. She is mentioned nearly 80 times in the Rigveda.
The deities which preside over Dhanishta are the eight Vedic devas known as the Vasus,
personifications of the cosmic energies: Agni, Prithvi, Vāyu, Antariksha, Āditya,
Dyaus, Chandramas, and Nakṣatrani. Vasu translates as “good,” “superb,” or “beneficent,” as well as
“wealthy” or “possessing property,” and so all these things, as well as valuable naturally occurring
materials, are associated with Dhaniṣṭha. The Vasus are assigned to Dhaniṣṭha in their role of energy
sources. For example, charity and a capacity to control or command are also innate features of the
Vayus and impart appropriate characteristics on Dhaniṣṭha.
Each Vasu is a star (sun) and each has a special domain on the different realms of existence. None
of them can exist along with materialism. They are the very antithesis of matter. Dhaniṣṭha, therefore
completely yet gradually eliminates material attachments from the individual and enables the soul to
express itself freely and directly.
Shatabhishak Nakshatra is the 24th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology.
Shatabhishak is ruled by Varuna, the God of the cosmic waters. Varuna is a Vedic deity
associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is
found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such as hymn 7.86 of the Rigveda. He is also
mentioned in the Tamil grammar work Tolkāppiyam, as the god of sea and rain. He is said to be the
son of Kashyapa (one of the seven ancient sages)

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In the Hindu Puranas, Varuna is the god of oceans, his vehicle is a Makara (crocodile) and his
weapon is a Pasha (noose, rope loop). He is the guardian deity of the western direction. In some
texts, he is the father of the Vedic sage Vasishtha.
Varuna is found in Japanese Buddhist mythology as Suiten. He is also found in Jainism
In the earliest layer of the Rigveda, Varuna is the guardian of moral law, one who punishes those who
sin without remorse, and who forgives those who err with remorse. He is mentioned in many Rigvedic
hymns, such as 7.86–88, 1.25, 2.27–30, 8.8, 9.73 and others. His relationship with waters, rivers and
oceans is mentioned in the Vedas.]Vedic poets describe him as an aspect and one of the plural
perspectives of the Agni, one of the Primary deity. For example, hymn 5.3 of the Rigveda states:
You at your birth are Varuna, O Agni.
When you are kindled, you are Mitra.
In you, O son of strength, all gods are centered.
You are Indra to the mortal who brings oblation.
You are Aryaman, when you are regarded as having
the mysterious names of maidens, O Self-sustainer.
— Rigveda 5.3.1–2
Purva Bhadrapada Nakshatra is the 25th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology.
Purva Bhadra is ruled by Aja Ekapad, the one-footed serpent or goat. Ajaikapada Bhairava Temple is
dedicated to Ekapada Bhairava - an aspect of Shiva
Aja Ekapada is also worshiped as a form of Lord Shiva and a transport vehicle of Agni, the god of fire.
It gives the fire to raise a spiritual person up in life (yajamana vdyamana shakti). Aja Ekapada
represents the unborn, transcendent cosmic energy. The goat is a simple, harmless milk-producing
animal which requires almost nothing for its sustenance. However, in the Vedas this deity has been
extolled to great heights. He is considered as infinity, an entity without emotion or speech. As Aja, the
unborn, he is worshipped as a form of Śiva and is a vehicle of Agni (fire).
The Agama text Amsumadbhedagama mentions that Ekapada-Trimurti is like the Ekanetra and
Ekarudra aspects of Shiva and is one of the Vidyeshvara aspects. He wears a jata-mukuta (a
headdress formed of piled, matted hair) and white silken garments. He has three eyes and a pacific
appearance. He holds a trishula (trident) and a tanka (small hammer) in two of his four arms and
gestures in varada mudra (the boon-giving gesture) and abhaya mudra (the gesture of reassurance.
Another Agama text, the Uttara-Karanagama, also describes Ekapada-Trimurti as one of the
Vidyeshvaras. He stands erect (the samabhanga posture) on his one leg on a lotus pedestal (padma
pitha). He has three eyes and four arms and is clear as crystal in color. His back hands carry a trisula
or mriga (deer) and a tanka and his four hands gesture in varada mudra and abhaya mudra. He
wears ordinary kundala earrings or pearl ones and the jata-mukuta. From the right and left of his body
emerge Brahma and Vishnu respectively.

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The Linga Purana describes Shiva as "the lord who has one foot, four arms, three eyes and a trident
and who is stationed after creating Vishnu from his left side and four-headed Brahma from his right
side.
Ekapada icons are found in most of the important Shiva temples in South India.
In Orissa, Ekapada-Bhairava is essentially a Tantric deity. Tantric texts explicitly associate him with
the Vedic Aja Ekapada, fire/Agni, sacrifice, the cosmic pillar of the universe, and the Yogini
goddesses, who are also linked to the Saptamatrikas.
Uttara Bhadrapada Nakshatra is the 26th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology.
Uttara Bhadra is ruled by Ahir Budhnya, the serpent of the depths of the atmosphere. Ahira-Budhnaya
is also called Ohi-bridna or Uro-boros. He is the king of the Nagas. Originating in ancient Egyptian
iconography, the ouroboros entered Western tradition via Greek magical tradition and was adopted
as a symbol in Gnosticism and Hermeticism and most notably in alchemy.
Ahir Budhnya, the benefic serpent of the depths of the Atmosphere, symbolizes fertility, kundalini
energy. Like Ajaikapada, Ahirbudhnya can reference the power that the Tantrikas call the Kundalini
Shakti, an energy which once activated initiates a process of spiritual evolution. In Ahirbudhnya-
Saṃhitā which literally means a compendium (Samhita) of the serpent-from-the-depths (from ahi for
serpent and budhna for bottom / root), Vishnu emanated in 39 different forms. In the Veda, ahi
budhna (serpent of the bottom) is an atmospheric god is shown as merged with Rudra-Siva

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(Pashupati); with Ahi Budhanya in later Vedic texts connected to Agni Grahapatya, suggesting this
was a benevolent being and not the malevolent Ahi Vritra. Ahirbudhnya and Aja-Ekapada had their
share of allocated ghriya (Grihyasutra) rituals. In later puranic literature, Ahirbudhnaya becomes one
of the 11 Rudras.
Revati Nakshatra is the 27th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology.
Revati is governed by Pushan, the nourishing form of the Sun God, sometimes identified with the
power of seeing. It has the power of nourishment symbolized by milk (kshiradyapani shakti). Its basis
above is the cows. Its basis below is the calves. These three bring about the nourishment of the entire
world.
Pushan, “the nurturer,” is one of the 12 Ādityas and regarded as the protector of flocks and herds and
invoked in the Vedas for safe travel. He also helps to recover lost items and animals. Therefore, this
is a good nakshatra for the Moon to be residing in when one is beginning a search for starting a long
journey. Pushan is associated with fertility, rapid growth, abundance and providing shelter. He is the
keeper of the sacred cows of the gods and provides nourishment and protection to all animals. Thus,
a love of animals can be experienced in Revati.
Pushan, who is also associated with finding lost creatures and articles, is the keeper of the cows of
the gods, and his nurturing signifies breeding and foster care.
Ten hymns in the Rigveda are dedicated to Pūṣan (including one jointly to Soma and Pūṣan and
another to Indra and Pūṣan). Some of these hymn’s appeal to him to guard livestock and find lost
livestock. His chariot is pulled by goats. Sometimes he is described as driving the Sun in its course
across the sky. He seems to represent the sun as a guardian of flocks and herds. Pushan is also
regarded as Kavi, who in turn became an epiphet of several gods and further a title signifying "king".
According to a narrative found in the Taittiriya Samhita, Rudra was excluded from the Daksha yajna,
an important sacrifice in honour of various deities. He, in anger, pierced the sacrifice with an arrow
and Pushan broke his teeth as he attempted to eat a part of the oblation. The later versions of this
narrative are found in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Puranas. In these
versions, Rudra (or Shiva) was angry because his father-in-law, Daksha, the sacrifice, did not invite
him. Shiva, in anger, kicked Pushan and knocked out his teeth as he was eating the oblation. In
the Puranic versions, Virabhadra, created by Shiva from a lock of his matted hair, knocked out
Pushan's teeth.

