The Hindu Star Catalogue of India
Today is Phālguṇa Pūrṇimā, i.e., Holi festival! Greetings on that occassion as well as Lakshmi Jayanti (Uttaraphalguṇī) a.k.a the birth anniversay of Mother Lakṣmidēvī.
Indians have been observing the stars for many millenia. The categorical list of 27 nakṣatras (28 including Abhijit) are recorded in the Yajurveda (Taittirīya-Saṃhitā 4.4.10, Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa 1.1.2.4). The following is a bit more comprehensive, longer catalog of popular stars known to us.
List published by the Government of India
The Indian Astronomical Ephemeris and the Rashtriya Panchang publish an official list of modern stars/constellations corresponding to Indian ones. These are largely the same as what Colebrooke published in 1880s or something. See below for an updated list.
The Hindu names are hyphenated by a halves’ number, if applicable.
| Hindu Name | Bayer Designation | Common Name | Ecliptic Lat. (°) | Proper Motion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aṡvinī | β Arietis | Sheratan | +08.48898 | +098.74 mas/yr |
| Bharaṇī | 41 Arietis | 41Ari | +42.95318 | +066.81 mas/yr |
| Kṛttikā | η Tauri | Alcyone | +04.05358 | +019.34 |
| Rōhiṇī | α Tauri | Aldebaran | –05.46586 | +063.45 |
| Mṛgaṡirā | L Orionis | Meissa | –13.36658 | +002.90 |
| Ārdrā | α Orionis | Betelgeuse | –16.02394 | +026.42 |
| Punarvasu–1 | β Geminorum | Pollux | +06.68556 | –626.55 |
| Punarvasu–2 | α Geminorum cg | Castor | +10.09694 | –191.45 |
| Puṣya | δ Cancri | Asellus Australis | +00.07789 | –017.67 |
| Āṡlēṣā | ε Hydrae A | Ashlesha,epHya | –11.10194 | –228.11 |
| Maghā | α Leonis | Regulus | +00.46574 | –248.73 |
| Pūrvaphalguṇī–1 | δ Leonis | Zosma | +14.33253 | +143.42 |
| Pūrvaphalguṇī–2 | θ Leonis | Chertan | +09.67335 | –060.31 |
| Uttaraphalguṇī–1 | β Leonis | Denebola | +12.26387 | –497.68 |
| Uttaraphalguṇī–2 | 93 Leonis | 93Leo | –10.90447 | –145.49 |
| Hastā | δ Corvi | Algorab | –12.19741 | –210.49 |
| Citrā | α Virginis | Spica | –02.05603 | –042.35 |
| Svātī | α Bootis | Arcturus | +30.71762 | –1093.45 |
| Viṡākhā | α² Librae | Zuben Elgenubi | +00.33012 | –105.68 |
| Anurādhā | δ Scorpii | Dschubba | –01.98898 | –010.21 |
| Jyēṣṭhā | α Scorpii cg | Antares | –04.57285 | –012.11 |
| Mūlā | λ Scorpii Aa | Shaula | –13.79155 | –008.90 |
| Pūrvāṣāḍhā–1 | δ Sagittarii | Kaus Medis | –06.47544 | +032.54 |
| Pūrvāṣāḍhā–2 | ε Sagittarii | Kaus Australis | –11.05566 | –039.42 |
| Uttarāṣāḍhā | σ Sagittarii | Nunki | –3.452811 | +015.14 |
| Abhijit | α Lyrae | Vega | +61.73309 | +200.94 |
| Ṡravaṇā | α Aquilae | Altair | +29.30424 | +536.23 |
| Dhaniṣṭhā–1 | β Delphini m | Rotanev | +31.91780 | +118.09 |
| Dhaniṣṭhā–2 | α Delphini m | Sualocin | +33.02279 | +053.82 |
| Ṡatabhiṣā | λ Aquarii | Hydor | –00.38722 | +011.81 |
