नक्षत्रnakṣatra

नक्षत्र (nakṣatra) is a Sanskrit word meaning a star or any heavenly body, also applied to the sun, the stars, a pearl, a star in general or the sun, a constellation or lunar asterism in the moon's path. Its 18 recorded definitions are grouped into 4 contexts, among them Lunar Mansion / Asterism, Star or General Celestial Body, Detailed Scholarly Analysis and Etymology.

Root: नक्ष् (nakṣ)
Etymology: E. णक्ष to go, Uṇādi affix अत्रन् or क्षद Sautra root, to injure, or क्षर to drop, or क्षी to waste or decay, with the negative prefix, and ष्ट्रन् affix; deriv. irr
Definitions: 18

View Declension Tables , 48 forms

Meanings by context

Lunar Mansion / Asterism

13 definitions

A lunar mansion or constellation through which the moon passes.

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

1. A heavenly body or star. 2. A constellation or lunar mansion.

— Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A star in general. 2. A lunar mansion or constellation in the moon's path. 3. A pearl.

— Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A star or asterism in the lunar zodiac. 2. A pearl.

— Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A star. 2. A lunar mansion or asterism. 3. A pearl.

— Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A star. 2. A lunar mansion or asterism. 3. A pearl.

— Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A star. 2. A lunar mansion.

— Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A star or constellation. 2. A lunar mansion.

— Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A heavenly body or star. 2. A constellation or lunar mansion.

— Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary

1. A star in general or the sun. 2. A constellation or lunar asterism in the moon's path. 3. A pearl.

नक्षत्र (nakṣatra) [Printed book page 0464-a]
Nakṣatra, am, n. (fr. the above rt. in the sense

of ‘coming or ascending;’ derived by some fr.

nakṣa = nakta + tra, i. e. guarding the night, but

this would not apply to the sun; also by some fr.

na + kṣatra, decaying ?), a star in general (also

applied to the sun), a constellation, an asterism in the

moon's path, a lunar mansion, of which, according

to the earlier reckoning, twenty-seven are enume-

rated, but in the later astrology more usually twenty-

eight, distinct in name, figure, and number of stars,

(the usual names are as follow: 1. Śraviṣṭhā or

Dhaniṣṭhā; 2. Śata-bhiṣaj; 3. Pūrva-Bhādra-

padā; 4. Uttara-Bhādrapadā; 5. Revatī; 6. Aśvinī;

7. Bharaṇī; 8. Kṛttikā; 9. Rohiṇī or Brāhmī;

10. Mṛga-śiras or Āgrahāyaṇī; 11. Ārdrā; 12.

Punar-vasū or Yāmakau; 13. Puṣya or Sidhya;
Page0464-b+ 81

14. Āśleṣā; 15. Maghā; 16. Pūrva-Phalgunī;

17. Uttara-Phalgunī; 18. Hasta; 19. Citrā; 20.

Svātī; 21. Viśākhā or Rādhā; 22. Anurādhā; 23.

Jyeṣṭhā; 24. Mūla; 25. Pūrvā Aṣāḍhā; 26.

Uttarā Aṣāḍhā; 27. Abhijit; 28. Śravaṇa. In the

Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa, Śraviṣṭhās is given for 1;

Pūrve Proṣṭha-padās for 3; Uttare Proṣṭha-padās

for 4; Aśva-yujau for 6; Apabharaṇīs or Bharaṇīs

for 7; Kṛttikās for 8; Invakās or Mṛga-śīrṣam

for 10; Bāhū and Ārdrā for 11; Tiṣyas for

13; Āśleṣās or Āśreṣās for 14; Maghās for

15; Pūrve Phalgunī or Phalgunīs for 16; Uttare

Phalgunī for 17; Niṣṭyā or in the Taittirīya-

Saṃhitā also Svātī for 20; Viśākhe for 21; Anu-

rādhās for 22; Rohiṇī or Jyeṣṭha-ghnī or Jyeṣṭhā

for 23; Mūla-barhaṇī or in the Taittirīya-Saṃhitā

also Vicṛtau for 24; Pūrvā Aṣāḍhās for 25;

Uttarā Aṣāḍhās or Abhijit for 26; Śroṇā for 27:

the names of the months Māgha, Phālguna, Caitra,

Vaiśākha, Jyeṣṭha, Āṣāḍha, Śrāvaṇa, Bhādra,

Āśvina, Kārttika, Mārgaśīrṣa, and Pauṣa were

derived from the names of the corresponding twelve

lunar mansions; according to some, certain Nakṣatras

are called dhruvāṇi, fixed, viz. Rohiṇī and the three

double asterisms Uttara-Phalgunī, Uttarā Aṣāḍhā,

and Uttara-Bhādrapadā. In the Vedas the asterisms

are considered to be the abodes of the gods or the

visible forms of pious persons after death, see Sāyaṇa

on Ṛg-veda I. 50, 2; in the later mythology the

lunar mansions are regarded as the wives of the

moon and daughters of Dakṣa; according to the

Jainas, the sun, moon, Grahas or planets, Nakṣatras,

and Tārās or stars form the Jyotiṣkas); a pearl;

