Kartikeya
The third of the 27 Nakshatras is Krittika, which spans from 26°40′ Aries to 10° Taurus. Kṛttikā कृत्तिका means white spots and is associated with the sisters of stars, the Pleiades. In Hindu mythology the Krittika were six sisters who raised the god of war, Kartikeya, who is connected with the Greek/Roman god Ares/Mars. The symbol for Krittika is the razor, representing both good and bad power, and war and destruction. This Nakshatra has the capacity for vitality and strength or for destruction and devastation.
Agni, the god of fire, is the presiding deity and the planetary lord is the Sun, full of fiery heat. Though it has a sattvic undercurrent, Krittika’s main Guna is Rajas, and it’s Purushaartha is Kama. Being situated in the heavens in both Aries and Taurus, this adds an additional influence of these signs’ ruling planets: Mars (war, destruction, fire, activity) and Venus (passion, desire, but also creativity). Krittika is layered with power, fire, activity, and passion!
Those born with the influence of this Nakshatra will definitely be passionately driven in their lives, whether it’s to gain material wealth and comfort at the cost of others, or to pursue a life of spirituality and service with passionate dedication. The Moon is exalted in this lunar mansion. The Moon represents the mind, emotions, and intuition. It’s placement in Krittika indicates a powerful and creative mind that is able to face great challenges.
All the Nakshatras, Vedic (Sidereal) Zodiac signs, and more can be found in my book, Shedding Light on Jyotisha, Vedic Astrology For Beginners © 2015.
Shedding Light on Jyotisha, Vedic Astrology For Beginner’s, is now available online at Amazon, Amazon Canada, Amazon India, Amazon UK, and international Amazon stores, Barnes & Noble, and other smaller bookstores.
I remodelled a museum in Jaipur, the city created by Jai Singh in the early 17th century – he was devoted to astrology and built the city according to its norms – it has a world famous observatory built by him – look for Jantar Mantar, Jaipur on the web – at the museum (Albert Hall) there are numerous relics associated with astrology – i was asked to do a web site for the museum which i recently completed – i think it is state of the art – in the ‘Virtual Tour’ my voice takes you round the museum for 8 minutes and there are over 300 objects which you can zoom into – you might find a lot of interest on that site – if interested do visit – the url is: alberthalljaipur.gov.in
enjoyed your post on krittika – wonder if you know that many indian months in our lunar calander are named after the Nakshatras
Namaste
Yes, I have heard of and seen videos about the observatory! I very much hope to visit it someday. I will check out the link of your Virtual Tour. Thank you for sending it!
Yes, I am aware of your lunar calendar and the Nakshatras. Thank you. 🙂 Namaste Indrajit _/l\_
I enjoyed the virtual tour! Thank you again!
do look at the exhibits too
Kartikeya is Shiva and Pravati son, brother if Ganesha. Nicely written
Thank you! Yes, I’m trying to just introduce the mythology briefly since there are always variations on the myths, son of Shiva and Parvati (Puranas) or son of Agni and Svaaha (Mahabharata), and there are plenty of resources for those interested in studying the mythology further.
Wonderful Peacock in the art. Do you do the artwork, too?
Thank you! No, I don’t do the art. I usually find pics thru google searching. 😉
Fits nicely with your site. 🙂 I just submitted a poem today to the Fairy Tale Review. Wish me luck?
It does! I didn’t know the god Kartikeya had the peacock connected to him until I searched for pics. 🙂 Ooh, yes lots of luck on your submission!