Dhanishṭhā (Nakshatra)
Dhanishṭhā, “the wealthiest”
Grammar: feminine noun, the superlative of dhanin (wealthy), from dhana (wealth): “the wealthiest”. Its other name is Śravishṭhā, “the most famous”.
Meaning: one of the twenty-seven nakshatras (the lunar mansions); its first two caraṇas (quarters) lie in the rāśi Makara and its last two in Kumbha.
In the scriptures: when the devatā of Daksha‘s yajña fled into the sky in the form of a deer, Bhagavān Śiva pursued it as Kālarūpī, the form of Time, and occupied the sky. Pulastya Maharshi describes that body to Nārada limb by limb, each limb a rāśi with its nakshatras. The knees of Kālarūpī, called Parameśvara, are Makara, the house of Śani, made of the second, third and fourth caraṇas of Uttarāshāḍhā, Śravaṇa and two caraṇas of Dhanishṭhā. His shanks, called Svāmī, are Kumbha, made of the third and fourth pādas of Dhanishṭhā, Śatabhishak and three pādas of Pūrvābhādrā (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 5).
In the Nakshatra Purusha vrata, the twenty-seven nakshatras are the limbs of Śrī Hari, the nakshatra-purusha form of Śrīman Nārāyaṇa, and Śravishṭhā is on his back. In the rite, on the day the moon is joined with Śravishṭhā, one worships the back of Śrī Hari and offers śāli rice (śālyanna) as the dohada, the special offering that fulfils the longing (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 54).
Related terms: Nakshatra · Śravaṇa · Śatabhishak · Makara · Kumbha · Kālarūpī · Dohada
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 5, 54