Pūrvāshāḍhā (Nakshatra)

Pūrvāshāḍhā · pūrva-ashāḍhā, “the former invincible one”

Dhanus has other meanings too: see all meanings of Dhanus. Hastā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Hastā. Mṛgaśira has other meanings too: see all meanings of Mṛgaśira. Revatī has other meanings too: see all meanings of Revatī.

Grammar: feminine noun; pūrva (former) and ashāḍhā (the invincible one): “the former Ashāḍhā”.

Meaning: one of the twenty-seven nakshatras (the lunar mansions). With Uttarāshāḍhā it makes the pair called the two Āshāḍhās, and with Pūrvaphalgunī and Pūrvābhādrā it is one of the three Pūrvās.

In the scriptures: Agnideva names Pūrvāshāḍhā in his rules of the muhūrta (the right time for each act):

  • With the Pūrvā triad. One freed from illness takes his bath in the Pūrvā triad, Maghā, Bharaṇī, Svātī, Śravaṇa, Dhanishṭhā and Śatabhishak. Buying or selling goods in Bharaṇī, Āśleshā, Dhanishṭhā, the Pūrvā triad and Kṛttikā brings loss. Service to a master is not begun in Bharaṇī, the Pūrvā triad, Ārdrā, Āśleshā, Maghā, Svātī, Kṛttikā and Viśākhā, and in them one does not give money to others nor pledge anything. A war march in the Pūrvā triad, Dhanishṭhā, Ārdrā, Kṛttikā, Mṛgaśīrsha, Viśākhā, Āśleshā and Aśvinī gives prosperity and success. Grain is taken out for use in the Pūrvā triad, Viśākhā, Dhanishṭhā and Śatabhishak (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 121).
  • Illness. An illness that begins in Pūrvāshāḍhā lasts five days (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 121).
  • Choosing bride and groom. The three Uttarās, Kṛttikā, Svāti and the three Pūrvās are good for choosing the bride and the groom (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 154).

In the Yuddhajayārṇava, Parameśvara tells the Devī that a Friday with navamī and Pūrvāshāḍhā gives sorrow (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 125). Pūrvāshāḍhā is one of the dāruṇa (fierce) nakshatras, used for fearsome works, and one of the adhomukha (downward-facing) nakshatras, in which downward works are done: wells, tanks, the beginning of learning, medical treatment, installing, building boats and digging pits. The two Āshāḍhās are printed among the kekara (squint-eyed) nakshatras, in which a lost thing is found late; and Pūrvāshāḍhā among the andha (blind) nakshatras, in which a lost thing is found quickly, with no need for any fight (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 126). With Ārdrā, Hasta and Uttarābhādrā it is one of the middle pillars of the Koṭa-cakra (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 128). It is one of the nakshatras of the Vāruṇa maṇḍala, with Āśleshā, Mūla, Revatī, Śatabhishā and Uttarābhādrapadā: if portents arise in it, the milk of cows and ghee increase, trees bear abundant fruits and flowers, the people are healthy, the earth is rich in crops and grain is cheap, but fierce wars break out among kings (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 130). In the Trinādī-cakra it is in the second nāḍī (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 136). It is among the fifteen nakshatras in which a serpent bite is inauspicious (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 294).

In the Nakshatra-purusha vrata. In this vrata Śrī Mahāvishṇu as the Nakshatra-purusha is worshipped from Caitra, limb by limb on each nakshatra, and on Pūrvāshāḍhā and Uttarāshāḍhā one worships his two thighs. At the end of the year one worships a golden mūrti of Śrī Mahāvishṇu on a kalaśa filled with jaggery and gives a brāhmaṇa a bed, a cow and wealth with dakshiṇā (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 196).

Related terms: Nakshatra · Uttarāshāḍhā · Pūrvaphalgunī · Pūrvābhādrā · Āshāḍha · Nakshatra-purusha

Sources

  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 121, 125, 126, 128, 130, 136, 154, 196, 294