Nakshatra
Pushya Nakshatra
The most auspicious nakshatra in the classical reckoning — nourishment, protection and steady increase.
Check whether this is your birth star
The temperament
Pushya means 'to nourish'. It is widely regarded as the most benefic of the twenty-seven, and the quality is a kind of dependable goodness: people with Pushya strong tend to be the ones others rely on, the steady presence in a family or an institution. Saturn ruling a Cancer nakshatra with Jupiter's teacher as its deity produces an unusual combination — warmth delivered with discipline. Pushya is conservative in the literal sense: it conserves, protects and maintains, and it is suspicious of change for its own sake.
Strengths
Dependability, generosity, a protective instinct, patience, and a genuine talent for nurturing other people's growth.
Where it gets difficult
Rigidity, a tendency to cling to the traditional, and taking on more responsibility for others than is healthy.
Work it suits
Teaching, medicine and care work, food, public service, religious and community institutions, and any long-horizon stewardship role.
In relationships
Steady, protective and durable. Pushya is not dramatic about love; it simply shows up, consistently, for a very long time.
The four padas
Each pada is a quarter of the nakshatra, 3°20′ wide, and each corresponds to a navamsa sign. The pada is where a reading gets specific — it is the difference between describing twenty-seven kinds of person and describing a hundred and eight.
Pada 1 — navamsa in Leo
Nourishment given generously and visibly. Natural authority, protective of its people.
Pada 2 — navamsa in Virgo
Care expressed as competence and service. Meticulous, useful, self-effacing.
Pada 3 — navamsa in Libra
Saturn exalted in Libra. Fair, diplomatic, responsible in relationships.
Pada 4 — navamsa in Scorpio
The most private quarter. Deep loyalty, guarded, protective to the point of secrecy.
Traditional name syllables, one per pada in order: Hu, He, Ho, Da.
The mythology
Brihaspati is the guru of the gods, the priest who holds the ritual together and the planet Jupiter in Indian astronomy. The udder symbol is plain enough — this is the nakshatra of the thing that feeds others without depleting itself. Muhurta tradition treats Pushya as the safest star for almost any undertaking, with the notable exception of marriage.
How Pushya shapes your dasha
Because Pushya is ruled by Saturn, anyone born under it begins life in a Saturn mahādaśā. How much of that period remained at birth depends on exactly how far the Moon had travelled through the nakshatra — which is why two people born on the same day can be running completely different periods for decades. Your full chart shows the whole timeline, including the sub-periods within it.
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Common questions
How do I know if Pushya is my nakshatra?
Your janma nakshatra is the one the Moon occupied at the moment you were born. Pushya spans 3°20′ – 16°40′ Cancer, so if your Moon fell in that range, this is yours. You can check in a few seconds with our free nakshatra calculator — you do not need an exact birth time, because the Moon takes roughly a day to cross one nakshatra.
Which planet rules Pushya?
Saturn. That matters for more than temperament: the ruling planet of your birth nakshatra becomes the lord of your first vimshottari mahadasha, so it sets where your life begins in the 120-year dasha cycle. How far the Moon had already travelled through Pushya decides how much of that first period had elapsed before you were born.
What are the padas of Pushya?
Each nakshatra divides into four quarters of 3°20′ called padas, and each pada corresponds to a navamsa sign. For Pushya they run pada 1 in Leo, pada 2 in Virgo, pada 3 in Libra, pada 4 in Scorpio. The pada refines the reading considerably — two people born under the same nakshatra a few hours apart can fall in different padas.
What are the name syllables for Pushya?
Traditionally, Hu, He, Ho, Da — one syllable per pada, in order. Many Indian families still choose a child's first name to begin with the syllable matching the pada the Moon occupied at birth, which is why the nakshatra is usually asked for before a naming ceremony.
Is Pushya a good nakshatra to be born under?
There is no such thing as a good or bad nakshatra, and you should be wary of anyone who says otherwise — particularly if they then offer to sell you a remedy. Classical texts describe temperament and mythology, not worth. Pushya describes a disposition, and every disposition has both its strengths and its harder edges.