Aaj Ka Nakshatra
Nakshatra on 21 October 2026
New Delhi · Wednesday, 21 October 2026 · Ashwin Shukla Dashami · Vikram Samvat 2083
Nakshatra 23 of 27 · Pada 2 · Moon in Capricorn
Today's NakshatraMoon SignThe Moon
Nakshatra at Sunrise Wednesday, 21 Oct in New Delhi
Dhanishtha Pada 2
धनिष्ठा
Next: Shatabhisha from 7:47 PM, Wed, 21 Oct 2026
About Dhanishtha
The full details of today's nakshatra.
- Nakshatra Number
- 23 of 27
- Ruling Planet
- Mars (Vimshottari dasha lord)
- Deity
- The Vasus
- Nature
- Chara · Movable
- Gana
- Rakshasa
- Zodiac Span
- Capricorn 23°20' to Aquarius 6°40'
- Moon Sign
- Capricorn
- Pada at Sunrise
- 2 of 4
- Yoga
- Ganda
Movable Nakshatra: What It Suits
Travel, buying a vehicle, a change of place or job, anything that moves.
Name Letters of the Four Padas
A child born in pada 2 of Dhanishtha traditionally gets a name beginning with Gi.
Deity of the Nakshatra
Dhanishtha belongs to the Vasus, and worship of the Vasus is favoured while it runs.
Nakshatra for the Next 7 Days
The nakshatra at sunrise in New Delhi each day from 21 October, with the time it starts and ends.
More From the Panchang
Each one for your own city, on any date.
Aaj Ka Nakshatra
The 27 Nakshatras, and How the Day's Star Is Read
If the tithi tells you which day of the lunar month it is, the nakshatra tells you what kind of day it is.
The zodiac of 360 degrees is divided into 27 nakshatras of 13 degrees 20 minutes each, from Ashwini at the start of Aries to Revati at the end of Pisces. The Moon crosses one in roughly a day, so the nakshatra changes about once every 24 hours, at a different time each day. Like the tithi, the nakshatra running at sunrise names the day.
Each nakshatra has a ruling planet, and the nine planets rule three nakshatras each in a fixed order: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury. That same order runs the Vimshottari dasha, so the nakshatra of your birth decides which dasha you were born into. Each also has a presiding deity, a gana (divine, human or demonic temperament) and a nature that tells you what kind of work it supports.
Padas and the First Letter of a Name
Every nakshatra is split into four padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes, 108 in all, nine to each sign. Each pada has its own syllable, and a child born in it is traditionally given a name that begins with that sound. That is why the pada is the first thing a family asks for after a birth.
Nakshatras by Nature
The groups used to choose a muhurat.
- FixedRohini, the three Uttaras
- MovablePunarvasu, Swati, Shravana, Dhanishtha, Shatabhisha
- LightAshwini, Pushya, Hasta
- SoftMrigashira, Chitra, Anuradha, Revati
- MixedKrittika, Vishakha
- SharpArdra, Ashlesha, Jyeshtha, Mula
- FierceBharani, Magha, the three Purvas
Gandanta and Panchak
The Two Stretches of the Zodiac the Panchang Warns About
Gandanta is the knot where a water sign ends and a fire sign begins: Ashlesha into Magha, Jyeshtha into Mula, and Revati into Ashwini. The last pada of the water nakshatra and the first of the fire nakshatra are held to be unsettled, and a muhurat is never placed there.
Panchak is the five-nakshatra stretch from the second half of Dhanishtha through Shatabhisha, the two Bhadrapadas and Revati. While the Moon is in it, southward travel, laying a roof, collecting wood and building a bed are traditionally put off. When either is running at sunrise, this page says so at the top.
Ashlesha to Magha
The first Gandanta, at the Cancer–Leo junction.
Jyeshtha to Mula
The second, at the Scorpio–Sagittarius junction.
Revati to Ashwini
The third, where the zodiac closes and begins again.
Panchak
Dhanishtha (second half) to Revati, about five days a month.
Reference
All 27 Nakshatras: Lords, Deities, Nature and Gana
Today's nakshatra is marked.
