Where Mrigashira sits in the zodiac
It is shared between Taurus and Gemini: the first 6°40′ lie in Taurus and the remaining 6°40′ in Gemini. In degrees, Mrigashira stretches from 53.33 to 66.67, which reads 23°20′ Taurus to 6°40′ 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. The stars are the small triangle that makes the head of the constellation Orion. The nakshatra begins in Taurus and ends in Gemini, so it is split between two signs. On the circle it follows Rohini and comes before Ardra. The signs it touches are Taurus and Gemini.
The name Mrigashira
Mrigashira means 'the deer's head' (mriga, deer, and shira, head). It is the fifth nakshatra, and its degrees are shared between two signs, Taurus and Gemini.
Deity and symbol
Its deity is Soma, the Moon god, and also the name of the sacred plant and drink of the Vedic ritual. In tradition a whole book of the Rigveda is counted as addressed to him.
The symbol is a deer's head, drawn alert and turned slightly to one side. The shape comes from the three faint stars that form a small triangle.
Ruling planet and the Vimshottari dasha
Every nakshatra has a Vimshottari ruling planet, and the nine planets take their turns three times in all around the circle of 27. Mrigashira belongs to Mars, whose full dasha lasts 7 years.
A birth with the Moon in Mrigashira begins partway through Mars's dasha. The part left is in proportion to the distance still to run: close to 7 years at the start, 3.5 at the middle, close to nothing at the end. After Mars the order runs Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Ketu, Venus, Sun and Moon. The other nakshatras ruled by Mars are Chitra and Dhanishta. The dasha calculator shows the balance for your own chart.
The four padas of Mrigashira
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.
The first pada (23°20′ Taurus to 26°40′ Taurus) belongs to Leo in the navamsha chart. Its syllable is Ve.
Pada 2: 26°40′ Taurus to 30°00′ Taurus, navamsha Virgo, syllable Vo.
Pada 3 starts at 0°00′ Gemini. It falls in the navamsha sign Libra, and its naming syllable is Ka.
Pada 4 starts at 3°20′ Gemini. It falls in the navamsha sign Scorpio, and its naming syllable is Ki.
The first pada of Ardra then starts at Sagittarius. Syllables follow the commonly printed lists, and regional lists differ slightly.
Mrigashira in the sky and in the year
The Sun is in Mrigashira from 8 June 2026 until 22 June 2026 in 2026, by Indian time. Muhurta texts file this star under Mridu (soft). The Moon crosses a nakshatra in about a day, between roughly 21 and 27 hours depending on how fast it is moving.
Mrigashira beside its neighbours
Pada by pada, Taurus and Gemini takes padas 1 to 2 and padas 3 to 4, so a Moon in Mrigashira can be in either of two signs. Counted from Ketu at year 0, the 120-year cycle reaches Mars at year 43, and the Mars period ends at year 50. Mrigashira is the first of the three nakshatras Mars rules, each 120 degrees apart.
Rohini comes just before and is ruled by Moon. Ardra comes just after and is ruled by Rahu. Rohini is Dhruva (fixed) while Mrigashira is Mridu (soft); Ardra is Tikshna (sharp). For deity, the one before is Brahma, the creator, and the one after is Rudra, the storm god.
How to find out if your Moon is in Mrigashira
To check, find where the Moon stood at your birth. Anywhere from 23°20′ Taurus to 6°40′ Gemini is Mrigashira. 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.