What Pushya nakshatra means
Nourishment and steady care; the most supportive, protective nakshatra. Pushya is ruled by Saturn, its presiding deity is Brihaspati, and its symbol is a cow's udder - together these shape its character.
Exactly where Pushya sits
Pushya occupies Cancer 3°20' to Cancer 16°40' - an arc of 13°20', the same width as every other nakshatra, because the 27 of them divide the zodiac evenly. It sits entirely inside one sign, so the sign and the nakshatra always agree here - which is not true of roughly a third of the 27, where the arc crosses a boundary. This precision is the point of the nakshatra system: signs divide the sky into twelve, nakshatras into twenty-seven, and the finer grid is what lets two people with the same Moon sign read quite differently.
The four padas of Pushya
Each nakshatra divides again into four padas of 3°20': pada 1 Cancer 3°20'–Cancer 6°40'; pada 2 Cancer 6°40'–Cancer 10°00'; pada 3 Cancer 10°00'–Cancer 13°20'; pada 4 Cancer 13°20'–Cancer 16°40'. Your pada is decided by the exact degree of the planet, which is why birth time matters here more than almost anywhere else - the Moon crosses a pada in under six hours, so an hour of uncertainty can move it. Padas are what drive the Navamsa (D9) chart and much of Vedic name-selection, and a reading that names your nakshatra without naming the pada has stopped one level short.
Pushya decides your first mahadasha
Pushya is ruled by Saturn, and in the Vimshottari system the nakshatra your MOON occupies at birth sets which mahadasha you are born into - so a Moon here means life opens in a Saturn period of 19 years, entered part-way through according to how far the Moon had travelled into the arc. Everything after that follows in fixed order. This is the single most consequential thing the nakshatra does, and it is the reason a birth chart cannot be timed from the sign alone.
Pushya in your chart
The nakshatra your Moon occupies at birth is your janma nakshatra - it colours your instincts and sets your Vimshottari dasha sequence (starting with Saturn). Generate a free birth chart to find your Moon's nakshatra.
Find your nakshatra, free
Enter your birth details to get your Moon's nakshatra and pada - where a traditional name starts.
Frequently asked
- What is Pushya nakshatra?
- Pushya is one of the 27 nakshatras (lunar mansions) in Vedic astrology. Nourishment and steady care; the most supportive, protective nakshatra.
- Which planet rules Pushya?
- Pushya is ruled by Saturn in the Vimshottari dasha system.
- What are the symbol and deity of Pushya?
- Its symbol is a cow's udder and its presiding deity is Brihaspati.
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