5. Next comes Krittikā (the Pleiades): ... The star cluster Krittika ... sometimes known as Kārtikā, corresponds to the open star cluster Pleiades in Indian astronomy and Jyotisa (Hindu astrology). The name literally translates to 'the cutters' ... "In Hindu mythology, the god Murugan (Skanda/Subrahmanya/Kartikeya) was raised by the six sisters known as the Krttikā and thus came to be known as Kārtikeya (literally 'Him of the Krttikā'). According to the Mahābhārata, Murugan was born to Agni and Svāhā, after the latter impersonated six of the seven wives of the Saptarsi and made love to him. The Saptarshi, hearing of this incident and doubting their wives' chastity, divorced them. These wives then became the Krttikā." (Wikipedia)
When we count ahead 13 nights from Bharani we will not reach the Pleiades:
There are 3 extra glyphs in between. Maybe this phenomenon is due to the idea of a new year beginning with the Pleiades, and possibly extra days have been inserted at Gb8-18--20:
In order to enlighten us a little more I wish to quote from Hamlets' Mill: "Skanda (literally 'the jumping one' or 'the hopping one') is the planet Mars, also called Kartikeya, inasmuch as he was borne by the Krittika, the Pleiades. Mbh. 9.44-46 (Roy trans. vol. 7, pp. 130-43). It should be emphasized, aloud and strongly, that in Babylonian astronomy Mars is the only planetary representative of the Pleiades. See P. F. Gössmann. Planetarium Babylonicum (1950), p. 279: 'In der Planetenvertretung kommt für die Plejaden nur Mars in Frage.' The Mahabharata insists on six as the number of the Pleiades as well as of the mothers of Skanda and gives a very broad and wild description of the birth and the installation of Kartikeya 'by the assembled gods ... as their generalissimo', which is shattering, somehow, driving home how little one understands as yet. The least which can be said, assuredly: Mars was 'installed' during a more or less close conjunction of all planets; in Mbh. 9.45 (p. 133) it is stressed that the powerful gods assembled 'all poured water upon Skanda, even as the gods had poured water on the head of Varuna, the lord of waters, for investing him with dominion'. And this 'investiture' took place at the beginning of the Krita Yuga, the Golden Age." |