Mithuna (Rāśi)
Mithuna, “the pair”
Grammar: neuter noun: a pair, a couple.
Meaning: a pair, a man and woman together; and the third of the twelve rāśis (the signs through which the Sun and the planets move), the kshetra of Budha, named for its form as a couple.
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 arms of Mahādeva are Mithuna, the kshetra of Budha, made of the third and fourth pādas (quarters) of Mṛgaśira, Ārdrā and the first three pādas of Punarvasu (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 5).
Nārada then asks the form and marks of the twelve rāśis, and Pulastya Maharshi tells each in turn. Mithuna is like a husband and wife together, and is dual in nature. Under its movement and influence lie beds and seats, instruments such as the vīṇā and the veṇu (flute), those skilled in song, dance and the arts, a keen love of games, and lovely lands for pleasure. Pulastya Maharshi closes by saying that what he has told of the rāśis is very secret and ancient, not to be told to anyone (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 5).
On the śukla ekādaśī of Āshāḍha, when Sūrya enters Mithuna, Jagannātha begins his sleep (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 17).
In the dvādaśa-patraka yoga, the yoga of the twelve leaves that Brahmā (Pitāmaha) teaches Sanatkumāra, each leaf has a syllable, a place on the body, a rāśi and a month. The third leaf is the syllable mo on the two arms, with the Mithuna rāśi and the month Āshāḍha (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 35).
While the daityas were at the height of their power, when Sūrya entered Mithuna, Aditi gave birth to Vāsudeva in the form of Bhagavān Vāmana (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 62).
Related terms: Rāśi · Kālarūpī · Mṛgaśira · Ārdrā · Punarvasu · Āshāḍha
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 5, 17, 35, 62