Ashwini Nakshatra: Degrees, Padas and Ketu
Find Ashwini’s 0°–13°20′ Aries interval, its four padas and Ketu period association. Includes an exact quarter-boundary example.
Overview
Ashwini is the first nakshatra: 0° to 13°20′ sidereal Aries, with the ending degree excluded. Its Vimshottari lord is Ketu. This identifies a lunar-mansion sector and a timing association, not a claim that Ketu occupies Aries or determines a person’s temperament.
At a glance
- Sidereal interval
- 0°00′–13°20′ total longitude
- Pada starting longitudes
- 0°00′, 3°20′, 6°40′, 10°00′
- Vimshottari association
- Ketu; seven-year full period
- Important distinction
- Aries ruler Mars is a different role
Why is Ashwini called the first birth star?
The equal-sector table starts its sequence at 0° Aries, so Ashwini has index 1. Every planet can occupy this sector; “Ashwini birth star” ordinarily refers specifically to the Moon. The name does not supply a birth date, ascendant or house.
Mars rules Aries, while Ketu is Ashwini’s Vimshottari lord. Keep these two columns separate when reading a chart. A Moon in Ashwini does not imply a conjunction with Ketu; the node’s actual longitude needs its own row.
A quarter changes at 3°20′
Take an invented Moon at 3°19′ Aries: 199 arcminutes from the start places it in pada 1. At exactly 3°20′, the offset is 200 arcminutes and pada 2 begins. Both coordinates remain Ashwini and Aries.
The four pada intervals begin at 0°, 3°20′, 6°40′ and 10° Aries. At 13°20′ the next nakshatra, Bharani, begins. These are coordinate boundaries, not observations of an abrupt change in ability, health or character.
Does Ashwini mean a full Ketu period at birth?
Only a Moon exactly at the sector’s beginning gives the full seven-year allocation under the cited Moon-based method. A Moon already partway through Ashwini leaves a proportional remainder. You need the unrounded degree, not just the star’s name.
A zodiac value displayed as 360° must first be normalized to 0° before lookup; it belongs here, not in a nonexistent twenty-eighth equal sector. Keep uncertainty when the birth interval straddles the Revati–Ashwini boundary.
Sources and editorial basis
- P. V. R. Narasimha Rao: Vedic Astrology — An Integrated ApproachRao, §1.3.6 and Table 2, printed pp. 10–11: equal 27-sector convention, four 3°20′ padas and named boundaries. Table 2 entry Ashwini: interval and Vimshottari lord. §1.3.2 and Table 1, p. 6: rashi intervals. §3.3 and Table 6, pp. 34–35: seven-planet sign rulers, distinct from period lords. Original coordinates and boundary examples are editorial arithmetic, not observed birth charts. §16.2 and Table 38, pp. 210–211: Moon-based Vimshottari starting lord, remaining-arc fraction and explicit year-length disagreement. No dates are inferred without a timestamp and year convention.A named practitioner’s introduction to Jyotish. Used for terminology and a stated method, not universal school agreement or scientific validation. The added March 18, 2010 note describes changed views; it does not establish a fully revised 2010 edition.
- OpenFate Editorial MethodologyOpenFate Editorial Methodology, stable sections #editorial-principles, #editorial-workflow, #editorial-ai, and #editorial-context. Used for the calculation/interpretation and evidence-boundary policy.OpenFate separates deterministic chart calculation, traditional interpretation, and modern editorial explanation.
- Swiss Ephemeris Programmer’s Manual: Time, Sidereal Modes and HousesSwiss Ephemeris Programmer’s Manual, §3: geocentric planetary positions; §9.1–9.2: date, UTC and Julian-day conversion; §11: topocentric setting is distinct; §12.1–12.2: explicitly selected sidereal mode and ayanamsa. These sections support coordinate settings only, not nakshatra symbolism, personality, compatibility or event predictions.Primary software documentation for numerical time and position calculations. Sidereal modes, including named Lahiri variants, are explicit settings. The manual does not validate astrological interpretations.