Where Ardra sits in the zodiac
Ardra covers sidereal longitude 66.67 to 80.00 degrees, from 6°40′ Gemini to 20°00′ Gemini. The whole nakshatra lies in Gemini.
The ayanamsa in use is Lahiri, near 24 degrees 13 minutes in 2026, which is the gap between Western and Vedic signs. The 27 parts are equal at 13 degrees 20 minutes each. The 27 divisions are slices of the ecliptic, not the outlines of constellations. Ardra is marked by Betelgeuse, the red giant at the shoulder of Orion. The star is visibly red, and its brightness changes slowly over months. On the circle it follows Mrigashira and comes before Punarvasu. The signs it touches are Gemini.
The name Ardra
Ardra means 'moist' or 'wet', from a word for dampness. It is the sixth nakshatra and lies wholly inside Gemini. The Sun is in Ardra in late June, around the time the monsoon reaches much of India.
Deity and symbol
Its deity is Rudra, the Vedic storm god, whose name is later joined to Shiva. In the Rigveda he is a god of winds and storms who is also asked to bring healing herbs, so both sides appear together.
The symbol is a teardrop, sometimes drawn as a diamond or a single drop of water. It connects to the meaning of the name.
Ruling planet and the Vimshottari dasha
The ruling planet of Ardra is Rahu, which carries 18 years of the 120-year Vimshottari cycle.
Born with the Moon in Ardra, a person starts in Rahu's period. How much of the 18 years is left follows the Moon's progress: nearly all of it at the start, 9 years at the centre, almost none at the finish. After Rahu the order runs Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon and Mars. The other nakshatras ruled by Rahu are Swati and Shatabhisha. The dasha calculator shows the balance for your own chart.
The four padas of Ardra
Each nakshatra splits into four padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes. A pada matches one sign of the navamsha (D9) chart, and the four take four signs in a row.
Pada 1: 6°40′ Gemini to 10°00′ Gemini, navamsha Sagittarius, syllable Ku.
Pada 2: 10°00′ Gemini to 13°20′ Gemini, navamsha Capricorn, syllable Gha.
Pada 3: 13°20′ Gemini to 16°40′ Gemini, navamsha Aquarius, syllable Ng.
Pada 4: 16°40′ Gemini to 20°00′ Gemini, navamsha Pisces, syllable Chha.
The first pada of Punarvasu then starts at Aries. Syllables follow the commonly printed lists, and regional lists differ slightly. Ardra's third and fourth syllables are written Ng and Chha in the common table; some lists spell them differently.
Ardra in the sky and in the year
Tikshna (sharp) is the category the muhurta texts give Ardra. In 2026 the Sun moves into it on 22 June 2026 and out on 6 July 2026, Indian time. The Moon crosses a nakshatra in about a day, between roughly 21 and 27 hours depending on how fast it is moving.
Ardra beside its neighbours
No sign boundary cuts through Ardra. Gemini holds padas 1 to 4. Start the cycle with Ketu and Rahu takes over at year 50, handing on at year 68. Ardra is the first nakshatra of Rahu in zodiac order.
The neighbours differ in ruler: Mars for Mrigashira, Jupiter for Punarvasu, and Rahu for Ardra. As for category, Mrigashira is Mridu (soft) while Ardra is Tikshna (sharp), and Punarvasu is Chara (movable). For deity, the one before is Soma, the Moon god, and the one after is Aditi, the mother of the gods.
How to find out if your Moon is in Ardra
Take the Moon's sidereal position at birth: if it lies between 6°40′ Gemini and 20°00′ Gemini, your nakshatra is Ardra. The Moon moves about half a degree an hour, so a birth within an hour or two of a boundary can land on either side if the time is slightly off. The nakshatra finder works it out from your date, time and place of birth.
Calculated with the Lahiri ayanamsa and whole sign houses; every setting is on the method page. Last checked 2026-10-04.