Where Uttara Ashadha sits in the zodiac
Uttara Ashadha covers sidereal longitude 266.67 to 280.00 degrees, from 26°40′ Sagittarius to 10°00′ Capricorn. It is shared between Sagittarius and Capricorn: the first 3°20′ lie in Sagittarius and the remaining 10°00′ in Capricorn.
Here the zodiac is sidereal, shifted from the Western one by the Lahiri ayanamsa (about 24 degrees 13 minutes in early 2026). Every one of the 27 nakshatras is 13 degrees 20 minutes wide, an exact third-based fraction of the circle. The 27 divisions are slices of the ecliptic, not the outlines of constellations. The traditional star is Nunki in Sagittarius. The nakshatra ends in the next sign, Capricorn, where its last three padas lie. On the circle it follows Purva Ashadha and comes before Shravana. The signs it touches are Sagittarius and Capricorn.
The name Uttara Ashadha
Uttara means 'latter', so the name is 'the latter Ashadha', the second of the pair after Purva Ashadha. It is the twenty-first nakshatra and spans Sagittarius and Capricorn.
Deity and symbol
Its deity is the Vishvadevas, the 'all-gods', a group addressed together in the Vedic hymns when no single god is named. They are called on as a shared body, in a joint offering.
The symbol is an elephant's tusk. It forms a pair with the winnowing fan of Purva Ashadha, the nakshatra just before.
Ruling planet and the Vimshottari dasha
Sun rules Uttara Ashadha. That planet's dasha is 6 years long, one share of the 120 that the nine lords divide between them.
Born with the Moon in Uttara Ashadha, a person starts in Sun's period. How much of the 6 years is left follows the Moon's progress: nearly all of it at the start, 3 years at the centre, almost none at the finish. After Sun the order runs Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Ketu and Venus. The other nakshatras ruled by Sun are Krittika and Uttara Phalguni. The dasha calculator shows the balance for your own chart.
The four padas of Uttara Ashadha
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 26°40′ Sagittarius. It falls in the navamsha sign Sagittarius, and its naming syllable is Bhe.
In pada 2, from 0°00′ Capricorn to 3°20′ Capricorn, the navamsha sign is Capricorn. Names for this pada begin with Bho.
The third pada (3°20′ Capricorn to 6°40′ Capricorn) belongs to Aquarius in the navamsha chart. Its syllable is Ja.
Pada 4: 6°40′ Capricorn to 10°00′ Capricorn, navamsha Pisces, syllable Ji.
The first pada of Shravana then starts at Aries. Syllables follow the commonly printed lists, and regional lists differ slightly.
Uttara Ashadha in the sky and in the year
In the timing texts Uttara Ashadha sits in the Dhruva (fixed) category. The Sun enters it on 11 January 2026 in 2026 and leaves on 24 January 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.
Uttara Ashadha beside its neighbours
In plain words, Uttara Ashadha is split between signs. By pada, that reads pada 1 and padas 2 to 4 in Sagittarius and Capricorn. Years 27 to 33 of the 120-year cycle belong to Sun, the third lord in the order. Of the three nakshatras that Sun rules, Uttara Ashadha comes third around the circle.
Next door the rulers change, from Venus at Purva Ashadha to Moon at Shravana. Purva Ashadha is Ugra (intense) while Uttara Ashadha is Dhruva (fixed). Shravana is Chara (movable). The deities also change. Purva Ashadha has Apas, the waters, and Shravana has Vishnu.
How to find out if your Moon is in Uttara Ashadha
Your birth nakshatra is the one the Moon was in when you were born. It is Uttara Ashadha if the Moon's sidereal longitude was between 266.67 and 280.00 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.