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Details of Navagrahas (9 Planets)

Navagrahas are nine heavenly bodies (as well as deities) that influence human life on Earth in
Hinduism and Hindu astrology. The term is derived from Nava (Sanskrit: नव "nine") and Grahas
(Sanskrit: ग्रह "planet, seizing, laying hold of, holding".
Navagrahas in Hindu temples are devoted to Navagrahas—the nine (Nava) major celestial bodies
(Grahas) of Hindu astronomy. These temples are made of stones and are very beautiful. These
celestial bodies are named Surya (Sun), Chandra (Moon), Mangala (Mars), Budha (Mercury),
Brihaspati (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani (Saturn), Rahu (North Lunar Node) and Ketu (South Lunar
Node). Many temples in South India contain a shrine dedicated to the Navagrahas.
Out of those nine planets, seven are named after the planets in the Solar System and the other two
(Rahu and Ketu) are demons in Hindu mythology.
Ancient people believed that each hour of the day was governed by one of the deities associated with
the celestial bodies. Hindu texts used the lunar cycle for setting months and days, but the solar cycle
to set the complete year. As per Hindu astrology Rahu and Ketu have an orbital cycle of 18 years
and are always 180 degrees from each other orbital. If you remove these two lunar nodes
(Rahu and Ketu), you can arrive at 7 days week as represented below:

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Order of weekdays was done with speed at which these planets crossed the sky and concluded
that the fastest object must have the shortest distance to the Earth, while the slowest object was
believed to be farthest away. These details are captured in Surya Siddhanta.
In Hindu Astrology, it is believed that combination of Nakshatras and Navagrahas affects a person’s
happiness, success and all-round prosperity. The good and bad, positive and negative influences of
each of these nine planets are results of factors like the specific location of the planets on the birth
chart, etc. Planets possessing good (Sattva nature) are Jupiter, Sun and Moon. Planets bearing rajas
(either good or bad) are Venus and Mercury while planets with Bad (Tamas
nature) are Mars, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu.
The Rig-Veda also mentions an eclipse-causing demon, Svarbhānu, however the specific term
Grahas was not applied to Svarbhānu until the later Mahabharata and Ramayana. Here I would touch
verses from Ramayana and Mahabharata and refer the mention of Rohini Nakshatra and ancient
observations that is very significant.
In Hindu astronomy, Aldebaran is Rohini nakshatra and Planet Saturn is referred as Shani. The
mention of ‘Rohini Sakata Bhedanam’ in Indian literature is an event of great significance. This event
occurs when Saturn or Mars is near Rohini Nakshatra. These events are mentioned in Ramayana and
during great Mahabharata wars. Destruction happened every time this peculiar phenomenon
appeared in the sky and below is mention in Ramayana.
It forebodes evil and destruction

When Saturn leaves Krittika and nears Rohini
Sages call this “Breaking of Rohini’s wain”
It brings great sorrow and misery
Brihat Samhita XLVII// 14 // captures this event as below:
Explanation: When Saturn, Mars or a comet cuts the Wain of Rohini, what shall I say, the whole
world will perish being plunged in the ocean of misery/disaster

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Maharishi Vyasa has sketched out complete mention of astronomical events leading up to the start of
the great Mahabharata war. These details have now proved extremely useful for astronomers and
researchers to ascertain possible dates for the key events of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
For example, in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, King Dhritarashtra is the King of the Kuru Kingdom and
we can find similar comparison In Bhīṣmaparva 2, Vyāsa informs King Dhritarashtra on bad omens
that happened during Mahabharata war and explains about Saturn in Rohini.
Rohiṇīṃ pīḍayanneṣa sthito rājañśanaiścaraḥ
Vyāvṛttaṃ lakṣma somasya bhaviṣyati mahadbhayam
Explanation: Saturn stands tormenting Rohini, O king. The (hare) sign of the Moon has disappeared.
There will be great danger/fear.
Moon getting disappeared in above verse refers lunar eclipse during that time.
Below is the event that I was able to locate in Stellarium in about 3066 BCE as per this verse. We can
find similar event in about 5500 BCE using Stellarium which could be reason of this event mentioned
in Ramayana verse or this could also be the older Hindu Puranic event of Great Flood. We have clear
archaeological proofs of Great Flood during these times and astronomical observations by these
ancient civilizations place a very important role to get timeline when these epics were composed.

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Details of 12 Sun Gods (12 Zodiac)

As per Vedic astrology, the 12 Adityas (Sun Gods) are the energies of the Sun placed in various
zodiac signs that forms 12 months of a year. 12 Adityas are referred as DEVAS(GODS).
RigVedic verse "Daksha sprang from Aditi and Aditi from Daksha" is a reference to "the eternal
cyclic re-birth of the same divine Essence". Aditi was attributed the status of first deity by the Vedic
culture and she gave birth to Daksha and in re-birth, she is again daughter of Daksha married to Sage
Kashyap.
Aditi (Daughter of King Daksha) with sage Kashyapa (Son of Marichi) had 33 sons who are
referred as Devas. Twelve are called Aditya including Surya that form 12 months of Hindu calendar,
eleven are called Rudras and eight are called Vasus. Aditi (Sanskrit: अदिदि "limitless") is mother of the
gods (devamata) and all twelve zodiacal spirits from whose cosmic matrix, the heavenly bodies were
born. She may be a feminized form of Brahma and associated with the primal substance
(mulaprakriti) in Vedanta. She is mentioned nearly 80 times in the Rigveda.

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The earliest idea of "egg-shaped cosmos" comes from some of the Sanskrit scriptures. The Sanskrit
term for it is Brahmanda(ब्रह्माण्ड) which is derived from two words - 'Brahma (ब्रह्मा) the creator god in
Hinduism and 'anda' (अण्ड) meaning 'egg'. - World egg - Wikipedia
If we refer Rigveda (RV 10.121), known as the Hiraṇyagarbha Sūkta, it is suggesting a single creator
deity (verse 8: yo deveṣv ādhi devā eka āsīt, Griffith: "He is the God of gods, and none beside him.",
identified in the hymn as Prajāpati. The concept of the "golden womb" is first mentioned in the
Vishvakarma Sūkta (RV 10.82.5,6) which picturized the "primeval womb" as being rested set upon the
navel of Vishvakarman the Supreme cosmic creator, that One wherein abide all things existing.
This imagery was later transferred to Vishnu, you can refer Purusha Suktam - Rigveda 10.90 and
ideas on how universe got created with below representation.
Seven heaven/Gates concept could possibly be seven ancient planetary systems above earth till
milky way rift. This is the reason why we organize our lives around a 7-day week, and this is based on
these identified ancient seven planets above our heads. This 7-day structure has also supported in
popular creation myths of Greeks, Hinduism, Book of Genesis etc. The seven celestial bodies visible
to the naked eye during ancient times were Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn.

