Where Ashwini sits in the zodiac
On the sidereal circle Ashwini begins at 0.00 degrees and ends at 13.33. In signs, that is 0°00′ Aries to 13°20′ Aries. The whole nakshatra lies in Aries.
All of this is sidereal. The Lahiri ayanamsa moves the zodiac back from the Western one by about 24 degrees 13 minutes in 2026, and the circle is cut into 27 equal parts of 13 degrees 20 minutes. The 27 divisions are slices of the ecliptic, not the outlines of constellations. Tradition marks Ashwini with two bright stars in the head of the constellation Aries. The point where the sidereal zodiac starts, zero degrees Aries, is also the first point of Ashwini. On the circle it follows Revati and comes before Bharani. The signs it touches are Aries.
The name Ashwini
The name comes from ashva, the Sanskrit word for horse, and is usually read as 'the horse woman' or 'she who has horses'. As the first nakshatra it opens the cycle, so the count of the 27 begins at the same point where the sidereal zodiac begins.
Deity and symbol
The Ashwini Kumaras, also called the Ashvins, are twin horsemen of the Rigveda. Hymns picture them in a chariot arriving at dawn before the Sun and call them divine physicians, which is why the nakshatra is tied to healing in the older texts.
The symbol is a horse's head. It matches the name and the twin riders, and lists of the 27 pictures usually show it first, since the series starts here.
Ruling planet and the Vimshottari dasha
Ketu rules Ashwini. That planet's dasha is 7 years long, one share of the 120 that the nine lords divide between them.
Born with the Moon in Ashwini, a person starts in Ketu's period. How much of the 7 years is left follows the Moon's progress: nearly all of it at the start, 3.5 years at the centre, almost none at the finish. After Ketu the order runs Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury. The other nakshatras ruled by Ketu are Magha and Mula. The dasha calculator shows the balance for your own chart.
The four padas of Ashwini
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 starts at 0°00′ Aries. It falls in the navamsha sign Aries, and its naming syllable is Chu.
In pada 2, from 3°20′ Aries to 6°40′ Aries, the navamsha sign is Taurus. Names for this pada begin with Che.
The third pada (6°40′ Aries to 10°00′ Aries) belongs to Gemini in the navamsha chart. Its syllable is Cho.
Pada 4: 10°00′ Aries to 13°20′ Aries, navamsha Cancer, syllable La.
The first pada of Bharani then starts at Leo. Syllables follow the commonly printed lists, and regional lists differ slightly.
Ashwini in the sky and in the year
In the timing texts Ashwini sits in the Kshipra (swift) category. The Sun enters it on 14 April 2026 in 2026 and leaves on 28 April 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.
Ashwini beside its neighbours
In plain words, Ashwini fits inside one sign: Aries holds all four of its padas. Start the cycle with Ketu and Ketu takes over at year 0, handing on at year 7. Ashwini is the first nakshatra of Ketu in zodiac order.
Beside it, Revati belongs to Mercury and Bharani to Venus, so each step round the circle moves to the next lord. Revati is Mridu (soft) while Ashwini is Kshipra (swift), and Bharani is Ugra (intense). The deities also change. Revati has Pushan, the guardian of travellers, and Bharani has Yama, the keeper of dharma.
How to find out if your Moon is in Ashwini
Your birth nakshatra is the one the Moon was in when you were born. It is Ashwini if the Moon's sidereal longitude was between 0.00 and 13.33 degrees. 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.