Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s20.29

v1.c3.s20.29

The Nakṣatras as Lunar Mansions.—In several passages of the later Saṃhitās the connexion of the moon and the Nakṣatras is conceived of as a marriage union. Thus in the Kāṭhaka¹⁹ and Taittirīya Saṃhitās²⁰ it is expressly stated that Soma was wedded to the mansions, but dwelt only with Rohiṇī; the others being angry, he had ultimately to undertake to live with them all equally. Weber²¹ hence deduced that the Nakṣatras were regarded as of equal extent, but this is to press the texts unduly, except in the sense of approximate equality. The number of the mansions is not stated as 27 in the story told in the two Saṃhitās: the Taittirīya has 33, and the Kāṭhaka no