Nakshatra Devatas I

1. Ashvini
Mythologically the nakshatra is ruled by the Ashvini Kumaras, the divine physicians named Dashra and Nasatya. Being divine physicians they are adept in healing, medicine, counseling and all other allied disciplines.

It so happened that aṅjñā had to penance for many years to gain enough spiritual strength (Tapobal) before she got married with someone like
Sūrya who is full of spiritual brilliance. However with time her spiritual energy withered away. To gain her spiritual energies again she left her shadow (Chaya) with Sun and went to a hermitage to do tapasya (penance). Sūrya had many other kids from Chaya (may be discussed later), when he realized the truth he rushed to find his real wife and found that she is doing her tapasya in the form of a Mare.

Ashvini Kumaras (two kumaras) are born from their union while she was in a hermitage doing penance in the form of mere. Hence the name Ashvini which means, born from a female horse. This makes them adept in horse riding, in many kinds of sports and any activities which require a lot of energy. Being taken birth from
Sūrya, the divine time keeper and protector of righteousness, they are by nature righteous, spiritual and philosophical. The names of the Ashvini Kumaras, Dashra and Nastya imply bringing help and truthfulness respectively and hence the natives of this nakshatra are philanthropic and truthful.

Being born from Sūrya, who is full of brilliance and effulgence, Ashvini Kumaras are also full of such brilliance and energy. Given their age as kumaras (teenagers), they have high propensity to jump into activities without much thought, which makes than hyperactive. Many times, it displays their qualities of initiative, however, at many times it results in failures due to jumping into something without prior evaluation of pros and cons of their action. They are ambitious and has a strong drive to create something on their own such a new thought, attitude, ideology or mundane things like business, enterprise etc. Horse are characterized by nervousness, fidget and always prepared to run and so does the Ashvinis.

2. Bharani
Mythologically Bharani is ruled by the god of death Yama. Even though Yama is known by most as the god of death, the true meaning of Yama can be understood from Patanjali's yoga sutras which talks of the eight limbs of yoga (astanga yoga) and yama being the first of them, followed by niyama and so on.

Maharishi Patanjali talks of five forms of restraints (abstinences) which are Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (
non-covetousness), Bharmacharya (celibacy), Aparigraha (non-acceptance of gifts). It is said that Yama is the first person to fulfill the requirements of these 5 forms of abstinences and hence his name is Yama. If we understand the true nature of death, we realize that it is nothing but a phase of transformation of old and worn out state to a new state and also mean consolidation of old experiences and forging ahead of to pass through subsequent phase of new experiences.

The meaning bearing out from these mythologies is that, this nakshatra is the nakshatra of restraint. On one side, this nakshatra represent anything and everything to do with death, on the other, it represents the energy of self restraint from materialistic indulgence and penance. In fact at the time of pregnancy, the mother of the child need to have a good amount of restraint to avoid indulging in anything, this can otherwise be detrimental to the life inside her. In the similar sense, in the developmental stage of any activity, over indulgence in anything else can be a death blow to the activity, since it may cause loss of focus.

The symbol of this nakshatra is Yoni or the female sexual organ, which is the symbol of new birth. Thus this nakshatra symbolizes the pain and caution the mother goes through before the birth of the child. This nakshatra also represents revolution or breaking away from old and worn out practices since new life or concept originate after the old one has been dissolved. The energy and drive of Ashwini gives a new dosage of life to create something new, whereas the Bharani’s energy see through the upheaval and change that rise to a new practice, idea or concept. Thus the natives of this nakshatra can be quite revolutionary in their ideals and do not tolerate things which are carried down from the past but do not serve the purpose. Since a change in the established practices is a painful process, the natives need to pass through painful phases in life, when they are hell-bent in changing them. Usually such natives have a very strong character and they can withstand turbulences and turmoil in life with poise and equanimity and eventually grow stronger with each of their experiences. Each such experiences in their life are transformational and they are ever eager to take more such transformational journeys in life. Due to their propensity to withstand negative experience with poise, they are always still on their face, in spite of having a raging volcano or tsunami inside.

