Ashwini Nakshatra

About Ashwini nakshatra

Ashwini is the 1st of the 27 lunar mansions. It runs from 0°00′ Aries to 13°20′ Aries in the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri ayanamsa). Its ruling planet (swami grah) is Ketu, its deity is the Ashwini Kumaras, the healer twins, and its symbol is a horse's head.

People born with the Moon in Ashwini are traditionally described as quick, helpful, curious and fond of new starts.

• Lord: Ketu
• Deity: the Ashwini Kumaras, the healer twins
• Symbol: a horse's head
• Gana: Deva
• Yoni: horse
• Nadi: Adi
• Nature: light and swift

Ashwini nakshatra padas and name letters

Each pada is 3°20′ and has its own letter and navamsa sign.

• Pada 1: letter Chu, Aries (Mesh) rashi, navamsa Aries.
• Pada 2: letter Che, Aries (Mesh) rashi, navamsa Taurus.
• Pada 3: letter Cho, Aries (Mesh) rashi, navamsa Gemini.
• Pada 4: letter La, Aries (Mesh) rashi, navamsa Cancer.

Ashwini in kundli matching (kundli milan)

In ashtakoota guna milan, Ashwini gives Deva gana (6 points), horse yoni (4 points) and Adi nadi (8 points), together 18 of the 36 points.

1. Find both birth nakshatras.
2. Compare nadi: same nadi scores 0.
3. Compare gana and yoni.
4. Add the remaining kootas for a score out of 36.

Ashwini personality, love and career

Quick, helpful, curious and fond of new starts. In love, the deva gana style shows. At work, these qualities suit roles that reward them.

• Strengths: quick, helpful, curious and fond of new starts.
• Nature in muhurat: light and swift.
• Planet to know: Ketu.

Ashwini and dasha

Vimshottari dasha starts from the birth nakshatra lord, so Ashwini natives begin in Ketu mahadasha (7 years in full).

1. Ketu mahadasha, 7 years
2. Venus mahadasha, 20 years
3. Sun mahadasha, 6 years
4. Moon mahadasha, 10 years
5. Mars mahadasha, 7 years
6. Rahu mahadasha, 18 years
7. Jupiter mahadasha, 16 years
8. Saturn mahadasha, 19 years
9. Mercury mahadasha, 17 years

Ashwini in muhurat

Muhurat texts class Ashwini as light and swift. Light nakshatras suit travel and trade, fixed ones suit foundations, soft ones suit art and marriage, sharp and fierce ones suit firm or bold tasks.

Ashwini nakshatra in depth

The word nakshatra is often translated as lunar mansion. The Moon moves roughly 13 degrees a day, so it spends about one day in each of the 27 nakshatras and completes the circle in a little over 27 days. Ancient astronomers used these star groups as a calendar long before the twelve signs became popular, and that is why Indian families still ask for the janma nakshatra before anything else. Ashwini sits at position 1 in that circle, after Revati and before Bharani.

The deity of Ashwini is the Ashwini Kumaras, the healer twins. In traditional reading the deity hints at the inner motive of the nakshatra, while the symbol, a horse's head, gives a picture that is easy to remember. The ruling planet (swami grah) Ketu adds its own colour, and because Vimshottari dasha begins from the birth nakshatra lord, Ketu becomes the first planetary period in the life of anyone born with the Moon here.

Matching uses three attributes of Ashwini directly. Gana describes temperament, and Ashwini is Deva gana. Yoni describes instinct and comfort, and Ashwini carries the horse yoni. Nadi describes constitution, and Ashwini is Adi nadi. Together these three kootas carry 18 of the 36 guna milan points, which is why two people's nakshatras matter so much in kundli milan.

In muhurat, Ashwini is a light and swift nakshatra. Muhurat texts sort nakshatras into groups such as fixed, movable, soft, light, sharp and fierce, and each group suits certain kinds of work. Families look at this when choosing a day for naamkaran, griha pravesh, travel, purchases or a wedding, along with tithi, weekday and lagna.

For a newborn, the pada matters most. Each of the four padas of Ashwini gives a different starting letter: Chu, Che, Cho, La. Families who follow the custom pick a name that begins with the letter of the birth pada, then often check the name number (naam ka ank) in numerology (ank jyotish) as a second, lighter step.

How to find your nakshatra

Your janma nakshatra is where the Moon stood at birth.

1. Open the free nakshatra calculator.
2. Enter date, time and place of birth.
3. Note the nakshatra and pada.
4. Read this guide for your nakshatra.