Magha nakshatra
Updated
Magha is the 10th of the 27 nakshatras, the lunar mansions of Vedic astrology. Its name is traditionally read as “the mighty”; its symbol is a royal throne, and its presiding deity is The Pitris, the ancestral fathers.
- Number
- 10 of 27
- Ruling planet
- Ketu
- Deity
- The Pitris, the ancestral fathers
- Symbol
- A royal throne
- Zodiac span
- 0°–13°20′ Leo
- Gana
- Rakshasa
- Yoni
- Rat
- Nadi
- Kapha
- Pada navamsas
- Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer
Character and symbolism
Magha sits on the throne of the ancestors — lineage, authority and pride in where one comes from. Its classical themes are leadership, ceremony and duty to family.
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 Magha sits in the zodiac
Each nakshatra spans 13°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′. Magha occupies 0°–13°20′ Leo, entirely within Leo. Its four padas take the navamsa signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer — the sub-chart positions used in the D9 (Navamsa) divisional chart.
Ruling planet and your starting dasha
Magha is ruled by Ketu, which carries a 7-year period in the Vimshottari dasha cycle. If your Moon sits in Magha, Ketu’s mahadasha is the period your life begins in, and the themes classical texts associate with Ketu colour how this nakshatra expresses itself.
Magha in marriage matching
Three of this nakshatra’s classifications feed the 36-point Guna Milan used in Kundali matching. Magha 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 Rat, 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 Magha nakshatra?
Magha is ruled by Ketu. In the Vimshottari dasha system, a person born with the Moon in Magha begins life in a Ketu mahadasha of up to 7 years — how much of it remains depends on how far the Moon had moved through the nakshatra at birth.
Which rashi (sign) does Magha fall in?
Magha lies entirely within Leo, spanning 0°–13°20′ Leo of the sidereal zodiac.
What are Magha's gana, yoni and nadi?
Magha is classified as Rakshasa gana, Rat 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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