Dhanishta nakshatra

Dhanishta is the 23rd of the 27 nakshatras, occupying 23°20' Capricorn to 6°40' Aquarius 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 Dhanishta?

The traditional reading is: energetic, rhythmic, ambitious, wants wealth and recognition.

The behavioural marker most often named: keeps a driving pace and chases status, sometimes at the cost of closeness.

The classical anchor for this is the shakti, the power assigned to each nakshatra in the Taittiriya Brahmana. For Dhanishta it is abundance and fame, and the deity the eight Vasus and symbol drum carry the same idea in image form.

What are the four padas of Dhanishta?

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	23°20' Capricorn – 26°40' Capricorn	Leo
Pada 2	26°40' Capricorn – 0°00' Aquarius	Virgo
Pada 3	0°00' Aquarius – 3°20' Aquarius	Libra
Pada 4	3°20' Aquarius – 6°40' Aquarius	Scorpio

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

Which planet rules Dhanishta, and why does it matter?

Dhanishta is ruled by Mars.

Because Dhanishta is ruled by Mars, anyone born with the Moon here begins life in the Mars period of the Vimshottari dasha cycle, which runs 7 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 Dhanishta nakshatra?

Dhanishta is nakshatra number 23 of 27, spanning 23°20' Capricorn to 6°40' Aquarius in the sidereal zodiac. Its ruling lord is Mars, its presiding deity is the eight Vasus, and its symbol is drum.

What are the padas of Dhanishta?

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

Which planet rules Dhanishta?

Mars rules Dhanishta. In the Vimshottari dasha system the Mars period lasts 7 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 abundance and fame; deity the eight Vasus, symbol drum, lord Mars