SHUKRA

Shukra (शुक्र) is a Sanskrit word (संस्कृत) that means "lucid, clear, bright".

It also has other meanings, such as the name of an ancient sage who counselled Asuras (असुर /Daityas) in Vedic Mythology (वैदिक / 1500 - 500 BCE).
- Asuras (असुर) are a class of Divine beings or power-seeking Deities related to the more benevolent Devas, (देव / also known as Suras, सुरस / Male Dieties) in Hinduism.
Asuras (असुर) are sometimes considered Nature Spirits.
They battle constantly with the Devas (देव).
Asuras (असुर) are described in Indian texts as powerful Superhuman Demigods with good or bad qualities.
The good Asuras (असुर) are called Adityas (आदित्य) and are led by Varuna (वरुण), while the malevolent ones are called Danavas (दानव) and are led by Vritra (वृत्र).
In the earliest layer of Vedic texts (वैदिक), Agni (अग्नि), Indra (इन्द्र) and other Gods are also called Asuras (असुर), in the sense of them being "Lords" of their respective domains, knowledge and abilities.
In later Vedic (वैदिक) and post-Vedic texts (पोस्ट - वैदिक), the benevolent Gods are called Devas (देव), while malevolent Asuras (असुर) compete against these Devas (देव) and are considered "Enemies of the Gods".
Asuras (असुर) are part of Indian Mythology along with Devas (देव), Yakshas (याक़ूब / Nature Spirits) and Rakshasas (राक्षस / Ghosts, Ogres).
Asuras (असुर) feature in many cosmological theories in Hinduism.

In one ideology, Shukra (शुक्र) is the name of a son of Bhrigu (महर्षि भृगु, Maharishi Bhrigu) of the third Manu (मनु / archetypal man).
- Maharishi Bhrigu (महर्षि भृगु) was one of the seven great sages, the Saptarshis (सप्तर्षी / "seven sages"), one of the many Prajapatis (प्रजापति / "lord of creation and protector" / the facilitators of Creation) created by Brahmā (ब्रह्मा / the Creator God in Hinduism).
He was born in Ballia (बलिया / a city with a municipal board in the Indian state of उत्तर प्रदेश, Uttar Pradesh bordering बिहार, Bihar).
He was the first compiler of predictive Astrology, and also the author of Bhrigu Samhita (भृगु संहिता), the astrological (Jyotish) classic.
Maharishi Bhrigu (महर्षि भृगु) is considered a Manasputra (मानसपुत्र / "mind-born-son") of Brahma (ब्रह्मा).

Shukra (शुक्र) was the Guru (गुरु, teacher) of Daityas (दैत्य) / असुर, Asuras), and is also referred to, as Shukracharya (शुकराचार्य) or Asuracharya (असुराचार्य) in various Hindu texts (हिंदू). 

Shukra (शुक्र) named the Velleeswarar Temple (वेलेश् वर / Hindu Temple in माइलापोर, Mylapore of चेन्नई, Chennai - मैंगडू, Mangadu) after the blessings of the Trimurti (त्रिमूर्ति), to mark the end of a long period of Blindness.
- Trimurti (त्रिमूर्ति / "Three Forms") is the Triple Deity of Supreme Divinity in Hinduism.
Trimurti (त्रिमूर्ति) is personified as a triad of Deities: Brahma (ब्रह्मा) the Creator, Vishnu (विष्णु) the Preserver and Shiva (शिव) the Destroyer.

In another account found in the Mahabharata (महाभारतम्, Mahābhārata), Shukra (शुक्र) divided himself into two, one half becoming the knowledge source for the Devas (देव / also known as Suras, सुरस / Male Dieties) and the other half being the knowledge source of the Asuras (असुर /Daityas / Demons).
- Mahabharata (महाभारतम्, Mahābhārata) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of Ancient India (originated: 8th and 9th Centuries BCE / dated: early Gupta period, c. 4th century CE), the other being the Ramayana (रामायणम्, Rāmāyaṇam).
Mahabharata (महाभारतम्, Mahābhārata) narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War (कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध / 5561 - c. 950 BCE) and the fates of the Kaurava (कौरव) and the Pāṇḍava (पाण्डव) Princes, and their succession.
Traditionally, the authorship of the Mahabharata (महाभारतम्, Mahābhārata) is attributed to Vyāsa (व्यास / "Compiler") or Veda Vyāsa (वेदव्यास, veda-vyāsa / "the one who classified the Vedas") or Krishna Dvaipāyana (कृष्ण पीयाना / referring to his dark complexion and birthplace).
Vyāsa (व्यास) is considered to be one of the seven Chiranjivins (चिरञ्जीवि / long-lived or immortals), who are still in existence according to Hindu tradition.

