Hyades: Difference between revisions
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* ‘jaws of Taurus’ ([[Is le10|''is-lê'']]) | * ‘jaws of Taurus’ ([[Is le10|''is-lê'']]) | ||
* [[AGA A-nim]], the Crown of the sky god Anu | * [[AGA A-nim]], the Crown of the sky god Anu | ||
* ''Rohiṅī śakaṭa'' - the cart of ''Rohiṅī'' ''(Sanskrit)'' | |||
===Origin of Constellation=== | ===Origin of Constellation=== | ||
| Line 20: | Line 21: | ||
===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation=== | ===Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation=== | ||
The word śakaṭa means a cart. Hyades is referred to as ''Rohiṅī śakaṭa'' - the cart of ''Rohiṅī''. We find references to the cart of ''Rohiṅī'' (Aldebaran) in many Sanskrit texts. ''Rohiṅī'' is one of the 27 stars used extensively as a ''nakṣatra''. The V-shaped pattern of Hyades is the ''śakaṭa''. There are no images available anywhere. However, the context where this name appears provides the clue. All texts have a chapter called ''grahayuti'', the mutual conjunctions of moon and planets and / or with the stars. The procedures are provided to compute the event. In this context, ''śakaṭa- bheda'' is a special event. The word literally means cutting through the cart or breaking the cart. This essentially means that the moon / planet will be within the V-shape of Haydes. The earliest text to mention this ''śiṣydhīvriddhidatantra'' of Lalla (Chatterjee, 1981). It provides the condition for the event (''śakaṭa-bheda'') as the ''dhruvaka'' 1<sup>R</sup>|16<sup>O</sup>|40’ and ''śara'' 4<sup>O</sup>|30’ S. These can be approximated as ecliptic longitude and latitude for small values of the latitude. 1R refers to the unit of 30<sup>O</sup>, R for Rāśi, the zodiacal sign. Therefore, dhruvaka is 46<sup>O</sup> |40’ | |||
The stellarium image of the Hyades region for the year 443CE. The date of ''śiṣydhīvriddhidatantra'' is assigned to be 8<sup>th</sup> century (Chattarjee, 1981). The precise date of the text is not known preventing the application of precession correction. There is also a clue that he was using a reference which was probably 400 years earlier to him, justifying the depiction shown. The fine tuning of the ecliptic longitude has been used so as to match with that given in the text. This clearly shows the marker within the V shape of the Hyades. | |||
[[File:Rohini 443.jpg|thumb]] | |||
The other texts which specifically refer to this event are ''Grahalāghava'', (16<sup>th</sup> century) by Ganeśa Daivajnya (Balachandra Rao and Padmaja, 2008) and Samanta Chandrashekhara in ''Siddhānta Darpaṅa'' (19<sup>th</sup> century) (Upadhyaya, online source). The latter states that the event is decided by the maximum value of ''śara'' possible for the planets, which is the same as the orbital inclination. According to him the event ''śakaṭa-bheda'' is possible for only ''budha'' and ''śukra'' (Mercury and Venus), rarely possible for ''śani'' (with ''parama śara'' as 2<sup>O</sup>|29’) and impossible for ''mangala'' (Mars). | |||
The drawing depicting the cart of ''Rohiṅī'' (drawn by B S Shylaja) for a sky theatre show in the planetarium. | |||
[[File:Shakatapaint.jpg|thumb]] | |||
==Mythology== | ==Mythology== | ||
In Greek mythology, both the names of the sisters and their parents vary.<ref>Hyades in [https://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NymphaiHyades.html THEOI online] </ref> | In Greek mythology, both the names of the sisters and their parents vary.<ref>Hyades in [https://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NymphaiHyades.html THEOI online] </ref> | ||
Revision as of 14:14, 3 May 2026
The Hyades (Ὑας, Ὑαδες) are a significant pattern of stars in the sky that has been recognized as an asterism or constellation by almost all cultures. They form part of the modern constellation of Taurus.
Etymology and History
Name Variants:
- Suculae (Latin)
- Rainy Ones (hyô, hyetos)
- Regengestirn (German)
- ‘jaws of Taurus’ (is-lê)
- AGA A-nim, the Crown of the sky god Anu
- Rohiṅī śakaṭa - the cart of Rohiṅī (Sanskrit)
Origin of Constellation
The V-shaped Hyades appear more scattered in the sky; in Mesopotamia they were regarded as AGA A-nim, the Crown of the sky god Anu, or the ‘Jaw of The Bull’ (is-lê) and are interpreted in Greek as its face. The bright star Aldebaran, which physically does not belong to the star cluster but is (coincidentally) seen standing in the foreground in the same direction in the sky, had no proper name - neither in Mesopotamia nor in mathematical Greek astronomy. Only in his astrological work Tetrabiblos does Ptolemy give a name for the star: the torch. The modern name, Aldebaran, is Arabic and alludes to its position in the sky. The Pleiades rise first, followed by Aldebaran and the Hyades. Ad-Dabaran means ‘the following one’.
The star cluster seems to be also part of Late Babylonian constellation of The Chariot, GIGIR.[1]
Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation
The word śakaṭa means a cart. Hyades is referred to as Rohiṅī śakaṭa - the cart of Rohiṅī. We find references to the cart of Rohiṅī (Aldebaran) in many Sanskrit texts. Rohiṅī is one of the 27 stars used extensively as a nakṣatra. The V-shaped pattern of Hyades is the śakaṭa. There are no images available anywhere. However, the context where this name appears provides the clue. All texts have a chapter called grahayuti, the mutual conjunctions of moon and planets and / or with the stars. The procedures are provided to compute the event. In this context, śakaṭa- bheda is a special event. The word literally means cutting through the cart or breaking the cart. This essentially means that the moon / planet will be within the V-shape of Haydes. The earliest text to mention this śiṣydhīvriddhidatantra of Lalla (Chatterjee, 1981). It provides the condition for the event (śakaṭa-bheda) as the dhruvaka 1R|16O|40’ and śara 4O|30’ S. These can be approximated as ecliptic longitude and latitude for small values of the latitude. 1R refers to the unit of 30O, R for Rāśi, the zodiacal sign. Therefore, dhruvaka is 46O |40’
The stellarium image of the Hyades region for the year 443CE. The date of śiṣydhīvriddhidatantra is assigned to be 8th century (Chattarjee, 1981). The precise date of the text is not known preventing the application of precession correction. There is also a clue that he was using a reference which was probably 400 years earlier to him, justifying the depiction shown. The fine tuning of the ecliptic longitude has been used so as to match with that given in the text. This clearly shows the marker within the V shape of the Hyades.
The other texts which specifically refer to this event are Grahalāghava, (16th century) by Ganeśa Daivajnya (Balachandra Rao and Padmaja, 2008) and Samanta Chandrashekhara in Siddhānta Darpaṅa (19th century) (Upadhyaya, online source). The latter states that the event is decided by the maximum value of śara possible for the planets, which is the same as the orbital inclination. According to him the event śakaṭa-bheda is possible for only budha and śukra (Mercury and Venus), rarely possible for śani (with parama śara as 2O|29’) and impossible for mangala (Mars).
The drawing depicting the cart of Rohiṅī (drawn by B S Shylaja) for a sky theatre show in the planetarium.
Mythology
In Greek mythology, both the names of the sisters and their parents vary.[2]
| parents | sisters |
|---|---|
|
|
Weblinks
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hoffmann, S.M. (2025). Image Analysis of VAT 7851, Archiv für Orientforschung (AfO) 56, 45-53
- ↑ Hyades in THEOI online
