Krittika

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Krittikā)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "other uses". Template:Contains special characters Script error: No such module "Sidebar". The star cluster Script error: No such module "lang". Sanskrit: कृत्तिका, pronounced Script error: No such module "IPA"., popularly transliterated Krittika), sometimes known as Kārtikā, corresponds to the open star cluster called Pleiades in western astronomy; it is one of the clusters which makes up the constellation Taurus. In Indian astronomy and Script error: No such module "lang". (Hindu astrology) the name literally translates to "the cutters".[1][2]

File:Krittika nakshastra.jpg
image of krittika nakshastra

It is also the name of its goddess-personification, who is a daughter of Daksha[3] and Panchajani, and thus a half-sister to Khyati. Spouse of Kṛttikā is Chandra ("moon").

Alternative accounts suggest that Kritika was the name of six celestial women. The six Krittikas who raised the Hindu God Kartikeya are Śiva, Sambhūti, Prīti, Sannati, Anasūya and Kṣamā.[4]

In Hindu astrology, Script error: No such module "lang". is the third of the 27 Script error: No such module "lang".s. It is ruled by Sun. Under the traditional Hindu principle of naming individuals according to their Ascendant/Lagna Script error: No such module "lang"., the following Sanskrit syllables correspond with this Script error: No such module "lang"., and would belong at the beginning of the first name of an individual born under it: A (अ), I (ई), U (उ) and E (ए).

Cultural and mythological significance

In Vedic literature and Hindu mythology, the Krittika are known as the six mothers or nursemaids of the war god Kartikeya (also known as Skanda or Murugan), who was nurtured by them after being born from the sparks of Lord Shiva’s third eye. The Krittika are identified with the Pleiades star cluster, and their names are often listed as Śiva, Sambhūti, Prīti, Sannati, Anasūya, and Kṣamā in various texts. They are revered as embodiments of maternal care and protective fierceness. In the Rigveda and later scriptures, the Krittika are associated with fire rituals (Agnihotra) and purification rites, symbolizing the transformative power of heat and flame. The lunar mansion of Krittika was also significant in Vedic astronomy as the original starting point of the zodiac in some ancient systems.[5][6]


See also

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. Dennis M. Harness. The Nakshatras: The Lunar Mansions of Vedic Astrology. Lotus Press (Twin Lakes WI, 1999.) Template:ISBN
  2. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. Edward Moor. The Hindu Pantheon. 1864.
  4. The Sacred Books of the Hindus, Vol 21, Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vidyaranya, p29, The Panini Office (Bhuvaneswari Asrama), 1918.
  5. Macdonell, Arthur A. (1897). Vedic Mythology. Grundriss der Indo-Arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde. ISBN 978-8120800720.
  6. Hopkins, Edward Washburn (1915). Epic Mythology. Strassburg: K.J. Trübner. ISBN 978-8120810422.

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Template:Jyotish Vidya Template:Portal bar