Pouṣṇa

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Paushna

Pouṣṇa पौष्ण

The possible identification of the five stars of Revati from the temple engraving. They are e d z89 and 96
The position is indicated by the blue symbol between zeta and epsilon Psc

Authors: ASE Tech Team, Shylaja, Susanne M Hoffmann


Pouṣṇa (पौष्ण) is another name for Revati, (रेवती), the 27th star

Etymology and History

Name Variants

  • Revati
  • Pouṣṇa (पौष्ण)

Pouṣṇa (पौष्ण) is also the name of the 27th nakshatra and specifically its yogatara (main star) Revati is assigned ζ Psc. This has the presiding deity as Pūṣan, the Sun. The word Pouṣṇa is derived from Pūṣan.

Identification and Main Star

Revati's shape in temple illustrations shows a group of five stars epsilon, delta, ζ, 89 and 96 Psc . It matches a characteristic arch pattern including its determinative star (ζ Psc) in the Pisces/Andromeda area. We arrive at the identification with Z Psc as determined from the coordinates of Sūryasiddhānta.

In the catalogue of stars provided by Nityananda[1] of 17th century the entry corresponds to the name Pouṣṇa, the ecliptic longitude if 359 degrees and the latitude zero. This position is midway between ζ Psc and epislon Psc. Hence we propose the name Pouṣṇa for epsilon Psc.

Stars within the Constellation Area

Transfer and Transformation

Mythology/ Religion

IAU Working Group on Star Names

Reference

  1. Venketeswara R Pai and Shylaja B S, 2021, JOAA, 42, 113 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12036-021-09736-