… नक्षत्राणामहं शशी
… nakṣatrāṇām ahaṃ śaśī
~ Bhagawad Gita 10.21
My latest painting is titled Prēma. It shows the love of Radha and Krishna. In Bhagawad Gita, Krishna says that He is the Moon among the Nakshatras. This portion of the verse has been misunderstood and requires to be clarified in the right context.
The legend goes that the 27 daughters of Daksha were married to Chandra, the Moon. However, Chandra favored Rohini over all other wives. The other wives got jealous of this and complained to Daksha about this. Daksha cursed Moon to wane and lose its luster and eventually decay.
This is when Chandra prays to Shiva and Shiva lifts the Chaturdasi Chandra (the phase of the Moon just before the New Moon) on his head to grant Chandra immortality. Shiva blesses Chandra with the boon that as he will wane, so shall he wax.
However, does this tale encompass an underlying deeper meaning?
The most prominent star in Rohini Nakshatra is called Aldebaran.
An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. In the current context, when a planet appears to totally eclipse the light from a star, as viewed from the Earth, it is called the occultation of that star.
It is really fascinating that the Rohini nakshatra can ONLY be occulted by the Moon. In fact, no other heavenly body can occult Rohini. Occultation can be viewed by a poet or a seer as a union of two beings – in this case, the kiss of Rohini by Chandra or in other words the union of Radha and Krishna.
The picture of the Rohini nakshtra shown above shows the last occultation of Rohini by Chandra on July 10 2018. The next occultation of Rohini by Chandra will happen in 2033.
Always remember two things –
- Question everything
- Be open to all possibilities.
hṛdayāravinde 