Purva Bhadrapada nakshatra
Updated
Purva Bhadrapada is the 25th of the 27 nakshatras, the lunar mansions of Vedic astrology. Its name is traditionally read as “the former blessed feet”; its symbol is a sword; the front legs of a funeral cot, and its presiding deity is Aja Ekapada, the one-footed serpent of fire.
- Number
- 25 of 27
- Ruling planet
- Jupiter
- Deity
- Aja Ekapada, the one-footed serpent of fire
- Symbol
- A sword; the front legs of a funeral cot
- Zodiac span
- 20° Aquarius – 3°20′ Pisces
- Gana
- Manushya
- Yoni
- Lion
- Nadi
- Vata
- Pada navamsas
- Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer
Character and symbolism
Purva Bhadrapada burns between two worlds — intensity turned towards transformation. Its classical themes are idealism, sacrifice and the courage to face the uncomfortable.
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 Purva Bhadrapada sits in the zodiac
Each nakshatra spans 13°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′. Purva Bhadrapada occupies 20° Aquarius – 3°20′ Pisces, bridging Aquarius and Pisces. 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
Purva Bhadrapada is ruled by Jupiter, which carries a 16-year period in the Vimshottari dasha cycle. If your Moon sits in Purva Bhadrapada, Jupiter’s mahadasha is the period your life begins in, and the themes classical texts associate with Jupiter colour how this nakshatra expresses itself.
Purva Bhadrapada in marriage matching
Three of this nakshatra’s classifications feed the 36-point Guna Milan used in Kundali matching. Purva Bhadrapada belongs to the manushya (human) temperament group — read as practical, social and balanced, which the Gana koota (6 points) compares between partners. Its yoni is the Lion, one of fourteen animal archetypes whose pairings the Yoni koota (4 points) scores for instinctive compatibility. And its nadi is Vata (air) — 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 Purva Bhadrapada nakshatra?
Purva Bhadrapada is ruled by Jupiter. In the Vimshottari dasha system, a person born with the Moon in Purva Bhadrapada begins life in a Jupiter mahadasha of up to 16 years — how much of it remains depends on how far the Moon had moved through the nakshatra at birth.
Which rashi (sign) does Purva Bhadrapada fall in?
Purva Bhadrapada bridges two signs — it spans 20° Aquarius – 3°20′ Pisces, so its four padas fall across Aquarius and Pisces.
What are Purva Bhadrapada's gana, yoni and nadi?
Purva Bhadrapada is classified as Manushya gana, Lion yoni and Vata nadi. These three classifications are inputs to Guna Milan marriage matching — gana compares temperament groups, yoni instinctive compatibility and nadi constitution.
See it in your own chart
Ask My Astro computes your full Vedic chart from your birth details, right in your browser — and with your own API key, nothing ever leaves your device.
Get started — free