Ashlesha nakshatra
Updated
Ashlesha is the 9th of the 27 nakshatras, the lunar mansions of Vedic astrology. Its name is traditionally read as “the embrace”; its symbol is a coiled serpent, and its presiding deity is The Nagas, the serpent deities.
- Number
- 9 of 27
- Ruling planet
- Mercury
- Deity
- The Nagas, the serpent deities
- Symbol
- A coiled serpent
- Zodiac span
- 16°40′–30° Cancer
- Gana
- Rakshasa
- Yoni
- Cat
- Nadi
- Kapha
- Pada navamsas
- Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces
Character and symbolism
Ashlesha is the serpent's coil — penetrating, hypnotic and hard to read. Its classical themes are insight, strategy and emotional depth that guards itself.
As with everything in a chart, these are classical descriptions of a temperament, not a verdict on any person — a nakshatra is one layer of a reading, always weighed with the rest of the chart.
Where Ashlesha sits in the zodiac
Each nakshatra spans 13°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′. Ashlesha occupies 16°40′–30° Cancer, entirely within Cancer. Its four padas take the navamsa signs Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces — the sub-chart positions used in the D9 (Navamsa) divisional chart.
Ruling planet and your starting dasha
Ashlesha is ruled by Mercury, which carries a 17-year period in the Vimshottari dasha cycle. If your Moon sits in Ashlesha, Mercury’s mahadasha is the period your life begins in, and the themes classical texts associate with Mercury colour how this nakshatra expresses itself.
Ashlesha in marriage matching
Three of this nakshatra’s classifications feed the 36-point Guna Milan used in Kundali matching. Ashlesha belongs to the rakshasa temperament group — read as intense, independent and strong-willed (a classification, not a judgement), which the Gana koota (6 points) compares between partners. Its yoni is the Cat, one of fourteen animal archetypes whose pairings the Yoni koota (4 points) scores for instinctive compatibility. And its nadi is Kapha (phlegm) — the Nadi koota (8 points) awards full marks only when the two nadis differ.
None of these classifications is good or bad on its own — they only ever describe a pairing, and even then they are a starting point beside the full charts.
Frequently asked
Which planet rules Ashlesha nakshatra?
Ashlesha is ruled by Mercury. In the Vimshottari dasha system, a person born with the Moon in Ashlesha begins life in a Mercury mahadasha of up to 17 years — how much of it remains depends on how far the Moon had moved through the nakshatra at birth.
Which rashi (sign) does Ashlesha fall in?
Ashlesha lies entirely within Cancer, spanning 16°40′–30° Cancer of the sidereal zodiac.
What are Ashlesha's gana, yoni and nadi?
Ashlesha is classified as Rakshasa gana, Cat yoni and Kapha nadi. These three classifications are inputs to Guna Milan marriage matching — gana compares temperament groups, yoni instinctive compatibility and nadi constitution.
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