Navagrahas and indus symbols

Very Different Myths For Star Planet Symbols & their Characteristics

1. Navagrahas and Indus symbols
Navagrahas
Planetary worship is still in practice in India, and occupies a prominent
position in the religious life of India today. Many diseases and other
troubles of earthly existence are ascribed to the malign influence of angered
planetary deities, whose wrath is to be pacified. Monumental
representations of planets start appearing in North India in the Gupta period
(7th century AD) and spreads to south India by 11
th
century AD.
The group of nine planets comprises the five true planets visible to naked
eye, the sun and moon, plus Raahu and Ketu. Raahu is the name of
eclipse demon. According to Hindu mythology Raahu swallows sun and
moon resulting in eclipses. Ketu originally seems to refer to smoke, which
arises at the time of conducting Yajnas (fire sacrifice) and reaching the
heavens. Thus Ketu makes a connection possible between heaven and earth.
However, in 6
th
century AD, Varahamihira interpreted Ketu as the tail of
Raahu, said to have the form of a snake, and connected Raahu and Ketu
with the ascending and descending nodes of the moon. The relevance of this
analysis on the issue of planets is that, most likely the Indus people were
planetary worshippers like the present day Hindus and many of the symbols
of IVC seals are depicting various planets and astronomical events. Some of
the symbols are identified and given in a tabular form; detailed explanations
are also given against each symbol. (Parpola, 2000)

NAVAGRAHAS
SURYA Sun Surya is the chief solar deity, one of theAdityas,
son of Kashyapa and one of his wifeAditi,
of Indra, or of Dyaus Pitar (depending by the
versions). He has hair and arms ofgold.
His chariot is pulled by seven horses, which
Ravi-war
Sunday

2. represent the seven chakras.
In Hindu religious literature, Surya is notably
mentioned as the visible form of God that one
can see every day. He represents the Soul, the
King, highly placed persons or Father.
CHANDRA
Soma-war
Monday
Moon Right corner
indicates
moon
Chandra (moon) is also known as Soma and
identified with the Vedic Lunar deity Soma. He
is described as young, beautiful, fair; two-armed
and having in his hands a club and a lotus. He
rides his chariot (the moon) across the sky every
night, pulled by ten white horses or an antelope.
He is connected with dew, and as such, is one of
the gods of fertility. He is also called
Nishadipati (Nisha=night; Adipathi=Lord) and
Kshuparaka (one who illuminates the night).
He is married to daughters of
Daksha Prajapathi. He has therefore 27 wives,
representing twenty seven Nakshatras
(constellations). Budha (the planet Mercury)
was born to Soma and Taraka.
Square means
moon

MANGALA---------------
Mangal-war
----------Tuesday

Mars

Three
triangles
means
mountain,
mars is god of
mountain like
Murugan
Triangle is
sign of mars
---------------
Also the
triangle may
be indicating
the Trigona
houses
concept

Mangala is the god of Mars, the red planet.
Mars is also called Angaraka ('one who is red in
colour') or Bhauma ('son of Bhumi') in Sanskrit.
He is the god of war and is celibate. He is
considered the son of Prithvi or Bhumi, the
Earth Goddess. He is the owner of
theAries and Scorpio signs, and a teacher of the
occult sciences (Ruchaka Mahapurusha Yoga).
He is painted red or flame colour, four-armed,
carrying a trident, club, lotus and a spear. His
Vahan (mount) is a ram.
BUDHA Mercury Holding a
sword, a club
and a shield
Budha is the god of the planet Mercury and the
son of Chandra (the moon) with Tara (Taraka).
He is also the god of merchandize and protector
of Merchants. He is represented as being mild,
eloquent and of greenish colour. He is
represented holding a sword, a club and a
shield, riding a winged lion.