[cf. deva-n° and yama-n°.] —Nakṣatra-kalpa,

as, m., N. of a Pari-śiṣṭa belonging to the Atharva-

veda and treating of the lunar mansions. —Nakṣa-

tra-kānti-vistāra, as, m. ‘spreading brilliance (like

that) of the Nakṣatras or constellations,’ the white

Yāvanāla flower. —Nakṣatra-kūrma-cāra, as, m.,

N. of a chapter of Bhaṭṭotpala's commentary to Varā-

ha-mihira's Bṛhat-Saṃhitā. —Nakṣatrakūrma-vi-

bhāga, as, m. distribution of countries supposed to

be under the dominion of the different lunar man-

sions. —Nakṣatra-graha-yuty-adhikāra, as, m.

‘the chapter of the conjunction of asterisms and

planets,’ N. of a chapter of the Sūrya-siddhānta.

—Nakṣatra-cakra, am, n. a particular diagram

for astrological calculations; the sphere of the fixed

stars; the lunar asterisms collectively. —Nakṣatra-

cintāmaṇi, is, m. ‘Nakṣatra gem’ (see cintā-

maṇi), N. of a work on lunar mansions. —Nakṣa-

tra-jā, ās, m., Ved. ‘star-born,’ son of the stars.

—Nakṣatra-tārā-rājāditya (°ja-ād°), as, m.

the sun as king of the stars and lunar asterisms;

(with Buddhists) N. of a particular kind of religious

meditation. —Nakṣatra-darśa, as, m., Ved. ‘star-

gazer,’ one who looks at the stars. —Nakṣatra-

dāna-vidhi, is, m. ‘rules about the Nakṣatra

offering,’ N. of the 153rd chapter of the Bhaviṣ-

yottara-Purāṇa. —Nakṣatra-dohada-śāntika, am,

n., N. of a chapter of the Purāṇa-sarva-sva. —Nakṣa-

tra-nātha, as, m. ‘lord of the lunar mansions,’ the

moon. —Nakṣatra-nirṇaya, as, m. ‘determin-

ation of the Nakṣatras,’ N. of a chapter of the

Tantra-sāra; N. of a chapter of the Purāṇa-sarva-sva.

—Nakṣatra-nemi, is, m. the pole star; the

moon; an epithet of Viṣṇu; (is), f. the last of

the asterisms, Revatī, containing thirty-two stars.

—Nakṣatra-nyāsa, as, m., N. of a chapter of the

Purāṇa-sarva-sva. —Nakṣatra-pa, as, m. ‘protector

or lord of the lunar asterisms,’ the moon. —Nakṣa-

tra-patha, as, m. ‘the path of the Nakṣatras or

stars,’ the starry sky. —Nakṣatra-pāṭhaka, as,

m. ‘reader of the stars,’ an astrologer. —Nakṣatra-

puruṣa, as, m. (in astrology) the figure of a man's

body on the limbs of which the various lunar aste-

risms are distributed (e. g. Mūla on the feet, Jyeṣṭhā

on the neck, &c., cf. kāla-puruṣa; in this sense

also written nakṣatra-puruṣaka); a ceremony

in which such a figure is worshipped; N. of the

eightieth chapter of the Vāmana-Purāṇa. —Nakṣa-
Page0464-c+ 80

trapuruṣa-vrata, am, n. ‘the vow Nakṣatra-

puruṣa,’ N. of the fifty-third chapter of the Matsya-

Purāṇa. —Nakṣatra-pūjita, as, ā, am, ‘star-

honoured,’ favoured by the constellations. —Nakṣa-

tra-prakaraṇa, am, n. ‘the Nakṣatra chapter,’ N.

of the second chapter of the Cintā-maṇi Śāraṇikā

by Daśa-bala. —Nakṣatra-phala, am, n. ‘the

result obtained from the observation or influence of

the lunar mansions,’ N. of a work on the lunar

mansions. —Nakṣatra-bhakti, is, f. ‘distribution

of the Nakṣatras or explanation of the relation in

which they stand to each other,’ N. of the fifteenth

Adhyāya of Varāha-mihira's Bṛhat-Saṃhitā; [cf.

nakṣatra-vyūha.] —Nakṣatra-mārga, as, m.

the path of the Nakṣatras. —Nakṣatra-mālā, f. a

ring or group of stars; the table of the asterisms in

the moon's path, the asterisms collectively; a necklace

containing twenty-seven pearls; a kind of dance.

