The Nine Nakṣatra Vīthīs

The nakṣatras are the lunar mansions: the twenty-seven or twenty-eight star groups that the Moon passes through on its monthly journey across the sky. Chapter 3 of the Madhyama Bhāga (middle part) of the Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa explains that these nakṣatras are arranged in nine vīthīs, or paths, in the sky.

Three vīthīs make up the northern path, three the middle path and three the southern path. Together they give the frame within which Vedic astronomy follows the movements of the Moon, the planets and the other celestial bodies.

The Nine Vīthīs

The nakṣatras are grouped into nine vīthīs of three nakṣatras each.

Uttara-Mārga (the Northern Path)

The three northern vīthīs are:

  1. Nāga-vīthī, holding the nakṣatras of the far north
  2. Gaja-vīthī, holding the nakṣatras of the northern middle
  3. Airāvatī-vīthī, holding the nakṣatras on the border between the northern and middle paths

Madhya-Mārga (the Middle Path)

The Sun, the Moon and the planets move most often through the three middle vīthīs:

  1. Ārabhī-vīthī, the eastern part of the middle path
  2. Go-vīthī, the central part
  3. Jagad-devī-vīthī, the western part of the middle path

Dakṣiṇa-Mārga (the Southern Path)

The three southern vīthīs are:

  1. Aja-vīthī, holding the nakṣatras of the southern middle
  2. Mārvī-vīthī, holding the nakṣatras of the southern edge
  3. Vaiśvānarī-vīthī, holding the nakṣatras of the far south

Why the Vīthīs Matter

Dividing the nakṣatras into nine vīthīs gives the Vedic astronomer a frame of reference for following celestial bodies across the sky. When a planet passes through the northern vīthīs, its effects on events on earth are different from when it passes through the southern vīthīs. The middle path is generally thought the most auspicious for planetary movement. Movement far into the northern or southern paths is linked with unusual weather, political upheaval and other major events on earth.

The Three Śaktis of Brahmā

The same chapter that describes the nine vīthīs also gives an important teaching on the Trimūrti, the three main forms of the divine. It describes how Svayambhū Brahmā (the self-born) shows himself in three ways:

  • Rājasī śakti (the power of rajas, activity) is Brahmā, linked with Kaśyapa, who rules over creation.
  • Tāmasī śakti (the power of tamas, inertia) is Rudra, linked with the force of dissolution.
  • Sāttvikī śakti (the power of sattva, purity) is Viṣṇu, linked with keeping the world in being.

Placing this teaching right beside the teaching on the paths of the sky is typical of the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, which weaves the two together. The order of the sky and the order of the divine are seen as expressions of the same deeper principles.

The Vīthīs and Nakṣatra Śrāddha

Chapter 17 of the Pitṛkalpa section of the Madhyama Bhāga teaches which nakṣatras are right for performing śrāddha, the rites offered to the pitṛs (ancestors). Each nakṣatra has its own qualities that make it more or less suitable for the pūjā of the pitṛs. So knowing the nine vīthīs and the qualities of the nakṣatras in them is not only knowledge of the stars. It is practical knowledge of dharma for the householder who wants to time śrāddha to bring the greatest benefit to the pitṛs.

Sources

  • Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 3