"Birds of the same feather
flock together"
Nakshatras can be subdivided in the following five groups:
| HAMSA (swan) |
MAYURA (peacock) |
KAKA (crow) |
BAKA (heron) |
KAPOTA (pigeon) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashvini | Bharani | Krittika | Rohini | Mrigashira |
| Ardra | Punarvasu | Pushya | Ashlesha | Magha |
| Purvaphalguni | Uttaraphalguni | Hasta | Chitra | Svati |
| Vishakha | Anuradha | Jyeshtha | Mula | Purvashadha |
| Uttarashadha | Shravana | Dhanishtha | Shatabhisha | Purvabhadrapada |
| Uttarabhadrapada | ||||
| Revati |
In Rigveda Hamsah is a mythical bird having the ability to separate Soma from water, when these two fluids are mixed, and in later Vedic literature milk from water when these two are mixed. Also Hamsah is the vehicle of the Ashvins in Rigved and in later Vedic literature of Brahma.
Apart from the normal meaning of some aquatic bird like goose, gander, swan, flamingo, hamsa carries also the meaning soul or spirit (typified by the pure white colour of a goose or swan and migratory like a goose; sometimes the universal soul or supreme spirit, identified with Narayana, Vishnu, Shiva, Kama and the Surya). The commentator of Rigveda Sayana takes the symbol of Hamsah to be derived from "Aham Sah" which means "I He", which signifies that the individual soul is one with the universal spirit "I am Brahman." Compare the famous Upanishadic expression "Jivo brahmaiva na parah", the individual soul is Brahman and nothing else.
Apart from peacock, Mayura also carries the meanings: instrument for measuring time, a kind of gait, plant (Achyranthes aspera).
Baka is a kind of heron or crane. It also can mean a cheat, rogue, because the crane is regarded as a bird of great cunning and deceit as well as circumspection.