—Nakṣatra-yājaka, as, ā, am, offering oblations

to the lunar mansions; [cf. graha-yajña.] —Nakṣa-

tra-yoga, as, m. the conjunction of the moon with

the lunar mansions. —Nakṣatra-yogin, ī, inī, i,

connected with the lunar mansions; (inyas), f. pl.

the chief stars in the lunar asterisms. —Nakṣatra-

rāja, as, m. ‘the king of the asterisms,’ the moon;

N. of a Bodhi-sattva. —Nakṣatrarāja-vikrīḍita,

am, n. ‘moon-sport,’ N. of a particular kind of

abstract contemplation. —Nakṣatra-loka, as, m.

the starry region, the firmament; (ās), m. pl. the

world of the Nakṣatras. —Nakṣatra-vartman, a,

n. ‘the path of the Nakṣatras,’ the sky. —Nakṣa-

tra-vidyā, f. ‘star-knowledge,’ astronomy. —Nakṣa-

tra-vīthī, f. the path of the Nakṣatras. —Nakṣatra-

vṛṣṭi, is, f. ‘star-shower,’ falling or shooting stars.

—Nakṣatra-vyūha, as, m. = nakṣatra-bhakti,

q. v. —Nakṣatra-śavas, ās, ās, as, Ved. equal to

the Nakṣatras in number?; (Sāy.) going to the

gods. —Nakṣatra-śuddhi-prakaraṇa, am, n., N.

of the first chapter of the Vivāha-vṛndāvana by Keśa-

vārka, a work on the different lunar mansions re-

garded as favourable or unfavourable to marriage.

—Nakṣatra-samuccaya, as, m. ‘the assemblage

of the Nakṣatras,’ N. of an astrological work by Lalla-

vārāha-suta. —Nakṣatra-sūcaka, as, m. ‘star-indi-

cator,’ an astrologer. —Nakṣatreśa (°ra-īśa), as,

m. ‘lord of the Nakṣatras,’ the moon. —Nakṣatre-

ṣṭakā (°ra-iṣ°), f., Ved., N. of certain sacrificial

bricks. —Nakṣatreṣṭi (°ra-iṣ°), is, f. a sacrifice

or oblation to the asterisms. [ID=23747]

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)

A lunar mansion or asterism.

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)

lunar mansion

नक्षत्र (nakṣatra) [Printed book page 496-2]
*Nakṣatra¹, mostly pl. (°āṇi) (“lunar mansions”): I, 2581

(°yoginyaḥ, sc. the twenty-seven wives of Soma, the daughters

of Dakṣa), 2928 (cakārānyañca lokaṃ vai kruddho n°sampadā |

Pratiśravaṇapūrvāṇi n°āṇi cakāra yaḥ, sc. Viśvāmitra); II,

443 (in the palace of Brahmán), 986 (sg.), 1322 (°āṇām

ivoḍurāṭ), 1395 (°āṇāṃ mukhaṃ candraḥ); III, 13100

(śubhāni), 15235 (sg.), 16198 (śaśalakṣaṇaṃ graha-n°-tārābhir

anuyātaṃ); IV, 1383 (uttarābhyāṃ Phalgunībhyāṃ n°ābhyāṃ);

V, †818 (°yogān), †1905 (°yogeṣu), 4753 (°air iva candramāḥ,

sc. parivṛtaḥ); VI, 211 (candramāś ca san°aḥ), 297 (do.);

VII, 161 (°āṇām iva śaśī), 2343 (°dakṣiṇāḥ); VIII, 3894

(°air iva candramāḥ, sc. parivṛtaḥ); IX, 1834 (°āṇīva sarvāṇi

Savitā (C. sahitā) rātrīsaṅkṣaye…nāśayiṣyāmi), 1967

(°gaṇaiḥ parikīrṇo niśācaraḥ), 2014 (°yoganiratāḥ, the twenty-

seven wives of Soma, the daughters of Dakṣa), 2017

(°ākhyāḥ = do.), 3126 (°air iva saṃpūrṇo vṛto niśākaraḥ);

XII, 1373 (°air iva candramāḥ, sc. parivṛtaḥ), 1922 (do.),

2261 (vaṃśaś ca n°āṇāṃ), 3707 (tithin°pūjitaḥ), 4499

(īśaṃ…n°āṇāṃ niśākaraṃ), 4586 (°āṇīva candramāḥ,

sc. adhitiṣṭhāmi), 6734 (sg.), 6735 (āsureṣu), †7372 (°gatiṃ),

10048 (°śakraṃ), 10923 (sg.), ††13219 (°ākhyāṃ gatāsu, sc.

the twenty-seven wives of Soma, daughters of Dakṣa);

Page497-a+ 63

XIII, 912 (°āṇāñ ca candramāḥ, sc. asi, sc. Śiva), 1528

(°vidhiyogena), 2173 (°āṇīva candramāḥ, sc. adhitiṣṭhāmi),

3252 (°yogasya…dānakalpaṃ), 3288 (°yogataḥ), 5018

(yogena), 5082 (sg.), 6052 (yogena), 6162 (do.), 7386 (°yogāḥ;

identified with Kṛṣṇa), 7499 (identified with Śiva); XIV,

1175 (adhipaḥ…n°āṇāñ ca candramāḥ), 1906 (sg.), †1910

(do.), 2513 (do.); XVI, 48 (sg.).—Do.² = Śiva (1000 names¹).

