List of Nakshatras
In Ancient Indian astronomy, there are 27 nakshatras , or sectors along the ecliptic. A list of them is first found in the Vedanga Jyotisha, a text dated to the final centuries BCE[citation needed]. The Nakṣatra system predates the influence of Hellenistic astronomy on Vedic tradition, which became prevalent from about the 2nd century CE. There are various systems of enumerating the Nakṣatra-s;[clarification needed] although there are 27-28 days to a sidereal month, by custom only 27 days are used. The following list gives the corresponding regions of sky.[1] Months in the modern Indian national calendar -- despite still carrying names that derive from the nakshatras -- do not signify any material correlation. It stands to reason that during the original naming of these months -- whenever that happened -- they were indeed based on the nakshatras that coincided with them in some manner. The modern Indian national calendar is a solar calendar, much like the Gregorian calendar wherein solstices and equinoxes fall on the same date(s) every year.
No. | Name | Associated stars | Description | Image |
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1 | Ashvini - अश्विनी "physician to the Gods" |
β "Sheratan" and γ "Mesarthim" Arietis |
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2 | Bharani - भरणी "the bearer" |
35, 39 "Lilii Borea", and 41 Arietis |
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3 | Krittika - कृत्तिका an old name of the Pleiades; personified as the nurses of Kārttikeya, a son of Shiva. |
Pleiades | ||
4 | Rohini - रोहिणी "the red one", a name of Aldebaran. Also known as brāhmī |
Aldebaran |
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5 | Mrigashira - मृगशिर "the deer's head". Also known as āgrahāyaṇī |
λ "Meissa", φ Orionis | ||
6 | Ardra - आर्द्रा "the storm god" |
Betelgeuse |
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7 | Punarvasu - पुनर्वसु (dual) "the two restorers of goods", also known as yamakau "the two chariots" |
Castor and Pollux |
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8 | Pushya - पुष्य "the nourisher", also known as sidhya or tiṣya |
γ "Asellus Borealis", δ "Asellus Australis" and θ Cancri | ||
9 | Āshleshā - आश्ळेषा/आश्लेषा "the embrace" |
δ, ε "Āshleshā Nakshatra", η, ρ, and σ "Minchir" Hydrae |
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10 | Maghā - मघा "the bountiful" |
Regulus |
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11 | Pūrva Phalgunī - पूर्व फाल्गुनी "first reddish one" |
δ "Zosma" and θ "Chertan" Leonis |
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12 | Uttara Phalgunī - उत्तर फाल्गुनी "second reddish one" |
Denebola |
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13 | Hasta - हस्त "the hand" |
α "Alchiba", β "Kraz", γ, δ "Algorab" and ε "Minkar" Corvi | ||
14 | Chitra - चित्रा "the bright one", a name of Spica |
Spica |
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15 | Svati - स्वाति "Su-Ati (Sanskrit) Very good" name of Arcturus |
Arcturus |
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16 | Vishakha - विशाखा "forked, having branches"; also known as rādhā "the gift" |
α "Zubenelgenubi", β "Zubeneschamali", γ and ι Librae | ||
17 | Anuradha - अनुराधा "following rādhā" |
β "Acrab", δ "Dschubba" and π "Fang" Scorpionis |
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18 | Jyeshtha - ज्येष्ठा "the eldest, most excellent" |
α "Antares", σ, and τ "Paikauhale" Scorpionis |
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19 | Mula - मूल "the root" |
ε "Larawag", ζ, η, θ "Sargas", ι, κ, λ "Shaula", μ and ν "Jabbah" Scorpionis |
