ASTRONOMICAL MYTHS IN ANCIENT INDIA
Garuda(Aquila):
The constellation of Aquila,also known as Garuda is the constellation that looks like a crooked plus sign and can be found near the Cygnus or Swan constellation. The story of Garuda as in Hindu mythology is as follows:
Garuda,the king of birds and the vahana(mount)of Lord Vishnu, was the brother of Aruna(The Sun’s Charioteer) and the son of Kashyapa and Vinata. Kadru,another wife of Kashyapa tricked Vinata into losing a bet and hence enslaved her. Kadru had 1000 children who were all snakes.In return for his mother’s freedom,the snakes asked him to bring amrita(elixir of immortality) from the heavens. Garuda,after a lot of difficulty,managed to get hold of amrita but Indra had warned him not to give it to the snakes. So after the snakes freed his mother, Garuda asked them to purify themselves before drinking the holy amrita.As they returned,Jayanta(son of Indra) had already stolen the amrita and all the snakes were devoured by Garuda. Garuda’s incredible might and determination pleased Vishnu and he went on to become Vishnu’s Vahana(mount).
Saptarshi Mandal(The Big Dipper):
It consists of 3 stars forming a handle and 4 stars forming a cradle. The seven stars represent the seven sages(saptarishi) according to hindu mythology namely Vashistha,Marichi,Pulastya,Pulaha, Atri, Angiras and Kratu. Vashishta(Mizar) forms a binary star system (Mizar’s double)with another star called Arundhati(Alcone),who was Vashishta’s wife.
The story goes like this - Agni,the God of fire,was lustful for the wives of the seven sages. So a girl named Svaha,who was in love with Agni,took the form of the rishi’s wives and approached him. Svaha was able to take the form of all the wives except Arundhati because of her chastity and extreme devotion towards her husband. After Agni had a child,the six rishis separated from their wives because of doubt about their immaculacy. These six wives went on to become the six stars in the constellation Pleiades(Krittika).
Svana(sirius):
The brightest star in the night sky,Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Major.The Mahaprasthanika Parva(17th of the 18 books of the Mahabharata epic)features the story of the pandavas and the svana(dog)that accompanied them on their journey to the heavens.
It's been nearly 50 years since we last walked on the moon. The Apollo program consisted of 6 crewed flights to the moon including the Apollo 11 mission whose mission commander Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the moon. A total of 12 astronauts have walked on the moon as of now. The Apollo missions were cancelled due to various economic and political reasons and the focus was shifted towards programs like NASA’s Skylab and Space shuttle.
Long after the legendary war was over,the Pandavas,having served their purpose,were advised by Vyasa to renounce their kingdom. So the five brothers (Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Sahadeva, Nakula) and their wife,Droupati set out towards the Himalayas. A dog befriends them and they decide to take it along. As they walked along the tedious path along the himalayas,Droupati was the first to die on the way. Yudhishthira explains that it was due to her partiality to Arjuna that she couldn’t complete the journey. The next to die was Sahadeva. The reason given by Yudhishthira was that it was due to his pride and vanity on behalf of the fact that none was equal to him in wisdom. Likewise,all the Pandavas except Yudhishthira died due to their pride and vanity, Nakula because of his beauty, Arjuna because of his skill,and Bheema because of his might and gluttony. Finally only the dog and Yudhishthira were left.
As they continued their journey, they were met by Indra(King of the Gods) who greeted Yudhishthira and invited him into heaven on the condition that the dog cannot enter. Yudhishthira said that he had already abandoned his brothers and Droupati since they could not be revived,but he cannot abandon his companion while it is still alive. The dog then suddenly turned into the deity Dharma. This was actually the final test before reaching heaven and Yudhishthira had successfully passed it because of his selflessness and commitment to the right path regardless of the consequences.
As we look at the night sky, we can see the Svana shining bright, along with all the other mythological characters that fill the heavens, reminding us of countless stories that have taught and inspired millions and will keep on doing so for generations to come.