[ID=7520]

— Index to the Names in the Mahabharata

A star or lunar mansion.

— The Purana Index

Star or General Celestial Body

3 definitions

a star or any heavenly body

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

also applied to the sun

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

the stars

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Detailed Scholarly Analysis and Etymology

1 definition

star, lunar mansion

नक्षत्र (nakṣatra) [Printed book page 1-409]
Nakṣatra is a word of obscure origin and derivation. The

Indian interpreters already show a great divergence of opinion

as to its primary meaning. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa¹ re-

solves it into na-kṣatra (‘no power’), explaining it by a legend.

The Nirukta² refers it to the root nakṣ, ‘obtain,’ following the

Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa.³ Aufrecht⁴ and Weber⁵ derived it from

nakta-tra, ‘guardian of night,’ and more recently⁶ the derivation

from nak-kṣatra, ‘having rule over night,’ seems to be gaining

acceptance. The generic meaning of the word therefore seems

to be ‘star.’

The Nakṣatras as Stars in the Rigveda and Later. — The sense

of ‘star’ appears to be adequate for all or nearly all the passages

in which Nakṣatra occurs in the Rigveda.⁷ The same sense

occurs in the later Saṃhitās also: the sun and the Nakṣatras are

mentioned together,⁸ or the sun, the moon, and the Nakṣatras,⁹

or the moon and the Nakṣatras,¹⁰ or the Nakṣatras alone;¹¹
Page1-410+ 55

but there is no necessity to attribute to the word the sense of

‘lunar mansion’ in these passages.

On the other hand, the names of at least three of the

Nakṣatras in the later sense occur in the Rigveda. Tiṣya,¹²

however, does not seem to be mentioned as a lunar mansion.

With Aghās (plur.) and Arjunī (dual)¹³ the case is different:

it seems probable that they are the later lunar mansions called

Maghās (plur.) and Phalgunī (dual). The names appear to

have been deliberately changed in the Rigveda, and it must be

remembered that the hymn in which they occur, the wedding

hymn of Sūryā, has no claim to great age.¹⁴ Ludwig¹⁵ and

Zimmer¹⁶ have seen other references to the Nakṣatras as

27 in the Rigveda,¹⁷ but these seem most improbable. Nor

do the adjectives revatī (‘rich’) and punarvasā (‘bringing

wealth again’) in another hymn¹⁸ appear to refer to the

Nakṣatras.

The Nakṣatras as Lunar Mansions. — In several passages of the

later Saṃhitās the connexion of the moon and the Nakṣatras

is conceived of as a marriage union. Thus in the Kāṭhaka¹⁹

and Taittirīya Saṃhitās²⁰ it is expressly stated that Soma was

wedded to the mansions, but dwelt only with Rohiṇī; the

others being angry, he had ultimately to undertake to live with

them all equally. Weber²¹ hence deduced that the Nakṣatras

were regarded as of equal extent, but this is to press the texts

unduly, except in the sense of approximate equality. The

number of the mansions is not stated as 27 in the story told in

the two Saṃhitās: the Taittīriya has 33, and the Kāṭhaka no
Page1-411+ 56

number; but 27 appears as their number in the list which is

found in the Taittirīya Saṃhitā²² and elsewhere.²³ The

number 28 is much less well attested: in one passage of the

Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa²⁴ Abhijit is practically marked as a new

comer, though in a later book,²⁵ in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā,²⁶

and in the Atharvaveda list,²⁷ it has found acceptance. It is

perfectly possible that 28 is the earlier number, and that Abhijit

dropped out because it was faint, or too far north, or because

27 was a more mystic (3×3×3) number: it is significant that

the Chinese Sieou and the Arabic Manāzil are 28 in number.²⁸

Weber,²⁹ however, believes that 27 is the older number in

India.

The meaning of the number is easily explained when it is

remembered that a periodic month occupies something between

27 and 28 days, more nearly the former number. Such a month

is in fact recognized in the Lāṭyāyana³⁰ and Nidāna Sūtras³¹

as consisting of 27 days, 12 months making a year of 324 days,

a Nakṣatra year, or with an intercalary month, a year of

351 days. The Nidāna Sūtra³² makes an attempt to introduce

the Nakṣatra reckoning into the civil or solar (sāvana) year

of 360 days, for it holds that the sun spends 13(1/3) days in

each Nakṣatra (13(1/3)×27 = 360). But the month of 27 or

28 days plays no part in the chronological calculations of the

Veda.³³

The Names of the Nakṣatras. — In addition to the two men-

tioned in the Rigveda, the earlier Atharvaveda³⁴ gives the
Page1-412+ 61

names of Jyeṣṭhaghnī³⁵ (the later Jyeṣṭhā) and Vicṛtau,³⁶ which

are mentioned as in close connexion, and of Revatīs (plural)

and Kṛttikās.³⁷ With reference to possible times for the

ceremony of the Agnyādhāna, or ‘laying of the sacred fires,’

the Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā,³⁸ the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā,³⁹ and the

Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa⁴⁰ mention the Nakṣatras called Kṛttikās,

Rohiṇī, Phalgunyas, Hasta; the latter Brāhmaṇa adds Punar-

vasū, and in an additional remark⁴¹ excludes Pūrve Phalgunī

in favour of Uttare Phalgunī. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa⁴²

adds Mṛgaśīrṣa and Citrā as possibilities. On the other hand,

Punarvasū is recommended by all authorities⁴³ as suitable for

the Punarādheya, ‘relaying of the sacred fires,’ which takes

place if the first fire has failed to effect the aim of its existence,

the prosperity of the sacrificer.⁴⁴ The Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā,⁴⁵

however, allows Anurādhās also.

In the ceremony of the Agnicayana, or ‘piling of the fire-

altar,’ the bricks are assumed to be equal in number to the

Nakṣatras. The bricks number 756, and they are equated to

27 Nakṣatras multiplied by 27 secondary Nakṣatras, reckoned

as 720 (instead of 729), with the addition of 36 days, the length

of an intercalary month. Nothing can be usefully derived

from this piece of priestly nonsense.⁴⁶ But in connexion with

this ceremony the Yajurveda Saṃhitās⁴⁷ enumerate the 27
Page1-413+ 50

Nakṣatras, and these lists⁴⁸ may be given in extenso as

follows:

(C1)Taittirīya Saṃhitā. (C2)Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhita. (C3)Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā.

(C1)1. Kṛttikās (fem. plur.) ... (C2)Kṛttikās ... ... ... (C3)Kṛttikās

(C1)2. Rohiṇī ... ... ... (C2)Rohiṇī ... ... ... (C3)Rohiṇī

(C1)3. Mṛgaśīrṣa (neut.) ... (C2)Invagā ... ... ... (C3)Invakā

(C1)4. Ārdrā ... ... ... (C2)Bāhu ... ... ... (C3)Bāhu

(C1)5. Punarvasū (dual) ... (C2)Punarvasu (sing.) ... ... (C3)Punarvasu

(C1)6. Tiṣya ... ... ... (C2)Tiṣya ... ... ... (C3)Tiṣya

(C1)7. Āśreṣās (fem. plur.) ... (C2)Āśleṣās(plur.; Pada Aśleṣā) (C3)Āśleṣās (or Aśleṣās)

(C1)8. Maghās (fem. plur.) ... (C2)Maghās ... ... ... (C3)Maghās

(C1)9. Phalgunī (fem. dual) ... (C2)Phalgunīs (plur.) ... ... (C3)Phalgunis

(C1)10. Phalgunī (fem. dual) ...(C2)Phalgunīs (plur.) ... ... (C3)Uttarāḥa Phalgunīs

(C1)11. Hasta ... ... ... (C2)Hasta ... ... ... (C3)Hastau (dual)

(C1)12. Citrā ... ... ... (C2)Citrā ... ... ... (C3)Citrā

(C1)13. Svātī ... ... ... (C2)Niṣṭya (neut.) ... ... (C3)Niṣṭyā

(C1)14. Viśākhe (fem. dual) ... (C2)Viśākha (neut. sing.) ... (C3)Viśākhā (fem. sing.)

(C1)15. Anūrādhās (plur.) ... (C2)Anūrādhā (Pada Anu-Anūrādhās (masc.

rādhā) (C3)Anūrādhās (masc.

plur.)

(C1)16. Rohiṇī ... ... ... (C2)Jyeṣṭhā ... ... ... (C3)Jyeṣṭhā

(C1)17. Vicṛtau ... ... ... (C2)Mūla (neut.) ... ... (C3)Mūla

(C1)18. Aṣāḍhās (fem. plur.) ... (C2)Aṣāḍhās ... ... ... (C3)Aṣāḍhās

(C1)19. Aṣāḍhās (fem. plur.) ... (C2)Aṣāḍhās ... ... ...(C3)Uttarā Aṣāḍhās

(C1)20. (C2)Abhijit ... ... ...

