Pushya Nakshatra
पुष्य
3°20′ Cancer to 16°40′ Cancer of the sidereal zodiac
Pushya means nourishing, and it is counted among the most auspicious of the nakshatras for beginning good work. Its stars lie in the faint constellation of the Crab, wholly within Cancer. Its deity is Brihaspati, the teacher and priest of the gods, who in astrology is the planet Jupiter, and its symbols are the udder of a cow, a lotus and an arrow: images of nourishment, purity and aim. The tradition holds Pushya to be a star of care, protection and steady growth, and many families still buy gold or begin a course of study on a day when the Moon is in Pushya, especially when it falls on a Thursday or a Sunday. Below, the site's tables give Pushya's span to the minute of arc, its lord and the years of that lord's dasha, its gana, yoni and nadi in kundali matching, and the navamsa sign of each of its four quarters.
At a glance
- Span
- 3°20′ Cancer to 16°40′ Cancer
- Sign
- Cancer
- Lord
- Saturn (19 years in the Vimshottari dasha)
- Deity
- Brihaspati
- Symbol
- Cow udder / lotus / arrow
- Nature
- Light/Swift
- Gana
- Deva
- Yoni
- Sheep
- Nadi
- Madhya
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. Pushya, the 8th, runs from 3°20′ Cancer to 16°40′ Cancer. It lies wholly within Cancer. 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.
| Pada | From | To | Sign | Navamsa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pada 1 | 3°20′ Cancer | 6°40′ Cancer | Cancer | Leo |
| Pada 2 | 6°40′ Cancer | 10°00′ Cancer | Cancer | Virgo |
| Pada 3 | 10°00′ Cancer | 13°20′ Cancer | Cancer | Libra |
| Pada 4 | 13°20′ Cancer | 16°40′ Cancer | Cancer | Scorpio |
Pada 1 lies in Cancer and falls in the Leo navamsa. Pada 2 lies in Cancer and falls in the Virgo navamsa. Pada 3 lies in Cancer and falls in the Libra navamsa. Pada 4 lies in Cancer and falls in the Scorpio navamsa.
Its lord and the Vimshottari dasha
Pushya is ruled by Saturn, who also rules Anuradha and Uttara Bhadrapada. 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 Pushya begins life in the period of Saturn, which lasts 19 years in all. How much of it is left at birth depends on how far through Pushya 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 disciplined, patient and serious mind that matures through responsibility and endurance.
Pushya in kundali matching
Three of the eight kootas of Ashtakoota matching are read from the nakshatra. Gana: Pushya is of the Deva gana, with Ashwini, Mrigashira, Punarvasu, 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 Sheep, which it shares with Krittika. Two of the same yoni score the full 4 points; the Sheep's sworn enemy is the Monkey, the yoni of Purva Ashadha and Shravana, and with it the score is 0.
Nadi: Pushya is of the Madhya nadi, with Bharani, Mrigashira, Purva Phalguni, Chitra, Anuradha, Purva Ashadha, Dhanishtha and Uttara 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 Pushya at birth, this is the birth star, and the site's birth report describes it in these terms. Its nature is given as light/swift, and the traits it names are nourishing, spiritual, protective, dutiful and wise.
The most auspicious nakshatra: caring, dependable and devoted to nourishing and protecting others. The path it points to: to nourish without controlling, giving freely from a place of inner fullness.
The work it is associated with: Teaching, counselling, food, agriculture, priesthood, caregiving.
These are the tendencies of one factor in a chart. The whole chart, the strength of the Moon and of Saturn, and the periods being run decide how much of them a life shows.
Tara bala from Pushya
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 Pushya:
- Janma (1st, mixed): Pushya, Anuradha and Uttara Bhadrapada.
- Sampat (2nd, good): Ashlesha, Jyeshtha and Revati.
- Vipat (3rd, bad): Ashwini, Magha and Mula.
- Kshema (4th, good): Bharani, Purva Phalguni and Purva Ashadha.
- Pratyak (5th, bad): Krittika, Uttara Phalguni and Uttara Ashadha.
- Sadhaka (6th, good): Rohini, Hasta and Shravana.
- Naidhana (7th, bad): Mrigashira, Chitra and Dhanishtha.
- Mitra (8th, good): Ardra, Swati and Shatabhisha.
- Parama Mitra (9th, good): Punarvasu, Vishakha and Purva Bhadrapada.
The horoscope's personal reading and the muhurta finder use this count, and the panchang gives the day's nakshatra.
Use the tools
- Find which nakshatra your Moon was in, and its quarter, with a free birth chart.
- See all eight kootas for two births with kundali matching.
- The nakshatra of any day, with the time it ends, is in the panchang; the muhurta finder weighs it in choosing a day.
- All 27 in one table: the nakshatras.