Mṛgaśīrṣa
/ˌmɻɡəˈɕiːrʂə/noun
A Sanskrit name for the fifth nakshatra, or lunar mansion, traditionally associated with the head of a deer.
Did you know?Mṛgaśīrṣa is traditionally represented by a deer’s head and spans stars in the constellations Orion and Taurus, linking celestial navigation with the symbolism of the spiritual seeker.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ḱerh₂s-
“Head, upper part of the body; the ancestral root associated with Sanskrit śīrṣa.”
Vedic Sanskrit
Sanskrit
mṛgaśīrṣan-
“Deer-headed or having the head of a deer; an early name for the lunar mansion.”
Classical Sanskrit
Sanskrit
mṛgaśīrṣa
“The deer’s head; the fifth nakshatra in Indian astronomy and astrology.”
Medieval Sanskrit astronomy
Sanskrit
Mṛgaśīrṣa
“A lunar station used in calendrical, astronomical, and astrological calculations.”
Modern English
English
Mrigashirsha / Mṛgaśīrṣa
“The Sanskrit name of a nakshatra or lunar mansion, commonly retained as a transliterated proper noun.”