Anuradha (अनुराधा)

Anuradha nakshatra in Tirupperunthurai (Athmanathaswamy temple) near Aranthangi, India, 10th century CE. (SMH 2025).

The nakshatras 17, 18, 19 mapped to the Stellarium star chart; Anuradha is the westernmost (right) one.

Anuradha (अनुराधा) 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

• Anuradha
• Maitra

Origin of Constellation

Anuradha means "following Radha". It is an asterism depicted as consisting of four stars. They are typically identified with β, δ, φ and ρ Scorpii, a rather recognizable configuation that forms almost a straight line. The same line forms the Chinese constellation Fang (房宿).

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

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

Mythology

mnemonic tales and cultural significance

References

• References (general)