Vishakha nakshatra

Vishakha is the 16th of the 27 nakshatras, occupying 20°00' Libra to 3°20' 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 Vishakha?

The traditional reading is: ambitious, determined, competitive, goal-fixated.

The behavioural marker most often named: locks onto one goal and pushes past everything, and everyone, until it wins.

The classical anchor for this is the shakti, the power assigned to each nakshatra in the Taittiriya Brahmana. For Vishakha it is achieve many fruits, and the deity Indra-Agni and symbol triumphal arch carry the same idea in image form.

What are the four padas of Vishakha?

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	20°00' Libra – 23°20' Libra	Aries
Pada 2	23°20' Libra – 26°40' Libra	Taurus
Pada 3	26°40' Libra – 0°00' Scorpio	Gemini
Pada 4	0°00' Scorpio – 3°20' Scorpio	Cancer

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

Which planet rules Vishakha, and why does it matter?

Vishakha is ruled by Jupiter.

Because Vishakha is ruled by Jupiter, anyone born with the Moon here begins life in the Jupiter period of the Vimshottari dasha cycle, which runs 16 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 Vishakha nakshatra?

Vishakha is nakshatra number 16 of 27, spanning 20°00' Libra to 3°20' Scorpio in the sidereal zodiac. Its ruling lord is Jupiter, its presiding deity is Indra-Agni, and its symbol is triumphal arch.

What are the padas of Vishakha?

Each nakshatra is quartered into padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes. For Vishakha the four padas fall in the navamsa signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, in that order.

Which planet rules Vishakha?

Jupiter rules Vishakha. In the Vimshottari dasha system the Jupiter period lasts 16 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 achieve many fruits; deities Indra-Agni, symbol triumphal arch, lord Jupiter