The 27 nakshatras
Dhanishta nakshatra धनिष्ठा
Star 23 of 27, ruled by Mars, watched over by the eight Vasus, gods of abundance. Its symbol is a drum.
The essentials
Dhanishta spans 23°20' Capricorn to 6°40' Aquarius. Dasha lord Mars (7 years). Deity the eight Vasus, gods of abundance. Gana Rakshasa, yoni lion, nadi Madhya (Pitta). Naming syllables गा, गी, गू, गे. A birth Moon here makes Dhanishta your janma nakshatra and opens your Vimshottari timeline in a Mars period.
The four padas
| Pada | Span | Navāṁśa | Syllable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pada 1 | 23°20' Capricorn to 26°40' Capricorn | Leo navāṁśa | गा |
| Pada 2 | 26°40' Capricorn to 0°00' Aquarius | Virgo navāṁśa | गी |
| Pada 3 | 0°00' Aquarius to 3°20' Aquarius | Libra navāṁśa | गू |
| Pada 4 | 3°20' Aquarius to 6°40' Aquarius | Scorpio navāṁśa | गे |
Each pada colours the star through its navāṁśa sign, which is why two people of the same nakshatra can wear it differently. The syllable of the birth pada is the one tradition offers at a naming ceremony.
The character of Dhanishta
Dhanishta keeps rhythm for the group. Its people organise, conduct, and prosper in companies of others, and music or its equivalents usually runs in them. The drum is hollow so it can sound, and the star's people learn that emptiness of ego is what carries furthest.
Dhanishta in kundli matching
A Rakshasa gana star of the lion yoni, sharing its animal with Purva Bhadrapada. In Ashtakoota matching, the gana enters the six point Gana test, the yoni its four point test of instinctive accord, and the nadi the heaviest test of all at eight points, where two identical nadis score nothing. None of these verdicts stands alone, and the full milan arithmetic weighs all eight kutas before anything is concluded.
Your dasha begins with Mars
Born under Dhanishta, your Vimshottari sequence opens in a Mars mahadasha, and the balance left at birth depends on the Moon's exact degree within the star. The dasha guide explains the whole 120 year wheel. A computed chart names your current period to the day.
Common questions
Where does Dhanishta fall?
23°20' Capricorn to 6°40' Aquarius, in four padas of 3°20' each. The table above names each pada's navāṁśa.
Which dasha starts for Dhanishta births?
Mars's, up to 7 years, scaled by how far the Moon had walked through the star at birth.
What are the naming syllables?
गा, गी, गू, गे, one for each pada.