Thus the natives ruled by this nakshatra are transformational and revolutionary in their thinking and tend to break away from old and worn out practices to create something new. It conveys ideas pertaining to discipline, self-control, faith, firmness, enduring support, sustenance, nourishment, etc. However, under strong malefic influences, natives of this nakshatra may develop extreme tendencies, as that of criminals and terrorists.


3. Kṛttikā
Mythologically Agni (fiery element) is the ruler of this nakshatra and thus shows the tremendous potential lie within the purview of this nakshatra. Fire is the creator of all beings be it living or non living, tangible or intangible as it represents the energy required for the creation process. They like to take on big projects and are highly ambitious and self-motivated. Due to the burning fire, which is every eager to destroy darkness and ignorance within, these native are ever eager to learn newer things. They are logical, skeptical, creative, enthusiastic, enterprising and skillful in engineering however their fortune is unsteady like the flames of fire.

Due to its fiery nature it is related to command, power, luster, glow, brilliance, and the creative force. However, Kṛttikā being a female nakshatra, it dwells in passivity and requires, stimulus from outside to let loose its creative potencies. The symbol of a razor, which cuts and fire as deity which burns, it indicate wars, trials and tribulations in the life of native, where the native acts as the commander, trying to control or win over the situations. This nakshatra is often known as the seat of power and one in which Chandra (Moon - mind) was born.

Agni is the god for sacrifice, which means it has the ability to burn up the negativities and purify things, a state which is attained after the fire sacrifices. The thing which is sacrificed here is the ego and the negative side of self. Due to its nature of burning up of follies, it has the power to give a new lease of life and guide the native to take corrective actions. Thus it has the capability to initiate changes in life, which helps in undoing mistakes and follies of past.

Due to the fiery nature of the nakshatra, natives of this nakshatra have a cutting wit that can sometimes be sarcastic and critical. They are stubborn, aggressive and can be short-tempered. Due to their fiery and independent nature they are likely to have strained relations with relatives, friends and spouse. They are well-versed academically, fond of opposite sex, bright in appearance, misers, of worried nature and achieve widespread fame. Their speech is usually harsh and do not show sense of gratitude to their well wishers, which eventually take them away from others and make them lone.

Due to strong fire within they have strong appetite and their thirst is difficult to be quenched. Hence, these persons are gluttons, fond of spicy foods. Mythology also states that Krittika is the foster mother of Kartikeya (Skanda), the commander in chief and son of Shiva. Thus this nakshatra also indicate foster motherhood among other things.


4. Rohini
Rohini Nakshatra is mythologically ruled by Prajapati, the progenitor, a form of Brahma which cause creation. Thus this nakshatra represent the creative energies of the universe and is also called a fertile nakshatra.

In mythology, Progenitor Daksha Prajapati wed his 27 daughters to Chandra (Moon), however, infatuated by the beauty of Rohini, Chandra tried spending more time with her ignoring other daughters. This infuriated Prajapati who cursed Chandra that his brilliance will wither away with time. This is why Moon's brilliance changes with time, while in Shulka Paksha, it increases, in Krishna Paksha it withers away.

Due to the predominance of fertile energies in the nakshatra, it is full of passion and sexual energies, which cause creation. As the mythology suggests natives of this nakshatra have attractive physique and seductive eyes. Psychologically they are quite attached to their consort and also suffer due to their intense desires to enjoy each and every moment of companionship. On the negative side, it can show obsession towards people of opposite sex.

Moon gets exalted in this nakshatra suggesting the exhilarating condition of mind which is it attains when it achieves all their desires. Thus native are always in search for fulfillment of such desires which can make them exhilarated. Since they thrive in abundance, deprivation of anything can bring quite a bit suffering to these natives. Such natives are enjoyer of beauty and have a great taste for finer details in life, which makes them connoisseurs. They are extremely materialistic and get upset with others who do not measure up to their standard of taste and finesse.