Wednesday Mount eagle
Budh-war (Or) holds a
sceptre and
lotus

3. Brihaspati Jupiter

Holding stick,
lotus and
beads
Brihaspati is the name of a Vedic,
personification of piety and religion, the chief
priest of prayers and sacrifices, represented as
the Purohita of the gods with whom he
intercedes for men. He is the Lord of
planetJupiter. He represents knowledge and
teaching.
According to Hindu scriptures, he is the guruof
the Devas and the arch-nemesis
ofShukracharya, the guru of the Danavas. He is
also known Guru, the god of wisdom and
eloquence.
GURUWAR
Thursday
SHUKRA
Shukra war
Friday
Venus Eastern corner
of Astro chart
is place of
Venus.
Shukra, the Sanskrit for "clear, pure" or
"brightness, clearness", is the name of the son
of and Ushana, and preceptor of
theDaityas, and the guru of the Asuras, He
is nature and
represents wealth,pleasure and reproduction.
He is of white complexion, middle-aged and of
agreeable countenance. He is described
variously mounted, on a camel or a horse or a
crocodile. He holds a stick, beads and a lotus
and sometimes a bow and arrow.
In Astrology, there is a Dasha or planetary
period known as Shukra Dasha which remains
active in a person's horoscope for 20 years. This
Dasha is believed to give more wealth, fortune
and luxury to one's living if a person has Shukra
positioned well in his horoscope as well as
Shukra being an important benefice planet in
his/her horoscope.



Venus is said
to be chakra,
someone who
moves fast
See the same
cross symbol
on the first
symbol of
Venus
Shani Saturn Holding
sword, arrows
and two
daggers
Shani is one of the nine primary celestial beings
in Hindu astrology (that is, Vedic). Shani is
embodied in the planet Saturn.
The origin of word Shani comes from the
following: 'Shanaye Kramati Sa' i.e. the one
who moves slowly. Saturn takes about 30 years
to revolve around the Sun, thus it moves slowly
compared to other planets, thus
Saturday
---------Shani-war
Mounted on
crow
Often
depicted in

4. dark colour,
clothed in
black as ugly,
old lame and
having long
hair, teeth and
nails
theSanskrit name Shani is actually a
demi-god and is a son of Surya (the Hindu Sun
God) and his wife Chhaya. It is said that when
he opened his eyes as a baby for the very first
time, the sun went into an eclipse, which clearly
denotes the impact of Shani on astrological
charts (horoscope).
Raahu No planet

North lunar
node
Raahu is God of the Ascending / North lunar
node. Raahu is the Head of Demon Snake that
swallows the sun or
the moon causing eclipsesaccording
to Hindu scriptures. He is depicted in art as a
dragon without a body riding achariot drawn by
eight black horses. He is an Asura who does his
best to plunge any area of one's life he controls
into chaos. The Raahu kala is considered
inauspicious.
According to legend, during the Samudra
manthan, the Asura Raahu drank some of the
divine nectar. But before the nectar could pass
his throat, Mohini (the female avatar ofVishnu)
cut off his head. The head, however, remained
immortal and is called Raahu, while the rest of
the body became Ketu. It is believed that this
immortal head occasionally swallows the sun or
the moon, causing eclipses. Then, the sun or
moon passes through the opening at the neck,
ending the eclipse.
Ketu No planet
Flag
South lunar
node

Ketu is the Lord of Descending/South lunar
node. Ketu is generally referred to as a
"shadow" planet. He is considered as Tail of the
Demon Snake. It is believed to have a
tremendous impact on human lives and also the
whole creation. In some special circumstances it
helps someone achieve the zenith of fame.

flag
Astronomically, Ketu and Raahu denote the
points of intersection of the paths of the Sunand
the Moon as they move on the celestial sphere.
Therefore, Raahu and Ketu are respectively
called the north and the southlunar nodes. The
fact that eclipses occur when Sun and Moon are
at one of these points gives rise to the story of
the swallowing of the Sun by the Moon.

5. (Reference: Wikipedia: under the heading Hindu astrology)


Planetary positions as per Hindu temple.
Generally the Shiva temples in south India contain a separate enclosure for nine
planets together in a single platform. For additional details refer chapter.11 of the book
“Deciphering the Indus script” written by Asko Parpola. These planets are represented by
individual statues and venerated as gods with their own powers. Out of the nine planets
Shani (Saturn) is considered as more powerful and have lot of influence on the personal life
of a person depending on the planet’s position in a person’s horoscope chart. The symbols
of each planet are as per the detail given in the above chart and some of these symbols are
appearing among the Indus symbols.

