Ashlesha

The 9th Nakshatra, Ashlesha, as drawn in historical sources (WGSN 2025).

The 9th Nakshatra, Ashlesha, consists of five stars and is identified with the head of Hydra (WGSN 2025).

Āśleṣā (आश्लेषा), "The Embrace", is the Sanskrit name for an asterism in Hydra, the head of the Watersnake (δ, ε , η, ρ, and σ Hydrae). It is considered the ninth of the traditional Nakṣatras (lunar stations) in the Vedic culture that predates Hinduism but was taken over by it.

Ashlesha is also a modern star name adopted by the International Astronomical Union in the IAU-Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN). Its origin is Indian. It is the name of HIP 43109 (ε Hya, HR 3482) in the constellation Hya.

Etymology and History

Tibet nakshatra 07

Name Variants:

• Āshleshā,
• Ashlesha,
• Ahya,
• Phanibha,
• Sarpa

Origin

Identification

Normally, five stars are drawn and they are identified with the stars in Hydra; δ, ε , η, ρ, and σ Hydrae.

The Yogatara (the main star) of the Vedic nakshatra is ε Hya. It was historically considered representative for the nakshatra and, thus, named after it by the IAU WGSN.

Naga ashlesha bali pooja

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 2018/06/01.

Weblinks

• Website of the IAU WGSN: https://exopla.net/

Reference

• References (general)
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