The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume III Part 26

9. Sagittarius. The archer. Dha.n.u.s or Chapa.

10. Capricornus. The goat. Makara (said to mean a sea-monster).

11. Aquarius. The water-bearer. k.u.mbha (a water-pot).

12. Pisces. The fishes. Mina.

The signs of the zodiac were nearly the same among the Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Babylonians and Indians. They are supposed to have originated in Chaldea or Babylonia, and the fact that the constellations are indicated by nearly the same symbols renders their common origin probable. It seems likely that the existing Hindu zodiac may have been adopted from the Greeks.

6. The Sankrants.

The solar year begins with the entrance of the sun into Mesha or Aries. [213] The day on which the sun pa.s.ses into a new sign is called Sankrant, and is to some extent observed as a holy day. But the Til Sankrant or entry of the sun into Makara or Capricorn, which falls about the 15th January, is a special festival, because it marks approximately the commencement of the sun's northern progress and the lengthening of the days, as Christmas roughly does with us. On this day every Hindu who is able bathes in a sacred river at the hour indicated by the Jos.h.i.+s of the sun's entrance into the sign. Presents of til or sesamum are given to the Jos.h.i.+, owing to which the day is called Til Sankrant. People also sometimes give presents to each other.

7. The nakshatras or constellations of the moon's path.

The Sankrants do not mark the commencement of the Hindu months, which are still lunar and are adjusted to the solar year by intercalation. It is probable that long before they were able to measure the sun's progress along the ecliptic the ancients had observed that of the moon, which it was much easier to do, as she is seen among the stars at night. Similarly there is little reason to doubt that the first division of time was the lunar month, which can be remarked by every one. Ancient astronomers measured the progress of the moon's path along the ecliptic and divided it into twenty-seven sections, each of which represented roughly a day's march. Each section was distinguished by a group of stars either on the ecliptic or so near it, either in the northern or southern hemisphere, as to be occultated by the moon or capable of being in conjunction with it or the planets. These constellations are called nakshatras. Naturally, some of these constellations are the same as those subsequently chosen to mark the sun's path or the signs of the zodiac. In some cases a zodiacal constellation is divided into two nakshatras. Like the signs, the nakshatras were held to represent animals or natural objects. The following is a list of them with their corresponding stars, and the object which each was supposed to represent: [214]

Nakshatra. Constellation. Object. Corresponding zodiacal sign.

1. Aswini. b and g Arietis. A horse's Aries.

head.

2. Bharani. 35, 39 and 41 Pudendum Aries.

Arietis. muliebre.

3. Krittika. Pleiades. A knife. Part of Taurus.

4. Rohini. a, g, d, e, th A wheeled Taurus.

Tauri carriage or a (Aldebaran). temple.

5. Mrigasiras. l, ph1, ph2, A deer's Orionis (Orion's head.

head).

6. Ardra. Betelgeux or a A gem.

Orionis (one of Orion's arms).

7. Punarvasu. Gemini or Castor A house. Gemini.

and Pollux.

8. Pushya. g, d and th An arrow. Cancer.

Cancri.

9. Aslesha. d, e, e, r and s A wheel.

Hydrae.

10. Magha. a, g, e, z, e and A house. Leo.

m Leonis.

11. Purva d and th Leonis. A couch. Leo.

Phalguni.

12. Uttara b and 93 Leonis. A bed. Leo.

Phalguni.

13. Hasta. a, b, g, d and e A hand.

Corvi.

14. Chitra. Spica (a A pearl. Virgo.

Virginis).

15. Swati. Arcturus (a A coral bead.

Bootis).

16. Visacha. a, b, g and i A garland. Libra.

Librae.

17. Anuradha. b, A sacrifice or Scorpio.

d and p offering.

Scorpionis.

18. Jyestha. a, s and t An earring. Scorpio.

Scorpionis.

19. Mula. e, z, e, th, i, A lion's Scorpio.

k, l, m, y tail.

Scorpionis.

20. Purva d and e A couch or an Sagittarius.

Ashadha. Sagittarii. elephant's tusk.

21. Uttara z and s An elephant's Sagittarius.

Ashadha. Sagittarii. tusk or the singara nut.

