Ashlesha (Sanskrit: आश्लेषा or ''Āśleṣā'') (Tibetan: སྐར་མ་སྐག), also known as Ayilyam in
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
and
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
(Tamil: ஆயில்யம், Malayalam: ആയില്യം, ''Āyilyaṃ''), is the 9th of the 27
nakshatra
Nakshatra () is the term for Lunar mansion in Hindu astrology and Buddhist astrology. A nakshatra is one of 27 (sometimes also 28) sectors along the ecliptic. Their names are related to a prominent star or asterisms in or near the respective s ...
s in
Hindu astrology. Ashlesha is also known as the Clinging Star or
Nāga
In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...
. It corresponds to part of the constellation
Hydra, including the star
Epsilon Hydrae
Epsilon Hydrae (ε Hydrae, abbreviated Epsilon Hya, ε Hya) is a multiple star system of a combined third magnitude in the constellation of Hydra. Based upon parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is located ro ...
which has been named Ashlesha. It extends from 16:40 to 30:00
Cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
.
The planetary lord is
Mercury or
Budha
Budha () is the Sanskrit word for the planet Mercury (planet), Mercury, personified as a god. Also a god who represented the intelligence.
He is also known as Somaya, Rohinaya, and rules over the nakshatra, ''nakshatra''s (lunar mansions) of A ...
. Its presiding deities are the
Nāga
In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...
s.
The nakshatra's symbol is a coiled serpent. It is a ''trikshna'' or sharp nakshatra. Its animal symbol is the male cat.
See also
*
List of Nakshatras
In Indian astronomy, Ancient Indian astronomy, there are 27 ''nakshatras'' , or sectors along the ecliptic. A list of them is first found in the ''Vedanga Jyotisha'', a text dated to the final centuries BCE. The ''Nakṣatra'' system predates the i ...
References
Nakshatra
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