Nakshatras

Mrigashira nakshatra

Mrigashira is the fifth nakshatra: from 23°20′ Taurus to 6°40′ Gemini. It is ruled by Mars and its deity is Soma. The deer's head: a nakshatra of searching, curiosity and gentle forward movement.

Updated 2026-10-17

Don't know your nakshatra? Find it with the calculator

Number	5 / 27
Span (sidereal)	Taurus 23°20′ – Gemini 6°40′
Ruler	Mars (Mangala)
Deity	Soma, god of the Moon and nectar
Symbol	a deer's head
Gana (temperament)	Deva (divine)
Yoni (animal)	Serpent
Nadi	Madhya (Pitta)

The nature of Mrigashira

A deer is always alert and always looking — for pasture, water, a path. So is Mrigashira: the nakshatra of the explorer, the traveller, the person led by a question. Its deity Soma is nectar and inspiration, which gives it sensitivity and poetry. Mars as ruler supplies the energy to follow curiosity.

Two padas lie in Taurus and two in Gemini: the first half is more practical, the second more talkative and intellectual.

The Moon in Mrigashira

People with the Moon in Mrigashira are curious, friendly and easy to talk to. Staying in one place bores them; they love learning, travelling and trying things. Gentleness comes with wariness — trust is not instant. Restlessness and the hunt for “something even better” are the main things to work with.

The dasha sequence begins with Mars (7 years).

Emotionally, Mrigashira needs novelty and conversation; routine without discovery makes it anxious. Its mind keeps searching even when it is tired. What helps: learning something new every week, walks in nature, and finishing one search before beginning the next. These are traditional tendencies, not a verdict; the full chart matters.

The four padas

Each pada is 3°20′ and falls in its own navamsha (D9) sign. The syllable is the traditional first sound of a name for a child born with the Moon in that pada.
Pada	Span (sidereal)	Navamsha sign	Name syllable
1	Taurus 23°20′ – 26°40′	Leo (Simha)	Ve
2	Taurus 26°40′ – 30°00′	Virgo (Kanya)	Vo
3	Gemini 0°00′ – 3°20′	Libra (Tula)	Ka
4	Gemini 3°20′ – 6°40′	Scorpio (Vrishchika)	Ki

Pada 1 (Leo navamsha, syllable Ve) in Taurus: confident, creative, fond of the good life. Pada 2 (Virgo, Vo) in Taurus: practical curiosity, research, careful craft. Pada 3 (Libra, Ka) in Gemini: social, artistic, a seeker of harmony in ideas and people. Pada 4 (Scorpio, Ki) in Gemini: the most probing and restless — investigation, secrets, intense exchanges.

The first half belongs to Venus's sign, the second to Mercury's; Mars, the nakshatra's ruler, keeps all four on the move.

Mrigashira in the classical texts

The Taittiriya Brahmana gives Mrigashira to Soma, the Moon and the sacred drink of inspiration. Later authors read its gift (shakti) as the power to give fulfilment. Brihat Samhita (chapter 98) counts Mrigashira among the soft (mridu, maitra) nakshatras, with Chitra, Anuradha and Revati: for friendship, love, adornment, music and gentle beginnings. In Vimshottari it belongs to Mars, so a Mrigashira Moon begins life in a seven-year Mars period.

The Puranic image is the deer's head of Prajapati, chased across the sky by Rudra as the hunter, a story of desire and its limits. Mrigashira keeps that searching quality: it looks for the source.

Mrigashira in relationships

In love, Mrigashira is curious, gentle and a little elusive: it enjoys courtship and conversation and can keep searching even when it has found. A partner who shares interests and leaves room for travel and learning keeps it close; boredom is its main risk.

For matching, Mrigashira is deva gana, serpent yoni and Madhya nadi. Its yoni twin is Rohini; the mongoose (Uttara Ashadha) is the serpent's classical enemy. Two Madhya nadi charts lose the nadi points. Check any pair in the compatibility calculator.

Work and strengths

Strengths: curiosity, sensitivity, research and communication. Good fields: research and journalism, travel and tourism, writing and translation, music and poetry, textile and fashion trade, real estate scouting, teaching.

Mars gives the energy to follow a question; Venus and Mercury, the sign lords, give taste and language. Mrigashira works best with variety inside a clear goal; a project with milestones keeps the search productive.

