Nakshatra 16 of 27

Vishakhaవిశాఖ

The forked path — ambition held to a single goal.

Ruling planet

Jupiter

Deity

Indra and Agni together

Symbol

A triumphal arch, a potter's wheel

Gana

Rakshasa (fierce)

Nature

Mishra — mixed

Sidereal span

Tula 20° 00′ – Vrischika 3° 20′

About Vishakha

Vishakha means 'forked' or 'two-branched', and it is the nakshatra of the decisive choice. Its dual deity, Indra-Agni, combines command with the fire to sustain it. This is the placement of concentrated ambition: the potter's wheel turns and turns, and the vessel takes shape only because the effort is repeated. Vishakha is patient about goals and impatient about distractions, and it is classed mishra — mixed — precisely because that single-mindedness cuts both ways.

What it traditionally favours

Pursuing a long-held goal, competitive endeavours, sustained study, and rituals for success. Traditionally avoided for weddings.

The four padas

Every nakshatra is divided into four quarters called padas, each three degrees twenty minutes wide. The pada refines the reading: two people born under the same nakshatra but in different padas are held to differ meaningfully, because each pada falls in a different navamsa and so carries a different sub-influence.

The pada also decides the first syllable of a child's name. Where the moon stood at birth gives the nakshatra; which quarter of it gives the syllable. The four syllables below are in pada order — a child born in the first pada takes the first, and so on. This is the naming convention used at namakaranam across most of southern India.

1. 1Ti20° 00′ →
2. 2Tu23° 20′ →
3. 3Te26° 40′ →
4. 4To30° 00′ →