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20 | Purva Ashadha - पूर्व आषाढा "first of the āṣāḍhā", āṣāḍhā "the invincible one" being the name of a constellation |
δ "Kaus Media" and ε "Kaus Australis" Sagittarii |
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21 | Uttara Ashadha - उत्तर आषाढा "Later invincible" |
ζ "Ascella" and σ "Nunki" Sagittarii |
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22 | Shravana - श्रवण |
α "Altair", β and γ Aquilae |
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23 | Dhanishta - श्रविष्ठा/धनिष्ठा "most famous", also Shravishthā "swiftest" |
α "Sualocin" to δ Delphini |
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24 | Shatabhisha - शतभिष/शततारका "requiring a hundred physicians" |
γ Aquarii "Sadachbia" |
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25 | Purva Bhadrapada - पूर्व भाद्रपदा/पूर्व प्रोष्ठपदा "the first of the blessed feet" |
α "Markab" and β Pegasi |
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26 | Uttara Bhādrapadā - उत्तर भाद्रपदा/उत्तर प्रोष्ठपदा "the second of the blessed feet" |
γ "Algenib" Pegasi and α "Alpheratz" Andromedae |
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27 | Revati - रेवती "prosperous" |
ζ Piscium "Revati" |
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28 | Abhijit - अभिजित "Invincible" |
Lyra |
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Padas (quarters)
[edit]The 27 Nakshatras cover 13°20’ of the ecliptic each. Each Nakshatra is also divided into quarters or padas of 3°20’, and the below table lists the appropriate starting sound to name the child. The 27 nakshatras, each with 4 padas, give 108, which is the number of beads in a Japa mala, indicating all the elements (ansh) of Vishnu:
# | Name | Pada 1 | Pada 2 | Pada 3 | Pada 4 |
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1 | Ashwini (अश्विनि) | चु Chu | चे Che | चो Cho | ला La |
2 | Bharani (भरणी) | ली Li | लू Lu | ले Le | लो Lo |
3 | Krittika (कृत्तिका) | अ A | ई I | उ U | ए E |
4 | Rohini (रोहिणी) | ओ O | वा Vaa/Baa | वी Vi/Bi | वु Vu/Bu |
5 | Mrigashīrsha(मृगशीर्ष) | वे Ve/Be | वो Vo/Bo | का Ka | की Kii |
6 | Ārdrā (आर्द्रा) | कु Ku | घ Gha | ङ Ng/Na | छ Chha |
7 | Punarvasu (पुनर्वसु) | के Ke | को Ko | हा Ha | ही Hii |
8 | Pushya (पुष्य) | हु Hu | हे He | हो Ho | ड ḍa |
9 | Āshleshā (अश्लेषा) | डी ḍi | डू ḍu | डे ḍe | डो ḍo |
10 | Maghā (मघा) | मा Ma | मी Mi | मू Mu | मे Me |
11 | Pūrva or Pūrva Phalgunī (पूर्व फल्गुनी) | मो Mo | टा ṭa | टी ṭii | टू ṭuu |
12 | Uttara or Uttara Phalgunī (उत्तर फल्गुनी) | टे ṭe | टो ṭo | पा Pa | पी Pi |
13 | Hasta (हस्त) | पू Pu | ष Sha | ण Na | ठ ṭha |
14 | Chitra (चित्रा) | पे Pe | पो Po | रा Ra | री Ri |
15 | Svātī (स्वाति) | रू Ru | रे Re | रो Ro | ता Ta |
16 | Viśākhā (विशाखा) | ती Ti | तू Tu | ते Te | तो To |
17 | Anurādhā (अनुराधा) | ना Na | नी Ni | नू Nu | ने Ne |
18 | Jyeshtha (ज्येष्ठा) | नो No | या Ya | यी Yi | यू Yu |
19 | Mula (मूल) | ये Ye | यो Yo | भा Bha | भी Bhi |
20 | Pūrva Āshādhā (पूर्व आषाढ़) | भू Bhu | धा Dha | फा Bha/Pha | ढा Da |
21 | Uttara Āṣāḍhā (उत्तर आषाढ़) | भे Bhe | भो Bho | जा Ja | जी Ji |
22 | Śrāvaṇa (श्रावण) | खी Ju/Khii | खू Je/Khu | खे Jo/Khe | खो Gha/Kho |
23 | Śrāviṣṭha (श्रविष्ठा) or Dhanishta | गा Ga | गी Gii | गु Gu | गे Ge |
24 | Shatabhisha (शतभिषा)or Śatataraka | गो Go | सा Sa | सी Si | सू Su |
25 | Pūrva Bhādrapadā (पूर्व भाद्रपद) | से Se | सो So | दा Da | दी Di |
26 | Uttara Bhādrapadā (उत्तर भाद्रपद) | दू Du | थ Tha | झ Jha | ञ ña |
27 | Revati (रेवती) | दे De | दो Do | च Cha | ची Chi |
Names in Indian and Asian languages
[edit]The names of nakshatras in other languages are adapted from the Sanskrit variation (apabhramsa) through Pali or Prakrit. The variations evolved for easier pronunciation in popular usage.