(C1)21. Śroṇā ... ... ... (C2)Śroṇā ... ... ... (C3)Aśvattha

(C1)22. Śraviṣṭhās (plur.) ... (C2)Śraviṣṭhās ... ... ... (C3)Śraviṣṭhās

(C1)23. Śatabhiṣaj ... ... (C2)Śatabhiṣaj ... ... ... (C3)Śatabhiṣaj

(C1)24. Proṣṭhapadās (masc. plur.) (C2)Proṣṭhapadās ... ... (C3)Proṣṭhapadās

(C1)25. Proṣṭhapadās(masc. plur.) (C2)Proṣṭhapadās ... ... (C3)Uttare Proṣṭhapadās

(C1)26. Revatī ... ... ... (C2)Revatī ... ... ... (C3)Revatī

(C1)27. Aśvayujau (dual) ... (C2)Aśvayujau ... ... ... (C3)Aśvayujau

(C1)28. Apabharaṇīs (fem. plur.) (C2)Bharaṇīs ... ... ... (C3)Apabharaṇīs

The Taittirīya Brahmaṇa⁴⁹ has a list of the Nakṣatras

which agrees generally with the list of the Saṃhitās. It runs

as follows: Kṛttikās, Rohiṇī, Invakās, Bāhū (dual), Tiṣya,

Āśleṣās, Maghās, Pūrve Phalgunī, Uttare Phalgunī, Hasta,

Citrā, Niṣṭyā, Viśākhe, Anūrādhās, Rohiṇī, Mūlabarhaṇī,

Pūrvā Aṣāḍhās, Uttarā Aṣāḍhās, Śroṇā, Śraviṣṭhās, Śatabhiṣaj,

Pūrve Proṣṭhapadās, Uttare Proṣṭhapadās, Revatī, Aśvayujau,

Apabharaṇīs. In a later book,⁵⁰ however, the list grows to 28,
Page1-414+ 50

and the full moon is inserted after number 14, and the new

moon after number 28, as an attempt to bring the Nākṣatra

(lunar) month into accordance with the Sāvana (solar) month

of 30 days. The names in this second list are as in the

Saṃhitās with the following exceptions. The seven stars of

the Kṛttikās are named as Ambā, Dulā, Nitatnī, Abhrayantī,

Meghayantī, Varṣayantī, Cupuṇīkā, names found also in the

Taittirīya⁵¹ and Kāṭhaka Saṃhitās.⁵² Beside Mṛgaśīrṣa, Invakās

are also mentioned.⁵³ Then come Ārdrā, Punarvasū, Tiṣya,

Āśreṣās, Maghās (beside which Anaghās, Agadās, and Arun-

dhatīs are also mentioned), Phalgunyas (but elsewhere in the

dual, Phalgunyau),⁵⁴ Phalgunyas, Hasta, Citrā, Niṣṭyā, Viśākhe,

Anūrādhās, Jyeṣṭhā, Mūla, Aṣāḍhās, Aṣāḍhās, Abhijit, Śronā,

Śraviṣṭhās, Śatabhiṣaj, Proṣṭhapadās, Proṣṭhapadās, Revatī,

Aśvayujau, Bharaṇyas, but also Apabharaṇīs.⁵⁵ Abhijit, which

occurs also in an earlier part of the Brāhmaṇa,⁵⁶ is perhaps

interpolated. But Weber's⁵⁷ argument that Abhijit is out of

place in this list because Brāhmaṇa is here mentioned as the

28th Nakṣatra, loses some force from the fact (of course unknown

to him) that the list in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā⁵⁸ contains

28 Nakṣatras, including Abhijit, and adds Brāhmaṇa at the end

as another.

In another passage⁵⁹ the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa divides the

Nakṣatras into two sets, the Deva Nakṣatras and the Yama

Nakṣatras, being 1-14 and 15-27 (with the omission of Abhijit)

respectively. This division corresponds with one in the third

book of the Brāhmaṇa⁶⁰ where the days of the light half of

the month and those of the dark half are equated with the

Nakṣatras. The Brāhmaṇa treats the former series as south,

the latter as north; but this has no relation to facts, and

can only be regarded as a ritual absurdity.

The late nineteenth book of the Atharvaveda contains a

list⁶¹ of the Nakṣatras, including Abhijit. The names here
Page1-415+ 53

given are: Kṛttikās, Rohiṇī, Mṛgaśiras, Ārdrā, Punarvasū,

Puṣya, Āśleṣās, Maghās, Pūrvā Phalgunyau (sic),⁶² Hasta,

Citrā, Svāti (masc.),⁶³ Viśākhe, Anurādhā,⁶⁴ Jyeṣṭhā, Mūla,

Pūrvā Aṣāḍhās,⁶⁵ Uttarā Aṣāḍhās, Abhijit, Śravaṇa, Śraviṣṭhās,

Śatabhiṣaj, Dvayā Proṣṭhapadā, Revatī, Aśvayujau, Bharaṇyas.

The Position of the Nakṣatras. — There is nothing definite in

Vedic literature regarding the position of most of the Nakṣatras,

but the later astronomy precisely locates all of them, and its

statements agree on the whole satisfactorily with what is said

in the earlier texts, though Weber⁶⁶ was inclined to doubt this.

The determinations adopted below are due to Whitney⁶⁷ in his

notes on the Sūrya Siddhānta.
[Footnote: 1) ii. 1, 2, 18. 19. Cf. a citation in

Nirukta, iii. 20.]