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Origin of the universe and Mankind (Rigveda)

Purusha Suktam (Sanskrit with meaning) - Rigveda 10.90
तस्माद्विराळजायत द्विराजो अद्वि पूरुषः ।

स जातो अत्यररच्यत पश्चाद् भूद्वििथो पुरः ॥५॥
Tasmaad-Viraadda-Jaayata Viraajo Adhi Puurussah |

Sa Jaato Atya[i-A]ricyata Pashcaad-Bhuumim-Atho Purah ||5||
English Translation: From Him (Sacrificial Fire), was born the Virat; (the Virat came into being) from
the presence of the Shining Purusha (Who remained as the background or substratum of Virat);
He (i.e. the Virat) created the Earth, by manifesting Her from His own being as substratum.
यत्पु रुषेण हद्विषा दे िा यज्ञितन्वत ।

िसन्तो अस्यासीदाज्यं ग्रीष्म इध्मः शरद्धद्विः ॥६॥
Yat-Purussenna Havissaa Devaa Yajnyam-Atanvata |

Vasanto Asya-Asiida-Ajyam Griissma Idhmah Sharad-[d]Havih ||6||
English Translation: With the Purusha as the (Sacrificial) Fire, the Deva (the Shining One, referring
to Virat) continued the Yagya (Sacrifice of creation),
Spring was (created as) the clarified Butter (of that Yagya), Summer was (created as) the Fuel (of that
Yagya), and Autumn was (created as) the Havis (Sacrificial offering of that Yagya). The First Divine
Men were created as the Holy Water sprinkled with the Kusa Grass in that Yagya (Sacrifice of
Creation).
The First Divine Men were the Sadhya Devas and the Rishis, who were created by Him, the Deva
(the Shining One, referring to Virat), Who performed the Yagya. (These Rishis were not human but
divine Rishis like Saptarishis created directly by Virat).
Hindu mythology are narratives found in ancient Hindu Puranas and other texts like Panchatantra,
Hitopadesha etc. Hindu Puranas gives a timeline of Hindu history according to the Hindu scriptures
and they contain stories about the creation of the world and epics like Mahabharata, Ramayana.
Below is Hindu mythology chart that marks origin of Solar and Lunar Dynasty:

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In Hindu mythology, Chandra (Moon God) met Tara, the wife of Brihaspati (planet Jupiter) and
abducted her. From their union, Tara became pregnant, giving birth to Budha (planet Mercury).
Brihaspati, being upset, declared a war but the Devas intervened, and Tara was returned
to Brihaspati. Budha's son was Pururavas who established the Chandravanshi Dynasty as shown
in Hindu mythology chart below under Atri.
Diti (Other Daughter of King Daksha) with the sage Kashyapa gave birth to the Daityas (Sanskrit:
िै त्य). These are a clan or race of Asura . They are referred as Danavas. Below are notable Daityas or
race of Asuras.
• Hiranyakashipu - eldest son of Kashyap and Diti

• Hiranyaksha - second son of Kashyapa and Diti
• Holika - daughter of Kashyapa and Diti
Asuras were evil and as per Hindu mythology, whenever evil prevails, Lord Vishnu is said to descend
in form of an avatar to restore cosmic order.

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Star Wars between Devas and Asuras:

Shukra (Venus Planet) is the name of a son of Sage Bhrigu (one of the Saptarishis (Big Dipper
constellation)). He was the guru of Daityas / Asuras and is also referred to
as Shukracharya or Asuracharya in various Hindu texts. When Shukra was young, Shukra (Venus
Planet) and Brihaspati (Jupiter Planet) studied under the same guru, Sage Angirasa, who
was Brihaspati's father. Shukra was known to be more knowledgeable than Brihaspati, but he was
disturbed by Angirasa's favouritism for his son Brihaspati.
During this period Brihaspati (Jupiter) became the Guru of the Devas. Due to the
hatred Shukracharya (Venus) became the Guru of Asuras. He helped them achieve victory over
the Devas and used his knowledge to revive the dead and wounded among them. The
planets Mercury and Saturn are considered friendly to Shukra, the Sun, the Moon and Jupiter are
hostile, and the rest are considered neutral. Lunar nodes like Rahu and Ketu are also referred as bad
planets (Asuras).
A rich section of the Milky Way runs through Cassiopeia, stretching

from Perseus towards Cygnus. According to Michael Witzel, it is related to Avestan kasiiapa,
Sogdian kyšph, New Persian kašaf, kaš(a)p which mean "tortoise". The Kassites (/ˈkæsaɪts/) were
also people of the ancient middle east Asia, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old
Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology). The endonym of
the Kassites was probably Galzu, although they have also been referred to by the
names Kaššu, Kassi, Kasi or Kashi.
Kurma (Sanskrit: कूमध; Kūrma, 'turtle', 'tortoise'), also known as 'KurmaRaja' ('Tortoise King') is
an avatar of the RigVedic god Vishnu. Originating in Vedic literature such as the Yajurveda as being
synonymous with the Saptarishi called Kasyapa, Kurma is most associated in post-Vedic literature
such as the Puranas with the legend of the churning of the Ocean of Milk, referred to as the Samudra
mantan
Kaśyapa alternatively kacchapa, means "turtle" in Sanskrit. This constellation is Casyapi (Kasyapi,
like Cassiopeia or Kassiopeia).

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With reference to Samudra mantan (churning the Ocean of Milk for elixir of immortality)
particular, Lord Hari (Vishnu Avatar) decided to mix up the elixir of immortality with Gods on one side
and Demons on other side. The gods were to drink the elixir to become immortal, however, the gods
needed help from the demons to stir up the oceans to produce the elixir. As per this mythological
story and during churning oceans, Hari took charge of distributing the freshly made soma to the gods
but while it was being passed out the demons started battling with the gods for a taste of the elixir and
in the confusion one of the demons, Rahu, disguised himself as a god and drank some of the elixir.
When Hari (Vishnu Avatar) noticed this, he sliced off Rahu's head with a sword, however elixir had
already passed Rahu's throat and made him immortal. Demon Rahu is enemy of Sun and Moon and
the head Rahu chases the Sun and Moon across the sky and tries to eat them causing eclipse.
If we bring science in picture, the place where the path of the Moon crosses the ecliptic moving
northward is called the ascending node (becomes Rahu) and the place where the path of the Moon
crosses the ecliptic moving south is called the descending node (becomes Ketu). Thus, the Moon
crosses the ecliptic at the ascending node, roughly 14 days later crosses the ecliptic again at the
descending node, and roughly 14 days later it is back to the ascending node crossing.

