Anuradha nakshatra

Anuradha is the 17th of the 27 nakshatras, occupying 3°20' Scorpio to 16°40' Scorpio in the sidereal zodiac. If the Moon stood in this stretch of sky at your birth, this is your Janma Nakshatra, your birth star.

What is the character of Anuradha?

The traditional reading is: loyal, devoted, cooperative, makes friends across differences.

The behavioural marker most often named: sticks with people through hardship and gets things done through friendship, not force.

The classical anchor for this is the shakti, the power assigned to each nakshatra in the Taittiriya Brahmana. For Anuradha it is worship/devotion, and the deity Mitra (friendship) and symbol lotus carry the same idea in image form.

What are the four padas of Anuradha?

Every nakshatra is quartered. Each quarter, a pada, is 3 degrees 20 minutes wide and maps onto a navamsa sign, which shades the reading:

Pada	Span (sidereal)	Navamsa sign
Pada 1	3°20' Scorpio – 6°40' Scorpio	Leo
Pada 2	6°40' Scorpio – 10°00' Scorpio	Virgo
Pada 3	10°00' Scorpio – 13°20' Scorpio	Libra
Pada 4	13°20' Scorpio – 16°40' Scorpio	Scorpio

Because a pada lasts roughly six hours, you need your birth time to know which of the four is yours.

Which planet rules Anuradha, and why does it matter?

Anuradha is ruled by Saturn.

Because Anuradha is ruled by Saturn, anyone born with the Moon here begins life in the Saturn period of the Vimshottari dasha cycle, which runs 19 years. That starting point shifts the timing of every period that follows, which is why two people of the same age can be in completely different chapters.

Common questions

What is the Anuradha nakshatra?

Anuradha is nakshatra number 17 of 27, spanning 3°20' Scorpio to 16°40' Scorpio in the sidereal zodiac. Its ruling lord is Saturn, its presiding deity is Mitra (friendship), and its symbol is lotus.

What are the padas of Anuradha?

Each nakshatra is quartered into padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes. For Anuradha the four padas fall in the navamsa signs Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, in that order.

Which planet rules Anuradha?

Saturn rules Anuradha. In the Vimshottari dasha system the Saturn period lasts 19 years.

Where these details come from

The span and the pada boundaries are arithmetic and exact. The lord, deity and symbol follow the classical sources and vary little between them. The character reading renders the shakti, deity and symbol in plain words; the classical texts themselves are terse here, and anything longer is later compilation.

Recorded source for this entry: BPHS; shakti of worship/devotion; deity Mitra (friendship), symbol lotus, lord Saturn