Where Swati sits in the zodiac
Swati covers sidereal longitude 186.67 to 200.00 degrees, from 6°40′ Libra to 20°00′ Libra. The whole nakshatra lies in Libra.
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. Swati is traditionally identified with Arcturus, the bright orange star in the constellation Bootes. Arcturus sits far north of the ecliptic, so its position does not line up neatly with the 13 degree 20 minute division. On the circle it follows Chitra and comes before Vishakha. The signs it touches are Libra.
The name Swati
The meaning of Swati is not settled. One common reading is 'self-going', that is, moving by its own will, and in one telling another links it to a word for a sword. It is the fifteenth nakshatra, wholly inside Libra.
Deity and symbol
Its deity is Vayu, the wind god, who is one of the oldest in the Vedic hymns. He is the breath of the world and the moving air.
The symbol is a young shoot swaying in the wind, a picture of something slender that bends without breaking.
Ruling planet and the Vimshottari dasha
Rahu rules Swati. That planet's dasha is 18 years long, one share of the 120 that the nine lords divide between them.
A birth with the Moon in Swati begins partway through Rahu's dasha. The part left is in proportion to the distance still to run: close to 18 years at the start, 9 at the middle, close to nothing at the end. After Rahu the order runs Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon and Mars. The other nakshatras ruled by Rahu are Ardra and Shatabhisha. The dasha calculator shows the balance for your own chart.
The four padas of Swati
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 6°40′ Libra. It falls in the navamsha sign Sagittarius, and its naming syllable is Ru.
Pada 2: 10°00′ Libra to 13°20′ Libra, navamsha Capricorn, syllable Re.
In pada 3, from 13°20′ Libra to 16°40′ Libra, the navamsha sign is Aquarius. Names for this pada begin with Ro.
Pada 4 starts at 16°40′ Libra. It falls in the navamsha sign Pisces, and its naming syllable is Ta.
The first pada of Vishakha then starts at Aries. Syllables follow the commonly printed lists, and regional lists differ slightly.
Swati in the sky and in the year
The Sun is in Swati from 24 October 2026 until 6 November 2026 in 2026, by Indian time. Muhurta texts file this star under Chara (movable). The Moon crosses a nakshatra in about a day, between roughly 21 and 27 hours depending on how fast it is moving.
Swati beside its neighbours
Every pada of Swati lies inside Libra. The Moon stays in one sign for the whole of this nakshatra. Counted from Ketu at year 0, the 120-year cycle reaches Rahu at year 50, and the Rahu period ends at year 68. Swati is the second of the three nakshatras Rahu rules, each 120 degrees apart.
Next door the rulers change, from Mars at Chitra to Jupiter at Vishakha. Chitra is Mridu (soft) while Swati is Chara (movable). Vishakha is Mishra (mixed). For deity, the one before is Tvashtar, the divine craftsman, and the one after is Indra and Agni, a joint pair of gods.
How to find out if your Moon is in Swati
Take the Moon's sidereal position at birth: if it lies between 6°40′ Libra and 20°00′ Libra, your nakshatra is Swati. 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.