[Footnote: 2) Loc. cit., and of. St. Petersburg

Dictionary, s.v.]

[Footnote: 3) i. 5, 2, 5.]

[Footnote: 4) Kuhn's Zeitschrift, 8, 71, 72. So

Eggeling, Sacred Books of the East, 12,

288, n. 2.]

[Footnote: 5) Naxatra, 2, 268.]

[Footnote: 6) Macdonell, Vedic Grammar, p. 74.

line 8.]

[Footnote: 7) See i. 50, 2; vii. 86, 1; x. 68, 11;

111, 7; used of the sun itself, vi. 67, 6

(as masculine); vii. 81, 2; x. 88, 13.

The sun is allied with them, iii. 54, 19.

Nakṣatra-śavas, ‘equalling the multitude

of the stars,’ is used as an epithet in

x. 21, 10. Even in x. 85, 2, where

Soma, on the lap of the Nakṣatras, is

mentioned, ‘stars’ would do; but, as

this hymn refers to two of the later

Nakṣatras, ‘lunar mansions’ may well

be meant.]

[Footnote: 8) Av. vi. 10, 3; Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā,

xxiii. 43; Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa, x. 1, 1;

Taittirīya Āraṇyaka, iv. 10, 12.]

[Footnote: 9) Av. vi. 128, 3; xv. 6, 2; Taittirīya

Saṃhitā, i. 8, 13, 3; Vājasaneyi Saṃ-

hitā, xxii. 29, etc.]

[Footnote: 10) Av. v. 24, 10; vi. 86, 2; Taittirīya

Saṃhitā, iii. 4, 5, 1; Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā,

xxxv. 15; xxxvii. 12; Vājasaneyi Saṃ-

hitā, xxx. 21; xxxix. 2, etc.]

[Footnote: 11) Taittirīya Saṃhitā, i. 2, 2, 2; ii 6,

2, 6, etc; Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, xxx. 21

etc.; Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā, Aśvamedha,

v. 5, and very often elsewhere.]

[Footnote: 12) Rv. v. 59, 13; x. 64, 8; Weber,

2, 290.]

[Footnote: 13) x. 85, 13; Weber, 364-367, and

see references under Aghā and Arjunī.]

[Footnote: 14) Cf. Arnold, Vedic Metre, 322.]

[Footnote: 15) Translation of the Rigveda, 3,

184 et seq.]

[Footnote: 16) Altindisches Leben, 354. Cf. Tilak,

Orion, 158.]

[Footnote: 17) i. 162, 18 (the 34 ribs of the horse

= moon, sun, 5 planets, 27 Nakṣatras);

x. 55, 3 (34 lights).]

[Footnote: 18) x. 19, 1.]

[Footnote: 19) xi. 3 (Indische Studien, 3, 467).]

[Footnote: 20) ii. 3, 5, 1-3. Cf. also iii. 4, 7. 1;

Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā, xviii. 14; Vājasaneyi

Saṃhitā, xviii. 40; Śatapatha Brāh-

maṇa, ix. 4, 1, 9; Ṣaḍviṃśa Brāhmaṇa,

iii. 12. The dwelling of the moon in

a Nakṣatra is mentioned, Śatapatha

Brāhmaṇa, x. 5, 4, 17; Nirukta, v. 21;

a Mantra in Kauśika Sūtra, 135;

Taittirīya Āraṇyaka, i. 11, 6; v. 12,

1, etc.]

[Footnote: 21) Op. cit., 277. Cf. the later system

of the Siddhāntas, Whitney, Oriental

and Linguistic Studies, 2, 372, and see

Tilak, Orion, 33 et seq.]

[Footnote: 22) iv. 4, 10, 1-3.]

[Footnote: 23) Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā, xxxix. 13, but

Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, ii. 13, 20, has 28;

Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, i. 5, 1, 1-5, in

lists of Nakṣatras. See also Vājasaneyi

Saṃhitā, ix, 7; Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa,

x. 5, 4, 5; Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa,

xxiii, 23; Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa, v. 1;

Sāṅkhāyana Āraṇyaka, ii. 16; Tait-

tirīya Saṃhitā, vii. 1, 2, 2; Jyotiṣa,

18. 20 (verse 34 has 28, but it is inter-

polated); Śāṅkhāyana Śrauta Sūtra,

xiv. 78, etc.]

[Footnote: 24) i. 5, 2, 3. Cf. Weber, 1, 360, n.]

[Footnote: 25) iii. 1, 2, 6.]

[Footnote: 26) ii. 13, 20.]

[Footnote: 27) xix. 7, 1; 8, 1 = Nakṣatrakalpa,

10. 26. So in Śāṅkhāyana Gṛhya

Sūtra, i. 26.]

[Footnote: 28) Whitney, op. cit., 409-411; Journal

of the American Oriental Society, 8, 390.]

[Footnote: 29) Op. cit., 2, 280; Indische Studien,

9, 446; 10, 223, 224, 226, 227.]

