Dear Antonia,

Here are two excellent references :

A. Weber, « Die vedischen Nachrichten von den naxatra (Mondstationen) », Abhandlungen der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1860 (I), p. 281-332 and 1862 (II), p. 265-400

A. Scherer, Gestirnnamen bei den Indogermanischen Völkern, Heidelberg, 1953

Best,

Jean Michel DELIRE, PhD
Lecturer on Science and civilisation of India - Sanskrit Texts - IHEB (ULB)
Lecturer on History of mathematics - IHEB (University of Brussels, ULB)
Member (Administrator) of the Centre National d'Histoire des Sciences (KBR, Bruxelles)
Member of the Société Asiatique (Paris)
Member of the International Association of Sanskrit Studies
Member (Advisory Board) of the International Study Group on the Relations Between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics

Le mer. 2 oct. 2024 à 16:31, Antonia Ruppel via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> a écrit :

Dear list,

On behalf of a colleague, I am looking for literature on the naming of the nakṣatras. Also, do we know how it was decided which star (sometimes singular, sometimes plural) was chosen to 'represent' that part of the sky, as it were?

In some cases, it seems obvious (the Pleiades, for example, are quite striking, even with modern levels of light pollution; and Aldebaran is reddish/rohiṇī indeed); in others less so, hence the search for any systematic studies of this.

With many thanks,
Antonia

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