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ताराग्रहाः Tārāgrahāḥ

the five star-planets · Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn · —

collectiveidentification certainattestations 2

In the living languages

'Planet' as a word (1 names)

Attestations

Lexicons, Nirukta & Buddhist · c. 4th–5th century CE
aṣṭāviṃśati nakṣatrāḥ saptasapta diśi sthitāḥ. tārāgrahās tathā pañca rāhuketuś ca saptamaḥ, mahātejo mahābalo maharddhikā mahātapāḥ. sūryacandramasau caiva saptatriṃśad anūnakāḥ,
Literal rendering: 'The twenty-eight asterisms stand seven by seven in the directions; likewise the five star-planets, and Rāhu-Ketu as the seventh — of great splendour, great strength, great power, great austerity; and the sun and moon: thirty-seven, none lacking.' — Literal rendering by the compiler

'The star-seizers' — the technical term distinguishing the five planets from the luminaries. Recorded because it shows tārā being used of planets as well as fixed stars, a distinction this database should keep explicit. The same passage counts thirty-seven bodies in all: 28 nakshatras + 5 tārāgrahas + Rāhu + Ketu + sun + moon.

Mahāmāyūrī-vidyārājñī (Takubo ed. p. 52) · text · translation
Chinese Buddhist witnesses · Xiuyao jing 759 CE (revised recension 764 CE); Modengqie jing (T1300) 230 CE; Shetoujian jing (T1301) c. 307 CE
日曜,太陽,胡名蜜,波斯名曜森勿,天竺名阿儞底耶。月曜,太陰,胡名莫,波斯名婁禍森勿,天竺名蘇上摩。火曜,熒惑,胡名雲漢,波斯名勢森勿,天竺名糞盎聲哦囉迦盎。水曜,辰星,胡名咥,波斯名掣森勿,天竺名部陀。木曜,歲星,胡名鶻勿,波斯名本森勿,天竺名勿哩訶娑跛底。金曜,太白,胡名那歇,波斯名數森勿,天竺名戌羯羅。土曜,鎮星,胡名枳院,波斯名翕森勿,天竺名賒乃以室折囉。

T21n1300 at T21.405b13–16: 「今當為汝復說七曜,日、月、熒惑、歲星、鎮星、太白、辰星,是名為七。羅睺、彗星,通則為九。」

"The Sun's day: Taiyang. In Hu it is named Mi; in Persian, Yaosenwu; in Indian, Āditya. The Moon's day: Taiyin. In Hu, Mo; in Persian, Louhuosenwu; in Indian, Soma. The Fire day: Yinghuo (Mars). In Hu, Yunhan; in Persian, Shisenwu; in Indian, Aṅgāraka. The Water day: Chenxing (Mercury). In Hu, Die; in Persian, Chesenwu; in Indian, Budha. The Wood day: Suixing (Jupiter). In Hu, Guwu; in Persian, Bensenwu; in Indian, Bṛhaspati. The Metal day: Taibai (Venus). In Hu, Naxie; in Persian, Shusenwu; in Indian, Śukra. The Earth day: Zhenxing (Saturn). In Hu, Zhiyuan; in Persian, Xisenwu; in Indian, Śanaiścara." — T1300: "Now I shall further tell you of the seven luminaries: sun, moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury — these are called the seven. With Rāhu and the comet they make nine in all." — Literal rendering by the compiler

THE ONE PLACE IN THE XIUYAO JING WHERE SANSKRIT NAMES ARE GIVEN IN PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION AS NAMES. Fasc. 2 sets out the seven planetary day-lords in four languages side by side — Chinese, 'Hu' (Sogdian), Persian, and 天竺 'Indian'. The Indian column is Sanskrit in Chinese transcription: 阿儞底耶 = Āditya (Sun), 蘇摩 = Soma (Moon), 哦囉迦 = Aṅgāraka (Mars; the printed 糞盎…哦囉迦盎 carries pronunciation glosses), 部陀 = Budha (Mercury), 勿哩訶娑跛底 = Bṛhaspati (Jupiter), 戌羯羅 = Śukra (Venus), 賒乃以室折囉 = Śanaiścara (Saturn). All seven Sanskrit forms are abundantly attested elsewhere; the value here is the firm 759 CE date and the trilingual control. T1300 (c. 230 CE) gives the same five star-planets in translated Chinese and adds 羅睺 Rāhu and 彗星 the comet to make nine: 「今當為汝復說七曜,日、月、熒惑、歲星、鎮星、太白、辰星,是名為七。羅睺、彗星,通則為九。」 — a navagraha with a COMET in the ninth place rather than Ketu, which is a genuinely early configuration.

Taishō T21n1299 fasc. 2 (T21.398b05–18); T21n1300 fasc. 1 (T21.405b13–16) · text · translation

See also

Tārā