| Pūrvābhādrā–1 | α Pegasi | Markab | +19.40745 | +060.40 |
| Pūrvābhādrā–2 | β Pegasi | Scheat | +31.14398 | +187.65 |
| Uttarābhādra–1 | γ Pegasi | Algenib | +12.60082 | +001.98 |
| Uttarābhādra–2 | α Andromedae | Alpheratz | +25.68254 | +135.68 |
| Rēvatī | ζ Piscium | Revati,zePsc | –00.21286 | +145.00 |
| Dhruva | α Ursae Mins | Polaris | +66.10423 | +198.80 |
| Agni | β Tauri | El Nath | +05.38705 | +022.76 |
| Brahmahṛdaya | α Aurigae | Capella | +22.86480 | +075.52 |
| Prajāpati | δ Aurigae | Prijipati,deAur | +30.84749 | +085.81 |
| Agastya | α Carinae | Canopus | –75.81934 | +019.93 |
| Lubdhaka | α Canis Maj cg | Sirius | –39.60962 | –546.01 |
| Ādhāra | ε Canis Maj | Adhara,epCMa | –51.35581 | +002.63 |
| Kratu | α Ursae Maj | Dubhe | +49.67833 | –134.11 |
| Pulaha | β Ursae Maj | Merak | +45.13204 | +081.43 |
| Pulastya | γ Ursae Maj | Phecda | +47.13950 | +107.68 |
| Atri | δ Ursae Maj | Megrez | +51.65437 | +104.11 |
| Aṅgirā | ε Ursae Maj | Alioth | +54.31563 | +111.91 |
| Vasiṣṭha | ζ Ursae Maj pr | Mizar | +56.37513 | +119.01 |
| Marīci | η Ursae Maj | Alkaid | +54.38262 | +121.17 |
| Arundhati | 80 Ursae Maj | Alcor | +56.54683 | +119.01 |
The stars lying almost completely in the plane of ecliptic (0° lat) are Puṣya, Rēvatī, Viṡākhā, Ṡatabhiṣā and Maghā. The stars with lowest proper motion (in milli-arcseconds/year) are Uttarābhādra–1, Ādhāra, Mṛgaṡirā, Mūlā, Anurādhā, Ṡatabhiṣā and Jyēṣṭhā.
The last column has been calculated from Swiss Ephemeris using swe.fixstar_ut() using the argument
names given under column 3 (“Common Name”). The names of the stars can be looked up from
/usr/share/libswe/ephe/sefstars.txt.
Shortcomings
The above list is not perfect. The adjacent distance between Citrā and Svāti must be about 13⅓ ° but as per the above table they’re just 00°23’31 apart, not even 1°! See A.K.Kaul’s article on the absurdity of the above table.
Many of the nakshatras don’t even lie in the 13⅓ ° band named after them!
Modern List of Stars
A more recent list of stars are provided by scholars like here and here.
N is the number of individual stars/clusters considered to make up the lunar mansion given under
“Hindu name”.
“Yogatara” lists the central star of the lunar mansion.
“Magnitude” gives the apparent magnitude, lower is brighter.
“Latitude” is the ecliptic latitude, doesn’t depend on ayanamsha.
“Longitude” is the ecliptic longitude, given below for TRUE_CITRA ayanamsa.
“Span” is the number of degrees of ecliptic longitude to next nakshatra, doesn’t depend on ayanamsha.
“Motion” is the difference in ecliptic longitude of that nakshatra over a span of 5000 years
(between 2500 BCE and 2500 CE). Units: minutes of arc. Naturally, this depends on ayanamsha – this
being TRUE_CITRA, the motion is 0° for Citra itself.
