Chitra

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann

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Nakshatra 14, Citra, the bright star Spica as drawn in temples with the marker of 180° (a point).

Nakshatras 13 and 14 marked on the Stellarium star chart (WGSN 2025).

Citrā (चित्रा), "the bright one", is an Indian name, used by the Indian Vedic tradition. Most of these names are roughly 3000 years old. They pre-date Hinduism but were taken over by it.

Etymology and History

Name Variants

• Chitra
• Tvarshtra

Origin of Constellation

Chitra means "the bright one" and is clearly a name for a single star-asterism. In the Indian Vedic coordinate system, the sidereal zodiac, this star marks the point 180° at the ecliptic. As precession continues, the ecliptic latitudes remain always the same, so that a star directly at the ecliptic (like Spica) at any historical epoch marked and will mark the invisible ecliptic.

The temple depictions characterise this nakshatra by a point which refers to the important anchor of their frame of reference.

Stars within the Constellation Area

id	Label	IAU design.	description	Vmag
1	Spica	HIP 65474	Constellation lines (Vertex)	0.97
2	Apamvatsa	HIP 66006	Constellation lines (Vertex)	4.69

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

• 
  Chitra 10th century CE
• 
  Display of all 28th nakshatra in silver arch with candles in Tirupperunthurai (Athmanathaswamy temple) near Aranthangi, India, 10th century CE. (SMH 2025).
• 
  Display of all 28th nakshatra in a door frame in Tirupperunthurai (Athmanathaswamy temple) near Aranthangi, India, 10th century CE. (SMH 2025).
• 
  Chitra Tibetean
• 
  Chitra as reconstructed by Jones (1720).

Mythology

mnemonic tales and cultural significance

References

• References (general)