Author: adrian (Page 49 of 56)

• Span: 03°20′ Pisces to 16°40′ Pisces
• Deity: Ahir Budhanya
• Dasha Lord: Saturn
• Symbol: Back legs of a funeral cot
• Animal (Yoni): Cow (female)
• Shakti or power: Varshodyamana shakti = power to bring rain

Ahir Budhanya is the name of the mysterious deity behind this star. The name translates loosely into “serpent of depth”, and it refers to a serpent that lives under the earth’s surface or at the bottom of the ocean — in some accounts. This deity is mysterious, as not much was written about him, unlike with other nakshatra deities. One of the few pointers related to him is that he is said to bring and maintain the fertility of earth, something related to the shakti of this nakshatra.

Going deeper, or at least attempting to, he is one of eleven Rudras. Rudra is an incarnation of Shiva, denoting his fierce form. Rudra means “to howl/roar”, so Rudra refers to “the destroyer” or “the furious one”. Rudra is associated with storms, strong winds and destruction. He is the deity ruling Ardra nakshatra. That is Rudra. Rudras, on the plural, refer to eleven deities or incarnations responsible for bringing happiness and helping realize the work of the gods. Ahir Budhanya and Aja Ekapada (deity of Purva Bhadrapada) are two of these eleven Rudras.

From that understanding, we can infer a few things. First, that this star is related to Shiva, or ruled by Shiva, in some degree. Second, that this star is deeply related to Purva Bhadrapada (something rather obvious, as they form a pair of stars) and Ardra. These 3 stars are related to Rudra, related to Shiva, so all of them become related to each other through this.

Speaking of the name itself, Bhadra translates into good, happy or prosperous. Pada means foot. So Bhadrapada means “the lucky feet”. Uttara Bhadrapada is the “latter lucky feet”. This name could be associated with the main symbol behind this pair of nakshatras, the feet of a funeral bed. Purva Bhadrapada represents the front portion of a funeral cot, while Uttara Bhadrapada represents the back portion.

Like the Phalguni pair, we have a bed being represented here. In the case of the Phalguni stars, the bed represented comfort and rest. Here the bed refers to a coffin or some other platform for the dead. Purva Bhadrapada relates to death itself, while Uttara relates to our post death state.

Death here can be both literal and symbolic. On a symbolic sense, death represents transformation of any kind. Purva would refer to shocking events, traumatic subjects, that lead the native towards transformation. While Uttara Bhadrapada would refer to transformation itself. Sleep, our daily death, could also be another symbolic interpretation. Uttara Bhadrapada refers to deep sleep, while Purva refers to the start of sleep, our preparation towards it.

Another symbol related to this star is a wiseman, like the elder advisers of ancient tribes. This stems again from the name of the star, Bhadra mainly refers to luck, but it can also mean someone skillful or wise. These natives tend to be wise, and they frequently end up in positions of advice or guidance.

This nakshatra is very different from other stars, such as Purva Phalguni or Ardra, where we can see a clear pattern of behavior or clear preferences manifesting. Here the preferences are extremely variable, and the manifestation of the star tends to be subtle. You can find very peaceful natives, you can find very fiery natives, they could deal in a truckload of different professions; focusing on superficial characteristics and details here is usually not the best path, as the variety is huge and the focus is on the subtle.

The keywords here are wisdom and stillness. Whichever the details of these natives lives, a key point will always be wisdom. They will always be dealing with providing knowledge, advice or guidance in some degree. Similarly, their calmness or stillness is to be noted. They act in a well-thought manner, never hastily. They always keep the big picture in mind, acting reasonably and usually cooling things down. They tend to create calm and peace wherever they go.

The wisdom aspect is reinforced by many of the symbols here, starting from the name itself, as described above. The shakti, or the power, of bringing rain shows nourishment. As the rain waters the crops, providing nourishment through harvest, so does a guru teaching wisdom. The same can be said of the cow symbolism, nourishing with her milk.

On the stillness front, the cow isn’t the fastest animal in the world, Saturn denotes things that are slow, and Ahir Budhanya is said to sit still unless something happens. This acts a double-edged sword. On one side, stillness promotes peace, calm, contentedness and a knack for cooling down or appeasing others. On the other hand, it could lead to laziness, procrastination or a total lack of action.

The Bhadra aspect of luck is very much present here, and usually these natives are very fortunate. They tend to have an easy time earning money, handling money and dealing with businesses. A lot of times, they will benefit from gifts, inheritances or bonuses. They might benefit from friends and people around them as well.

Similarly, they are very charitable and compassionate, frequently helping and offering a hand to the people around them. They also tend to be very reasonable when dealing with others, giving and taking, instead of just taking from others.

Another strong trend here deals with reclusiveness. These natives are private, and they could be fond of keeping secrets. Keeping things to themselves or settling in their own little world, instead of sharing everything with the world. They are prone towards early retirement, or some kind of isolation/distance from their former pursuits.

This is not a good day for negative activities, such as lawsuits, conflict and fights. As this is a star that stands still, any active requiring a lot of movement or exertion is unfavorable. This is not a good day for travelling.

Predictively, this star represents wisdom, any planet here will provide or deal with wisdom in some manner. For instance, the 4th lord could mean that the mother is a very wise person. The 11th lord could mean that the native find wisdom through his friends. Some degree of fortune or luck could also be associated with this star. A major point with this star deals with stillness, or a lack of movement, so planets placed here could show areas in life where we could procrastinate or not act much. This points to an area in life where we will need a push, or stimulation, to get us going.

Planets like Sun, Mars and Jupiter tend to act better here, as they stimulate the natural stillness of Uttara Bhadrapada into action. Usually, at some point in life, some event or person will have to push or trigger the native into action.

Examples

• Steve Jobs (U. Bhadrapada Moon 14° Pisces):
  • Although Jobs spent most of his life dealing or leading technology efforts, his actual work in this field always dealt more with advising or orienting others. While people like Steve Wozniac tinkered and enjoyed it, Jobs much preferred staying in the side lines orienting and giving ideas.
• Joseph H. Pilates (U. Bhadrapada Moon 13° Pisces): German physical fitness trainer, inventor of the Pilates method. With stretches, assisted exercises, and movement focused on improving strength, flexibility and stamina on those that practice it
  • Here we have the meanings of advice and wisdom, but also the nature of the exercises follows the idea of “stillness” or “lack of movement” from the star.
  • Pilates exercises have a very focused/controlled range of motion, allowing the person practicing to focus on specific muscles or areas of the body, reducing the impact of the exercise on other joints or body parts.
  • Pilates can even be used as physical therapy or practiced by disabled people.
  • During World War I, Joseph was put in an internment camp, along with other German citizens living in England. During his period there, he taught self-defense and wrestling, boasting that people would come out stronger out of the camp. This shows mental perseverance, as he tried working and improving, instead of wallowing in depression/desperation with the sad fate of being held prisoner.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, this star has a much subtler expression than other nakshatras, which makes the job of finding examples harder. I’ve found this star to be very prominent in academia, with professors or researchers, in various fields.

See more Nakshatra posts here