Panchangam

The ancients in India, Egypt and Babylon had independent and deep knowledge of the sky and assigned the names of deities, fabled heroes and animals to star patterns. Astronomical events were closely interwoven into their social fabric. The Magi, who followed the ‘Star of Bethlehem’ is believed to have came from these cultures. Sirius appearing in the sky after six months was the sign of annual rebirth of the Nile after the long dry spell. Early celestial cartographers drew the constellation or Rasi figures as they pleased. The constellations were standardised and the exact boundaries fixed in 1930 by the International Astronomical Union.

The Indian system is more detailed in that it deals with 27 stars signs coming from 18 Rasis but within the influence of the Zodiac for charting the movement of the Sun and the Moon. Apparently none of the Indian names have found a place in the International Astronomical Union listing in spite of the fact that India had one of the earliest astronomical cultures. Most other systems deal with only the 12 Zodiacal Constellations.

The Kolla Varsham also known as Malayalam (language of Kerala) Era (M.E) is known to be rooted in the ‘Saptha Rishi Varsham ‘ (Year of the Seven Sages) dating from around 6th B.C . This system had a 100 year cycle . Someone from this culture who relocated to Kollam (Quilon) in Kerala in 825 AD is believed to have initiated Kolla Varsham.

The significance of this system is that it meticulously follows the movement of the Sun in the Zodiac. The 12 months beginning with the transit of the Sun into Leo from Chingam to Karkadakam are indeed the Malayalam equivalent of the Zodiac. Sun’s transit into a new Constellation is a day of festivity called Sankranthi. The festivals of Kerala - Ashtami Rohini, Onam, Thrissoor Pooram, Kodungalloor Bharani to name a few are astronomical events.

The Chart below gives details of the Rasi (Constellation) and Nakshatra ( star) in Malayalam - the language of the Kerala and the corresponding names in Sanskrit and English. Given the significance of Spring Equinox it is customary to begin with the constellation of Aries