The Markandeya-Samasya Parva 6 of the epic Mahabharata describes in great detail the fight between the gods and the daityas (demons), in which Kartikeya, who was leading the celestial forces as their commander, slew the evil, shape-shifting, buffalo-demon called Mahisha using his spear. This opens up a new door for understanding the symbolism of this sky chart, for the legend of Kartikeya killing the buffalo-demon Mahisha with his spear (or Shakti) perfectly explains the imagery of Orion facing the charge of Taurus the bull. Thus, Kartikeya is associated both with Orion as well as Sah on the Dendera Zodiac. As per Gavin White, in the Babylonian star catalogues of the Late Bronze Age 4, Orion is called the “True Shepherd of Anu”- Anu being the supreme ruler of the heavens in the Mesopotamian pantheon.įigure 5: Kartikeya holding a spear / scepter with a cockerel to his left. He holds a was scepter, which is generally seen in the hands of Egyptian gods such as Horus or Set, and a flail – one of the insignia of a pharaoh. On the Dendera Zodiac, Orion is called Sah, the “Fleet-footed” or “Long-strider”. We can gather additional knowledge about Orion from the Dendera Zodiac, which was inscribed on the ceiling of the Temple of Hathor in Dendera, Egypt, built during the Ptolemaic Period. That is why one of his names is Dandapani (Wielder of the club).Įvidently, there are very specific symbolic connections between Orion and Kartikeya. Although the spear is Kartikeya’s favorite weapon, he also wields a club. 3 Orion is generally shown in the star maps holding a club in his upraised right hand. He also possesses dazzling good looks like Orion, as indicated by his epithets such as Lalita (The beautiful), Kanta (The handsome), Diptavarna (The bright-complexioned), Subhanana (Of beautiful face) etc. Like Orion, Kartikeya is renowned for his enormous strength, for he is referred to as the “strong-armed god”. lunar asterism) in the Vedic nakshatra system.įigure 3: Kartikeya seated on a peacock holding a spear. Incidentally, Rudra is also the “presiding deity” of the star Betelgeuse, which is known as the Ardra nakshatra (i.e. In the Mahabharata, one of the epithets of Kartikeya is Rudra, 2 which indicates that this title – signifying a fearsome warrior and hunter – was applicable both to him and to his father Shiva. In the same story, Murugan adopts the guise of a handsome tribal hunter in order to court Valli (who becomes his second wife). Kartikeya’s identity as a hunter is best illustrated in the Tamil legend about Murugan (a popular name of Kartikeya in Southern India), in which the Vedars, an indigenous group of hunter-gatherers, worshiped Murugan as their ancestral “hunting god”. 1 At the same time, Rudra-Shiva’s son Kartikeya – who is the leader of the celestial army – is also a great warrior and hunter. When we think of a “hunter” deity in the Indian tradition, the first name that comes to mind is that of Rudra (Shiva), who is described in the Rig Veda as a fearsome hunter, armed with a bow and fast flying arrows. It was of interest to me, therefore, to figure out who Orion might have represented in the Indian context. The Chinese called the constellation Shen (“Three Stars”) and knew it as “the hunter constellation”. Some recently discovered Hungarian legends associate him with Nimrod, a famous hunter. In Hungary, Orion is known as a magical “archer” or “scythe”. Orion’s identity as a hunter and warrior was pervasive in the ancient world. What ancient legend does this sky chart encode? Who really was Orion, the hunter? Although the sky chart shows Orion facing the charge of Taurus, the bull, there are no stories in Greek legends which describe such an event. Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra.įor a long time, the star chart of this part of the night sky has been a subject of mysteries and speculations. Figure 2: Orion facing the charge of Taurus, and followed by his hunting dog Canis Major.
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