Chitra Nakshatra

About Chitra nakshatra

Chitra is the 14th of the 27 lunar mansions. It runs from 23°20′ Virgo to 6°40′ Libra in the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri ayanamsa). Its ruling planet (swami grah) is Mars, its deity is Vishwakarma (Tvashtar), the divine architect, and its symbol is a bright jewel.

People born with the Moon in Chitra are traditionally described as stylish, inventive, design minded and confident.

• Lord: Mars
• Deity: Vishwakarma (Tvashtar), the divine architect
• Symbol: a bright jewel
• Gana: Rakshasa
• Yoni: tiger
• Nadi: Madhya
• Nature: soft

Chitra nakshatra padas and name letters

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

• Pada 1: letter Pe, Virgo (Kanya) rashi, navamsa Leo.
• Pada 2: letter Po, Virgo (Kanya) rashi, navamsa Virgo.
• Pada 3: letter Ra, Libra (Tula) rashi, navamsa Libra.
• Pada 4: letter Ri, Libra (Tula) rashi, navamsa Scorpio.

Chitra in kundli matching (kundli milan)

In ashtakoota guna milan, Chitra gives Rakshasa gana (6 points), tiger yoni (4 points) and Madhya 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.

Chitra personality, love and career

Stylish, inventive, design minded and confident. In love, the rakshasa gana style shows. At work, these qualities suit roles that reward them.

• Strengths: stylish, inventive, design minded and confident.
• Nature in muhurat: soft.
• Planet to know: Mars.

Chitra and dasha

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

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

Chitra in muhurat

Muhurat texts class Chitra as soft. 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.

Chitra 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. Chitra sits at position 14 in that circle, after Hasta and before Swati.

The deity of Chitra is Vishwakarma (Tvashtar), the divine architect. In traditional reading the deity hints at the inner motive of the nakshatra, while the symbol, a bright jewel, gives a picture that is easy to remember. The ruling planet (swami grah) Mars adds its own colour, and because Vimshottari dasha begins from the birth nakshatra lord, Mars becomes the first planetary period in the life of anyone born with the Moon here.

Matching uses three attributes of Chitra directly. Gana describes temperament, and Chitra is Rakshasa gana. Yoni describes instinct and comfort, and Chitra carries the tiger yoni. Nadi describes constitution, and Chitra is Madhya 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, Chitra is a soft 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 Chitra gives a different starting letter: Pe, Po, Ra, Ri. 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.