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Origin of Kumbha Mela Festival:
Kumbha is a Sanskrit word for pitcher and is also referred to as the kalasha. Kumbh as also a zodiac
sign for Aquarius in Indian astrology. Mela means a gathering or a meet or simply a fair.
According to ancient mythology and during Samudra Manthan, the 4 locations (Haridwar, Prayag,
Trimbakeshwar and Ujjain) were the places where the 4 drops of immortal nectar (Amrit) spilled or
fell in the rivers from the pot Kumbh when Jayanta (Son of Indra) kept on running for 12 days to
avoid Amrit kalasha to fall in the hands of demons. Finally, the nectar pot was saved from the demons
by God Brihaspati (Jupiter Planet) with the help of Sun.
As per divine counting one day of Gods is equal to the one year of mortal beings considering Axis
Mundi (Top of Meru) in north Pole where Gods reside, and we have 6 months day and 6 months
night in Arctic that equals 1 day and 1 night for Gods.
The Jupiter carrying Amrit takes 12 years to transit, to go through all the 12 zodiac signs. Therefore,
the main Maha Kumbh Mela happens after 12 years x 12 = 144 years. However, the normal Kumbh
Mela happens every 3 years in any one of the 4 locations. Ardha Kumbh Mela happens in Haridwar or
Prayag every 6 years, Purna Kumbh Mela happens every 12 years, and the Maha Kumbh Mela
happens every 144 years as per above calculation.
• When Jupiter enters in Aquarius and Sun and Moon in Aries and Sagittarius respectively,
Kumbh is held at Haridwar.
• When the Jupiter is in Taurus and the Sun and Moon are in Capricorn or Makra, the kumbha
is held at Prayag.
• When the Jupiter enters in Leo and the Sun and Moon in Cancer, the Kumbha is held at
Nashik and Trimbakeshwar.
• When Jupiter is in Leo and the Sun and Moon in Aries, the Kumbha is held at Ujjain.
The seekers believe that bathing in these rivers is a means to prāyaścitta (atonement, penance) for
past mistakes, and that it cleanses them of their sins. The festival of Kumbha Mela is one of the
largest peaceful gatherings in the world and considered as the "world's largest congregation of
religious pilgrims”

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Coming back to deities, Chhaya is the Hindu personification or goddess of shadow, and the consort
of Surya (Sun God). She is the shadow-image or reflection of Saranyu (Sangya), the first wife of
Surya. Chhaya was born from the shadow of Saranyu and replaced Saranyu in her house, after the
latter temporarily left unable to bear Surya's fierce splendour.
Chhaya is usually described as the mother of Shani, the god of the planet Saturn.
Haéusōs has been reconstructed as the Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn and Twenty-one
hymns in the Rigveda are dedicated to the dawn goddess Uṣás (Ushas).
Saranyu and her sister Chhaya (Shadow Goddess) are the wives of Lord Surya (Sun god). Children
of Surya (Sun God) by Saranyu are Yama/Yamani/Ashwin’s and Manu (Creator of Mankind). If we
study Proto-Indo-European mythology and look at Vedic Ashvins, the Lithuanian Ašvieniai and almost
all other Vedic Deities of Hinduism, we can see a Proto-Indo-European origin.
As per Vedic astrology, the 12 Adityas (Sun Gods) are the energies of the Sun placed in various
zodiac signs that forms 12 months of a year and starts from Aries (Mesha) and below is reference
of Rig Veda.
“Dhatar, the great Creator, then formed in due order Sun and Moon.
He formed in order Heaven and Earth, the regions of the air, and light.”
The Age of Aries commenced around 2000 B.C and it was during this time the Ram became sacred
to Amon, the solar deity of Egypt and same goes with Hindu calendars too. If you notice Hindu
rituals, Mesha Sankranti (also called Mesha Sankramana or Hindu New Year) refers to the first day of
the solar cycle year that is the solar New Year in the Hindu luni-solar calendar. Mesha Sankranti falls
on 13 April usually, sometimes 14 April. This day is the basis for major Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist
festivals, of which Vaisakhi and Vesak are the most well-known.
In the Egyptian book of the Underworld called Amduat there are twelve divisions indicating the zones
of the zodiac through which the soul, as sun, must journey on its way back to its sacred seat. Sun
God with RAM head (Aries) is shown travelling in a boat.

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Almost all ancient mythologies and great epics are based on these ancient astrological allegories
considering geo-centric model. Indian Scholar R. Shamasastry explains an astrological basis for the
story of Ramayana. Rudrapatna Shamasastry FRAS (1868–1944) was a Sanskrit scholar and
librarian at the Oriental Research Institute Mysore. As librarian, Shamasastry examined these
fragile manuscripts daily to determine and catalogue their contents. He re-discovered and published
the Arthashastra, an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy.

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Great Indian Epic Ramayana simply means journey of Rama and according to R. Shamasastry,
Lord Rama represents the sun and his brother Lakshmana represent the Jupiter
Planet, Bharata the Venus, and Satrughna the Planet Mercury. When Sun is in Orion, he gives
example of Rama's pursuit after a deer implies the sun's march to the asterism Mṛgaśira (Taurus)
indicating the time of the urge of Sita (Daughter of Earth Goddess) the Ploughshare. We see
almost similar iconography in ancient Egyptian art too.
He further explains the fight between Vali and Sugriva as a Grahayuddha (fight between Planets
personified as humans). He mentions Vali as Saturn and we can see this iconography of Vali with
gold chain round his neck.
Astrology counts 1 divine day as 1 human year due to Geo-centric model. 14 days of waxing
or waning the moon and exile to forest for 14 years is beautifully captured in these astrological
allegories.
Scorpio constellation sometimes act as multiheaded demon who normally gets killed by Sun God
during this part of transit and later followed by victorious celebration rituals.

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In almost all ancient mythologies, river is an allegory to the Milky way (Solstice Axis), referred as
Akash Ganga/Cosmic River which passes near constellation of Scorpius and mythology of bending
the “Bow of Shiva” is an allegory for the Taurus constellation (Bull) in which Orion is referred as Rama
and Taurus as Bow. We find almost similar parallels in Greek mythology too.
The Egyptians revered hamadryas baboons as the embodiment of Tehuti, a god of wisdom, and
also connected the primates with Amun-Ra, the great Sun god. The Greeks related Tehuti to their
god Hermes due to his similar attributes and functions. In Hindu
Mythology, Maruti or Hanuman is God of Wisdom who has iconography like Baboon (Monkey).
Even in later iconography of Hindu belief system, Lord Hanuman is present in war chariots driven
by Lords.
Thoth/Tehuti of ancient Egyptians was originally a Moon god and always found with Sun GOD RA
who provided light at night for Sun God RA's voyage. He was thus said to be the secretary and
counsellor of the sun god Ra, and with Ma'at (truth/order) stood next to Ra on the nightly voyage
across the sky.
In Babylonian myths, he was known as Nebo (Nebu) who was the son of Marduk. Iconography
of Marduk is like Vedic Maruts (Immortals) - AMARA in Sanskrit means “deathless” or
“immortal.” Names like Hārūt and Mārūt also appears in Quran (2:102) which sounds like
Haurvatat and Ameretāt of Zoroastrian scriptures. Haurvatat and Ameretāt are archangels in
Amesha Spenta. Etymologically, Avestan Haurvatat derives from an Indo-Iranian root and is
linguistically related to Vedic Sanskrit Sarvatāt "intactness, perfection" and Ameretat in Sanskrit
is Amaratva (immortal/deathless). Hindu God Maruti is Chiranjeevi(deathless).