# | Sanskrit संस्कृतम् |
Odia ଓଡିଆ |
Malayalam മലയാളം |
Tamil தமிழ் |
Sinhala සිංහල |
Dhivehi ދިވެހި |
Telugu తెలుగు |
Kannada ಕನ್ನಡ |
Bengali বাংলা |
Mongolian | Chinese 宿 |
Tibetan བོད་སྐད། རྒྱུ་སྐར་ཉེ་བདུན། |
Khmer ខ្មែរ |
Burmese |
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1 | Ashvinī अश्विनी |
Aswini ଅଶ୍ଵିନୀ |
Ashvati അശ്വതി |
Asvini அஸ்வினி |
Aswida අස්විද |
A'sidha އައްސިދަ |
Ashwini అశ్విని |
Ashwini ಅಶ್ವಿನಿ |
Ashwini অশ্বিনী |
Шийдэм | 婁 | ཐ་སྐར། | អឝ្វិនី | အသဝနီ |
2 | Bharanī भरणी |
Dwijaa ଦ୍ଵିଜା |
Bharaṇi ഭരണി |
Baraṇi பரணி |
Berana බෙරණ |
Burunu ބުރުނު |
Bharani భరణి |
Bharani ಭರಣಿ |
Bharaṇi ভরণী |
Гоё хүүхэн | 胃 | བྲ་ཉེ། | ភរណី | ဘရဏီ |
3 | Krittikā कृत्तिका |
Krutikaa କୃତିକା |
Kārttika കാർത്തിക |
Kārthigai கார்த்திகை |
Kethi කැති |
Kethi ކެތި |
Krittika కృత్తిక |
Kritika ಕೃತಿಕ |
Krittika কৃত্তিকা |
Нэг эхт зургаан хөвгүүн | 昴 | སྨིན་དྲུག | ក្ឫតិកា | ကြတ္တီကာ |
4 | Rohiṇī रोहिणी |
Rohini ରୋହିଣୀ |
Rōhiṇi രോഹിണി |
Rōgiṇi ரோகிணி |
Rehena රෙහෙණ |
Roanu ރޯނު |
Rohini రోహిణి |
Rohini ರೋಹಿಣಿ |
Rohiṇi রোহিণী |
Чөлөөт эх | 畢 | སྣར་མ། | រោហិណី | ရောဟဏီ |
5 | Mrigashīrsha मृगशीर्ष |
Mrugasiraa ମୃଗଶିରା |
Makayiram മകയിരം |
Mirugasīriḍam/Mirugaḻi மிருகசீரிடம்/மிருகழி |
Muwasirasa මුවසිරස |
Miyaheli މިޔަހެލި |
Mrugashira మృగశిర |
Mrigashira ಮೃಗಶಿರ |
Mrigashira মৃগশিরা |
Гөрөөсөн толгой | 觜 | མགོ | ម្ឫគឝីឞ៍ | မိဂသီ |
6 | Ārdrā आर्द्रा |
Adra ଆଦ୍ରା |
Ātira or Tiruvātira ആതിര (തിരുവാതിര) |
Tiruvādirai திருவாதிரை |
Ada අද |
Adha އަދަ |
Arudra ఆరుద్ర |
Ardra ಆರ್ದ್ರ |
Ardra আর্দ্রা |
Хэрцгий охин | 參 | ལག | អាទ្រ៍ា | အဒြ |
7 | Punarvasu पुनर्वसु |
punarbasu ପୁନର୍ବସୁ |
Puṇartam പുണർതം |
Puṉarpūsam புனர்பூசம் |
Punavasa පුනාවස |
Funoas ފުނޯސް |
Punarvasu పునర్వసు |
Punarvasu ಪುನರ್ವಸು |
Punarbasu পুনর্বসু |
Өглөгт охин | 井 | ནབས་སོ། | បុនវ៌សុ | ပုဏ္ဏဗသု |
8 | Pushya पुष्य |
Pushyaa ପୁଷ୍ୟା |
Pūyam പൂയം |
Pūsam பூசம் |
Pusha පුෂ |
Fus ފުސް |
Pushya పుష్య |
Pushyami ಪುಷ್ಯ |
Pushya পুষ্যা |
Найралт эх | 鬼 | རྒྱལ། | បុឞ្យ | ဖုသျှ |
9 | Āshleshā आश्ळेषा / आश्लेषा |
Ashleshaa ଆଶ୍ଳେଷା |
Āyilyam ആയില്യം |
Āyilyam ஆயில்யம் |
Aslisa අස්ලිස |
Ahuliha އަހުލިހަ |
Ashlesha ఆశ్లేష |
Ashlesha ಆಶ್ಲೇಷ |
