Chitra Nakshatra: Virgo–Libra Padas and Mars
Find Chitra’s two Virgo and two Libra padas. Use the 0° Libra boundary to separate a sign change from a nakshatra change.
Overview
Chitra spans 23°20′ Virgo to 6°40′ Libra, or 173°20′–186°40′ total sidereal longitude. Its four padas split evenly between Virgo and Libra. Mars is the Vimshottari lord of the whole sector.
At a glance
- Sidereal interval
- 173°20′–186°40′ total longitude
- Pada starting longitudes
- 173°20′, 176°40′, 180°00′, 183°20′
- Vimshottari association
- Mars; seven-year full period
- Important distinction
- Padas 1–2 Virgo; 3–4 Libra
Is Chitra the same as a fixed star position?
This guide uses Chitra as the name of an equal 13°20′ sector in a specified sidereal coordinate system. A named physical star has its own coordinate and proper motion; that point is not the same object as an entire nakshatra interval.
The containing sign changes from Mercury-ruled Virgo to Venus-ruled Libra. Mars’s period association remains unchanged. A chart may legitimately list all three grahas for different roles without implying they are conjunct.
At the midpoint, Libra begins
An invented Moon at 180° total longitude is 0° Libra. Its offset from Chitra’s 173°20′ start is 6°40′, so it enters pada 3. A Moon at 179°59′ is still Chitra but in Virgo and pada 2.
At the exact midpoint, half of Chitra remains. The Moon-based opening Mars balance is therefore 3.5 dasha years. If the ascendant, rather than the Moon, is at this coordinate, it has the same sector label but does not alone set that Moon-based period.
How should disagreements involving Chitra be checked?
Ayanamsa terminology may itself contain a reference to Chitra. Do not infer identical numerical settings from a familiar name: record the software’s precise mode and the resulting longitude. Compare the calculation receipt before interpreting a boundary difference.
Chitra does not certify beauty, talent or relationship outcomes. Treat the interval and pada as reproducible fields, then distinguish separately attributed symbolic commentary from facts established by the chart calculation.
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 Chitra: 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.