Meaning
Uttara Ashadha, the second of the unconquered pair, lies in zeta and sigma Sagittarii. In the older lists of 28, Abhijit, in the stars of Lyra, came straight after it; the equal division into 27 leaves Abhijit out, and Shravana follows.
Modern readings set it against its twin: where Purva Ashadha is the first success, this is the final one, the lasting victory won by principle and patience, by responsibility and integrity. Our chart's text calls it principled and patient, and says that some flexibility within high standards keeps it approachable.
Surya, the Sun, is its lord in the Vimshottari order, with six years. Its first pada lies in Dhanu and its other three in Makara; the Sun of the sample person on our system page stands in its third pada.
Deity and emblem
The Vishvadevas, the all-gods, the gods taken together, are the deity of the second Ashadhas in the Taittiriya Samhita and today.
The modern emblem is an elephant's tusk. The medieval authorities give a bed or an elephant's tusk for both Ashadhas, so the tusk has old support, shared with its twin.
In the chart
Uttara Ashadha runs from 26°40′ Dhanu to 10°00′ Makara of the sidereal zodiac, the twenty-first of 27 equal parts of 13°20′. It lies across two rashis: its first pada in Dhanu and the rest in Makara. Its four padas of 3°20′ fall in the navamsas of Dhanu, Makara, Kumbha and Meena, so a graha in its first pada stands in Dhanu in the D9.
Its Vimshottari lord is Surya, whose period is six years. When the Moon stands here at birth, the reckoning opens in Surya's period and counts only the part still to run, in proportion to the part of Uttara Ashadha the Moon has yet to cross. In 2026 the same stretch of sky is about 20°53′ Capricorn to 4°13′ Aquarius in the tropical zodiac, by the Lahiri measure; another ayanamsa moves the edges, and a Moon or lagna within a few minutes of arc of an edge can fall in the neighbouring nakshatra in another tool.
Correspondences
Each item with how it stands: “sourced” is in the work cited, “our construction” is EsoTerrier’s own, and “disputed” means the sources disagree.
- Deity, as used today
- the Vishvadevas, the all-gods sourced
- Deity in the Taittiriya Samhita (iv.4.10)
- the All-gods (the second Ashadhas) sourced
- Symbol, the modern tradition's
- elephant tusk sourced
- Figure in the medieval lists (Burgess, 1860)
- a bed or an elephant's tusk (the authorities differ) sourced
- Themes in modern readings, our summary
- the lasting victory won by integrity: principle, patience, responsibility our construction
How the schools read it
- The Vedic lists (Taittiriya Samhita iv.4.10, Keith 1914)
- the All-gods (the second Ashadhas), as today; the Taittiriya list begins with Krittika.
- The medieval lists (Burgess and Whitney, 1860)
- The figure of the asterism: a bed or an elephant's tusk (the authorities differ), after the Ratnamala and the Muhurta Chintamani.
- Modern Jyotisha
- The lasting victory won by integrity: principle, patience, responsibility; its symbol: elephant tusk.
- The 28-nakshatra scheme
- Abhijit, in the stars of Lyra, stands between Uttara Ashadha and Shravana in the older lists; the equal division into 27 leaves it out.
- Western sidereal (Fagan-Bradley)
- The same 27 divisions, about 0°53′ further on than Lahiri's; Western siderealists rarely use them.
- EsoTerrier
- Our chart's text for a Moon here: "Ruled by Surya, Uttara Ashadha is the later, unconquered one, associated with lasting victory earned through integrity. Its energy is principled, patient and responsible, and allowing flexibility within high standards keeps it approachable." Our words.
Claims about it
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Uttara Ashadha's deity and symbol are one fixed set handed down from the Vedas.
disputedWhat the record shows: The deity, the Vishvadevas, is the same in the Taittiriya Samhita (iv.4.10) and today, but five other nakshatras have different deities in different Vedic lists. The symbol, elephant tusk, is the modern tradition's; here it matches the figure of the medieval lists, a bed or an elephant's tusk (the authorities differ).
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The nakshatra is a constellation, 13°20′ wide.
falseWhat the record shows: The nakshatras began as star groups of unequal size, 28 in the Atharvaveda with Abhijit. The equal division into 27 parts of 13°20′ is a later convention; the name points at stars, the division is arithmetic.
Elsewhere on EsoTerrier
- Graha 1: Surya, the Sun its Vimshottari lord
- Rashi 9: Dhanu, Sagittarius one of the two rashis it spans
- Rashi 10: Makara, Capricorn one of the two rashis it spans
- Nakshatra 20: Purva Ashadha the nakshatra before
- Nakshatra 22: Shravana the nakshatra after
- Natal Chart (Tropical): Sagittarius the tropical sign of the same name, measured from the equinox
