Where Uttara Bhadrapada sits in the zodiac
Start the count at 3°20′ Pisces (333.33 degrees) and Uttara Bhadrapada runs to 16°40′ Pisces (346.67 degrees). The whole nakshatra lies in Pisces.
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 traditional stars are Algenib in the Great Square of Pegasus and Alpheratz, a star that Pegasus shares with the constellation Andromeda. On the circle it follows Purva Bhadrapada and comes before Revati. The signs it touches are Pisces.
The name Uttara Bhadrapada
Uttara means 'latter', so the name is 'the latter Bhadrapada', the second of the pair. It is the twenty-sixth nakshatra and lies wholly inside Pisces.
Deity and symbol
Its deity is Ahir Budhnya, 'the serpent of the deep', a Vedic god of the deep waters and the bottom of the sky, and he is named together with Aja Ekapada in the hymns.
The symbol is the back legs of a cot, completing the pair, and some lists draw a snake in water, which matches the deity.
Ruling planet and the Vimshottari dasha
The ruling planet of Uttara Bhadrapada is Saturn, which carries 19 years of the 120-year Vimshottari cycle.
Born with the Moon in Uttara Bhadrapada, a person starts in Saturn's period. How much of the 19 years is left follows the Moon's progress: nearly all of it at the start, 9.5 years at the centre, almost none at the finish. After Saturn the order runs Mercury, Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu and Jupiter. The other nakshatras ruled by Saturn are Pushya and Anuradha. The dasha calculator shows the balance for your own chart.
The four padas of Uttara Bhadrapada
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: 3°20′ Pisces to 6°40′ Pisces, navamsha Leo, syllable Du.
Pada 2: 6°40′ Pisces to 10°00′ Pisces, navamsha Virgo, syllable Tha.
Pada 3: 10°00′ Pisces to 13°20′ Pisces, navamsha Libra, syllable Jha.
The fourth pada (13°20′ Pisces to 16°40′ Pisces) belongs to Scorpio in the navamsha chart. Its syllable is Na (also written Yna).
The first pada of Revati then starts at Sagittarius. Syllables follow the commonly printed lists, and regional lists differ slightly. For the fourth pada, the common table gives Na, which some lists write Yna.
Uttara Bhadrapada in the sky and in the year
The Sun is in Uttara Bhadrapada from 18 March 2026 until 31 March 2026 in 2026, by Indian time. Muhurta texts file this star under Dhruva (fixed). The Moon crosses a nakshatra in about a day, between roughly 21 and 27 hours depending on how fast it is moving.
Uttara Bhadrapada beside its neighbours
In plain words, Uttara Bhadrapada fits inside one sign: Pisces holds all four of its padas. Years 84 to 103 of the 120-year cycle belong to Saturn, the eighth lord in the order. Of the three nakshatras that Saturn rules, Uttara Bhadrapada comes third around the circle.
The neighbours differ in ruler: Jupiter for Purva Bhadrapada, Mercury for Revati, and Saturn for Uttara Bhadrapada. As for category, Purva Bhadrapada is Ugra (intense) while Uttara Bhadrapada is Dhruva (fixed), and Revati is Mridu (soft). For deity, the one before is Aja Ekapada, the one-footed goat, and the one after is Pushan, the guardian of travellers.
How to find out if your Moon is in Uttara Bhadrapada
Take the Moon's sidereal position at birth: if it lies between 3°20′ Pisces and 16°40′ Pisces, your nakshatra is Uttara Bhadrapada. 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.