6. Planet chart (or) Horoscope.
PAGE-83(fig.5.5) of Asko parpola’s book shows the longest continuous Indus inscription.
It is a seal from Mohenjo-daro (M-314). Analysis of this seal shows that the top line shows
the symbols of five planets known at that time period and the second line shows symbols of
three gods Kalan, god of underworld and mother goddess respectively. The triangle may be
indicating the “Trigona concept” of astrology. The acute angle of the triangle may be
indicating the eastern direction, which is the rising direction of Venus in the evening. The
last line is showing the symbols of seven constellations. Overall the seal looks like a chart
which might have indicated a kind of horoscope of that time. The details of analysis of
symbols are as per the table given below.

S.No Symbol

Planet Symbol

Zodiac symbol

7. 1 Wheel with two quotation
marks might have specified
the second wheel, i.e.
moon, whereas single
wheel might have denoted
sun.
(Or) it could be pictogram
of six seasons.
(Or) it could be icon of
North Star.
9 Trigona sign in horoscope, which
shows the important planetary
positions within horoscope (see
Vedic astrology, Wikipedia)
Or the acute angle of the triangle
shows the east direction in the
horoscope
This angle shows the movement of
the deity Chandra along the
horoscope
2 The cap at the top of
fish shows that this planet
is identified with eastern
corner, the fish that first
appears in the eastern
corner is Venus

10 Virgo/ Kanya/ Chitra /
14
th
constellation
(Or) Spica star of
Virgo constellation as discussed
under the heading “sign of double
axe”
3 It looks like that this
fish indicates mars/ mars
(Rudra) with horns /
maybe this is the fish with
horns.
11 Ajopada/ single footed (Hoof print
of a goat) / Purva Bhadrapad/
25
th
constellation

4 Fish with dot may be Shani 12 Sagittarius/ Purva Ashadha/Apah/
20
th
constellation
(Or) may be symbol of Lynx +
Cancer constellations --- Refer to
seal depiction under the heading
“sign of double axe”
(Or) may be allelographs of
Sagittarius constellation--- It looks
like that these symbols are of later
day period and most probably
belongs to Greek period.
5

Planet mercury/ Budhan
Arrow symbol indicates
Budhan
Budhan is son of moon
13 (Or) Castor and Pollux/ Punarvasu/
7
th
constellation

8. 6 Funeral urn/ symbol of god
of death/ symbol of Kalan/
Shiva
14 Trishul/ fork/ Vishaka
/16
th
constellation

7 God of underworld (Or)
this symbol might be
depicting a rope as in
Egyptian hieroglyphics
tethering rope / in
Indian mythology rope
means rope of death/ rope
used by Yama to take away
the life from a person.
15

Capricorn/ crocodile/ Uttara
Ashadha/ 21
st
constellation

8 Earth- mother goddess

16 The stars side by
side/Shravana/Aquila
constellation as per jyotisha
vedanga.

(Or) May be part of
Perseus constellation as discussed
under the heading “sign of double
axe”
Details of Horoscope chart

Astronomical symbols found among the Indus symbols

S.NO SYMBOL EXPLANATION S.NO SYMBOL EXPLANATION
1 Amavasai 15 Moon
SE –corner is indicated
2 Circle with spot is sun 16 Moon- / or circle with spot is
sun
3 Astrology chart-
Eastern corner of the chart-
17 Mars—triangle symbol

9. Venus
4 Venus allele 18 Mars-allele
-------------------
Mountain
5 Venus allele 19 Two planet interaction-
Venus and Saturn
6 Venus allele/ (or)
Chitra star (star Spica) in
Virgo constellation.
20 Amavasai/
Or honey comb
7 Venus-Jupiter interaction 21 Amavasai/ or eclipse- allele
8 Jupiter 22 Eclipse-1
9 Moon-Ketu-interaction
---------------------
SE-NW planets interaction
23 Chakra-sun
10 Sky god/ as per suggestion of
Mahadevan
24 Rectangle- Jupiter
11 Astro-chart- 25 Mercury node
12 Astro-Chart –allele 26 Planets-Astro-chart
13 Moon- first – quarter 27 Two planets crossing- may be
eclipse/ (or) Two bangles
symbol of Inanna (mother
goddess)
14 It looks like a seedling, (or)
tree, which represents the
womb of mother goddess
through which the seedling
germinates. (Georg
Feuerstein, 2005, p. 121)
28 Trishul-planet-mars allele/
Trishul is symbol of Kalan also