The Twenty-seven Nakshatras of the Hindu System-Western Equivalents for the Benefit of Western Readers
While Indian star system or Hindu Nakshatra system is scientifically designed, some doubt that all 27 nakshatras physically exist in the sky. They exist. For the benefit of Western readers, the 27 nakshatras and their Western equivalents are given below.
The twenty seven nakshatras and the respective western equivalent are given below:
1) Ashwini-Alpha, Beta-Aries
2) Bharani – No 28,29,41 Taurus
3) Krittika – Pleiades
4) Rohini – Aldebaran Hyades, Alpha, Theta, Gama, Delta and Epsilon Taurus
5) Mrigashirsha – Lambda, Phi 1, Phi 2, Orion
6) Aardraa-Betelgeaux-Alpha Orion
7) Punarvasu – Castor, Pollux with Procyon Alpha, Beta, Gemini-Alpha Canis Minor respectively
8) Pushya – Gamma, Delta and Theta of Cancer
9) Ashlesha – Delta, Epsilon, Eta, Rho and Zeta Hydra
10) Maagha – Alpha, Ela, Gama, Zeta My and Epsilon Leonis
11) Poorva Phalkuni – Delta and Theta Leo
12) Utra Phalkuni – Beta and 93 Leo
13) Until – Delta, Gamma, Eta, Virgo
14) Chitraa – Spica, Alpha Virgo
15) Swaati – Arcturus – Alpha Bootes
16) Vishaakha – Alpha, Beta, etc. Pound
17) Anuraadha – Beta, Delta, Pi -Scorpia
18) Jyestha – Antares Alpha, Sigma Tau Scorpio
19) Mule – Scorpio, tail of stars
20) Poorvaashadaa – Delta and Epsilon Sagittarius
21) Uttaraashaada – Zeta and Omicron Sagittarius
22) Shraavanaa – Altair – Alpha Aquila
23) Dhanishtha – Delfino
24) Shatabhisak – Lambda Aquarius
25) Poorva Bhaadrapada – Alpha and Beta Pegasus
26) Uttara Bhaadrapada – Gama Pagasus and Alpha Andromeda
27) Revathi – Zeta Piscum
The stars above can be seen with the help of star maps. The Vedic Rishis (seers) have very clearly indicated the size and shape of the stars. There were a number of books available in the past. The Nakshatra vidya or Science of the Stars or descriptive Astronomy is lost due to the continuous invasions of India. However, Vedic scholars can discover the real science now and we can expect the full benefit of this science to be passed on to the future generation. In our next article we will analyze the wonders of the stars.