| Hindu name | N | Yogatara | Bayer | Magnitude | Span (°) | Latitude (°) | Longitude (°) | Motion (’) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aṡvinī | 3 | Hamal | alAri | 2.00 | 10.54 | +09.97 | +013.83 | +09.3150 |
| Bharaṇī | 3 | ,41Ari | 41Ari | 3.61 | 11.79 | +10.45 | +024.37 | +01.3869 |
| Kṛttikā | 6 | Alcyone | etTau | 2.87 | 09.80 | +04.05 | +036.16 | +03.5962 |
| Rōhiṇī | 5 | Aldebaran | alTau | 0.98 | 12.79 | –05.47 | +045.95 | +08.9080 |
| Mṛgaṡirā | 3 | Elnath | beTau | 1.68 | 16.53 | +05.39 | +058.74 | +04.5786 |
| Ārdrā | 1 | Alhena | gaGem | 1.90 | 14.11 | –06.74 | +075.27 | +04.0080 |
| Punarvasu | 4 | Pollux | beGem | 1.15 | 11.04 | +06.68 | +089.38 | –45.4437 |
| Puṣya | 3 | Altarf | beCnc | 3.52 | 09.38 | –10.29 | +100.42 | –02.5633 |
| Āṡlēṣā | 2 | Acubens | alCnc | 4.26 | 16.19 | –05.08 | +109.81 | –08.2654 |
| Maghā | 5 | Regulus | alLeo | 1.35 | 13.59 | +00.47 | +125.99 | –15.5155 |
| Pūrvaphalguṇī | 2 | Chort | thLeo | 3.32 | 08.19 | +09.67 | +139.59 | +08.1900 |
| Uttaraphalguṇī | 2 | Denebola | beLeo | 2.14 | 18.52 | +12.27 | +147.78 | –22.5712 |
| Hastā | 3 | Porrima | gaVir | 2.74 | 13.70 | +02.79 | +166.30 | –43.5851 |
| Citrā | 1 | Spica | alVir | 1.04 | 09.95 | –02.05 | +180.00 | +00.0000 |
| Svātī | 1 | Syrma | ioVir | 4.10 | 11.28 | +07.20 | +189.95 | +18.0799 |
| Viṡākhā | 2 | ZubenElgenubi | al–2Lib | 2.75 | 17.49 | +00.33 | +201.24 | –02.8152 |
| Anurādhā | 4 | Dschubba | deSco | 2.29 | 07.19 | –01.99 | +218.73 | +02.8833 |
| Jyēṣṭhā | 3 | Antares | alSco | 1.09 | 08.21 | –04.57 | +225.92 | +01.8312 |
| Mūlā | 11 | Sabik | etOph | 2.43 | 24.42 | +07.20 | +234.12 | +07.8968 |
| Pūrvāṣāḍhā | 2 | Nunki | siSgr | 2.06 | 21.47 | –03.45 | +258.54 | +04.8301 |
| Uttarāṣāḍhā | 2 | GiediSecunda | al–2Cap | 3.58 | 19.69 | +06.93 | +280.01 | +06.5954 |
| Ṡravaṇā | 3 | DenebAlgedi | deCap | 2.87 | 13.17 | –02.60 | +299.70 | +17.5809 |
| Dhaniṣṭhā | 4 | Sadalachbia | gaAqr | 3.85 | 10.43 | +08.24 | +312.87 | +09.3308 |
| Ṡatabhiṣā | 100 | ,phAqr | phAqr | 4.22 | 15.45 | –01.05 | +323.30 | +01.8957 |
| Pūrvābhādrā | 2 | Vernalis | omePsc | 4.04 | 11.56 | +06.36 | +338.74 | +07.3440 |
| Uttarābhādra | 2 | Linteum | dePsc | 4.44 | 12.67 | +02.18 | +350.31 | +07.5549 |
| Rēvatī | 36 | AlPherg | etPsc | 3.62 | 10.85 | +05.38 | +002.98 | +02.8287 |
Note that the mean and standard deviation of column “Span” are 13.3329°±4.15 which is tantalisingly close to the theoretical 13⅓ °
The yogataras are chosen so that they are not too close to adjacent yogataras and have enough brightness to be visible to naked eye. Only nine yogataras overlapping with the previous table: Bharaṇī (41Ari), Kṛttikā (Alcyone), Rōhiṇī (Aldebaran), Punarvasu (Pollux/Castor), Maghā (Regulus), Citrā (Spica), Viṡākhā (ZubenElgenubi), Anurādhā (Dschubba), Jyēṣṭhā (Antares) with the additional exception of Nunki being mapped to Pūrvāṣāḍhā instead of Uttarāṣāḍhā.