#15 of 27 · Vayu

Swati
6°40′ Libra – 20°00′ Libra

The 15th nakshatra, ruled by Rahu, 4 padas in Libra. Four padas of 3°20′, each with its navamsa sign and naam akshar.

Rahu-ruled18y mahadashaDeva
01

Where Swati is

#15 of 27

Swati runs from 6°40′ Libra – 20°00′ Libra: 13°20′ of the ecliptic, measured sidereally from 0° Aries with the Lahiri ayanamsa. It is 4 padas in Libra. It follows Chitra and is followed by Vishakha.

On the two rings that divide the sky
Swati nakshatra marked on the wheel of 27 nakshatras and 12 rashis, from 6°40′ Libra to 20°00′ LibraSwati nakshatra marked on the wheel of 27 nakshatras and 12 rashis, from 6°40′ Libra to 20°00′ Libra
The arc
Arc6°40′ Libra – 20°00′ Libra
Rashi4 padas in Libra
Ruled byRahu
Mahadasha length18 years
DeityVayu
Symbola young shoot swaying in the wind
02

Characteristics of one born in Swati

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 Swati, 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 Swati is mild and quiet, master of their passions, skilled in trade, kind, sweet of speech and given to charity. The verse adds that such a person cannot bear thirst. 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 16.8
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′ Libra10°00′ LibraLibraSagittariusRu (रू)
Pada 210°00′ Libra13°20′ LibraLibraCapricornRe (रे)
Pada 313°20′ Libra16°40′ LibraLibraAquariusRo (रो)
Pada 416°40′ Libra20°00′ LibraLibraPiscesTa (ता)
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
GanaDevaTemperament class: Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa. Worth 6 of the 36 gun in kundli matching.
YoniBuffalo (male)An animal, used for the 4-gun Yoni koota in matching. The rules are about the animals, not the people.
NadiAntyaAadi, Madhya or Antya. 8 gun, the largest single koota; two charts sharing one is Nadi dosha.

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

05

Swati 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 Swati 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
Punarvasu336820
Hasta1.546819.5
Mrigashira326819
Pushya1.536818.5
Anuradha1.536818.5
Lowest on these four
NakshatraTaraYoniGanaNadiTotal
Vishakha31004
Krittika1.53004.5
Ashlesha1.53004.5
Magha1.53004.5
Rohini1.52508.5
Uttara Ashadha1.52508.5

Nadi dosha. Swati is Antya nadi, and so are Krittika, Rohini, Ashlesha, Magha, Vishakha, Uttara Ashadha, Shravana and Revati. 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 Swati share its nadi too; the dosha is treated as cancelled when their padas differ.

Gana. Swati is Deva gana. The lowest it scores on Gana is 0 of 6, with Krittika, Ashlesha, Magha, Chitra, Vishakha, Jyeshtha, Mula, Dhanishta and Shatabhisha, the Deva–Rakshasa pairing usually called Gana dosha.

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

Swati with all 27
NakshatraTaraYoniGanaNadiTotal
Ashwini1.506815.5
Bharani1.535817.5
Krittika1.53004.5
Rohini1.52508.5
Mrigashira326819
Ardra325818
Punarvasu336820
Pushya1.536818.5
Ashlesha1.53004.5
Magha1.53004.5
Purva Phalguni1.535817.5
Uttara Phalguni1.535817.5
Hasta1.546819.5
Chitra310812
Swati346013
Vishakha31004
Anuradha1.536818.5
Jyeshtha1.530812.5
Mula1.520811.5
Purva Ashadha1.525816.5
Uttara Ashadha1.52508.5
Shravana1.52609.5
Dhanishta310812
Shatabhisha300811
Purva Bhadrapada315817
Uttara Bhadrapada1.535817.5
Revati1.536010.5
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 Swati is good for

its class, and the muhurat rules

This is about days, not people. The Moon passes through Swati 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 Swati among the Chara (movable) nakshatras, with Punarvasu, Shravana, Dhanishta and Shatabhisha.

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. Swati 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′ Libra18.0 – 13.5 years75–100%
Pada 210°00′ Libra13.5 – 9.0 years50–75%
Pada 313°20′ Libra9.0 – 4.5 years25–50%
Pada 416°40′ Libra4.5 – 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 Swati’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 Libra.

Common questions

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

Swati’s deity is Vayu and its symbol a young shoot swaying in the wind. Brihat Jataka gives the person born in it a verse of its own (16.8), 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 Swati 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 Punarvasu (20 of 21), Hasta (19.5 of 21) and Mrigashira (19 of 21). With Krittika, Rohini, Ashlesha, Magha, Vishakha, Uttara Ashadha, Shravana and Revati it has Nadi dosha. The other 15 gun go by the two Moon rashis, so the full match needs both kundlis.

Is Swati nakshatra good for marriage and other muhurat?

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

What degrees is Swati?

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

Which planet rules Swati?

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 Swati?

One per pada: pada 1 Ru (रू), pada 2 Re (रे), pada 3 Ro (रो), pada 4 Ta (ता). A child is named from the syllable of the pada the Moon was in.

What is the gana, yoni and nadi of Swati?

Gana Deva, yoni Buffalo (male), nadi Antya. 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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