Ardra nakshatra

Ardra is the 6th of the 27 nakshatras, occupying 6°40' Gemini to 20°00' Gemini 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 Ardra?

The traditional reading is: stormy emotions, sharp intellect, tears down then rebuilds.

The behavioural marker most often named: goes through a crisis that breaks things apart and comes out sharper and clearer for it.

The classical anchor for this is the shakti, the power assigned to each nakshatra in the Taittiriya Brahmana. For Ardra it is effort/achievement, and the deity Rudra (storm) and symbol teardrop carry the same idea in image form.

What are the four padas of Ardra?

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	6°40' Gemini – 10°00' Gemini	Sagittarius
Pada 2	10°00' Gemini – 13°20' Gemini	Capricorn
Pada 3	13°20' Gemini – 16°40' Gemini	Aquarius
Pada 4	16°40' Gemini – 20°00' Gemini	Pisces

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

Which planet rules Ardra, and why does it matter?

Ardra is ruled by Rahu.

Because Ardra is ruled by Rahu, anyone born with the Moon here begins life in the Rahu period of the Vimshottari dasha cycle, which runs 18 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 Ardra nakshatra?

Ardra is nakshatra number 6 of 27, spanning 6°40' Gemini to 20°00' Gemini in the sidereal zodiac. Its ruling lord is Rahu, its presiding deity is Rudra (storm), and its symbol is teardrop.

What are the padas of Ardra?

Each nakshatra is quartered into padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes. For Ardra the four padas fall in the navamsa signs Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, in that order.

Which planet rules Ardra?

Rahu rules Ardra. In the Vimshottari dasha system the Rahu period lasts 18 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 effort/achievement; deity Rudra (storm), symbol teardrop, lord Rahu