[Footnote: 30) iv. 8, 1 et seq.]

[Footnote: 31) v. 11. 12. See Weber, 2, 281-

288.]

[Footnote: 32) Thibaut, Astronomic, Astrologie und

Mathematik, 7.]

[Footnote: 33) See Māsa.]

[Footnote: 34) l. e., books i. xvi.]

[Footnote: 35) vi. 110, 2. This constellation,

‘the slayer of the oldest,’ was ap-

parently of evil omen. Cf. Taittirīya

Brāhmaṇa, i. 5, 2, 8. Whitney, Trans-

lation of the Atharvaveda, 361, equates

it with Antares or Cor Scorpionis, with

or without (greek) σ, τ, Scorpionis (Jyaīṣṭhaghnī

is a misreading in the edition of Whitney

and Roth).]

[Footnote: 36) vi. 110, 2. It is also mentioned

in ii. 8, 1; iii. 7, 4; vi. 121, 3. It is

identified by the commentators with

Mūla, ‘the root,’ the two stars, (greek) λ and (greek) υ Scorpionis, which form the sting of

the Scorpion's tail; Whitney, op. cit., 48.]

[Footnote: 37) ix. 7, 3.]

[Footnote: 38) viii. 1.]

[Footnote: 39) i. 6, 9.]

[Footnote: 40) i. 1, 2, 1-6.]

[Footnote: 41) i. 1, 2, 8.]

[Footnote: 42) ii. 1, 2, 1.]

[Footnote: 43) Taittirīya Saṃhitā, i. 5, 1, 4;

Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, i. 7, 2; Kāṭhaka

Saṃhitā, viii. 15; Satapatha Brāh-

maṇa, ii. 1, 2, 10; Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa,

i. 3.]

[Footnote: 44) Hillebrandt, Rituallitteratur, 109.]

[Footnote: 45) viii. 15; Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā.

i. 7, 2.]

[Footnote: 46) Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, x. 5, 4, 5.

See Weber, 2, 298, with whom Eggel-

ing, Sacred Books of the East, 42, 383,

n. 1, concurs. For a wild speculation,

see Shamasastry, Gavam ayana, 122

et seq.]

[Footnote: 47) Taittiriya Samhitā, iv. 4, 10. 1-3;

Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, i. 13, 20; Kātnaka

Saṃhitā, xxxix. 13.]

[Footnote: 48) The forms and genders are given

as accepted by Weber, 2, 300. The

latter depend on references to the names

of the Nakṣatras in other passages

in some cases — e.g., Anūrādheṣu, in

Kāṭhaka, viii. 15, shows that the name

is a masculine in that Saṃhitā.]

[Footnote: 49) i. 5, 1]

[Footnote: 50) iii. 1, 4, 1 et seq. Cf. iii. 1, 1-2.]

[Footnote: 51) iv. 4, 5, 1.]

[Footnote: 52) xl. 4.]

[Footnote: 53) iii. 1, 4, 3.]

[Footnote: 54) iii. 1, 4, 9.]

[Footnote: 55) iii. 1, 5, 14.]

[Footnote: 56) i. 5, 2, 3.]

[Footnote: 57) Op. cit., 305, 306.]

[Footnote: 58) ii. 13, 20.]

[Footnote: 59) i. 5, 2, 7. Cf. Tilak, Orion, 41

et seq.]

[Footnote: 60) iii. 1, 2. Cf. Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa,

iv. 12, with Vināyaka's note.]

[Footnote: 61) xix. 7, 1 et seq. The number is

given as 28 in xix. 7, 1 (as emended)

and 8, 2. Cf. Lanman's introductory

note to the former hymn in Whitney's

Translation, 906, 907.]

[Footnote: 62) The reading Pūrvā Phalgunyau

must be wrong; perhaps Dvaye (cf.

verse 5) or Pūrve should be read. See

Lanman in Whitney, Translation of

the Atharvaveda, 908. The Uttare

Phalgunyau are omitted.]

[Footnote: 63) Svātī should, no doubt, be read;

but for the Svāti (sie) of all the manu-

scripts (Saṃhitā and Pada), cf. the

navasrakti of the Aitareya Āraṇyaka,

ii. 3, 6, with Keith's note.]

[Footnote: 64) See Lanman in Whitney, 908.]

[Footnote: 65) Lanman, ibid., 909. reads Pūrvā

Aṣāḍhā and Uttarā Aṣāḍhā; Whitney

reads Pūrvā and Uttarā Aṣāḍhās. The

manuscripts have Pūrvā and Uttare,

which cannot stand.]

[Footnote: 66) Op. cit., 2, 367 et seq.]

[Footnote: 67) Oriental and Linguis'tic Essays, 2,

350 et seq.]
[ID=1474]

— The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects

Pearl

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— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

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Definitions on this page come from 13 works: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Index to the Names in the Mahabharata, Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary, Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872), Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary, The Purana Index, The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon.