#24 of 27 · Varuna

Shatabhisha
6°40′ Aquarius – 20°00′ Aquarius

The 24th nakshatra, ruled by Rahu, 4 padas in Aquarius. Four padas of 3°20′, each with its navamsa sign and naam akshar.

Rahu-ruled18y mahadashaRakshasa
01

Where Shatabhisha is

#24 of 27

Shatabhisha runs from 6°40′ Aquarius – 20°00′ Aquarius: 13°20′ of the ecliptic, measured sidereally from 0° Aries with the Lahiri ayanamsa. It is 4 padas in Aquarius. It follows Dhanishta and is followed by Purva Bhadrapada.

On the two rings that divide the sky
Shatabhisha nakshatra marked on the wheel of 27 nakshatras and 12 rashis, from 6°40′ Aquarius to 20°00′ AquariusShatabhisha nakshatra marked on the wheel of 27 nakshatras and 12 rashis, from 6°40′ Aquarius to 20°00′ Aquarius
The arc
Arc6°40′ Aquarius – 20°00′ Aquarius
Rashi4 padas in Aquarius
Ruled byRahu
Mahadasha length18 years
DeityVaruna
Symbolan empty circle
02

Characteristics of one born in Shatabhisha

as Brihat Jataka gives them

Brihat Jataka, Varahamihira’s sixth-century text on the birth chart, gives each nakshatra a verse on the person born with the Moon in it. This is its verse for Shatabhisha, in paraphrase. It reads the Moon’s nakshatra alone and, like every text of its age, speaks of a male native: your lagna, the Moon’s rashi and the rest of the kundli decide how much of it shows.

Brihat Jataka says a person born with the Moon in Shatabhisha is truthful but blunt of speech, overcomes their enemies, goes their own way and plunges into work without much forethought. The verse adds a share of sorrow. The note to the chapter in the 1885 translation adds that these results come in full only when the Moon is strong at birth.

Brihat Jataka 16.13
03

The four padas

3°20′ each, with naam akshar

Each nakshatra divides into four padas of 3°20′. Each pada maps to a navamsa sign (the D9 chart is built from exactly this) and carries a naam akshar, the syllable a child born in it is named by. The Moon crosses a pada in about six hours, so it is the first thing an imprecise birth time puts in doubt.

PadaFromToRashiNavamsaNaam akshar
Pada 16°40′ Aquarius10°00′ AquariusAquariusSagittariusGo (गो)
Pada 210°00′ Aquarius13°20′ AquariusAquariusCapricornSa (सा)
Pada 313°20′ Aquarius16°40′ AquariusAquariusAquariusSi (सी)
Pada 416°40′ Aquarius20°00′ AquariusAquariusPiscesSu (सू)
04

How it is classified

traditional, and what each is used for

These are classifications from the tradition rather than anything computed from the arc. They are given because kundli matching uses them, and each line says which part.

ClassificationThis nakshatraWhat it is used for
GanaRakshasaTemperament class: Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa. Worth 6 of the 36 gun in kundli matching.
YoniHorse (female)An animal, used for the 4-gun Yoni koota in matching. The rules are about the animals, not the people.
NadiAadiAadi, Madhya or Antya. 8 gun, the largest single koota; two charts sharing one is Nadi dosha.

Below, the matching engine scores Shatabhisha with each of the 27 on these and on Tara.

05

Shatabhisha in marriage matching

the four kootas that need only the nakshatras, 21 of 36 gun

Kundli matching counts 36 gun over eight kootas. Four of them go by the two birth nakshatras alone: Tara (3), Yoni (4), Gana (6) and Nadi (8), 21 of the 36. Below is how Shatabhisha scores with each of the 27 on those four, by the rules the kundli matching tool uses. The other 15 gun (Varna, Vashya, Graha Maitri and Bhakoot) go by the two Moon rashis, so a pair that does well here can still lose gun there, and the other way round.

Highest on these four
NakshatraTaraYoniGanaNadiTotal
Krittika1.536818.5
Ashlesha1.536818.5
Magha1.536818.5
Chitra316818
Vishakha316818
Dhanishta316818
Lowest on these four
NakshatraTaraYoniGanaNadiTotal
Hasta1.50001.5
Uttara Phalguni1.52104.5
Purva Bhadrapada31105
Ashwini1.54005.5
Ardra32106
Punarvasu33006

Nadi dosha. Shatabhisha is Aadi nadi, and so are Ashwini, Ardra, Punarvasu, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Jyeshtha, Mula and Purva Bhadrapada. With any of them the Nadi koota gives 0 of 8: that is Nadi dosha, the heaviest single loss in matching. Two people both born in Shatabhisha share its nadi too; the dosha is treated as cancelled when their padas differ.

Gana. Shatabhisha is Rakshasa gana. The lowest it scores on Gana is 0 of 6, with Ashwini, Mrigashira, Punarvasu, Pushya, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Shravana and Revati, the Deva–Rakshasa pairing usually called Gana dosha.

