Jyeshtha nakshatra

Jyeshtha is the 18th of the 27 nakshatras, occupying 16°40' Scorpio to 0°00' Sagittarius 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 Jyeshtha?

The traditional reading is: senior, controlling, protective, proud but secretly overloaded.

The behavioural marker most often named: takes charge and shields its own, while resenting how much weight it has to carry.

The classical anchor for this is the shakti, the power assigned to each nakshatra in the Taittiriya Brahmana. For Jyeshtha it is rise and conquer, and the deity Indra (king of gods) and symbol circular amulet/earring carry the same idea in image form.

What are the four padas of Jyeshtha?

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	16°40' Scorpio – 20°00' Scorpio	Sagittarius
Pada 2	20°00' Scorpio – 23°20' Scorpio	Capricorn
Pada 3	23°20' Scorpio – 26°40' Scorpio	Aquarius
Pada 4	26°40' Scorpio – 0°00' Sagittarius	Pisces

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

Which planet rules Jyeshtha, and why does it matter?

Jyeshtha is ruled by Mercury.

Because Jyeshtha is ruled by Mercury, anyone born with the Moon here begins life in the Mercury period of the Vimshottari dasha cycle, which runs 17 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 Jyeshtha nakshatra?

Jyeshtha is nakshatra number 18 of 27, spanning 16°40' Scorpio to 0°00' Sagittarius in the sidereal zodiac. Its ruling lord is Mercury, its presiding deity is Indra (king of gods), and its symbol is circular amulet/earring.

What are the padas of Jyeshtha?

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

Which planet rules Jyeshtha?

Mercury rules Jyeshtha. In the Vimshottari dasha system the Mercury period lasts 17 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 to rise and conquer; deity Indra (king of gods), symbol circular amulet/earring, lord Mercury