22. Sravana. a, b and g The footprint Aquilae. of Vishnu.

23. Dhanishtha. a, b, g and d A drum.

Delphinis.

24. Sata-bhishaj. l Aquarii. A circular Aquarius.

jewel or a circle.

25. Purva a and b Pegasi. A two-faced Bhadrapada. image.

26. Uttara g Pegasi and a A two-faced Bhadrapada. Andromedae. image or a couch.

27. Revati. z Piscium. A tabor. Pisces.

8. The revolution of the moon.

All the zodiacal constellations are thus included in the nakshatras except Capricorn, for which Aquila and Delphinis are subst.i.tuted. These, as well as Hydra, are a considerable distance from the ecliptic, but may perhaps be nearer the moon's path, which, as already seen, slightly diverges from it. But this point has not been ascertained by me. The moon completes the circuit of the heavens in its...o...b..t round the earth in a little less than a lunar month or 27 days 8 hours. As twenty-seven nakshatras were demarcated, it seems clear that a nakshatra was meant to represent the distance travelled by the moon in a day. Subsequently a twenty-eighth small nakshatra was formed called Abhijit, out of Uttarashadha and Sravana, and this may have been meant to represent the fractional part of the day. The days of the lunar month have each, as a matter of fact, a nakshatra allotted to them, which is recorded in all Hindu almanacs, and enters largely into the Jos.h.i.+'s astrological calculations. It may have been the case that prior to the naming of the days of the week, the days of the lunar month were distinguished by the names of their nakshatras, but this could only have been among the learned. For though there was a nakshatra for every day of the moon's path round the ecliptic, the same days in successive months could not have the same nakshatras on account of what is called the synodical revolution of the moon. The light of the moon comes from the sun, and we see only that part of it which is illuminated by the sun. When the moon is between the earth and the sun, the light hemisphere is invisible to us, and there is no moon. When the moon is on the opposite side of the earth to the sun we see the whole of the illuminated hemisphere, and it is full moon. Thus in the time between one new moon and the next, the moon must proceed from its position between the earth and the sun to the same position again, and to do this it has to go somewhat more than once round the ecliptic, as is shown by the following figure. [215]

9. The days of the week.

As during the moon's circuit of the earth, the earth is also travelling on its...o...b..t, the moon will not be between the earth and the sun again on completion of its...o...b..t, but will have to traverse the further arc shown in the figure to come between the earth and the sun. When the moon has completed the circle of the ecliptic from the position ME, its position relative to the earth has become as NF and it has not yet come between the earth and the sun. Hence while the moon completes the circuit of the ecliptic [216] in 27 days 8 hours, the time from one new moon to another is 29 days 13 hours. Hence the nakshatras will not fall on the same days in successive lunar months, and would not be suitable as names for the days. It seems that, recognising this, the ancient astronomers had to find other names. They had the lunar fortnights of 14 or 15 days from new to full and full to new moon. Hence apparently they hit on the plan of dividing these into half and regulating the influence which the sun, moon and planets were believed to exercise over events in the world by allotting one day to each of them. They knew of five planets besides the sun and moon, and by giving a day to each of them the seven-day week was formed. The term planet signifies a wanderer, and it thus perhaps seemed suitable that they should give their names to the days which would revolve endlessly in a cycle, as they themselves did in the heavens. The names of the days are:

Etwar or Raviwar. Sunday. (Ravi--the sun.) Somwar. Monday. (Soma--the moon.) Mangalwar. Tuesday. (Mangal or Bhauma--Mars.) Budhwar. Wednesday. (Buddha--Mercury.) Brihaspatwar or Guru. Thursday. (Brihaspat or Guru--Jupiter.) Shukurwar. Friday. (Shukra--Venus.) Saniwar or Sanichara. Sat.u.r.day. (Sani--Saturn.)

The termination vara means a day. The weekdays were similarly named in Rome and other countries speaking Aryan languages, and they are readily recognised in French. In English three days are named after the sun, moon and Saturn, but four, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, are called after Scandinavian deities, the last three being Woden or Odin, Thor and Freya. I do not know whether these were identified with the planets. It is supposed that the Hindus obtained the seven-day week from the Greeks. [217]

10. The lunar year.