Ashlesha
16°40′ Cancer – 0°00′ Leo
The 9th nakshatra, ruled by Mercury, 4 padas in Cancer. Four padas of 3°20′, each with its navamsa sign.
The four padas
3°20′ eachEach nakshatra divides into four padas of 3°20′, and each pada maps to a navamsa sign — the D9 chart is built from exactly this. The pada is usually the first thing an imprecise birth time puts in doubt — the Moon crosses one in about six hours, so how much slack you have depends on how near a boundary the Moon actually was.
| Pada | From | To | Rashi | Navamsa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16°40′ Cancer | 20°00′ Cancer | Cancer | Sagittarius |
| 2 | 20°00′ Cancer | 23°20′ Cancer | Cancer | Capricorn |
| 3 | 23°20′ Cancer | 26°40′ Cancer | Cancer | Aquarius |
| 4 | 26°40′ Cancer | 0°00′ Leo | Cancer | Pisces |
The dasha you are born into
Mercury, and how much of it is leftVimshottari dasha starts from the nakshatra the Moon was in. Ashlesha is ruled by Mercury, so anyone born with the Moon here begins life inside a 17-year Mercury mahadasha — but almost nobody gets the whole of it. The part remaining is the part of the nakshatra the Moon had not yet crossed, so a Moon at the very start gets 17 years and a Moon near the end gets months.
| Moon in | From | Mercury mahadasha remaining | Of the arc still ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pada 1 | 16°40′ Cancer | 17.0 – 12.8 years | 75–100% |
| Pada 2 | 20°00′ Cancer | 12.8 – 8.5 years | 50–75% |
| Pada 3 | 23°20′ Cancer | 8.5 – 4.2 years | 25–50% |
| Pada 4 | 26°40′ Cancer | 4.2 – 0.0 years | 0–25% |
The exact figure needs the Moon’s degree, not just the pada — find yours, and the dasha pages carry the 120-year sequence that follows it.
How it is classified
traditional, and what each is used forThese are classifications from the tradition rather than anything computed from the arc. They are given because kundli matching actually uses them, and each line says which part.
| Classification | This nakshatra | What it is used for |
|---|---|---|
| Gana | Rakshasa | temperament class — Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa. Worth six of the thirty-six Ashtakoot points in kundli matching. |
| Yoni | Cat (male) | an animal, used for the four-point Yoni koota in matching. The pairing rules are about the animals, not the people. |
| Nadi | Antya | Aadi, Madhya or Antya. Eight points — the largest single koota — and two charts sharing one is the Nadi dosha. |
Nothing on this page says what a person born in Ashlesha is like. The arc and the padas above are arithmetic; a temperament is a reading, and it depends on the rest of the chart rather than on the Moon alone.
All 27
in order round the eclipticCommon questions
4 questionsWhat degrees is Ashlesha?
16°40′ Cancer to 0°00′ Leo — 13°20′ of the sidereal ecliptic, Lahiri ayanamsa. It is 4 padas in Cancer.
Which planet rules Ashlesha?
Mercury. That is what makes it the start of Mercury’s mahadasha: anyone born with the Moon here begins life in a 17-year Mercury period, with the part already elapsed depending on how far through the nakshatra the Moon was.
What are the padas of Ashlesha?
Four, of 3°20′ each: pada 1 16°40′ Cancer in Cancer, navamsa Sagittarius; pada 2 20°00′ Cancer in Cancer, navamsa Capricorn; pada 3 23°20′ Cancer in Cancer, navamsa Aquarius; pada 4 26°40′ Cancer in Cancer, navamsa Pisces.
What is the gana, yoni and nadi of Ashlesha?
Gana Rakshasa, yoni Cat (male), nadi Antya. These are the classifications kundli matching uses — six points for gana, four for yoni and eight for nadi out of thirty-six.
Your nakshatra is where the Moon was, to the minute.
It needs a birth time, because the Moon crosses a nakshatra in about a day. The free kundli gives you the nakshatra, the pada and the dasha that follows from it.