Budha

Budha graha (Sanskrit: बुध) is a Sanskrit word that connotes the planet[2] Mercury.[1] Budha, in puranic Hindu Legends, is also a deity.[3]

Not to be confused with Buddha.
For other uses, see Buddha (disambiguation).

Budha
Mercury
Iconography of Budha
AffiliationGraha, Deva
AbodeBudhaloka
PlanetMercury
DayWednesday
NumberFive (5)
MountYali lion or chariot hauled by eight horses of deep yellow colour
Personal information
ParentsChandra and Taraka (wife of Bṛhaspati)
ConsortIla[1]
ChildrenPururavas

He is also known as Soumya (Sanskrit: सौम्य, lit. son of Moon), Rauhineya and Tunga.[3]

Planet

Budha as a planet appears in various Hindu astronomical texts in Sanskrit, such as the 5th century Aryabhatiya by Aryabhatta, the 6th century Romaka by Latadeva and Panca Siddhantika by Varahamihira, the 7th century Khandakhadyaka by Brahmagupta and the 8th century Sisyadhivrddida by Lalla.[4][5] These texts present Budha as one of the planets and estimate the characteristics of the respective planetary motion.[4] Other texts such as Surya Siddhanta dated to have been complete sometime between the 5th century and 10th century present their chapters on various planets with deity mythologies.[4]

The manuscripts of these texts exist in slightly different versions, present Budha's motion in the skies, but vary in their data, suggesting that the text were open and revised over their lives. The texts slightly disagree in their data, in their measurements of Budha's revolutions, apogee, epicycles, nodal longitudes, orbital inclination, and other parameters.[6] For example, both Khandakhadyaka and Surya Siddhanta of Varaha state that Budha completes 17,937,000 revolutions on its own axis every 4,320,000 years, and had an apogee (aphelia) of 220 degrees in 499 CE; while another manuscript of Surya Siddhanta increases the revolutions by 60 to 17,937,060, and the apogee to 220 degrees and 26 seconds.[7]

The 1st millennium CE Hindu scholars had estimated the time it took for sidereal revolutions of each planet including Budha, from their astronomical studies, with slightly different results:[8]

Sanskrit texts: How many days for Budha (Mercury) to complete its orbit?
Source Estimated time per sidereal revolution[8]
Surya Siddhanta 87 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes, 22.3 seconds
Siddhanta Shiromani 87 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes, 41.5 seconds
Ptolemy 87 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes, 42.9 seconds
20th century calculations 87 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes, 43.9 seconds

Legends

Budha appears as a deity in Indian texts, often as the son of Soma (moon god, Chandra) and Tara (wife of Bṛhaspati, Jupiter god). The legends of Budha as a deity is not consistent in Hindu Puranas, and he alternatively is described as the son of goddess Rohini (a daughter of Daksha) and god Soma.[3] By his spouse Ila, Budha had a son, king Pururavas.

One of the earliest mentions of Budha as a celestial body appears in the Vedic text Pancavimsa Brahmana, and it appears in other ancient texts such as the Shatapatha Brahmana as well, but not in the context of astrology. In the ancient texts, Budha is linked to three steps of the Hindu god Vishnu.[3]

Calendar and Hindu astrology

Budha is the root of the word 'Budhavara' or Wednesday in the Hindu calendar.[1] The word "Wednesday" in the Greco-Roman and other Indo-European calendars is also dedicated to planet Mercury ("day of Woden or Oden").

Budha is part of the Navagraha in Hindu zodiac system, considered benevolent, associated with an agile mind and memory. The role and importance of the Navagraha developed over time with various influences. Deifying planetary bodies and their astrological significance occurred as early as the Vedic period and was recorded in the Vedas. The earliest work of astrology recorded in India is the Vedanga Jyotisha which began to be compiled in the 14th century BCE. It was possibly based on works from the Indus Valley Civilization as well as various foreign influences. Babylonian astrology which was the first astrology and calendar to develop, and was adopted by multiple civilizations including India. The classical planets, including Mercury, were referenced in the Atharvaveda around 1000 BCE.