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However, the Greek Hermes God was associated with Mercury Planet. The Monkey king/God -
Sun Wukong as shown in above picture of Chinese myths have similar attributes of Greek
Hermes(e-ma-ha-on) and Hindu God Hanuman. From Chinese literary characters, Monkey King
has immense strength, and can support the weight of two celestial mountains on his shoulders. From
attributes of Mercury planet, Sun Wukong is extremely fast, able to travel 54,000 km, 34,000 miles
in one somersault and these features are also like Hindu God Hanuman.
Epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata of Hindu Mythology is like epics of Iliad and Odysseus of
Greek Mythology. It is almost same.
Below is one such quick comparison between Hindu epic Ramayana and Iliad:
In Ramayana, Ravana abducts Sita who was wife of Lord Ram. Lord Ram accompanied with Laxman
along with Hanuman attacks Lanka and the city of Lanka gets burned. In Iliad, it is Paris who abducts
Helen who was wife of a king. Achilles is accompanied by Patroclus and Troy (City) is attacked and

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burnt. In both cases, the war ended by overthrowing bad king (Paris or Ravana) with Sita or Helen
returning home. If you note, both wars are fought on seashore. In Ramayana, Lakshmana is injured
badly and almost dies till rescued by Hanuman and same goes with Iliad in which Patroclus is injured
badly to death.
The word Sita means “furrow” in Sanskrit, that is, the line created on the farm when it is ploughed.
She is believed to be the daughter of Bhūmi (Mother Earth) in many legends.
There is a story about Sita's birth in Hindu mythology. Her father Janaka was ploughing the land
and a furrow was formed. From that furrow a baby girl came out. Janaka took the girl as his daughter
and named her Sita. In one of Greek mythology, we learn that Hades kidnaps Persephone who
was daughter of Mother Earth (Demeter) and in Hindu mythology, we have Ravana kidnapping
Sita who was known as daughter of Mother Earth. It appears that all ancient cultures were same.
Even the RigVedic reference for Sita as “Giver of food or grains” is like Greek reference found in
Mycenae. While I was trying to decipher Linear Elamite writings, I could find below observation and
strongly believe that Sita cult could be bronze age cult or still earlier.

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In Ancient Greece, there is a goddess named Manasa found in the records of Mycenae, written as
ma-na-sa in Linear B and we have similar Goddess Manasa in Hindu mythology from epics like
Mahabharata. It clearly appears that PIE mythology was similar across all Indo-European
civilizations the way DI-WO and DI-WI are used like DEVA or DEVI currently used in Hindu religion
for referring God and Goddess.
Linear A was the primary script used in palace and religious writings of the Minoan civilization. It
was succeeded by Linear B, which was used by the Mycenaeans to write an early form of Greek.
However, in the absence of readable texts from most of the period, modern scholars have
reconstructed it almost totally based on archaeological evidence of such as Minoan paintings,
statuettes, vessels for rituals and seals and rings. Below is one such closest similarities between
MANASA (Hindu Goddess of Snake) with that of Snake Goddess figurines from Minoan civilization.
It is generally agreed that the dominant figure in Minoan religion was a goddess like early Hindu
Religion from Indus Valley Civilization. After the Mycenaean invasion in ancient Greece, inscriptions
in Linear B give the names of some deities, also found from mainland Mycenean Greece. However
common to every ancient religion appears to be Circumpolar Star Mythology.
Similarly, we learn the Twelve Labours of Heracles which are a series of episodes concerning a
penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised
as Hercules. The episodes were later connected by a continuous narrative. We have almost similar
parallels in Mahabharata episode/narrative with reference to Lord Hari-Krishna.

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In similar lines, Lyman E Stowe (Book: 1907) explains the story of Jesus as an astrological allegory
for the sun passing through the zodiac each year. He mentions astrology count 1 divine day as 1
human year.

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Book of Revelation provide us glimpse into this iconography that looks purely astrological (Lion =
Leo, Ox = Taurus, Man = Gemini, Eagle = Aquila)
“And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and
behind:
The first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with
the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.”
— Revelation 4:7
Few more observations:
• Christ had 12 disciples, in Star Map, the sun has 12 disciples or 12 signs of the Zodiac.
• The first day of the “new” Sun is December 25 and this is the day Jesus was born in the
stable in Bethlehem. If you look at star map, the new Sun comes after the winter solstice and
following December 25th, when the Sun is reborn, it begins its journey through the houses of
the zodiac.
• As Judas betray Christ, in star map, you will find Venus betray the sun in this way.
• During winter solstice, the sun rises to its lowest point in the northern hemisphere sky and
stands still for three days (Dec 22nd till Dec 24th) which symbolizes death and then after
midwinter, the sun is reborn from the darkness, symbolizing rebirth, and the renewal of life.
Ancient Egyptians too believed that the Sun (RA) dies and is reborn in winter solstice. If we
observe the star map, Christ crucifixion reflects this part of the Sun’s cycle.

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Below is comparison provided by Stowe with reference to the Bible:
• Considering energy of Sun as Jesus, Sun God is re-born every year during Winter Solstice in
the stable between the constellations of the horse and goat (Sagittarius and Capricornus)
• Thirty years after Jesus Christ birth, he was baptized. If you note the above star map, thirty days
after the Sun is born, he enters the Zodiac sign Aquarius, the water bearer which shows the symbol
of Baptism.
NOTE: In astrology with geo-centric model, 1 divine day is 1 Human year.
• After Baptism, he took his disciples from fishermen. Check the star map and you find that it is
during this time, Sun enters the sign Pisces and story goes on as it transits remaining
constellations/Zodiac.
• Christ later is referred as Good shepherd and star map here points Sun in Aries.
• Next cycle in star map is time of Vernal Equinox and time of salvation, we can find Christ went out
to the salvation of men.
• Next cycle is of Taurus (bull) refers time of vegetation and then Sun God moves to Gemini
(Twins).

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When Sun enters the sign of Cancer, we see it is symbolized as crab and when Sun enters Leo,
Christ here became the lion of the twelve tribes of Judah. Next ritual would be sup to the vestal
virgin and this is when we have Sun in Zodiac sign Virgo.
• Judgement day as referred in Bible happens when Sun is in Libra Zodiac which is basically
symbolized by the balance in almost every ancient civilization.
• Finally, Sun God is crucified between the two heavenly thieves which
are Scorpio and Sagittarius. It is time of winter solstice, the sun rises to its lowest point in the norther
hemisphere sky and stands still for three days which symbolizes death and then after midwinter, the
sun is reborn from the darkness, symbolizing rebirth, and the renewal of life.
Distinctive pattern of constellations in zodiac path (Sun Transit) along with planets doing circumpolar
movements around pole star have supported in development of mythological stories as per
astrological ages and you can find several such similar parallels in Vedic and Puranic myths
(Hinduism), Egyptian, Sumerian, Greek, Roman mythologies and several others.
Study on myths from Orion constellation is one such good example.

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RigVedic star mythology of earlier Rudra (Orion) hunting Prajapati (Taurus as Deer) is later
repeated in puranic mythologies too. We have reference of Shiva hunting Yagna who took form of a
deer in Daksha-Yagna mythology and in similar lines, we can see reference of Lord Rama eliminating
Maareecha who came in form of Golden Deer in epics of Ramayana.
Age of Aries happened around 2000BCE till 100BC and in Hindu mythology, Lord Ram is
supposed to have taken birth in Age of Aries as mentioned in Mahabharata 348.19 and in Valmiki
Ramayan below:
Sandho tu samanupraptre tretayaam dwaparisya cha |Ramo daasrathirbhutva bhavishami

jagatpati || (Mahabharata 348.19)
Other clear reference from Valmiki Ramayana - When Sun was in Mesha (Aries) Bhagavan Sri
Jagannaath (the Supreme Lord of Universe was born; then sweet-scented flowers rained profusely for
one Muhurtham (duration of 12 minutes) from the sky on the castle where Sri Rama was born!!
In Age of Aries, the Ram became a symbol for several deities in ancient past (2000BCE till 100BCE)
including kingdoms of Egypt. Below is RA-AMUN (God with RAM head) - Ra is SUN God and below is
its transit in Aries/Mesha). During Age of Aries, Ramesses I was first pharaoh of Egypt in 19th
dynasty.