Ashleshā অশ্লেষা |
Үнэг | 柳 | སྐག | អាឝ្លោឞា | အသလိဿ |
10 | Maghā मघा |
Magaa ମଘା |
Makam മകം |
Magam மகம் |
Maa මා |
Maa މާ |
Makha మఖ |
Magha ಮಘ |
Magha মঘা |
Их морь | 星 | མཆུ། | មធា | မာဃ |
11 | Pūrva or Pūrva Phalgunī पूर्व फल्गुनी |
Purba Falguni ପୂର୍ବ ଫାଲ୍ଗୁନୀ |
Pūram പൂരം |
Pūram பூரம் |
Puwapal පුවපල් |
Fura ފުރަ |
Pubba పుబ్బ |
Poorva ಪೂರ್ವ |
Purbaphālguni পূর্বফাল্গুনী |
Бага морь | 張 | གྲེ། | បូវ៌ផាផាល្គុនី | ပြုဗ္ဗဖလရုနီ |
12 | Uttara or Uttara Phalgunī उत्तर फल्गुनी |
Uttara falguni ଉତ୍ତର ଫାଲ୍ଗୁନୀ |
Utram ഉത്രം |
Uttiram உத்திரம் |
Uttrapal උත්රපල් |
Uthura އުތުރަ |
Uttara ఉత్తర |
Uttara ಉತ್ತರ |
Uttar Phālguni উত্তরফাল্গুনী |
Харцага | 翼 | དབོ། | ឧត្តរផាល្គុនី | ဥတ္တရဖလရုနီ |
13 | Hasta हस्त |
Hastaa ହସ୍ତା |
Attam അത്തം |
Asttam அஸ்தம் |
Hatha හත |
Atha އަތަ |
Hasta హస్త |
Hastaa ಹಸ್ತ |
Hastā হস্তা |
Тугчин | 軫 | མེ་བཞི། | ហស្ត | ဟဿတ |
14 | Chitrā चित्रा |
Citraa ଚିତ୍ରା |
Cittira ചിത്തിര (ചിത്ര) |
Cittirai சித்திரை |
Sitha සිත |
Hitha ހިތަ |
Chitta చిత్త |
Chitra ಚಿತ್ರ |
Chitrā চিত্রা |
Тэргүүн дагуул | 角 | ནག་པ། | ចិត្រា | စိတြ |
15 | Svātī स्वाती |
Swati ସ୍ଵାତୀ |
Chōti ചോതി |
Suvāti சுவாதி |
Saa සා |
Hey ހޭ |
Swathi స్వాతి |
Swathi ಸ್ವಾತಿ |
Swāti স্বাতী |
Салхины эх | 亢 | ས་རི། | ស្វាតិ | သွာတိ |
16 | Vishākhā विशाखा |
Bishakha ବିଶାଖା |
Vishākham വിശാഖം |
Visākam விசாகம் |
Wisa විසා |
Vihaa ވިހާ |
Vishakha విశాఖ |
Vishakha ವಿಶಾಖ |
Bishakha বিশাখা |
Эрхтний тэнгэрт | 氐 | ས་ག | វិឝាខា | ဝိသာခါ |
17 | Anurādhā अनुराधा |
Anuradha ଅନୁରାଧା |
Anizham അനിഴം |
Anusham அனுஷம் |
Anura අනුර |
Nora ނޮރަ |
Anuradha అనురాధ |
Anuradha ಅನುರಾಧಾ |
Anuradha অনুরাধা |
Гар од | 房 | ལྷ་མཚམས། | អនុរាធា | အနုရာဓ |
18 | Jyeshtha ज्येष्ठा |
Jyosthaa ଜ୍ୟୋଷ୍ଠା |
Kēṭṭa (Trikkēṭṭa) തൃക്കേട്ട |
Kēṭṭai கேட்டை |
Deta දෙට |
Dhosha ދޮށަ |
Jyeshtha జ్యేష్ఠ |
Jyeshtha ಜ್ಯೇಷ್ಠ |
Jyestha জ্যেষ্ঠা |
Хонгорцог | 心 | སྣྲོན། | ជេ្យឞ្ឋា | ဇေဋ္ဌ |
19 | Mūla मूल |
Mulaa ମୂଳା |
Mūlam മൂലം |
Mūlam மூலம் |
Moola මුල |
Mula މުލަ |
Moola మూల |
Moola ಮೂಲ |
Mula মূলা |
Онгоц | 尾 | སྣུབས། | មូល | မူလ |
20 | Pūrva Ashādhā पूर्वाषाढा |
Purbasaadhaa ପୂର୍ବାଷାଢା |
Pūrāṭam പൂരാടം |
Pūrāṭam பூராடம் |
Puwasala පුවසල |
Furahalha ފުރަހަޅަ |
