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Brihaspati ( sa, बृहस्पति, ), also known as Guru, is a Hindu deity. In the ancient
Vedic scriptures upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
of Hinduism, Brihaspati is a deity associated with
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
, and the word also refers to a
rishi ''Rishi'' () is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" o ...
(sage) who counsels the
devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...
(gods). In some later texts, the word refers to the largest planet of the solar system, Jupiter, and the deity is associated with the planet as a
Navagraha Navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu astrology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( sa, नव "nine") and ''graha'' ( sa, ग्रह "planet, seizing, laying hold of, ...
.


Sage

Brihaspati appears in the Rigveda (pre-1000 BCE), such as in the dedications to him in the hymn 50 of Book 4; he is described as a sage born from the first great light, the one who drove away darkness, is bright and pure, and carries a special bow whose string is ''
Rta RTA may refer to: Media * Radio and Television Arts, program at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada * Radio Television Afghanistan ** RTA TV, an Afghan channel * Radiodiffusion Télévision Algérienne * Real time attack, a game speedrun Sci ...
'' or "cosmic order" (basis of dharma). His knowledge and character is revered, and he is considered Guru (teacher) by all the
Devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...
. In the Vedic literature and other ancient texts, sage Brihaspati is also called by other names such as Bramanaspati, Purohita, Angirasa (son of
Angiras Angiras or Angira (Sanskrit: / ', pronounced ) was a Vedic rishi (sage) of Hinduism. He is described in the ''Rigveda'' as a teacher of divine knowledge, a mediator between men and gods, as well as stated in other hymns to be the first of ...
) and
Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
; he is sometimes identified with god
Agni Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hind ...
(fire). His wife is Tara (or goddess who personifies the stars in the sky). The reverence for sage Brihaspati endured through the medieval period, and one of the many Dharmasastras was named after him. While the manuscripts of ''Brihaspati Smriti'' (') have not survived into the modern era, its verses were cited in other Indian texts. Scholars have made an effort to extract these cited verses, thus creating a modern reconstruction of Bṛhaspatismriti. Jolly and Aiyangar have gathered some 2,400 verses of the lost Bṛhaspatismṛti text in this manner. Brihaspati Smriti was likely a larger and more comprehensive text than
Manusmriti The ''Manusmṛiti'' ( sa, मनुस्मृति), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitution among the many ' of Hinduism. In ancient India, the sages often wrote the ...
, and the available evidence suggests that the discussion of the judicial process and jurisprudence in Brihaspati Smriti was often cited.


Brihaspati sutras

''Brihaspati sutras'', also called the ''
Barhaspatya sutras The ''Bārhaspatya sūtras'' (derived from the name of the author Brhaspati), or ''Lokāyata sutras'' are the foundational texts of the '' nastika'' Charvaka school of materialist philosophy. This text has been lost, and is known only from fragm ...
'', is an ancient Sanskrit text named after its author Brihaspati, known for its theories of materialism and anti-theism. Its tenets are at the foundation of the
Charvaka Charvaka ( sa, चार्वाक; IAST: ''Cārvāka''), also known as ''Lokāyata'', is an ancient school of Indian materialism. Charvaka holds direct perception, empiricism, and conditional inference as proper sources of knowledge, embra ...
school of non-orthodox Indian philosophy. The ''Brihaspati Sutras'' manuscript has been lost to history or yet to be found.John M. Koller (1977)
Skepticism in Early Indian Thought
Philosophy East and West, 27(2): 155–164
However, the text is quoted in other Hindu,
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
and
Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
texts, and this secondary literature has been the source for reconstructing the ''Brihaspati sutras'' partially. Some scholars suggest that ''Brihaspati sutras'' are named after Brihaspati in the Vedas, but other scholars dispute this theory because the text rejects the Vedas.