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The Lullubi or Lulubi were a group of tribes during the 3rd millennium BC, from a region known as
Lulubum, now the Sharazor plain of the Zagros Mountains of modern Iraqi Kurdistan. We can see
several victory steles commemorating the victory of the Kings and associated with iconography of
Orion standing over dwarf (Lepus constellation). Below is one such example:
In almost all ancient mythologies, river is an allegory to the Milky way (Solstice Axis), referred as
Akash Ganga/Cosmic River which passes near constellation of Scorpius and mythology of bending
the “Bow of Shiva” is an allegory for the Taurus constellation (Bull) in which Orion is referred as Rama
and Taurus as Bow. We find almost similar parallels in Greek mythology too.

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Hindu Yuga Cycle lasts for 24,000 years, which equals one precession of the equinoxes as
represented below:
With Yuga cycle based on Geo-centric model with Heaven near North star as referred by almost
every ancient civilization, astrology counts 1 divine day as 1 human year. This is due to 6 months
day and 6 months night in Polar region which is counted as 1 day and night in divine count.
Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the
world. Ancient civilizations including Egyptians, Sumerians, Indus valley, Persians, Greeks, Romans
etc. paid tribute to the gods formed by Orion constellation and started constructing
monuments/temples by placing them in specific locations on Earth mimicking the sky. Few of them
started referring respective civilization/culture as Orion/Aryan race.
According to BG Tilak in his Arctic Origins of Vedas, Rigvedic hymns were composed in the 'Orion
Period' when the vernal equinox was almost on the right shoulder of 'Orion". Sacred thread/cloth
worn by few communities of India represents stars alignment in Orion Belt. In fact, Greek word Orion
is derived from "Aryan" which is often referred as Aryan race.
Below is chronology of the post-glacial period as given by BG Tilak
10,000 to 8000 BC – The destruction of the original Arctic home by the last Ice Age and the
commencement of the post-Glacial period.
8000 to 5000 BC – The age of migration from the original home. The survivors of the Aryan race
roamed over the northern parts of Europe and Asia in search of lands suitable for new settlements. B
G Tilak calls it the Pre-Orion Period.

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5000 to 3000 BC. - The Orion period, when the vernal equinox was in Orion.
3000 to 1400 BC – The Krittika period, when the Vernal equinox was in Pleiades.
1400 to 500 BC – The Pre-Buddhistic period, when the Sutras and the Philosophical systems made
their appearance.
For Hindus, Yajnopavita which is referred as sacred was born with Daksha Prajapati and
this 'girdle' is the Orion’s belt in Orion constellation. Coming to thread wearing, it is also common
to Zoroastrianism of ancient Persia (Aryan Homeland), Greeks and several others.
Dr. B R Ambedkar (Father of Indian Constitution) has done very in-depth analysis of Vedas and
has very beautifully explained these myths and associated creation of races (Varnas) in his book -
Who Were the Shudras?

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Circumpolar Constellations near North

Pole Star and Heaven:
In ancient Indian astronomy, the constellation of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) is called Saptarishi, with
the seven stars representing seven rishis, namely "Vashistha", "Marichi", "Pulastya", "Pulaha", "Atri",
"Angiras" and "Kratu".

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NOTE: Due to Earth's precession cycle, location of Pole star (Dhruva) appears to have changed from
earlier Puranic reference from tail of Shishumara (Draco) to tail of Ursa Minor (Current Polaris).
In Hindu rituals, the symbol with arms pointing clockwise (卐) is called swastika. If you try to locate
the ancient Ramayana verse on ‘Dhruvam sarve Pradakshinam’ it refers Dhruvam as the pole
star and these seven sages (Saptarishis) (Big Dipper) offer Pradakshinam or circumambulation. The
word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit root swasti, which is composed of – Su (सु) – good and Asti
(अस्ति) - to be or there is
Most of Hindu rituals in which devotees doing Pradakshinam or circumambulation around God, holy
hills, Pradakshinam around Agni God (Fire) during Hindu marriage rituals have been associated with
this cosmology. Circumambulation is the act of moving around a sacred object or idol.
Circumambulation of temples or deity images is an integral part of Hindu and Buddhist devotional
practice (known in Sanskrit as Pradakshinam). It is also present in other religions, including
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Referring Cygnus constellation of Northern sky near Pole star, Atharvaveda Parishishtha of ancient
Hindu scriptures mentions Brahmarishi as a circumpolar constellation and Cygnus
constellation was associated to Brahmarishi in Atharvaveda Parishishta. If you note
above, Galactic center of Milky Way is location of Cygnus constellation that acts as vahana
for Lord Brahma. Brahma's daughter Goddess Saraswathi is associated with the Lyra (Veena) in
her hands. Practicing Veena (musical instrument) in Indian school of arts during Brahma
Muhurtham comes under the influence of Cygnus constellation.

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Ancient Vishnu Sahasranamam of Hinduism and commentary from Adi Shankara is very interesting
which refers Dhruva (Pole star) at Shishumara’s tail end. However, if you try to decode this using
Stellarium app, you will note that this was possible only when Pole star was Thuban (2800 - 2400
BCE).
Mention of these ancient astronomical observations in Hindu Puranas and Vedas is currently the only
way to get accurate timeline of Rig-Veda based on position of North Pole star as captured in
ancient Vedic and Puranic texts. The Rig Vedic text is layered consisting of the Samhita, Brahmanas,

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Aranyakas and Upanishads. The sounds and texts of Rigveda have been orally transmitted since
the 3rd millennium BCE or still earlier in Vedic Sanskrit (Indo-European language).
Even Valmiki Ramayana verse that mentions “Dhruvam Sarve Pradakshinam” referring all stars
circumambulate Pole Star Dhruva which gives timeline that Ramayana should have been composed
around 2800–2400 BCE and as the earth’s axial precession changes, the location of Pole Star has
changed to current Polaris.
To check accuracy of ancient Hindu Puranas, I tried Stellarium application and moved the night sky
date back to 2800 BCE and I was perfectly able to locate Thuban at end of 14-star Draco
constellation (Shishumara). Thuban was Pole star during 3000 - 2500 BCE as captured below
ŚB 5.23.3
यथा िेढीस्तम्भ आक्रिणपशि: संयोद्वजतास्त्रिद्वभस्त्रिद्वभ: सिनै ययथास्थानं िण्डलाद्वन चरन्त्येिं भगणा ग्रहादय एत
स्त्रस्मन्नन्तर्यद्वहयोगे न कालचक्र आयोद्वजता ध्रुििेिािलम्ब्य िायु नोदीययिाणा आकल्पान्तं पररचङ्‍् ्क्रिस्त्रन्त नभद्वस यथा
िेघा: श्येनादयो िायुिशा: कियसारथय: पररितयन्ते एिं ज्योद्वतगयणा: प्रकृद्वतपु रुषसंयोगानु गृहीता: कियद्वनद्वियतगतयो भु
द्वि न पतस्त्रन्त ॥ ३ ॥
Translation
When bulls are yoked together and tied to a central post to thresh rice, they tread around that pivot
without deviating from their proper positions — one bull being closest to the post, another in the middle,
and a third on the outside. Similarly, all the planets and all the hundreds and thousands of stars revolve
around the polestar, the planet of Mahārāja Dhruva, in their respective orbits, some higher and some
lower. Fastened by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to the machine of material nature according
to the results of their fruitive acts, they are driven around the polestar by the wind and will continue to
be so until the end of creation. These planets float in the air within the vast sky, just as clouds with
hundreds of tons of water float in the air or as the great śyena eagles, due to the results of past activities,
fly high in the sky and have no chance of falling to the ground.
Purport