Yoni. With Hasta and Swati the Yoni koota gives 0 of 4: their animal and Shatabhisha’s, the horse, are sworn enemies in the yoni table.

Shatabhisha with all 27
NakshatraTaraYoniGanaNadiTotal
Ashwini1.54005.5
Bharani1.521812.5
Krittika1.536818.5
Rohini1.521812.5
Mrigashira320813
Ardra32106
Punarvasu33006
Pushya1.530812.5
Ashlesha1.536818.5
Magha1.536818.5
Purva Phalguni1.531813.5
Uttara Phalguni1.52104.5
Hasta1.50001.5
Chitra316818
Swati300811
Vishakha316818
Anuradha1.530812.5
Jyeshtha1.536010.5
Mula1.52609.5
Purva Ashadha1.521812.5
Uttara Ashadha1.521812.5
Shravana1.520811.5
Dhanishta316818
Shatabhisha346013
Purva Bhadrapada31105
Uttara Bhadrapada1.521812.5
Revati1.520811.5
Four kootas of eight, not a verdict on a match: the full gun milan, Bhakoot and Mangal dosha need both kundlis.
06

What a day in Shatabhisha is good for

its class, and the muhurat rules

This is about days, not people. The Moon passes through Shatabhisha once in about 27 days and stays a little over a day, and a muhurat (an auspicious time) is chosen partly by that nakshatra.

Its class

Muhurta Chintamani puts Shatabhisha among the Chara (movable) nakshatras, with Punarvasu, Swati, Shravana and Dhanishta.

Brihat Samhita keeps the movable nakshatras for work of a moving kind.

Brihat Samhita 98.11
In the muhurat rules
The nakshatra is one condition of several: the tithi, the weekday and the season have to agree as well, which is why each muhurat page lists its dates.
07

The dasha you are born into

Rahu, and how much of it is left

Vimshottari dasha starts from the nakshatra the Moon was in. Shatabhisha is ruled by Rahu, so anyone born with the Moon here begins life inside an 18-year Rahu mahadasha, but almost nobody gets the whole of it: the part remaining is the part of the nakshatra the Moon had not yet crossed.

Moon inFromRahu mahadasha remainingOf the arc still ahead
Pada 16°40′ Aquarius18.0 – 13.5 years75–100%
Pada 210°00′ Aquarius13.5 – 9.0 years50–75%
Pada 313°20′ Aquarius9.0 – 4.5 years25–50%
Pada 416°40′ Aquarius4.5 – 0.0 years0–25%

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.

All 27

in order round the ecliptic
The four pips mark Shatabhisha’s padas. The ecliptic divides into 27 nakshatras and into 12 rashis, and 27 does not go into 12, which is why nine of them straddle a boundary; this one is 4 padas in Aquarius.

Common questions

7 questions
What are the characteristics of a person born in Shatabhisha?

Shatabhisha’s deity is Varuna and its symbol an empty circle. Brihat Jataka gives the person born in it a verse of its own (16.13), quoted above; it reads the Moon’s nakshatra alone; the rest of the kundli decides how much of it shows.

Which nakshatras match best with Shatabhisha for marriage?

On the four kootas that go by the nakshatras alone (Tara, Yoni, Gana and Nadi, 21 of the 36 gun), the highest are Krittika (18.5 of 21), Ashlesha (18.5 of 21) and Magha (18.5 of 21). With Ashwini, Ardra, Punarvasu, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Jyeshtha, Mula and Purva Bhadrapada it has Nadi dosha. The other 15 gun go by the two Moon rashis, so the full match needs both kundlis.

Is Shatabhisha nakshatra good for marriage and other muhurat?

A day with the Moon in Shatabhisha is allowed for buying a vehicle, setting out on a journey, namkaran (naming a baby), mundan (the first haircut), janeu (the sacred thread) and vidyarambha (starting study), by the muhurat rules here; the tithi, weekday and season must agree too.

What degrees is Shatabhisha?

6°40′ Aquarius to 20°00′ Aquarius: 13°20′ of the sidereal ecliptic, Lahiri ayanamsa.

Which planet rules Shatabhisha?

Rahu. Anyone born with the Moon here begins life in an 18-year Rahu mahadasha, with the part already elapsed depending on how far through the nakshatra the Moon was.

What are the naam akshar of Shatabhisha?

One per pada: pada 1 Go (गो), pada 2 Sa (सा), pada 3 Si (सी), pada 4 Su (सू). A child is named from the syllable of the pada the Moon was in.

What is the gana, yoni and nadi of Shatabhisha?

Gana Rakshasa, yoni Horse (female), nadi Aadi. Kundli matching uses them: 6 gun for gana, 4 for yoni and 8 for nadi, out of 36.

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.

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