Planet

Brihaspati as a planet ( Jupiter) appears in various Hindu astronomical texts in Sanskrit, such as the 5th century ''Aryabhatiya'' by
Aryabhata Aryabhata (ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer of the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. He flourished in the Gupta Era and produced works such as the '' Aryabhatiya'' (which ...
, the 6th century ''Romaka'' by Latadeva and ''Panca Siddhantika'' by Varahamihira, the 7th century ''Khandakhadyaka'' by Brahmagupta and the 8th century ''Sisyadhivrddida'' by Lalla. These texts present Brihaspati as one of the planets and estimate the characteristics of the respective planetary motion. Other texts such as ''Surya Siddhanta'' dated to have been complete sometime between the 5th century and 10th century present their chapters on various planets with deity mythologies. The manuscripts of these texts exist in slightly different versions, present Brihaspati's motion in the skies, but vary in their data, suggesting that the text were open and revised over their lives. The texts slightly disagree in their data, in their measurements of Brihaspati's revolutions, apogee, epicycles, nodal longitudes, orbital inclination, and other parameters. For example, both ''Khandakhadyaka'' and ''Surya Siddhanta'' of Varaha state that Brihaspati completes 364,220 revolutions every 4,320,000 earth years, an Epicycle of Apsis as 32 degrees, and had an apogee (aphelia) of 160 degrees in 499 CE; while another manuscript of ''Surya Siddhanta'' accepts the revolutions to be 364,220, but revises the apogee to 171 degrees and 16 seconds and the Epicycle slightly. The 1st millennium CE Hindu scholars had estimated the time it took for sidereal revolutions of each planet including Brihaspati, from their astronomical studies, with slightly different results: In medieval mythologies particularly those associated with Hindu astrology, Brihaspati has a second meaning and refers to Jupiter. It became the root of the word 'Brihaspativara' or Thursday in the Hindu calendar. Brihaspati as Jupiter is part of the
Navagraha Navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu astrology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( sa, नव "nine") and ''graha'' ( sa, ग्रह "planet, seizing, laying hold of, ...
in Hindu zodiac system, considered auspicious and benevolent. The word "Thursday" in the Greco-Roman and other Indo-European calendars is also dedicated to planet Jupiter (god of sky and thunder). Their zodiac signs being nearly identical.


Worship

Jyotisha Jyotisha or Jyotishya (from Sanskrit ', from ' “light, heavenly body" and ''ish'' - from Isvara or God) is the traditional Hindu system of astrology, also known as Hindu astrology, Indian astrology and more recently Vedic astrology. It is on ...
is Hindu astrology, which entails concept of Nakshatra (see also List of Natchathara temples),
Navagraha Navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu astrology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( sa, नव "nine") and ''graha'' ( sa, ग्रह "planet, seizing, laying hold of, ...
(see also List of Navagraha temples and Saptarishi included in the list of Hindu deities whose dedicated temples are found at various Hindu pilgrimage sites to which Hindus take pilgrimage
yatra ( sa, यात्रा, 'journey', 'procession'), in Indian-origin religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, generally means a pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, sacred mountains, places associated w ...
. One of the most famous temples of Brihaspati is situated in Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu State.


Iconography

The icon of Brihaspati makes his body golden, with his legs striped blue and his head covered with a halo of moon and stars. He holds different items depending on the region. In parts of South Asia he holds a container containing soma, sometimes with a tamed tiger. Elsewhere, his icon carries a stick, a lotus and
beads A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...
. Brihaspati was married to Tara. In some medieval mythologies, Tara was abducted by
Chandra Chandra ( sa, चन्द्र, Candra, shining' or 'moon), also known as Soma ( sa, सोम), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) an ...
. Tara bore a son,
Budha Budha ( sa, बुध) is a Sanskrit word that connotes the planet Mercury. Budha, in Hindu legends, is also a deity. He is also known as Soumya (Sanskrit: सौम्य, lit. ''son of Moon''), Rauhineya and Tunga and is the Nakshatra lor ...
(planet Mercury).


Dedicated day

Thursday is considered to be the dedicated day for Brihaspati. According Hindu mythology, praying to Brihaspati on Thursday provides astrological benefits.


See also

* Dyaus Pita *
Navagraha Navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu astrology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( sa, नव "nine") and ''graha'' ( sa, ग्रह "planet, seizing, laying hold of, ...
* Nakshatra *
Jyotisha Jyotisha or Jyotishya (from Sanskrit ', from ' “light, heavenly body" and ''ish'' - from Isvara or God) is the traditional Hindu system of astrology, also known as Hindu astrology, Indian astrology and more recently Vedic astrology. It is on ...
* Jupiter * Zeus


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

Navagraha Hindu sages Rigvedic deities Hindu gods Knowledge gods Jovian deities {{Hinduism-stub