STORYTIME!!

We all love mythological stories, don’t we?

Indian Mythology is full of amazing and interesting stories. We all have heard stories of Kingdoms, Kings, Queens, Empires, etc. But what if you get to know that there were stories prevailing in India on Stars, Constellations and other celestial bodies! A popular example is the Hindu myth of Rahu and Ketu, asuras or demons who devour the sun and the moon, causing eclipses, which continues to fascinate many though eclipses are well-understood. Let’s read a fun story based on constellation stars.

Orion is one of the most famous constellations in the night sky. The three distinctive belt stars make it easy to pick out and identify. Orion’s many bright stars shine fiercely on cold, crisp, clear winter nights. It is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and is visible throughout the world.

Similarly, Taurus is one of the constellations of the zodiac and is located in the Northern celestial hemisphere. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere’s winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to at least the Early Bronze Age.

But these were not earlier considered as constellations!

There is a mythological story that was prevalent in ancient times about how Orion and Taurus originated. The story follows as below-

Orion is a hunter who is waiting on top of a tree
waiting for a hunt when he sees a beautiful dear. As he aims his arrow at the dear, the dear pleads with him that while she is a legitimate catch of the hunter, she has a small baby at home and the dear would be grateful if he gave the dear a chance to meet its baby one last time before its death. The hunter lets her go, not expecting her to return. However, while sitting on the tree, unwittingly he keeps taking leaves from the Bilva tree and dropping them on the ground where there is a small Shiva Linga. The bilva leaves are particularly precious to Shiva who is pleased with this worship. The dear however keeps its word and returns to die on the arrow of the hunter. Touched by this scene of valour, and commitment to honesty, Shiva transports them to the heavens as Orion and Taurus.