Alternative spellings of this word include Chalaketu.

In Hinduism

Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)

Source: Wisdom Library: Brihat Samhita by Varahamihira

Calaketu (चलकेतु) or simply Cala refers to a particular type of Ketus (i.e., luminous bodies such as comets and meteors), according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 11), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).— Accordingly, “Cala Ketu [calaketu] is a comet which appears in the west with a tail an inch in length pointing to the south; as it proceeds more and more towards the north, it increases in length. After touching the Pole star or the constellation of Abhijit, it turns back and after travelling one half of the sky disappears in the south. When this Ketu appears, the country between Prayāga (Allahabad) and Avantī, the forests near Puṣkara, the north, the country of Devikā and Madhyadeśa will perish. The other countries will also suffer in several places from disease and from famine; the effects described will last for 10 months according to some and for 18 months according to others”.

context information

Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Calaketu (चलकेतु):—[=cala-ketu] [from cala > cal] m. (in [astronomy]) Name of a moving Ketu, [Varāha-mihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā xi, 33.]

[Sanskrit to German]

Calaketu in German

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Partial matches: Cala, Ketu.

Ends with: Acalaketu.

Full-text: Cala, Dairghya, Pratinivritta, Ashtadasha, Pushkararanya, Devika, Samsprishya.

Relevant text

Search found 1 books and stories containing Calaketu, Cala-ketu; (plurals include: Calaketus, ketus). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Brihat Samhita (by N. Chidambaram Iyer)

Chapter 11 - On comets (ketu)

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