Purvābhādra (पूर्व भाद्रपदा)

Purva Bhadapadra, the 25th nakshatra asterism, as depicted in temples.

The 25th and 26th nakshatra mapped to the Stellarium star chart, SMH for WGSN 2025. P. Bhadrapada is the western (right) one.

Purvābhādra (पूर्व भाद्रपदा), "the first of the blessed feet", is an Indian name, used by the Indian Vedic tradition. Most of these names are roughly 3000 years old. They pre-date Hinduism but were taken over by it.

Etymology and History

Name Variants

• Purvābhādra
• Purva Bhadrapada
• Ajanghri,
• Ajaikapada,
• Pragbhadra

Origin of Constellation

The term literally means "the first of the blessed feet", and together with Uttara Bhādrapada (उत्तर भाद्रपदा), the latter of the blessed feet, it forms a super-constellation. Yet, the two asterism are depicted in totally different ways in temples. This one shows a quadrilateral (like a table) with two stars marked. It is likely identified with the stars in the area of western Pegasus, although we can't know which ones exactly.

The two Bhadrapada asterisms equal the Chinese Eastern Wall (壁宿) and Encampment (Ying Shi, Mansion), which also form lunar mansions.

Mythology

mnemonic tales and cultural significance

References

• References (general)