The following "News item" appeared in the Astrological Magazine of October 2006, page 904.

"Dr. P. V. Vartak is the founder/President of the Veda Vigyana Mandal, Pune. According to Dr. Vartak, all the twelve Raashi are recorded in the Rig Ved, the oldest literature of the world. The Rig Ved also mentions 12 'Figures' in the sky and 12 spokes of a wheel of time. The names given by the Rig Ved to the signs of the Zodiac are descriptive.

It mentions Mesh, (Aries), Vrishabh (Taurus), Mithun, Sinh (Leo), Kanyaa (Virgo), Vrischik (Scorpio), Dhanu (Sagittarius), Kalasha or Kumbh (Aquarius). For the Pisces or Meen, the Rig Ved uses the name 'Shyen' i.e. falcon, the fastest bird. Dr Vartak states that in the sky, in the region of Pisces, we do see a figure made up of stars resembling the figure of a falcon. It is now called as 'Phoenix'. Rig Ved says that the Shyen has only one wing, and in fact, we see only one wing to that falcon. Tulaa (Libra) is called by the name 'Anas-Rath', because we can see a pentagon as a cart (Rath) and a triangular figure, representing its harness (Anas). It is presently called as "Bootes'. Vrishchik is also called as Kumbhak (which pricks or stings) or Ibha an elephant. The tail of the celestial Scorpion also looks like a trunk of elephant. Vaalmeeki in his Raamaayan calls this as 'Airavat', the elephant of Lord Indra. It is described to be the 8th Sign of zodiac, which shows that just like today, Mesh was held as the beginning sign at the Vernal Equinox and its period was 25,740 years BC.