Kettai/Jyeshta Nakshatra captured in Scorpio constellation using mobile astrophotography
Jyeshtha or Kettai Nakshatra, which is from 16°40' to 30°00' degrees in Scorpio sign, is the 18th Nakshatra in the zodiac as per Indian astrology. The symbol for Jyeshta Nakshatra is an Umbrella or a round protective Talisman. An Umbrella stands for protection and capacity to cast a shadow of protective influence.
The presiding deity of Jyeshta Nakshatra is Lord Indra, the king or chief of the gods. Indra is the eldest of Adityas, the celestial gods and sons of Aditi. Hence called Aditya(s). Many hymns of Veda honour the Indra for his daring deeds, power, fame, glory and praiseworthiness, all of these qualities are hence associated with Jyeshta Nakshatra.
Indra is known to have become a source of nuisance causing severe rains in the bhagavatha purana, out of anger and with an intent to hurt mankind. But, Krishna as an avatar of Vishnu, comes to the rescue by lifting Mount Govardhana on his fingertip, and letting mankind take shelter under the mountain till Indra exhausts his anger.
Also, according to Mahabharata Indra, disguised himself as a Brahmin and approached Karna and asked for his kavacham (body armor) and kundalam(earrings) as charity. Although being aware of his true identity, Karna peeled off his kavacham and kundalam and fulfilled the wish of Indra. Pleased by this act Indra, gifted Karna a dart called Vasavi Shakthi.
The Jyeshta devi , with her name coming as elder lakshmi and considered as Goddess of misfortune has detailed stories describing her in different puranas here.
Let us see the Kettai Nakshatra captured as part of Scorpio constellation with α, σ, and τ Scorpionis.
α Scorpionis — Antares — apparent visual magnitude of +1.6
σ Scorpionis — Alniyat — apparent visual magnitude of +2.88
τ Scorpionis — Paikauhale — apparent visual magnitude +2.8
With its apparent brightness, Antares becomes the significant star to represent this lunar mansion Kettai. Often referred to as the heart of the scorpion, Antares is the 15th brightest star in the sky. This reddish jewel is hard to miss. It appears as a single star when viewed with the naked eye, but it is actually a binary star, with its two components called α Scorpii A and α Scorpii B. The brighter of the pair is the red supergiant, while the fainter is a hot main sequence star of magnitude 5.5.
Next post we will see about the Moola/Moolam Nakshatra. Until then, have a great day :-)