The Navagraha was furthered by additional contributions from Western Asia, including Zoroastrian and Hellenistic influences. The Yavanajataka, or 'Science of the Yavanas', was written by the Indo-Greeknamed "Yavanesvara" ("Lord of the Greeks") under the rule of the Western Kshatrapa king Rudrakarman I. The Yavanajataka written in 120 CE is often attributed to standardizing Indian astrology. The Navagraha would further develop and culminate in the Shaka era with the Saka, or Scythian, people. Additionally the contributions by the Saka people would be the basis of the Indian national calendar, which is also called the Saka calendar.

Budha is also the root for name for the week day in many other Indian languages. In modern Hindi, Odia, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Kannada and Gujarati, Wednesday is called Budhavara; Tamil: Budhan kizhamai; Malayalam: Budhanazhcha; Thai: Wan Phut (วันพุธ).

Iconography

Budha's iconography, according to Roshen Dalal, is as a benevolent[9] but a minor male deity with light yellow colored body (or green), draped into yellow clothes, with a chariot made of air and fire, drawn by eight wind horses. He is also represented holding a scimitar, a club and a shield, riding a winged lion in Bhudhan Temple. In other illustrations, he rides a lion and has four arms.[1]

Budha has been linguistically related to Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, though this is controversial [10] [11]

See also
  • Days of the week

References
  1. Roshen Dalal (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
  2. Best Life Story of Gautam Budhha in Hindi
  3. Terry Mahoney (2013). Mercury. Springer Science. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-4614-7951-2.
  4. Ebenezer Burgess (1989). P Ganguly, P Sengupta (ed.). Sûrya-Siddhânta: A Text-book of Hindu Astronomy. Motilal Banarsidass (Reprint), Original: Yale University Press, American Oriental Society. pp. vii–xi. ISBN 978-81-208-0612-2.
  5. Bina Chatterjee (1970). The Khandakhadyaka (an astronomical treatise) of Brahmagupta: with the commentary of Bhattotpala (in Sanskrit). Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 59–64. OCLC 463213346.
  6. Ebenezer Burgess (1989). P Ganguly, P Sengupta (ed.). Sûrya-Siddhânta: A Text-book of Hindu Astronomy. Motilal Banarsidass (Reprint), Original: Yale University Press, American Oriental Society. pp. ix–xi. ISBN 978-81-208-0612-2.
  7. Ebenezer Burgess (1989). P Ganguly, P Sengupta (ed.). Sûrya-Siddhânta: A Text-book of Hindu Astronomy. Motilal Banarsidass (Reprint), Original: Yale University Press, American Oriental Society. pp. ix–x. ISBN 978-81-208-0612-2.
  8. Ebenezer Burgess (1989). P Ganguly, P Sengupta (ed.). Sûrya-Siddhânta: A Text-book of Hindu Astronomy. Motilal Banarsidass (Reprint), Original: Yale University Press, American Oriental Society. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-81-208-0612-2.
  9. James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 324. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8.
  10. http://faculty.washington.edu/prem/mw/b.html
  11. Patrick Gray (2015). Varieties of Religious Invention: Founders and Their Functions in History. Oxford University Press. pp. 46 footnote 19. ISBN 978-0-19-935972-1.

Further reading
  • Svoboda, Robert. The Greatness of Saturn: A Therapeutic Myth. Lotus Press, 1997. ISBN 0-940985-62-4
  • Pingree, David (1973). "The Mesopotamian Origin of Early Indian Mathematical Astronomy". Journal for the History of Astronomy. SAGE. 4 (1). Bibcode:1973JHA.....4....1P. doi:10.1177/002182867300400102.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Pingree, David (1981). Jyotihśāstra : Astral and Mathematical Literature. Otto Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3447021654.
  • Yukio Ohashi (1999). Johannes Andersen (ed.). Highlights of Astronomy, Volume 11B. Springer Science. ISBN 978-0-7923-5556-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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