Shukra (शुक्र) in the Puranic ideology (पौराणिक / from पुराण, Puranas) is famed as one with the knowledge that raises the dead back to life, something that helps the violent evil return to life even after the Gods and the forces of Good destroy them; this knowledge is sought by the Gods and is ultimately gained by them.
- Puranas (पुराण / "ancient, old") is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly myths, legends and other traditional lore.

In the Mahabharata (महाभारतम्, Mahābhārata), Shukracharya (शुकराचार्य / शुक्र,Shukra) is mentioned as one of the mentors of Bhishma (भीष्‍म), having taught him political science in his youth.
- Bhishma (भीष्‍म) was well known for his pledge of Celibacy.
He was the eighth son of Kuru King Shantanu (कुरु राजा शांतनु) and the Goddess Ganga (गंगा / Goddess of the Ganges River / Purification).
Bhishma (भीष्‍म) was blessed with wish-long life and was related to both the Pandava (पाण्डव) and the Kaurava (कौरव).
Bhishma (भीष्‍म) was an unparalleled archer and warrior of his time.
He also handed down the Vishnu Sahasranama (विष्णुसहस्रनामम्) to Yudhishtira (युधिष्ठिर), when he was on his death bed (of arrows) in the Battle of Kurukshetra (कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध / 5561 - c. 950 BCE).
- Pandava (पाण्डव) were the five acknowledged sons of Pandu (पाण्डु) by his two wives: Kunti (कुन्ती) and Madri (माद्री), who was the princess of Madra (मद्रा).
- Kaurava (कौरव) were the descendants of Kuru (कुरु), a legendary King who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the Mahabharata (महाभारतम्).
The well-known Kauravas (कौरव) are: Duryodhana (दुर्योधन), Dushasana (दुःशासन), Vikarna (विकर्ण), Yuyutsu (युयुत्सु) and Dussala (दुसरा).
- Vishnu Sahasranama (विष्णुसहस्रनामम् / Viṣṇusahasranāmam) is a list of 1,000 names (सहस्रनाम, Sahasranama) of Vishnu (विष्णु).
- Vishnu (विष्णु) is one of the Principal Deities of Hinduism, and the Supreme Being or Absolute Truth in its Vaishnavism tradition (वैष्णववाद / one of the major Hindu denominations).
- Yudhishtira (युधिष्ठिर) was the eldest son of King Pandu (पाण्डु) and Queen Kunti (कुन्ती), the King of Indraprastha (इंद्रप्रस्थ) and later of Hastinapura (हस्तिनापुर / the capital of the कुरु राज्य, Kuru Kingdom).

Shukra's mother (शुक्र) was Kavyamata (कवयमाता), whilst Shukra's wife (शुक्र) was the Goddess Jayanti (जयंती), and their union produced Queen Devayani (देवयानी).
- Jayanti (जयंती) was the daughter of Indra (इन्द्र) and his consort Shachi (शची).
- Indra (इन्द्र) is a Vedic Deity (वैदिक) in Hinduism, a Guardian Deity in Buddhism, and the King of the Highest Heaven called Saudharmakalpa (सौधरमकलप) in Jainism.
His Mythologies and powers are similar to other Indo-European Deities such as Jupiter (Jove / the God of the Sky and Thunder / King of the Gods in Ancient Roman Religion and Mythology), Perun (Перýн / the highest God of the Pantheon in Slavic Mythology), Perkūnas (Perkūno / the common Baltic God of Thunder / second most important Deity in the Baltic Pantheon after Dievas), Taranis (the God of Thunder in Celtic Mythology), Zeus (Ζεύς / the Sky and Thunder God in Ancient Greek Religion) and Thor (ᚦᚢᚱ / the hammer-wielding God associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees and strength in Germanic Mythology).
In the Vedas (वेद), Indra (इन्द्र) is the King of Svarga (स्वर्ग) and the Devas (देव / also known as Suras, सुरस / Male Dieties).
- Shachi (शची) also known as Indrani (इंद्राणी / "Queen of Indra"), Aindrila (अिन्द्रिला), Mahendri (महन्दी), Pulomaja (पुलोमोजा) and Poulomi (पोलोमी), is the Goddess of Beauty.
Shachi (शची) is a daughter of Puloman (पुलोमान), an Asura (असुर /Daitya) who was killed by Indrani's (इंद्राणी / शची, Shachi) future husband, Indra (इन्द्र).
- Vedas (वेद / "knowledge") are a large body of religious texts originating in Ancient India.
- Svarga (स्वर्ग, Swarga or SvargaLoka / "Heaven") one of the seven Higher Lokas (लोकास / Esotericism Plane in Hindu Cosmology).