What Mrigashira is good for

Mrigashira is a “soft” (mridu) nakshatra: good for friendship, weddings, art, buying clothes and jewellery, starting study and travel.

The ascendant and planets in Mrigashira

An ascendant in Mrigashira gives a light, alert manner and expressive eyes. Venus in its Taurus padas is in its own sign: charm, a love of music and fabrics. Mercury in the Gemini padas, its own sign, sharpens a curious mind for writing, research and trade. Mars here, in the nakshatra it rules, gives energy for travel and exploration. The Moon in the Taurus padas is exalted in sign and finds Mrigashira's sensitivity easy to express.

During the Mars dasha the search for new ground, studies and journeys usually intensifies.

Remedies and practice

Mrigashira's practice calms a restless mind. Tradition suggests honouring Soma with a name mantra such as “Om Somaya namah” on Mondays, sitting in moonlight, and offering milk or water. For the ruling graha, Mars, the classical mantra is on our mantras page. Kindness to animals, especially deer and gentle creatures, and finishing one quest before starting the next, are counted as its own remedies. The days of the Moon's passage through Mrigashira suit learning, music and making friends. A gemstone is a classical upaya too: the tradition chooses it from the whole chart (functional benefics, the running dasha), with mantra and charity as the foundation; practices are optional and do not guarantee outcomes. For context, see remedies (upayas).

Mrigashira: compatibility with every nakshatra

Ashtakuta (36 gunas) for the Moon nakshatras of the couple, out of 36. A range means the score depends on the pada; 18 and above is the classical minimum for marriage. A real match also weighs Mangal dosha and both full charts.
Name	If you are the woman	If you are the man
Ashwini	24.5–27.5	23.5–26.5
Bharani	16.5–19.5	14.5–17.5
Krittika	17.5–26.5	17.5–27.5
Rohini	27.5–36	25.5–35
Mrigashira	18.5–28	18.5–28
Ardra	24.5–34	24.5–33
Punarvasu	18.5–31.5	17.5–31.5
Pushya	11.5–19	10.5–18
Ashlesha	12.5–20	12.5–20
Magha	18.5–22.5	18.5–22.5
Purva Phalguni	16.5–20.5	14.5–18.5
Uttara Phalguni	23–31.5	22–29.5
Hasta	24.5–33	24.5–32
Chitra	10.5–20	12.5–20
Swati	23.5–26	24.5–26
Vishakha	13–24.5	13–23.5
Anuradha	11–22.5	10–20.5
Jyeshtha	13–24.5	13–23.5
Mula	13.5–22	13.5–22
Purva Ashadha	13–18.5	11–16.5
Uttara Ashadha	19–24.5	17–22.5
Shravana	24–27	23–27
Dhanishta	10–17.5	10–19.5
Shatabhisha	21–26.5	22–28.5
Purva Bhadrapada	24.5–30	23.5–30
Uttara Bhadrapada	17–18	15–16
Revati	27–28	26–27

Questions

Which sign is Mrigashira in?

Padas 1–2 are in Taurus (23°20′–30°), padas 3–4 in Gemini (0°–6°40′).

What is Mrigashira's gana?

Deva, a gentle temperament. Yoni the serpent (female), nadi Madhya.

What do Mrigashira, Chitra and Dhanishta have in common?

All three are ruled by Mars and straddle the border of two signs, so their character shifts from pada to pada.

Which class is Mrigashira in Brihat Samhita?

Mrigashira is soft (mridu), a class associated with friendship, adornment and gentle beginnings.

What is Mrigashira's shakti?

The power to give fulfilment, the gift of its deity Soma.

Is your Moon in Mrigashira? Check it in your chart

Don't know your nakshatra? Find it with the calculator

Free

Chart calculator

Lagna, planets by sign and house, nakshatras and dashas — in a minute, no sign-up.

Calculate my chart — free

PDF · pay at once

Complete Natal Chart

Your whole chart in one document of 60–100 pages — to read, reread and share with people close to you.

Character, work, relationships, health, money
A Vedic interpretation of current and coming periods
An audio edition if you like

1499 ⭐

Buy

You pay with Telegram Stars right after the form; the PDF arrives in the chat.