The star cluster '

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: कृत्तिका, pronounced , popularly

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

Krittika), sometimes known as Kārtikā, corresponds to the

open star cluster An open cluster is a type of star cluster made of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way galaxy, and ...

called

Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance ...

in western

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

; it is one of the clusters which makes up the constellation

Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus * '' Bos tauru ...

. In

Indian astronomy Astronomy has long history in Indian subcontinent stretching from pre-historic to modern times. Some of the earliest roots of Indian astronomy can be dated to the period of Indus Valley civilisation or earlier. Astronomy later developed as a dis ...

and (

Hindu astrology 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 one ...

) the name literally translates to "the cutters". It is also the name of its goddess-personification, who is a daughter of Daksha and

Panchajani In Hindu mythology, Asikni ( sa, असिक्नी, Asiknī, the dark one' or 'night), also known as Panchajani and Virani, is a consort of Daksha in the Puranic pantheon. Most scriptures mention her as the mother of 6000 sons and 60 daughte ...

, and thus a half-sister to

Khyati Khyati () is one of the 24 daughters of Daksha, born to his wife Prasuti. Her father is regarded to have another 62 from his wife Panchajani (Virini).The Matsya Puranam P-I (B.D. Basu) English Translation Ch #5, Page 17 One of his daughters is c ...

. Spouse of Kṛttikā is

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) a ...

("moon"). The six Krittikas who raised the Hindu God

Kartikeya Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesh ...

are Śiva, Sambhūti, Prīti, Sannati, Anasūya and Kṣamā.The Sacred Books of the Hindus, Vol 21, Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vidyaranya, p29, The Panini Office (Bhuvaneswari Asrama), 1918. In Hindu astrology, is the third of the 27 s. It is ruled by Sun. Under the traditional Hindu principle of naming individuals according to their Ascendant/Lagna , the following

syllables correspond with this , and would belong at the beginning of the first name of an individual born under it: A (अ), I (ई), U (उ) and E (ए).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krttika Taurus (constellation) Nakshatra Daughters of Daksha

See also

References