nakshatra stories and symbolism pt. 1: jujutsu kaisen
i'm starting a series where i'm analyzing my favorite shows/movies through the astrological connection between the storyline & the storytellers :D enjoy!
(also ngl guys, the parallels between hindu mythology & jjk actually goes CRAZY, i was tweaking while researching for this post, so grab yourself a cup of tea for this read ☕).
[jujutsu kaisen's mangaka, gege akutami: shatabhisha 𖤓, jyestha ⏾]
shatabhisha themes in jjk 𖧋
gege akutami's sun in shatabhisha translates through his story and characters, most prevalently in gojo satoru.
this nakshatra's symbol is an empty circle, representing the infinite "void of space." this symbol appears very literally in gojo's abilities. one of gojo's signature moves is his domain expansion: unlimited void, where he draws upon a paralyzing state of agony on his victims by having them experience everything and nothing at once-- in other words, an infinite void. gojo also has another protective technique he uses which is quite literally called infinity.
the most impressive manifestations of shatabhisha in jjk are the parallels between gojo and shatabhisha's ruling deity, varuna. these parallels between them start to stack up when you look at their shared motifs of perception, cosmic authority, and sky/ocean symbolism. varuna was said to be the "god-sovereign," the god of the sky and cosmic moral order during the vedic period. his ruling domain changed in the puranic era from the sky to the waters, known most prominently as the god of the ocean.
it is said that varuna has 1000 eyes represented by the stars. varuna's many eyes gaze down on humanity, judging the ethicality behind our every action. similarly, one of gojo's many inherited jujutsu traits is his gift of the six eyes. gojo has this superhuman ability to see cursed energy in detail far beyond regular human perception. as a result, he wears a blindfold since he does not need human sight to perceive his surroundings. gojo's bright, ocean-like eyes are often emphasized in the animation to portray this superhuman ability.
in jjk, gojo satoru's and geto suguru's close friendship plays a pivotal role in the story's plot. similarly, the deity varuna is rarely mentioned without his close companion and brother, mitra. in fact, some scriptures refer to the two deities as one, "mitra-varuna," due to the close bond they foster. mitra, meaning "friend" in sanskrit, is the god of friendship and contracts.
mitra and varuna are young, handsome solar deities (adityas), sons of the goddess aditi, and rulers of the kingdom sukha. varuna is described as the mightier or stronger one of the two. in jjk, while geto and gojo were both considered the strongest, gojo was undeniably stronger than geto.
mitra is the more benevolent, rational ruler while varuna is more ruthless and violent:
"Mitra is the sovereign under his reasoning aspect, luminous, ordered, calm, benevolent, priestly; Varuna is the sovereign under his attacking aspect, dark, inspired, violent, terrible, warlike."
a similar dynamic manifests between gojo and geto in the story. geto is characterized as a calm, benevolent, and orderly partner to gojo, who would behave more unhinged, dark, and violent in battle compared to geto.
mitra acts as the "priest" or a kind of moral anchor for varuna, who takes the lead as the royal sovereign. together, the two rule over moral cosmic law.
comparably, geto would keep gojo's unhinged, egotistical behavior in check early in their friendship. gojo recognized and acknowledged geto's principled nature. there is even a scene between the two where they are playing basketball and geto argues how it is a sorcerer's duty to protect humans. gojo replies with "is that your moral argument? i hate moral arguments."
DISCLAIMER: S2 POTENTIAL SPOILERS
morality is a very prominent theme in gojo and geto's friendship. geto's principled nature reflected positively on gojo. in my opinion, his virtues were the reason why gojo did not turn into a villain, or a "sukuna 2.0". the deity mitra, with his benevolence, mitigated varuna’s otherwise cruel behavior as the ruler of cosmic justice.
mitra is responsible for the sunrise and daytime, and varuna for the sunset and nighttime. the two are said to represent the duality of the human mind, like a polar-opposite, yin-yang dynamic. this polarity between mitra and varuna also appears visually in the anime through recurring yin-yang imagery surrounding gojo and geto. here are a few examples:
caption: obvious yin-yang representation through the fish and the character designs
caption: here we can see the sunset, which is associated with varuna, during a scene where both gojo and geto are reminiscing on the end of their friendship (awww :< )
caption: gojo's final, tragic moments with geto occur at sunset.
aside from moral and cosmic law, mitra and varuna also oversee ritual law—the correct performance of sacred sacrifices, or the proper execution of rituals. consequently, they are also associated with human sacrifice. when it comes to these sacrifical rituals, mitra takes "that which has been well sacrificed to reward, while varuna takes that which is badly sacrificed to chastise."
in the anime, the turning point between gojo and geto's friendship occurs when riko, an innocent schoolgirl, is sacrificed as the star plasma vessel. both gojo and geto are deeply traumatized by the unjust moral behind riko's unexpected sacrifice, as the two of them wanted to let her live.
gojo, like varuna, "punishes" this unjust sacrifice by killing toji, who murdered riko. before he kills toji, gojo says his infamous line: "throughout heaven and earth, i alone am the honored one."
that famous line is especially interesting in this context because varuna was originally the god of the heavens and sky in the vedic era before he was later "demoted" to just the god of the seas during the puranic era. he was once a widely worshipped and prominent deity. it is said that varuna's 1000 eyes permeate throughout heaven and earth to regions "beyond the visible cosmos."
caption: notice the imagery in this scene. the sky is very prominent in the background, and the rays of light make gojo quite literally look like a god. it's interesting to see him have this god-like moment right after he delivered justice.
conversely, geto's reaction to the unjust ritual resulted in a major character transformation. disgusted by the humans who had celebrated riko's sacrifice, geto set a goal to rid the world of all humans, where the only population would consist of sorcerers.
this is where geto's and gojo's roles flip, and geto is no longer a good-natured, moral advocate. instead, gojo takes on that role, now having to stop geto from committing a genocide. (it's important to note that there is no mythological equivalent to gojo and geto's "falling out"/flipped roles with mitra and varuna.) at this point in the story, geto no longer parallels or exemplifies mitra's essence.
during their last conversation, as geto is dying, gojo says this: "I trusted you'd be yourself. I trusted that a man as principled as you wouldn't kill off young sorcerers without a reason."
varuna's role to punish improper rituals and sacrifices manifests once again in gojo. since geto had been killing innocent people without a good reason, gojo had no choice but to complete his moral duty and punish geto's improper sacrifices by killing him off.
the numerous parallels between gojo, geto, and the mitra–varuna dynamic is honestly striking. cosmic law, sacrifice, moral duality, divine perception, and sky/ocean imagery all appear repeatedly throughout the story.
because of this, it's hard for me to believe that these connections were entirely coincidental. i can't help but wonder if gege akutami was inspired by mythology to some degree due to the sheer level of synchronicities. was he really unconsiously channeling his sun in shatabhisha? perhaps he was inspired by suiten, the shinto equivalent of varuna? who knows?