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Dhruvaloka (Pole Star), the abode of Lord Vishnu within this universe, is situated 1,300,000
yojanas from the seven stars (Big Dipper). In the planetary system of Dhruvaloka are the planets of
the fire-god (Agni), Indra, Prajāpati, Kashyap and Dharma, all of whom are very respectful to the great
devotee Dhruva, who lives on the polestar. Like bulls yoked to a central pivot, all the planetary
systems revolve around Dhruvaloka, impelled by eternal time. Those who worship the virāṭ-puruṣa,
the universal form of the Lord, conceive of this entire rotating system of planets as an animal known
as śhiśhumāra. This imaginary śhiśhumāra is another form of the Lord. The head of
the śhiśhumāra form is downward, and its body appears like that of a coiled snake. On the end of
its tail is Dhruvaloka, on the body of the tail are Prajāpati, Agni, Indra and Dharma, and on the root of
the tail are Dhātā and Vidhātā. On its waist are the seven great sages. The entire body of
the Shishumara faces toward its right and appears like a coil of stars. On the right side of this coil are
the fourteen prominent stars from Abhijit to Punarvasu, and on the left side are the fourteen prominent
stars from Puṣyā to Uttarāṣāḍhā. The stars known as Punarvasu and Puṣyā are on the right and left
hips of the Shishumara, and the stars known as Ārdrā and Aśleṣā are on the right and left feet of
the śhiśhumāra. Other stars are also fixed on different sides of the Śhiśhumāra planetary
system according to the calculations of Vedic astronomers. To concentrate their minds, yogis worship
the Śhiśhumāra planetary system, which is technically known as the Kuṇḍalini-cakra.
Egyptian pyramids are precisely orientated to North Pole star (Thuban during 2800 till 2000 BCE) and
the Pyramids were constructed in a way that aligned with the sun’s rising at the exact point
of Solstice. Milky Way visible in night sky represented Nile River and the way Pyramids are aligned
looks exact mimic of night sky. Deities of ancient Egyptian religion were constellations or as actual
stars. This cosmology helped them to identify yearly flooding of the Nile coordinated with the summer
solstice, carry out religious rituals associated with respective Gods (Constellations) and further
supported them as crucial event for growing crops. Below is east - West view using Stellarium
application that gives clear idea on reason behind construction of ancient Pyramids.
Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson explained the naming as apt metaphor in Egyptian ideology since these
circumpolar stars are a very good metaphor for the afterlife because when viewed, they never seem
to set they simply rotate around the pole star.
Ancient Hindu temples too follow exactly same logic. You can find several such references of these
zodiac as Dwarapalakas/Temple Guards in ancient Hindu temples.

65
During summer solstice, constellations like Leo, Cancer, Gemini (changes as per earth's axial
precession) acted as Gate to humans in many ancient religious beliefs where they believed that
the souls ascend after death during this time of Sun Transit. On other opposite zodiac side
near Sagittarius/Capricorn (Makara) we can find other side of star-gate which is near the galactic
center. Galactic center is located close to Sagittarius and hence they were referred as Gate of God.
Hindu Yuga Cycle lasts for 24,000 years, which equals one precession of the equinoxes as
represented below:

66
When the Sun resides on the gates at an equinox or solstice, it represents a Galactic Alignment and
Great Celestial Conjunction. In Greek myth, the Gate of Man corresponds with the crossing of the
Milky Way and ecliptic at 5° Gemini/Taurus (sidereal zodiac) while the Gate of God corresponds with
the crossing of the Milky Way and ecliptic in 5° Sagittarius/Capricorn (Makara).

67
Understanding ancient astronomy, it appears that in most of ancient myths, the Milky Way formation
or Solstice axis was visualized as path to heaven. In some myths, it was believed to be Tree of life
(path of souls). We can see similar representation even in Indus valley seals.
The river was the source of life for the ancient civilization or ancient Kingdoms and people believed
that it descends from heaven, and we currently have various Puranic references.
The Solstice axis or visible Milky Way (cosmic river) or Tirtha was identified as the Path of
Souls that acted as cosmic river that flows all the way to Heaven near Circumpolar or afterlife
location.
Due to this, any river that is north flowing or changes the direction towards north or north-
easterly direction becomes sacred or auspicious. It normally becomes a holy site and people
make offerings for the souls of their ancestors. According to Hindu belief, the soul wanders after death
until pindadan, or religious service seeking salvation for the dead from the cycle of rebirth, is
performed. Pindadan is traditionally offered on the banks of holy river. It is mandatory for Hindu
devotees offering pindadan to shave their heads and take a holy dip. In Hinduism, Tirtha refers
divine river and means passage and Sthal means location. When cosmic sky is mimicked in temple
plan, then localized river (Tirtha-sthal) act as path for souls to heaven. In Hinduism, when we burn a
dead body, we always put the ashes in the Ganga or a nearby river which is associated with this
cosmology. Egyptians identified the river Nile with the Milky Way and in Hindu belief system, it is
referred as Akash Ganga (Cosmic River) or localized river in respective kingdoms. If you observe
carefully, you will find all the pyramids or temples found on the western side of North side flowing river
that reflect Milky Way or Solstice axis.
If rivers are not nearby, then Temple ponds or pushkarinis or kalyanis support as water reservoirs
built as part of the temple complex near Hindu temples or ancient Egyptian temples. Temple ponds
are sacred, and they are also referred as tirtha. Tirtha also means passage.
In Hindu belief system, on south side of temple representing Southern Night Sky cosmic plan, Lord
Yama is represented from Orion constellation with his two dogs (Canis major and Minor on either side
of Cosmic River). He was lord of Naraka (Underworld) and his vahana was Taurus (represented as
Buffalo or Bull) and his duty was to direct the soul to a Swarga (heaven) or return it to Bhoomi (earth)
based on human deeds (God or Bad Karma). If one’s soul were to rise to heaven after death to the
Milky Way (path of soul) it had to pass through a gate (via constellations) and again we should note
that the position of this gate(constellation) changes based on earth's axial precession.

68
Due to Earth's precession cycle, location of Pole star (Dhruva) appears to have changed from
earlier Puranic reference from tail of Shishumara (Draco) to tail of Ursa Minor (Current Polaris)
and this supported Meru concept instead of Shishumara as hub of cosmos.
VārāhaMihira who was the most famous Indian astronomer from ancient times identified North
Pole as the location of Holy Meru in his work Pancha-Siddhāntikā and same goes with the ancient
Hindu astronomical text known as the Suryasiddhanta, locates Meru as the 'Navel of the Earth'. Many
famous Buddhist and as well as Hindu temples have been built as symbolic representations of this
mountain and several myths have been associated with this holy mountain. If we refer Hindu
Puranas in particular, it describes that Gods reside at north direction. In one of reference to Lord
Brahma's day and night, it is mentioned that his one day is equivalent to one year for humans and this
appears to be based on idea that North Pole has six months of sunlight and six months of darkness,
which makes it day and night for one year. Below is reference and importance of Meru in Siddanta
Shiromani.
Most of post Vedic scriptures describe Mount Meru/Lingam as the Central Pivot of the Universe and
the entire cosmos revolves around it. 7 Sages (Big Dipper), Draco, the Sun, Moon and Stars paying
obeisance while circumambulating the Holy Mountain Meru.
Greeks referred the location of union from earth to Heaven (circumpolar constellation) with structure
of omphalos, “the navel” of the earth and they localized Omphalos (Stone of Delphi) as the central

