Astronomical Significance : Ganesha ? Karthikeya Race | Ancient ...

pArvatI?s son vinAyaka and s?ivA?s son kArtikEya had a race to determine who should become gaNEs?a ? the lord of the gaNAs.

This story has many layers of meanings like many stories in our purANAs.

It has an astronomical significance also.

kArtikEya is associated with kRttika nakSatra ? (Pleiades), He was raised by the 6 kRttikAs and thus also has the name SaNmukha (shanmukha) ? the six-faced one.

This kArtikEya goes around the earth once every 24 hours and is very fast with his peacock vehicle.

When he challenged vinAyaka to a race around bhulOka (the earth) ? 3 times, vinAyaka merely did 3 pradakSiNAs around s?iva and pArvati, the parents of the universe around whom everything revolves.

His vehicle is a mouse and he is very slow.

Stars that are closer to the pole star move slower when viewed from the earth and the pole star appears to hardly move. So a nakSatra that is closer to the pole and further from the milky way would appear to move slower than one of nakSatrAs of the rAs?Is (zodiac).

Whenever kArtikEya went to bathe in one of the tIRthAs (holy water places) he saw vinAyaka already there.

This could mean that vinAyaka?was visible from all the important places in jambUdwIpa (india+) ie the northern hemisphere places of interest to Indian astronomers.

As such he became worthy of becoming gaNEs?a or the lord of s?ivAs gaNAs or hordes.

The number three times ? could mean three verifications of the data or something more.

We?ve already identified brahma with capella.

We need to look further north in the sky for the nakSatra associated with vinAyaka.

Siva has cutoff/replaced 3 heads. This itself has some astronomical significance worth looking into

1. brahmA?s fifth head was cut off for a different reason in each story : See Brahma and?The fifth head of Brahma and Siva (Astronomical?Significance)
2. dakSa?s head with a goat?s head : connected with the abhijit nakSatra. See : Daksha : He named the fixed stars
3. And vinAyakA?s head was replaced with an elephant?s head and that elephant was sleeping with it?s head to the north. This made gaNEs?a also gajAnana ? the elephant faced one.

In the vEdAs, gaNEs?a is also referred to as brahmaNaspati in addition to gaNapati. He is also the ?first that should be worshipped? before all others are worshipped. I would look for gaNEs?a beyond the saptaRSi manDala (uRSa major ? the great bear).

In the picture below what do you think of the shape of Draco and Ursa Minor?

Source : http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23300/23300-h/images/map_II.png

You may find this post interesting :?Identifying Nakshatras ? Betelguese, Arudra in Orion; Aldeberan, Rohini in Taurus; Mrigasira and Krutika; Punarvasu, Pollux in Gemini ; Brahma, Auriga?and this one?Locating?Purusha?: Using?Purusha?Suktham (Rig Veda)

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Source: http://ancientindians.net/2012/10/08/astronomical-significance-ganesha-karthikeya-race/

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