What a nakshatra is
Twenty-seven lunar mansions of 13°20′, from Ashwini to Revati, two and a quarter in every sign.
- 5-minute lesson
- Basic course: Jyotish Shishya
- Vedic astrology
- Mansions of the Moon
- Two and a quarter per sign
A first look at the lesson
The Moon goes round the zodiac in about 27⅓ days. So the sky is also divided into 27 nakshatras, lunar mansions, about one for each day of its journey. Each is 360° ÷ 27 = 13°20′ wide. They begin with Ashwini at 0° Aries and end with Revati at 30° Pisces.
A sign is 30°, so it holds 2¼ nakshatras. That is why a nakshatra can run from one sign into the next.
Words in this lesson
More lessons on this subject
- Padas: quarters of a nakshatraEach nakshatra has four padas of 3°20′: 108 in all, nine in every sign.
- The nine nakshatra lordsNine lords in a fixed order, Ketu to Mercury, three rounds over the 27 nakshatras.
- Ketu's nakshatrasAshwini, Magha and Mula: their deities, symbols and where they lie.
- Venus's nakshatrasBharani, Purva Phalguni and Purva Ashadha: their deities, symbols and where they lie.
Your first lesson takes about five minutes
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