Uttara Ashadha nakshatra

Span

26°40′ Sagittarius to 10°00′ Capricorn

Ruling planet

Sun (Vimshottari dasha of 6 years)

Deity

The Vishvadevas

Symbol

An elephant’s tusk or the planks of a bed

Nature

Dhruva (fixed)

Gana

Manushya (human)

Yoni (animal)

Mongoose

Nadi

Antya (Kapha)

The meaning of Uttara Ashadha

Uttara Ashadha (उत्तराषाढा) is the 21st of the 27 nakshatras. Its presiding deity is the Vishvadevas, the universal gods, and its symbol is an elephant’s tusk or the planks of a bed. In Jyotish the deity of a nakshatra is the key to its nature: what the deity does, the nakshatra does.

It is ruled by Sun, so a person whose Moon is in Uttara Ashadha begins life in the Sun dasha. The other two nakshatras ruled by Sun are Krittika and Uttara Phalguni; together they share something of Sun’s character.

Good for: Dhruva work

In the muhurta texts Uttara Ashadha is a dhruva (fixed) nakshatra, favoured for foundations, house-building, planting, coronations and anything meant to last. When the Moon passes through Uttara Ashadha (about once every 27⅓ days) it is a good day for those kinds of beginnings.

The four padas

Each nakshatra divides into four padas of 3°20′. Each pada falls in a navamsa sign, and each has the traditional first syllable used for naming a child born in it.

In marriage matching

In guna milan, Uttara Ashadha is of Manushya gana, mongoose yoni and Antya nadi. Two partners with the same nadi lose all eight points of nadi koota. Match two charts.

Find your birth nakshatra · Sagittarius (Dhanu) · Chapter 5: the 27 nakshatras

Sources: Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra and Phaladeepika for the signs, planets and houses; Muhurta Chintamani for the nakshatra classes and the guna milan attributes. Wording is our own.