Nakshatra 1 of 27

Ashwini Nakshatra

अश्विनी

0°00′ Aries to 13°20′ Aries of the sidereal zodiac

Ashwini opens the circle of the nakshatras. Its name comes from ashva, the horse, and its stars are the two bright points at the head of the Ram, which the old astronomers pictured as a horse's head. The star belongs to the Ashwini Kumaras, the twin horsemen of the Rig Veda who ride before the dawn and serve the gods as their physicians; the hymns tell of them restoring sight to the blind, youth to the old sage Chyavana and a leg to the warrior queen Vishpala. So the tradition hears in Ashwini speed, first beginnings and the wish to heal. Because the zodiac of the nakshatras and the zodiac of the signs begin at the same point, Ashwini's first quarter is also the first part of Aries, and the Moon's journey through the twenty-seven, which the panchang follows day by day, starts here. The tables below say who rules it, how it scores in kundali matching and which navamsa each of its quarters falls in.

At a glance

Span
0°00′ Aries to 13°20′ Aries
Sign
Aries
Lord
Ketu (7 years in the Vimshottari dasha)
Deity
Ashwini Kumaras
Symbol
Horse's head
Nature
Swift/Light
Gana
Deva
Yoni
Horse
Nadi
Aadi

Where it lies

The zodiac of the nakshatras divides the circle into 27 equal parts of 13°20′, beginning with Ashwini at the first point of Aries, the same point from which the signs are counted. Ashwini, the 1st, runs from 0°00′ Aries to 13°20′ Aries. It lies wholly within Aries. Positions here are sidereal, reckoned with the Lahiri ayanamsa, as every chart on this site is.

The four padas

Each nakshatra has four quarters, or padas, of 3°20′. The quarters run through the twelve signs in order from Ashwini's first, so each falls in a navamsa (the ninth-part division, D9) of its own; this is how the navamsa chart in a birth report is drawn.

PadaFromToSignNavamsa
Pada 10°00′ Aries3°20′ AriesAriesAries
Pada 23°20′ Aries6°40′ AriesAriesTaurus
Pada 36°40′ Aries10°00′ AriesAriesGemini
Pada 410°00′ Aries13°20′ AriesAriesCancer

Pada 1 lies in Aries and falls in the Aries navamsa, its own sign: a planet there is vargottama, in the same sign in the birth chart and the navamsa. Pada 2 lies in Aries and falls in the Taurus navamsa. Pada 3 lies in Aries and falls in the Gemini navamsa. Pada 4 lies in Aries and falls in the Cancer navamsa.

Its lord and the Vimshottari dasha

Ashwini is ruled by Ketu, who also rules Magha and Mula. The Vimshottari dasha, the system of planetary periods the site's reports use, begins from the nakshatra the Moon was in at birth: a person born with the Moon in Ashwini begins life in the period of Ketu, which lasts 7 years in all. How much of it is left at birth depends on how far through Ashwini the Moon had gone: the further through, the less of the period remains. After it the periods follow in their fixed order, round a cycle of 120 years.

The birth report adds that the lord of the birth star brings a detached, intuitive and spiritually searching mind that seeks meaning beyond the material.

Ashwini in kundali matching

Three of the eight kootas of Ashtakoota matching are read from the nakshatra. Gana: Ashwini is of the Deva gana, with Mrigashira, Punarvasu, Pushya, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Shravana and Revati. Out of 6 points, two of the same gana score 6. With a Manushya it scores 6 when the Deva is the groom and 5 when the Deva is the bride. With a Rakshasa it scores 0 when the Deva is the groom and 1 when the Deva is the bride.

Yoni: its animal is the Horse, which it shares with Shatabhisha. Two of the same yoni score the full 4 points; the Horse's sworn enemy is the Buffalo, the yoni of Hasta and Swati, and with it the score is 0.

Nadi: Ashwini is of the Aadi nadi, with Ardra, Punarvasu, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Jyeshtha, Mula, Shatabhisha and Purva Bhadrapada. Nadi carries the most points of any koota, 8, and two people of the same nadi score none: that is Nadi Dosha. The site's matching cancels it where the two have the same nakshatra in different signs, the same sign in different nakshatras, or the same nakshatra in different quarters, and says which applies.

The birth star in the report

When the Moon was in Ashwini at birth, this is the birth star, and the site's birth report describes it in these terms. Its nature is given as swift/light, and the traits it names are energetic, pioneering, quick to act, healing and independent.

A fast-moving initiator who loves to begin things and rush to help others. Restless when forced to wait. The path it points to: to channel raw youthful energy into healing and selfless service rather than impulsive haste.

The work it is associated with: Medicine, healing, sports, transport, emergency work, entrepreneurship.

These are the tendencies of one factor in a chart. The whole chart, the strength of the Moon and of Ketu, and the periods being run decide how much of them a life shows.

Tara bala from Ashwini

The day's nakshatra counted from the birth star falls into one of nine taras, which come round three times in the twenty-seven. Five are counted good, three unfavourable, and the birth star's own, Janma, mixed. For someone born under Ashwini:

The horoscope's personal reading and the muhurta finder use this count, and the panchang gives the day's nakshatra.

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