The zodiac divides two ways. Twelve signs of 30° each track the Sun; twenty-seven nakshatras of 13°20′ each track the Moon — one for roughly every day of the Moon's journey around the chart. The nakshatra your Moon occupied at birth is your Janma Nakshatra, and it does more work in Vedic astrology than the sign does: its ruling planet starts your Vimshottari dasha sequence, and how far the Moon had travelled through it decides the dasha balance you were born with.
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Krittika nakshatra
| Ruling planet | Sun |
|---|---|
| Span | 26°40′ Aries – 10°00′ Taurus |
| Sign | Aries · Taurus |
| Symbol | A razor; a flame |
| Deity | Agni — the fire |
| Gana | Rakshasa |
| Yoni | Sheep |
| Nadi | Antya |
What it means
Krittika cuts and purifies. Sharp speech, sharp perception, and very little tolerance for pretence — this nakshatra sees through things and usually says so. The Sun’s rulership adds an appetite for recognition, and because Krittika straddles Aries and Taurus it joins the fire that starts something to the substance that sustains it.
The power to burn — dahana shakti .
Characteristics
- Sharp perception, sharper speech
- Honest to the point of bluntness
- Protective of those it has taken on
- Ambitious for recognition
- Purifying — removes what is false
- Good with fire, heat and metal
Where it tends to work
- Cooking and the food trade
- Surgery and the cutting trades
- Metallurgy, welding and engineering
- Editing, criticism and review
- The military
Caution
Words cut deeper than intended, and the damage is usually noticed long after the point has been made.
Predictive Role
Characteristics
The Four Padas
Each nakshatra divides into four quarters of 3°20′. The pada decides which sign the Moon falls in on the Navamsa (D9) chart — which is why two people born hours apart in the same nakshatra can read quite differently.
| Pada | Range | Navamsa sign | Navamsa lord |
|---|
Where It Tends To Work
Nakshatra attributes — gana, yoni and nadi — are fixed traditional classifications and are used in Ashtakoot matching. They describe tendencies, not verdicts: no single nakshatra placement decides a life on its own, and it must be read alongside the rest of the chart.