| No. | Nakshatra | हिंदी | Lord | Deity | Nature | Gana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ashwini | अश्विनी | Ketu | The Ashwini Kumaras | Light | Deva |
| 2 | Bharani | भरणी | Venus | Yama | Fierce | Manushya |
| 3 | Krittika | कृत्तिका | Sun | Agni | Mixed | Rakshasa |
| 4 | Rohini | रोहिणी | Moon | Brahma | Fixed | Manushya |
| 5 | Mrigashira | मृगशिरा | Mars | Soma | Soft | Deva |
| 6 | Ardra | आर्द्रा | Rahu | Rudra | Sharp | Manushya |
| 7 | Punarvasu | पुनर्वसु | Jupiter | Aditi | Movable | Deva |
| 8 | Pushya | पुष्य | Saturn | Brihaspati | Light | Deva |
| 9 | Ashlesha | आश्लेषा | Mercury | The Nagas | Sharp | Rakshasa |
| 10 | Magha | मघा | Ketu | The Pitrs | Fierce | Rakshasa |
| 11 | Purva Phalguni | पूर्व फाल्गुनी | Venus | Bhaga | Fierce | Manushya |
| 12 | Uttara Phalguni | उत्तर फाल्गुनी | Sun | Aryaman | Fixed | Manushya |
| 13 | Hasta | हस्त | Moon | Savitar | Light | Deva |
| 14 | Chitra | चित्रा | Mars | Vishvakarma | Soft | Rakshasa |
| 15 | Swati | स्वाति | Rahu | Vayu | Movable | Deva |
| 16 | Vishakha | विशाखा | Jupiter | Indra and Agni | Mixed | Rakshasa |
| 17 | Anuradha | अनुराधा | Saturn | Mitra | Soft | Deva |
| 18 | Jyeshtha | ज्येष्ठा | Mercury | Indra | Sharp | Rakshasa |
| 19 | Mula | मूल | Ketu | Nirriti | Sharp | Rakshasa |
| 20 | Purva Ashadha | पूर्वाषाढ़ा | Venus | Apas, the waters | Fierce | Manushya |
| 21 | Uttara Ashadha | उत्तराषाढ़ा | Sun | The Vishvedevas | Fixed | Manushya |
| 22 | Shravana | श्रवण | Moon | Vishnu | Movable | Deva |
| 23 | Dhanishtha | धनिष्ठा | Mars | The Vasus | Movable | Rakshasa |
| 24 | Shatabhisha | शतभिषा | Rahu | Varuna | Movable | Rakshasa |
| 25 | Purva Bhadrapada | पूर्व भाद्रपद | Jupiter | Aja Ekapada | Fierce | Manushya |
| 26 | Uttara Bhadrapada | उत्तर भाद्रपद | Saturn | Ahir Budhnya | Fixed | Manushya |
| 27 | Revati | रेवती | Mercury | Pushan | Soft | Deva |
In Practice
How I Read the Day's Nakshatra Before Choosing a Time
When someone asks me for a quick time to begin something, the nakshatra is the first thing I check after the tithi. A fixed star for a foundation or a griha pravesh, a movable star for a vehicle or a journey, a light star for trade and medicine, a soft star for the arts. The fierce and sharp stars I keep out of any auspicious beginning.
Then I count the day's nakshatra from the person's own birth star. The count, divided by nine, gives the tara: the third, fifth and seventh taras are weak, the rest are good. A good day's star that falls badly from your own is not a good day for you, which is why a personal muhurat always goes one step further than the panchang.
Fixed for Lasting Work
Rohini and the three Uttaras for foundations and griha pravesh.
Movable for Travel
Punarvasu, Swati, Shravana for vehicles and journeys.
Pushya for Purchases
The favourite for gold and new account books, not for marriage.
Count From Your Star
Tara bala from your birth nakshatra makes the day personal.
Questions
Nakshatra: Common Questions
The one of the 27 lunar mansions the Moon is passing through. The nakshatra running at your sunrise is the nakshatra of the day, the one a panchang names for fasts, festivals and muhurats.
About a day. The Moon covers each nakshatra of 13 degrees 20 minutes in roughly 20 to 27 hours, depending on its speed, so a nakshatra begins and ends at a different time every day.
Each nakshatra is divided into four quarters of 3 degrees 20 minutes, called padas. There are 108 padas in the zodiac, nine in each sign. The pada at a child's birth gives the first letter of the traditional name.
Pushya is the most widely used for purchases, though it is avoided for marriage. The fixed nakshatras (Rohini and the three Uttaras) suit property and anything lasting, and the movable ones (Punarvasu, Swati, Shravana, Dhanishtha, Shatabhisha) suit vehicles and travel.
The junction where a water sign ends and a fire sign begins: the end of Ashlesha into Magha, of Jyeshtha into Mula, and of Revati into Ashwini. The last pada of the water nakshatra and the first of the fire nakshatra are sensitive, and new beginnings are kept out of them.
The period when the Moon passes through the last five nakshatras, from the second half of Dhanishtha to Revati. Certain works, such as southward travel, laying a roof and collecting wood, are traditionally avoided in it.
No. Your birth nakshatra is the one the Moon was in when you were born, and it stays the same for life. Today's nakshatra is where the Moon is now. Counting from one to the other gives the tara bala used to choose a personal muhurat.