As the myth suggests, natives of this nakshatra can be over sexed and use sex as a means to fulfill their desires and achieve their objectives. They feel comfortable in company of opposite sex and are always eager to befriend them. They have higher chances of having multiple sex partners at a time. On the positive side, they can make good artist/ fashion designer as their mind is fertile for imagination and creativity. Thus creative professions are good for channelizing their creative energies.

Rohini is the birth Nakshatra of Lord Krishna who is predominated by Klim beeja (kama beeja), which attracts everyone and everything. His Ras Leelas are one of the manifestation of this nakshatra.

5. Mṛgaśirā
This nakshatra is lorder by Soma a form of Chandra which is full of live giving force. It is mentioned in the shastras that the devas (the followers of Surya or brightness, knowledge and wisdom) are exhilarated by drinking somaras (the soma juice). Although some commentators interpreted the meaning of this as the juice of a creeper (Sarcostema Viminalis or Aclepias Acida), if once delve deeper in the myths, it would be clear that it is term given to symbolic life force which fills one with life and vitality; something which is cool and soothing and can be equated with Moonlight.

Myth related to the nakshatras narrate the story of Daksha Prajapati marrying his 27 daughters, the nakshatras to Soma, this symbolizes the romantic nature of this form of chandra who is looking for some form of companionship. There is yet another myth which says that once Soma got infatuated by the beauty of Tara, Brhaspati's wife, seduced her and eloped with her. From the union of Soma and Tara, Budha (representing intellect) was born. This caused tremendous uproar which made the gods intervene and return Tara to Brhaspati, however by that time Tara was Pregnant and subsequently delivered Budha. As the myth goes, even though Brhaspati was aware of Budha's illegitimate birth, he got carried away by his charming face and agreed to accept him as his son. From Jyotish point of view, this can be interrelated as involvement of sexual seduction, birth of illegitimate child and reunion of family after a mishap. Natives of this nakshatra are pleasure seeking, the way Soma sought after Tara's company and they are on a look out for some kind of sensational relationships.

Being full of creative juices of Soma, this nakshatra also represent creativity of various forms such as Art, Dance, Music etc. They love traveling, the way Soma travels through the Nakshatras once in a month. Being governed by Soma, who waxes and wanes with time, the natives of this nakshatras also experience vacillation of their mind. They seek pleasures and comfort in life and they find it difficult to rest their mind on something. They are eternal seekers like the symbol "Deer's head (Kasturi Mriga - Moschus Moschiferus)" always keep searching for the kasturi (Musk) although it is hidden within him. The thirst of deer is also known as Mriga-Trishna which indicate search of water (prosperity) in a desert (difficult circumstances). Thus the natives of this nakshatra are always thirsty and prosperity in this world of struggles. This can also mean that such natives are the true seekers of knowledge (water) in this world of maya (desert) and it is difficult to quench their thirst as it is psychological rather than physical. Thus under positive influences, the natives of this nakshatra takes up studies of scriptures and dive deep into the hidden mysteries of nature.

Soma is also related to the fire sacrifices which means burning the negative side of self to attain knowledge and truth, which makes the natives of this nakshatra interested in priestly and religious activities. The involvement of symbol of deer also indicate activities related to forests and hunting as well.

It is noteworthy that Shiva's consort Uma is born in this nashaktra, One who is full of motherly love and compassion.




ॐ तत् सत्

Comments

ARDHA4 said…
hare ramakrishna,

1]what is the significance of moons nakshatra and lagna nakshatra.

2]Since moon is the karaka for both arudhas and nakshatras .Does the nakshatra significator of AL holds any importance.Please throw some light.Thanking you.
Varahamihira said…
Moon is the karaka for mind and Lagna is the karaka for intelligence. When we talk of Lagna, Lagna shows our overall personality while Lagna lord shows the direction of our intelligence or how we process stimuli from the environment with our intelligence.

Thus Chandra nakshatra would show more on our inherent desires, attitudes etc, while nakshatra of the lagna lord would show how we think. Our complete personality is defined by the placement of all the 9 planets and the Lagna in various nakshatras.

So far I have not checked the nakshatra significator for AL. May be there is some special meaning, which time will reveal with further exploration this ocean of knowledge.

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