This is a series of 12 constellations (one for each month, roughly) which form a band in the sky, through which visible objects of the solar system (saura-maNDala) wander. This is a result of the thin shape of the solar system. Each of these occupies roughly 30 degrees of the 360 degree band.
“मेषवृषमिथुनकर्क्कटसिंहाः कन्या तुलाथ वृश्चिकभम् । धनुरथ मकरः कुम्भो मीन इति च राशयः कथिताः ॥”
- मेषः - अश्विन्या सह भरणी कृत्तिकापादश्च कीर्त्तितो मेषः ।
- वृषभः कृत्तिकाशेषं रोहिण्यर्द्धश्च मृगशिरसः ।
- मृगशिरसोऽर्द्धं चार्द्रा पुनर्व्वसोस्त्रिपादो मिथुनम् ।
- पादः पुनर्व्वसोरन्त्यः पुष्योऽश्लेषा च कर्कटः ॥
- सिंहोऽथ मघा पूर्व्वफल्गुणी पाद उत्तरायाः ।
- तच्छेषं हस्ता चित्रार्द्धञ्च कन्यकाख्यः ॥
- तोलिनि चित्रार्द्धं स्वाती विशाखायाः पादत्रयम् ।
- वृश्चिकः - अलिनि विशाखा पादस्तथानुराधान्विता ज्येष्ठा ॥
- मूल-पूर्व्वाषाढा-प्रथमश्चाप्युत्तरांशको धन्वी ।
- मकरस् तत्परिशेषं श्रवणा चांर्द्धं धनिष्ठायाः ॥
- धनिष्ठार्द्धं शतभिषा पुर्व्वभाद्रपदपादत्रयं कुम्भः ।
- पूर्वभाद्रपदाशेषस्तथोत्तरा रेवती मीनः ॥
पाश्चात्यनामानि स्मर्तुम् - Mnemonic: ArTaGeCaLeViLiSc SaCapAqPi ।
वृश्चिकराशिः
- “It is notable that if mUlam is root the vishAkhe are the dual branches. jyeShThA could mean the foremost or the trunk. Thus it is possible that in old Aryan uranography the whole Scorpius-Libra complex was seen as a tree rooted ay the nether end of the equinoctial colure. This probably gave rise to the vaiShNava concept of the viShAkhayUpa mentioned in the pa~ncharAtra texts & illustrated in some of the early vaiShNava iconography & coinage from the kuShANa age.”
वृषभः
- sauchIka agni mantra
- yA rohiNIr devatyA gAvo yA uta rohiNIH | (AV-vulgate 1.22.3ab) [MT]
- pra vAM sharadvAn vR^iShabho na niShShAT pUrvIr iShash charati madhva iShNan | evair anyasya pIpayanta vAjair veShantIr UrdhvA nadyo na AguH || (RV 1.181.06) Approximately: The autumnal bull of you two, like a mighty one comes forth, sending from the east, sending forth honey. [MT]
- “स जनास इन्द्रः” इति सूक्ते ऽपि लक्ष्यते।
रोहिणी-शकटम्, सारथिः
- revad uvAha sachano ratho vAM vR^iShabhash cha shiMshumArash cha yuktA || [RV 1.116.18cd] [MT] = The chariot that bore you two brought beautiful riches: a bull and a dolphin were yoked together.
“In Greco-Roman star lore the constellation Auriga is the charioteer. Traditionally, in India too the constellation is refered to as the sArathi, which means the same thing. The mainstream Western scholarship has believed that this is a recent acquisition of the constellation name from the Greco-Roman world. If Auriga is the charioteer, where is his car? India star-lore records an unsual name for the Hyades cluster in constellation of Taurus: rohINi shakaTa: The cart of roHiNI (alpha Tauri) [sUrya siddhAnta, 8.13]. Not surprisingly, the constellation is also called the shakaTa of prajApati or brahmA [ pa~ncha siddhAnta 238-241]. Traditionally, Hindu astronomy records the star Capella (alpha-Aurigae) as brahma-hR^idaya (the heart of brahmA). This suggests that the Hyades, which indeed look like a simple cart was the cart of rohiNi or prajApati, thus linking the cart to the charioteer. Hence, while lateral Greco-Roman influence cannot be ruled out entirely, it is likely that the basic concepts concerning this constellation go back to the misty Indo-European past when Greeks and Indians shared a common ancestor.” MT