Expert: Jayendra Upadhye - 12/5/2006

Question
in hindu tradition saggitarius is represented by 2 constellations called ashadha (poorva and uttara), one of them is represented by elephant tusks. could you tell me please whether the passing of the moon through these stars represented an important astronomical event in antiquity(equinoxes, solstices)? what does it represent now? in other words, is the presence of the moon in a constellation affected by the precession of the equinoxes the way the presence of the sun is?
thank you very much,
Cat

Answer
Hi Cat,
You indeed take the Cake! No one has asked me such a profound question yet!
Baba I am no Tilak! (Arctic home of the aryans)..
Indian mythological tales are rich in astronomical references ..namely the ramayan and the Mahabharata.
[Masanam margasheershoham...in the geeta! the lord saying i am first amongst the months..margasheersha being the first one when he said thus!]

By the way..isnt sagittarius the same as "mula" nakshatra?
"Mula" or "Moola" meaning "root" or "source", because the galactic center lies there?
[The ancients knew their stuff well it appears!].

I would draw your attention to an excellent link here on astronomy in indian myths, and the fact that the saptarishis actually change shape and regain shape as the sun orbits around the brightest star in the pleades!

Strange conclusion but one worth investigating.
The precession of the equinoxes is covered in this link too, where in the shakalya sanhita, it is mentioned that they cover one cycle in 2700 years.

http://indiaculture.net/talk/messages/128/11804.html?1120174919

I will answer the second question first! The precession of the equinoxes, alters the orientation of the tilt with respect to the ecliptic.
As the moon more or less follows the ecliptic (its orbit is not exactly coplanar with it), yes, its percieved passage sampled at constant intervals will be seen to wander around as happens to the sun too.

Unfortunately, apart from mentioning that rahu was located here during the mahabharatan war, no other significant mythological associan could be founf by me with poorvashadha or uttarashadha.

Sorry.
Do look up that very enlightening link!
Jayen