Arundhati Nakṣatra
Arundhati; the wife of Vasiṣṭha. In traditional Indian astronomy, pair of Mizar and Alcor in the constellation Ursa Major (or the Great Bear, part of the Big Dipper or the Saptarshi Mandalam) are known as Vasiṣṭha and Arundhatī.
In Hindu marriage rituals, the pandit shows the newly weds the Arundhati nakṣatra in the sky to suggest the closeness and interdependence of the married couple, a custom called Arundhatīdarśananyāyaḥ (अरुन्धतीदर्शनन्यायः) in Sanskrit. In most twin star systems, one star is stationary and other revolves around it, while Mizar and Alcor or Arundhatī and Vasiṣṭha both rotate in synchrony — denoting mutual importance of both partners.
In the Mahābhārata, Arundhati is described as a chaste and ideal wife. There is a story of how Śiva once blessed Arundhatī. While the seven great Ṛṣis were staying at the Himālayas it did not rain consecutively for twelve years, and the Munis suffered much without either roots or fruits to eat. Then Arundhatī began a rigorous tapas, and Śiva appeared before her disguised as a brahmin. Since, due to the failure of rains, Arundhatī had no food with her. She cooked food with some cheap roots and served the guest with it, and with that it rained profusely all over the land. Śiva then assumed his own form and blessed Arundhatī.
Arundhatīdarśananyāyaḥ is described during the marriage of Kovalam and Kannagi, the hero and heroine of Silappadikaram, an ancient epic of Tamil Sangam literature described the wedding of the two, an arranged marriage involving both Northern Indian and Southern Indian customs. An English translation of this Tamil epic describes beautifully the details of the Tamil wedding of the ancient mercantile community. (see images below)
The poem refers to an amalgamation of northern and southern customs, with a couple going around the sacred fire, and the Brahmin priest comparing the bride to Arundhati, the chaste wife of Sage Vasiṣṭha; and selecting the sumuhūrtham of the wedding day when the moon and the Mohini nakshatra were in proximity.
Translation of the poem and the description of the marriage ritual is an excerpt from ‘Flipside of Hindu Symbolism: Sociological and Scientific Linkages in Hinduism’ By M. K. V. Narayan
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