69
point from which terrestrial life originated in ancient Greek temples of Delphi and for Hinduism, it is
referred as Linga (Union between Purusha and Prakriti).
Almost every religion has the same philosophical concept, and the ideas looks identical. Above image
shows very close similarities like milk offering rituals to Axis mundi/mandala stone structure in ancient
Greek and current Hindu religion.
You can locate most of ancient Sun temples in Tropic of Cancer (ancient Karkrekha) like Sun temples
of Orissa, Ujjain, Egypt, Ankor Wat till Mexico. All these ancient structures are perfectly aligned
to North Star and these locations supported in birth of several religions. The day of Sun Solstice when
the Sun is exactly over head in Tropic of Cancer is auspicious in every religion and similar way, you
have rath yatras/chariot festivals held during Solstices and equinox as movement of Sun God over
Zodiac.
Circumpolar constellations near South

Pole Star and Trishanku
Most of heavens, mythologies and deities in almost all religions/civilizations are associated with
constellations in Northern Sky and some visible stars from Southern sky which were visible for
civilization in Northern Hemisphere. Heavens in almost all religions lie near North Star (Saptarishis
Mandala). This gives understanding that most of ancient Vedas and Puranas was primarily developed
by civilization in Northern Hemisphere. However, we have story in Hindu mythology about Sage
Vishwamitra supporting in creation of a parallel heaven in a portion of the southern sky near South
Pole during a fight with Lord Indra when Vishwamitra's disciple Trishanku was not allowed by Indra in
Heaven (Indra Loka) located near North Pole. Trishanku corresponds to the collection of three
crosses around Crux, also known as the Southern Cross. Canopus is named after the great
seer Agastya.

70
Trishanku (दिशंकु) was king who belonged to Ishvaku dynasty. Trishanku is commonly referred to
through mention of "Trishanku's heaven". His name was Satyavarta. We find this story in Valmiki
Ramayana - Bala Kanda that could have been composed during RigVedic times.
As per Hindu Puranic scriptures, King Satyavrata as he grew old, his soul deserved ascension to the
heavens, but he wished to do so with his mortal body and requested his Guru Vasishta to perform the
needful rites to achieve this goal. Vasishta refused to perform the rituals. During his wanderings,
Trishanku met sage Vishwamitra and appealed to him for succour. Upon hearing the plight of the
king, Vishwamithra, who had an intense rivalry of Vasishta, accepted Trishanku's request and agreed
to perform the necessary rites to raise Trishanku to the heavens with his physical body.
The rituals began and with the ascetic powers of the sage, the former King Trishanku started
ascending to heaven. Upon his arrival in heaven, the Devas were alarmed by this unnatural
occurrence. Led by Indra, they refused to permit Trishanku to enter, and tossed him out. This makes
Vishwamithra upset, and Sage Vishwamitra supported in creation of a parallel heaven in a portion of
the southern sky near South Pole during a fight with Lord Indra when Vishwamitra's disciple Trishanku
was not allowed by Indra in Heaven (Indra Loka) located near North Pole. Trishanku corresponds to
the collection of three crosses around Crux, also known as the Southern Cross.
In ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, Maharishi Valmiki has also referred to Trishanku and it
mentions that Sage Vishvamitra has replicated Southerly Ursa Major in southerly direction and
remaining amidst of sages that highly reputed sage Vishvamitra further started to replicate the stars
sequentially, resorting to the southern hemisphere, as he is convulsed in anger at Indra.
For the fact, ancient puranas were composed was primarily based on looking Northern Hemisphere
skies and as of now we can never locate Southern Cross/Trishanku from ancient towns of Northern
Hemisphere. Trishanku heaven is visible only from extreme southern parts of India and similarly
Sapta Rishi (Big Dipper) pradakshina and North Pole star cannot be seen by people living in Southern
Hemisphere. Then how did Maharishi Valmiki in Ramayana, composers of Bhagavatha Purana and
other sacred scriptures mention Trishanku and the star system near South Pole. It is debatable and
some people mention that these stories of Trishanku got added later in Hindu mythology.
Modern science answers this mystery, and we get the truth to this topic when we try to stimulate
ancient sky to 4000 years back by using few astronomical stimulation tools like Stellarium, we find out
that Trishanku was visible for people from Northern Hemisphere during the time when Puranas or
Vedas was composed and as the earth's precession is getting changed, it is only in the last 1000
years that these stars in Southern sky is not been visible. Now the constellation of Trishanku lies at
the exact cardinal South which was not the case in Southern sky during 3000-2000 BCE.

71
References and Acknowledgements:

Image credit for all 27 Nakshatras goes to Torsten Bronger (Thank you so much Torsten)
Credit for all Night Sky Planetarium images: (Stellarium - https://stellarium.org/ )
Mandala concept explained using Iconography from images of Mark Schumacher-

https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/mandala1.shtml
Reference for ancient Vedas and Puranas: https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism
Mahabharata Sacred Texts: https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m06/index.htm
History of ancient Indo-Aryan society from research book of Dr. B R Ambedkar (Chief architect of
the Constitution of India) - Who Were the Shudras? -
Wikipedia : https://www.mea.gov.in/Images/attach/amb/Volume_07.pdf
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Ancient Star Myths View project

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Detailed study on ancient Indian Vedic and Puranic texts to

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Introduction - Sacred Circumpolar stars

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Considering earlier Geo-centric visualization, most of ancient scriptures describe Mount

In Hindu mythology, these circumpolar constellations are referred as Shisumara planetary

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Importance on Alignment of Temples in Cardinal directions

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Reference as per Rig Veda:

आ वामगन सुमतिवााजिनीवसू नयजववना हर्तसुा कामायंसि |

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Reference in Bhagavad-Gītā (10.29):

पपिॄणामयामा चाजमम यमः संयमिामहम ् ॥ २९॥

ॐ त्र्य॑म्बकं यजामहे सु॒ गन ्ं॑ पष्टु॒ व्ध॑नम ् ।

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

This star is also the name of its goddess-personification, who is a daughter

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Taam apashyat tato baalaam raaja putriim y ashasviniim || 3-46-5

Rohiṇīṃ pīḍayanneṣa sthito rājañśanaiścaraḥ

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Sanskrit mṛgaśiraṣa (popularly spelled Mārgaśīrṣa/Mṛgaśira) (Devanagari: मग

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

This is the birth nakshatra of Lord Rama as captured in Valmiki Ramayana.

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Rig Veda (4.40.1) mentions Brihaspati as the son of Angiras

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

The Greek constellation of Hydra is an adaptation of a Babylonian constellation:

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Magha Nakshatra is 10th out of 27 Nakshatras in Vedic Astrology.

Senayoraśivaṃ ghoraṃ kariṣyati mahāgrahaḥ

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

The common meaning of airyaman/aryaman as "member of community" is preserved in both Avestan

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Chitra Nakshatra is the 14th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology.

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Rig Veda 10, 151

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

índram mitráṃ váruṇam agním āhur / átho divyáḥ sá suparṇó garútmān

ékaṃ sád víprā bahudhâ vadanty / agníṃ yamám mātaríśvānam āhuḥ

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Uttarashadha is ruled by the Universal Gods (Vishvedevas).

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Dhanishta Nakshatra is the 23d Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology.

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND

Shatabhishak Nakshatra is the 24th Nakshatra as per Hindu astrology.

MYTHOLOGY OF NAKSHATRAS BHAGWATH, ARVIND