Mrigashira nakshatra
Updated
Mrigashira is the 5th of the 27 nakshatras, the lunar mansions of Vedic astrology. Its name is traditionally read as “the deer's head”; its symbol is a deer's head, and its presiding deity is Soma, the Moon god.
- Number
- 5 of 27
- Ruling planet
- Mars
- Deity
- Soma, the Moon god
- Symbol
- A deer's head
- Zodiac span
- 23°20′ Taurus – 6°40′ Gemini
- Gana
- Deva
- Yoni
- Serpent
- Nadi
- Pitta
- Pada navamsas
- Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio
Character and symbolism
Mrigashira is the searching deer — gentle, curious and never quite done looking. Its classical themes are seeking, travel of mind and body, and a light, enquiring nature.
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 Mrigashira sits in the zodiac
Each nakshatra spans 13°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′. Mrigashira occupies 23°20′ Taurus – 6°40′ Gemini, bridging Taurus and Gemini. Its four padas take the navamsa signs Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio — the sub-chart positions used in the D9 (Navamsa) divisional chart.
Ruling planet and your starting dasha
Mrigashira is ruled by Mars, which carries a 7-year period in the Vimshottari dasha cycle. If your Moon sits in Mrigashira, Mars’s mahadasha is the period your life begins in, and the themes classical texts associate with Mars colour how this nakshatra expresses itself.
Mrigashira in marriage matching
Three of this nakshatra’s classifications feed the 36-point Guna Milan used in Kundali matching. Mrigashira belongs to the deva (divine) temperament group — read as gentle, harmonious and light in nature, which the Gana koota (6 points) compares between partners. Its yoni is the Serpent, one of fourteen animal archetypes whose pairings the Yoni koota (4 points) scores for instinctive compatibility. And its nadi is Pitta (bile) — 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 Mrigashira nakshatra?
Mrigashira is ruled by Mars. In the Vimshottari dasha system, a person born with the Moon in Mrigashira begins life in a Mars 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 Mrigashira fall in?
Mrigashira bridges two signs — it spans 23°20′ Taurus – 6°40′ Gemini, so its four padas fall across Taurus and Gemini.
What are Mrigashira's gana, yoni and nadi?
Mrigashira is classified as Deva gana, Serpent yoni and Pitta 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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