Tag: Yama

Sinivali and Raka

Sinivali and Raka

Sinivali, Kuhu, Anumati and Raka are names of Goddesses in the Vedas. Veda Vyasa, the compiler of Vedas, gathered only two mantras related to Sinivali in Rig Veda. Therefore, Translators find these verses hard to translate. However, Vyasa provides additional clues in his Purana works in such cases. This is the case also about Sinivali (सिनीवाली), Raka (राका), Kuhu (कुहू) or young moon and Anumati. They are Vedic goddesses who are associated with the phases of the moon. A review of the idea of the phases of the moon in the context of the Kalaas of Soma brings us more clarity. Subdivisions in new moon phase (thithi) Vedic astronomers split the lunation cycle (29.5 days) into thirty units. Each Thithi unit (similar to the phases of the moon) refers to a 12-degree movement of the Moon from the Sun (Surya Siddhanta). Consequently, the average duration of a Thithi is less than 24 hours. There is one anomaly when we go to an earlier Era. This relates to the Amavasya

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Zoroastrian link to Bharani Nakshatra

Bharani is one of the twenty-seven Nakshatras, the equal division segments of the sky. Secondly, Hindu astronomers used the arc portion of Nakshatras along the ecliptic to track planetary movements. Thirdly, every Nakshatra arc has a fixed anchor point. These points are prominent stars. Astronomers used these to monitor the relative location of a planet within a Nakshatra arc. The anchor star of Bharani is Arietis 41. Its name in Avestan is “Upa-Paoiri”. Surprisingly, the Vedic people called Bharani “Apa Bharani.” The strange coincidence does not stop here. Let us understand the Zoroastrian link to the Bharani Nakshatra and its ruler Yama. Upa-Paoiri is associated with a Yazata. The Avestan word Yazata has several meanings. Indeed, one of them refers to a departed spirit. Coincidentally, the ruler of Apa Bharani Nakshatra is Yama. Secondly, Yama is the ruler of ancestral beings. Certainly, Nakshatras have a religious meaning in the Vedic tradition. However, they were equally crucial to Vedic astronomy for over

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