Graha's epithets

[DEVARAKONDA VENKATA NARAYANA SARMA]

At 03:37 PM 12/6/97 +0100, Dominique.Thillaud writes:

>        I agree for the button's technic, but
>
>1) are other attestations of -kA used with Goddess's names ? I don't found
>any *durgakA, *laksSmikA, *srikA, &c. And reNukA is so named because she is
>the DAUGHTER of reNu, ambikA and ambalikA are SISTERS of ambA.
>2) using the MMW and restraining to the meanigs 'wife of bRhaspati', tArA
>and tArakAmaya seem a bit older (MBh) than tArakA (VP), if we must follow
>the Indian tradition giving parAzara as the son of vyAsa.
>3) in the same MMW, kAmayA is given as a formula 'for the love'.
>
>        Hence, it's not strictly impossible that tArakA would be born from
>a false cut of a *tAra-kAmaya-yuddha 'the fight for the love of tArA'.
>Going further would need a fine study of the texts (is the word 'kAma' used
>significatively in some versions of the story ?) but the Sarma's remark was
>perhaps not so stupid ;-)
>
>        Regards,
>Dominique
>
>PS: many thanks to all who send me very interresting answers about the
>tIrthAbhiSeka and other subjects. I've don't forget you but I need time to
>obtain and read the references you gave me.
>
>Dominique THILLAUD
>Universite' de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France
>
>

I have gone through the relevent portion of the Vishnu Purana. The name of
the wife of bRhaspati is stated as tArA only. Nowhere as tArakA. Only the
name of the war is given as tArakAmaya.

        `Evam ca tayOr atIvOgrasangramas tArAnimittas tArakAmayO nAmAbhUt.'

On the basis of this single occurance concluding that bRhaspati's wife has
also a name tArakA will be possible if we give the word `tArakAmaya' the
meaning `full of tArakA' or `pervaded by tArakA'. This sounds a very odd
way of describing that war. That was a war `for tArA' or `because of tArA'.
MMW's explanation 'for the love of tArA' may not be very much off the mark.

regards,

sarma.