Pushya nakshatra
Updated
Pushya is the 8th of the 27 nakshatras, the lunar mansions of Vedic astrology. Its name is traditionally read as “the nourisher”; its symbol is a cow's udder; a lotus, and its presiding deity is Brihaspati, priest of the gods.
- Number
- 8 of 27
- Ruling planet
- Saturn
- Deity
- Brihaspati, priest of the gods
- Symbol
- A cow's udder; a lotus
- Zodiac span
- 3°20′–16°40′ Cancer
- Gana
- Deva
- Yoni
- Sheep
- Nadi
- Pitta
- Pada navamsas
- Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio
Character and symbolism
Pushya is widely praised in classical texts as the most nourishing of the nakshatras. Its themes are care, teaching, protection and steady spiritual growth.
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 Pushya sits in the zodiac
Each nakshatra spans 13°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′. Pushya occupies 3°20′–16°40′ Cancer, entirely within Cancer. 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
Pushya is ruled by Saturn, which carries a 19-year period in the Vimshottari dasha cycle. If your Moon sits in Pushya, Saturn’s mahadasha is the period your life begins in, and the themes classical texts associate with Saturn colour how this nakshatra expresses itself.
Pushya in marriage matching
Three of this nakshatra’s classifications feed the 36-point Guna Milan used in Kundali matching. Pushya 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 Sheep, 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 Pushya nakshatra?
Pushya is ruled by Saturn. In the Vimshottari dasha system, a person born with the Moon in Pushya begins life in a Saturn mahadasha of up to 19 years — how much of it remains depends on how far the Moon had moved through the nakshatra at birth.
Which rashi (sign) does Pushya fall in?
Pushya lies entirely within Cancer, spanning 3°20′–16°40′ Cancer of the sidereal zodiac.
What are Pushya's gana, yoni and nadi?
Pushya is classified as Deva gana, Sheep 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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