Poorvashadha పూర్వాషాఢ |
Poorvashadha ಪುರ್ವಾಷಾಡ |
Poorbashada পূর্বাষাঢ়া |
Суулга | 箕 | ཆུ་སྟོད། | បូវ៌ាឞាឍា | ပြုဗ္ဗာသာဠ် |
21 | Uttara Ashādhā उत्तराषाढा |
Uttarasaadha ଉତ୍ତରଷାଢା |
Utrāṭam ഉത്രാടം |
Uttirāṭam உத்திராடம் |
Uttrasala උත්රසල |
Uthurahalha އުތުރަހަޅަ |
Uttarashadha ఉత్తరాషాఢ |
Uttarashadha ಉತ್ತರಾಷಾಡ |
Uttarashada উত্তরাষাঢ়া |
Элдэв тэнгэртэн | 斗 | ཆུ་སྨད། | ឧត្តរឞាឍា | ဥတ္တရာသာဠ် |
22 | Shravana श्रवण |
Sravana ଶ୍ରବଣା |
Tiruvōnam ഓണം (തിരുവോണം) |
Tiruvōnam திருவோணம் |
Suvana සුවණ |
Huvan ހުވަން |
Shravana శ్రవణ |
Shravana ಶ್ರವಣ |
Shraban শ্রবণা |
Булаагч/Яруу эгшигт | 女 | གྲོ་བཞིན། | ឝ្រវណ | သရဝဏ် |
23 | Shravishthā or Dhanishta श्रविष्ठा or धनिष्ठा |
Dhanishathaa ଧନିଷ୍ଠା |
Aviṭṭam അവിട്ടം |
Aviṭṭam அவிட்டம் |
Denata දෙණට |
Dhinasha ދިނަށަ |
Dhanishta ధనిష్ఠ |
Dhanishta ಧನಿಷ್ಠ |
Dhanishta ধনিষ্ঠা |
Тооно | 虛 | མོན་གྲེ། | ធនិឞ្ធា | ဓနသိဒ္ဓ |
24 | Shatabhishā or Shatataraka शतभिषक् / शततारका |
Satavisaa ସତଭିଷା |
Chatayam ചതയം |
Sadayam சதயம் |
Siyawasa සියාවස |
Hiyavihaa ހިޔަވިހާ |
Shatabhisha శతభిష |
Shatabhisha ಶತಭಿಷ |
Shatabhisha শতভিষা |
Чөдөр | 危 | མོན་གྲུ | ឝតភិឞក៑ | သတဘိသျှ |
25 | Pūrva Bhādrapadā पूर्वभाद्रपदा / पूर्वप्रोष्ठपदा |
Purba vadrapada ପୂର୍ବଭାଦ୍ରପଦ |
Pūruruṭṭāti പൂരുരുട്ടാതി |
Pūraṭṭādi பூரட்டாதி |
Puvaputupa පුවපුටුප |
Furabadhuruva ފުރަބަދުރުވަ |
Poorvabhadra పూర్వాభాద్ర |
Poorva Bhadrapada ಪೂರ್ವ ಭಾದ್ರಪದ |
Poorbabhadra পূর্বভাদ্রপদ |
Шувуун хошуут | 室 | ཁྲུམས་སྟོད། | បូវ៌ភាទ្របទា | ပြုဗ္ဗဘဒြပိုဒ် |
26 | Uttara Bhādrapadā उत्तरभाद्रपदा / उत्तरप्रोष्ठपदा |
Uttara vadrapada ଉତ୍ତରାଭାଦ୍ରପଦ |
Uttṛṭṭāti ഉത്രട്ടാതി |
Uttiraṭṭādi உத்திரட்டாதி |
Uttraputupa උත්රපුටුප |
Fasbadhuruva ފަސްބަދުރުވަ |
Uttarabhadra ఉత్తరాభాద్ర |
Uttara Bhadrapada ಉತ್ತರ ಭಾದ್ರಪದ |
Uttarbabhadra উত্তরভাদ্রপদ |
Могой хүлэгч | 壁 | ཁྲུམས་སྨད། | ឧត្តរភាទ្របទា | ဥတ္တဘဒြပိုဒ် |
27 | Revati रेवती |
Revati ରେବତୀ |
Rēvati രേവതി |
Rēvati ரேவதி |
Revathi රේවතී |
Reyva ރޭވަ |
Revati రేవతి |
Revati ರೇವತಿ |
Rebati রেবতী |
Дэлгэрүүлэгч | 奎 | ནམ་གྲུ། | រេវតី | ရေဝတီ |
References
[edit]- ^ Basham, Arthur Llewellyn (1954). "Appendix II: Astronomy". The Wonder That Was India. Sidgwick and Jackson. p. 490.