Āśvayuja
Āśvayuja, “the month of the Aśvayuj nakshatra”
Grammar: masculine noun; the month named after the nakshatra Aśvayuj, “the yoker of horses”, which is Aśvinī.
Meaning: a month of the lunar year.
In the scriptures: in the Kālāshṭamī vrata to Bhagavān Śiva, which Pulastya Maharshi teaches Nārada, the Āśvayuja step is: fast on the ashṭamī with the senses controlled; on the navamī bathe the deity with cow-dung (gomaya); worship with lotuses, offer dhūpa and a naivedya of honey sweets; and give sesame as dakshiṇā, saying, “May Hiraṇyāksha bless me!” Here Hiraṇyāksha, “the golden-eyed”, is a name of Bhagavān Śiva (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 17).
In the month of Āśvayuja, as soon as the lotus was born from the navel of Jagannātha (Bhagavān Vishṇu), from the other devatās too their own flowers and plants arose: the kadamba from the hand of Kāmadeva, the vaṭa from Maṇibhadra, king of the yakshas, the dhattūra from the heart of Parama Śiva, the khadira from Brahmā, the bilva from the hand of Mahālakshmī, the śamī through Kātyāyanī, and many more, each dear to the devatā from whom it came (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 18).
In the dvādaśa-patraka yoga (the yoga of the twelve leaves) that Brahmā taught Sanatkumāra, the sixth leaf is the syllable “va”, set in the kavaca (armour), with the rāśi Kanyā and the month Āśvayuja (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 35).
In his stotra to Bhagavān Vishṇu, Brahmā says: “You are Time, shining in the form of the months Āśvayuja, Pushya, Māgha, Phālguna, Caitra and Vaiśākha” (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 66).
In Prahlāda‘s teaching to Bali on the gifts dear to Bhagavān Vishṇu month by month, in Āśvayuja one gives a horse and a bull made of sesame, curd, copper and iron, for the prīti (delight) of Bhagavān Vishṇu (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 68).
Related terms: Aśvinī · Kanyā · Dvādaśa-patraka · Kālāshṭamī · Māsa
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 17, 18, 35, 66, 68