Tibetan moon houses
The 27 Tibetan lunar houses ( Tib . : rgyu skar , "stars on which one walks") result from the division of the ecliptic into 27 equal parts and thus form an angular measure of Tibetan astronomy , which is generally used to calculate the lengths of the sun and moon , the planet known in Tibet and the comet Encke was used. For astronomical calculations these moon houses are counted with the numbers 0 to 26. In addition, the division of the ecliptic into 12 signs of the zodiac was known in Tibet .
This division of the ecliptic into lunar houses, which was known in Tibet since the 8th century and was used there for astronomical calculations since the translation of the Kālacakratantra in the 11th century, was adopted by the Tibetans from India, where the lunar houses were called Nakşatra .
The basis of the division into 27 parts was the fact that the moon naturally needs a little more than 27 days for a sidereal orbit , i.e. it stays in a different lunar house every day.
The division into lunar houses in Tibet is closely related to the idea that the lunar houses correspond to certain constellations . B. in the 1685 written Vaiḍūrya dkar-po of the regent Desi Sanggye Gyatsho has been described.
Furthermore, the moon houses in Tibet, as well as the planets, were identified with certain gods.
In addition, the Tibetans were aware of the division of the ecliptic into 28 lunar houses, which, although it played no role in the computational astronomy of the Tibetans, was used in particular in the Sinotibetic divination calculations (Tib .: nag rtsis ). The latter assigned certain elements and directions to the lunar houses for divinatory calculations , a procedure that was adopted by the Tibetans from China. As the 28th moon house, the moon house byi ha zhin or byi bzhin ( Sanskrit : Abhijit), also known in India, was inserted between the moon houses gro bzhin and mon gre .
List of Tibetan moon houses
count | Tibetan name | Deity (All illustrations after Vaiḍūrya dkar-po) | Constellation (description) according to Vaiḍūrya dkar-po | Element of nag-rtsis | Cardinal direction of the nag-rtsis |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | tha skar | Consists of three main stars with the shape of a horse's head and neck (Tib .: rta mgo mgul ) | water | north | |
1 | bra nye | Consists of three main stars that have the shape of a woman's genitals (Tib .: mo mtshan ). | earth | North-west | |
2 | smin drug | Consists of six main stars that are shaped like a razor (Tib .: spu gri ). | Wood | east | |
3 | snar ma | Consists of five main stars in the shape of a chariot (Tib .: shing rta ). | Wood | east | |
4th | mgo | Consists of three main stars that have the shape of the head of a deer (Tib .: ri dvags mgo ). | Wood | east | |
5 | lay | Consists of a main star that has the shape of a round point (Tib .: thig le ). | Wood | east | |
6th | nabs so | Consists of two main stars shaped like the foot of a throne (Tib .: khri rkang ). | Wood | east | |
7th | rgyal | Consists of three main stars that have the shape of a drop (Tib .: ril ba ). | Wood | east | |
8th | skag | Consists of six main stars that have the shape of a distended snake neck (Tib .: gdengs ka ). | earth | southeast | |
9 | mchu | Consists of six main stars that have the shape of a river (Tib .: chu bo ). | Fire | south | |
10 | gre | Consists of two main stars that have the shape of a human leg (Tib .: mi rkang ). | Fire | south | |
11 | dbo | Consists of two main stars that have the shape of a throne (Tib .: khri ). | Fire | south | |
12 | me bzhi | Consists of five main stars that are shaped like a hand (Tib .: lag ). | Fire | south | |
13 | nag | Consists of a main star that has the shape of the lotus fruit (Tib .: pad snying ). | Fire | south | |
14th | sa ri | Consists of a main star that has the shape of a gemstone (Tib .: nor bu ). | Fire | south | |
15th | sa ga | Consists of four main stars in the shape of a goat's head (Tib .: ra mgo ). | earth | Southwest | |
16 | lha mtshams | Consists of four main stars that have the shape of a bull (Tib .: glang po ). | iron | west | |
17th | snron | Consists of three main stars that have the shape of a ladder (tib .: them skas ). | iron | west | |
18th | snrubs | Consists of nine main stars that have the shape of a scorpion (Tib .: sdig pa ). | iron | west | |
19th | chu stod | Consists of four main stars that have the shape of a stupa (Tib .: mchod rten ). | iron | west | |
20th | chu smad | Consists of four main stars that have the shape of a Bre meter (Tib .: bre ). | iron | west | |
21st | big bzhin | Consists of three main stars that have the shape of a Bre measuring device (Tib .: bre ). | iron | west | |
[21a] | byi bzhin | Consists of three main stars that have the shape of a cow's head (Tib .: glang mgo ). | earth | North-west | |
22nd | mon gre | Consists of four main stars that have the shape of a bird (Tib .: bya ). | water | north | |
23 | mon gru | Consists of two main stars that have the shape of a bouquet of flowers (Tib .: me tog phung ). | water | north | |
24 | khrums stod | Consists of two main stars in the shape of a chariot (Tib .: shing rta ). | water | north | |
25th | khrums smad | Consists of two main stars that are shaped like an ear (Tib .: rna ba ). | water | north | |
26th | nam gru | Consists of thirty-two main stars in the shape of a boat (Tib .: gru ). | water | north |
swell
- sde-srid Sangs-rgyas rgya-mtsho: Phug-lugs rtsis kyi legs-bshad mkhas-pa'i mgul-rgyan vaidur dkar-po'i do-shal dpyod-ldan snying-nor (block print)
- Winfried Petri: Indo-Tibetan Astronomy. Habilitation thesis to obtain the venia legendi for the subject history of natural sciences at the high natural sciences faculty of the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich . Munich 1966
- Dieter Schuh: Studies on the history of the Tibetan calendar calculation . Wiesbaden 1973
- Te-ming Tseng: Sino-Tibetan divination calculations (Nag-rtsis) presented using the work dPag-bsam ljon-šing by Blo-bzang tshul-khrims rgya-mtsho . International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, Halle 2005. ISBN 3-88280-070-4