Nakshatra 5 of 27 · Ruled by Mars
Mrigashira Nakshatra
The Deer’s Head
The eternal seeker: gentle, curious, always following the next question.
Zodiac range
23°20′ Taurus – 6°40′ Gemini
Symbol
Deer’s head
Deity
Soma
Lord
Mars
Gana
Deva
Yoni
Serpent (female)
Nadi
Madhya
Mrigashira personality and character
Mrigashira occupies 23°20′ Taurus – 6°40′ Gemini of the sidereal zodiac, and everyone born with the Moon in this span carries it as their janma nakshatra, their birth star. Its symbol, the deer’s head, and its presiding deity, Soma, set the mythic tone: the eternal seeker: gentle, curious, always following the next question. The ruling planet Mars adds its own signature, since a Mrigashira native begins life in a Mars dasha and returns to Mars's lessons at every major turning point.
Temperamentally, Mrigashira belongs to the Deva gana: the divine temperament: gentle, generous, and naturally inclined toward harmony and dharma. Its constitutional current is Madhya (Pitta), the nadi of transformation and drive, and its instinctive animal is the female serpent, the figure Vedic tradition uses to describe how this star bonds, plays, and protects. Read together, the attributes sketch a coherent nature long before a full chart is drawn, which is exactly how classical astrologers used the birth star for quick assessment.
The four padas of Mrigashira
Each nakshatra divides into four padas of 3°20′, and each pada takes the flavour of one navamsa sign: for Mrigashira, pada 1 falls in Leo navamsa, pada 2 in Virgo, pada 3 in Libra, and pada 4 in Scorpio. Two people can share a birth star and still differ noticeably because their padas point the same energy through different signs. Your exact pada is shown when you cast your chart with the free Vedic birth chart calculator.
Mrigashira in love and marriage matching
In kundli matching, Mrigashira contributes three of the eight kootas directly: its Deva gana (6 points), its Serpent yoni (4 points), and its Madhya nadi (8 points, the heaviest of all). The Tara koota is also counted from the birth star. No nakshatra scores well or badly on its own; everything depends on the pairing, which is why the same Mrigashira native can score 30 with one partner and 14 with another. Run any two birth details through the calculator for the full 36-point table, and see the western view of the same question in our zodiac compatibility guide.
When the Moon transits Mrigashira
Once a month the Moon spends about a day in Mrigashira, and that day carries the star's flavour for everyone: a monthly visit from Soma. Panchang followers time activities to these transits, and the daily panchang page shows the current nakshatra in real time. For the wider lunar rhythm behind it, our guides to the moon phases and the 2026 full moon calendar complete the picture.
Mrigashira FAQs
- What is Mrigashira nakshatra?
- Mrigashira is the 5th of the 27 nakshatras, spanning 23°20′ Taurus – 6°40′ Gemini of the sidereal zodiac. Its name means the deer’s head, its symbol is the deer’s head, its presiding deity is Soma, and its planetary lord is Mars.
- Which planet rules Mrigashira?
- Mars rules Mrigashira. In the Vimshottari dasha system, anyone born with the Moon in Mrigashira begins life in a Mars planetary period, which colours their early years with Mars’s themes.
- What gana is Mrigashira?
- Mrigashira belongs to the Deva gana, the divine temperament: gentle, generous, and naturally inclined toward harmony and dharma. Gana carries 6 of the 36 points in traditional kundli matching.
- What is the yoni of Mrigashira?
- The yoni of Mrigashira is the female Serpent, used in the Yoni koota of marriage matching, worth 4 points. Yoni compatibility compares the instinctive natures of the two birth stars.
- Is Mrigashira good for marriage matching?
- Mrigashira contributes its Deva gana, Serpent yoni, and Madhya nadi to the eight-koota Guna Milan. No nakshatra is good or bad in isolation; the score depends entirely on the partner’s star. Run any pairing through the free kundli matching calculator to see the full 36-point breakdown.