Swati nakshatra
Updated
Swati is the 15th of the 27 nakshatras, the lunar mansions of Vedic astrology. Its name is traditionally read as “the independent one”; its symbol is a young shoot swaying in the wind, and its presiding deity is Vayu, the wind god.
- Number
- 15 of 27
- Ruling planet
- Rahu
- Deity
- Vayu, the wind god
- Symbol
- A young shoot swaying in the wind
- Zodiac span
- 6°40′–20° Libra
- Gana
- Deva
- Yoni
- Buffalo
- Nadi
- Kapha
- Pada navamsas
- Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces
Character and symbolism
Swati is a single blade of grass in the wind — flexible, self-sufficient and impossible to uproot for long. Its classical themes are independence, trade and balance.
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 Swati sits in the zodiac
Each nakshatra spans 13°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′. Swati occupies 6°40′–20° Libra, entirely within Libra. 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
Swati is ruled by Rahu, which carries a 18-year period in the Vimshottari dasha cycle. If your Moon sits in Swati, Rahu’s mahadasha is the period your life begins in, and the themes classical texts associate with Rahu colour how this nakshatra expresses itself.
Swati in marriage matching
Three of this nakshatra’s classifications feed the 36-point Guna Milan used in Kundali matching. Swati 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 Buffalo, 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 Swati nakshatra?
Swati is ruled by Rahu. In the Vimshottari dasha system, a person born with the Moon in Swati begins life in a Rahu mahadasha of up to 18 years — how much of it remains depends on how far the Moon had moved through the nakshatra at birth.
Which rashi (sign) does Swati fall in?
Swati lies entirely within Libra, spanning 6°40′–20° Libra of the sidereal zodiac.
What are Swati's gana, yoni and nadi?
Swati is classified as Deva gana, Buffalo 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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