- Jyotisha or Jyotishya (ज्योतिष, ज्योतिश्या / "light, heavenly body") is the traditional Hindu system of Astrology, also known as Hindu Astrology (हिंदू ज्योतिष) or Vedic Astrology (वैदिक ज्योतिष).
- Navagrahas (नवग्रह) means "Nine Celestial Bodies" in Sanskrit (संस्कृत) and are Nine Astronomical Bodies or Nine Realms or Nine Planets in Hindu and Vedic Astrology (ज्योतिष, Jyotiṣa or Jyotisha / ज्योतिश्या, Jyotishya) as well as Mythical Deities of Hinduism.

Shukra (शुक्र) as a planet appears in various Hindu Astronomical texts in Sanskrit (संस्कृत), such as:
- Aryabhatiya (आर्यभटीय, 5th Century) by the major mathematician-astronomer from the classical age of Indian Mathematics and Indian Astronomy, Aryabhata (आर्यभट).
- Romaka (रोमाका, 6th Century) by the astronomer, Latadeva (लतादेव), based in Byzantine Astronomy.
- Pancasiddhantika (पैनकासिधांटिका, 6th Century) by the polymath astronomer, Varahamihira (वराहमिहिर).
- Khandakhadyaka (खण्डखाद्यक, 665 AD) by the mathematician and astronomer, Brahmagupta (ब्रह्मगुप्त).
- Sisyadhivrddida (सिसियादहिर्डिडा, 8th Century) by the mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, Lalla (लल्ल).
These texts present Shukra (शुक्र) as one of the planets and estimate the characteristics of the respective planetary motion.
Other texts such as Surya Siddhanta (सूर्यसिद्धान्त), dated to have been complete sometime between the 5th Century and 10th Century, present their chapters on various planets with Deity Mythologies.

The weekday Shukravara (शुक्रवार) in Hindu Calendar, or Friday, has roots in Shukra (शुक्र / Venus).
Shukravara (शुक्रवार) is found in most Indian languages, and Shukra Graha (शुक्र ग्राहा) is driven by the planet Venus in Hindu Astrology (ज्योतिष, Jyotiṣa or Jyotisha / ज्योतिश्या, Jyotishya).
The word "Friday" in the Greco-Roman and other Indo-European Calendars is also based on the planet Venus.

The zodiac and naming system of Hindu Astrology (ज्योतिष, Jyotiṣa or Jyotisha / ज्योतिश्या, Jyotishya) likely developed in the Centuries after the arrival of Greek Astrology with Alexander the Great (शानदार अलेक्जेंडर), their zodiac signs being nearly identical.

In Buddhist and Hindu astrology (ज्योतिष, Jyotiṣa or Jyotisha / ज्योतिश्या, Jyotishya), Shukra (शुक्र / Venus) is one of the nine planets, and signifies love, creativity, procreation, luxury and arts.
She is described as a female planet with attractive features and a clear, pale complexion.
Shukra (शुक्र / Venus) describes the wife in the Birth Chart of a male.
Veneration of Devi (देवी / Female Dieties) is prescribed by the scriptures to alleviate the negative Astrological impacts of this planet in the Birth Chart.