Nakshatra 24 of 27 · Aquarius 6°40′ - 20°00′
Shatabhisha nakshatra शतभिषा
Shatabhisha is the twenty-fourth nakshatra, occupying Aquarius 6 degrees 40 minutes to 20 degrees. Rahu rules it and Varuna, lord of the cosmic waters and of oaths, is its deity. Its symbol is an empty circle. The star describes healing through concealment and depth: secrets kept, illnesses of body and society diagnosed, and truth pursued away from the crowd.
- Meaning
- A hundred physicians; a hundred healers
- Sidereal span
- Aquarius 6°40′ - 20°00′
- Ruling planet
- Rahu
- Deity
- Varuna
- Symbol
- empty circle / hundred healers
- Gana
- Rakshasa
- Yoni
- Horse (female)
- Nadi
- Adi
- Varna
- Shudra
- Guna
- Sattva
- Tattva
- Ether
- Rashi
- Aquarius
Symbol and deity
The empty circle is read in several ways: as a protective enclosure, as the veil that hides a mystery, and as the void from which everything emerges. It is also drawn as a hundred stars or a hundred flowers, matching the name. Varuna, the deity, is the ancient Vedic sovereign of the waters and the night sky, who sees every act and binds oath-breakers with his noose. He is also a healer who can release from bondage and disease. This makes Shatabhisha a star of judgement, medicine and hidden knowledge. Rahu's rulership adds unconventionality, fascination with what is taboo or foreign, and a capacity to think outside inherited frameworks. The nakshatra sits wholly in Aquarius, the sign of Saturn, giving it a scientific, impersonal and sometimes reclusive tone.
Personality of Shatabhisha natives
People with the Moon in Shatabhisha are traditionally described as private, principled and independent-minded. They keep their own counsel, are difficult to know well and often prefer a small circle or solitude to society. Their minds are analytical and drawn to whatever is hidden, whether disease, secrets, astronomy or the workings of institutions. Varuna gives a strong sense of truth and of the consequences of broken promises; they hold themselves and others to their word. Rahu makes them unconventional, sceptical of authority and interested in the foreign or unorthodox. Classical texts describe them as harsh in speech when provoked, stubborn, and prone to melancholy and to a sense of separation from others. They can also be philosophically deep, capable healers and genuinely honest. Their weakness is rigidity: once they decide, they rarely reconsider, and their isolation can harden into loneliness. At their best they are diagnosticians who see what others miss; at their worst they are severe judges who trust no one.
Strengths
- Analytical, sees hidden causes
- Honest and true to their word
- Independent, unconventional thinking
- Capacity for deep research
Challenges
- Reclusive to the point of loneliness
- Harsh speech when provoked
- Rigid once a view is formed
- Melancholy and sense of separation
Career
Shatabhisha is traditionally connected with medicine and healing, astronomy and astrology, and any work that requires discretion. Classical lists include physicians, those who deal in liquids, astronomers and fishermen. Modern readings add research science, pharmacology, radiology and diagnostics, psychiatry, data science, aerospace and space research, electricity and technology, and roles handling classified or confidential information. Shatabhisha natives work best in quiet, autonomous environments where accuracy matters more than presentation. They struggle in roles that require constant socialising or that ask them to compromise a conclusion they consider true.
Relationships and matching
Shatabhisha is rakshasa gana with the female horse yoni. Horse pairs well with horse (Ashwini) and is traditionally hostile to the buffalo yoni (Swati, Hasta). Rakshasa gana matches most easily with other rakshasa nakshatras and is considered the hardest pairing with deva gana. In love, Shatabhisha natives are loyal and honest but reserved, slow to open up and uneasy with emotional display; they need a partner who respects privacy and does not read distance as rejection. Tradition often describes a period of solitude before marriage. Friendships are few, intellectual and long-lasting.
In Ashtakoot matching, Shatabhisha counts as Rakshasa gana, Horse yoni and Adi nadi. Those three drive gana, yoni and nadi koota, 18 of the 36 points.
Body and constitution
Tradition associates Shatabhisha with the jaw, the knees and the right thigh, and Rahu's rulership is linked in texts with conditions considered obscure or hard to name. The name itself, a hundred physicians, points to a healing theme. These are classical Jyotisha correspondences given as tradition, not medical remarks.
The four padas
Every nakshatra divides into four quarters of 3°20′. The pada tells which navamsa sign the Moon occupies and colours how the star expresses itself.
| Pada | Span | Navamsa | Traditional reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pada 1 | Aquarius 6°40′ - Aquarius 10°00′ | Sagittarius | Pada 1 falls in the Sagittarius navamsa, ruled by Jupiter. Tradition gives this quarter the most optimism and philosophical breadth within Shatabhisha, with interest in higher knowledge, teaching and the ethics of healing. |
| Pada 2 | Aquarius 10°00′ - Aquarius 13°20′ | Capricorn | Pada 2 falls in the Capricorn navamsa, ruled by Saturn. This is the most disciplined and practical quarter, applying research to structure and career, with patience for long projects and a serious, ambitious temperament. |
| Pada 3 | Aquarius 13°20′ - Aquarius 16°40′ | Aquarius | Pada 3 falls in the Aquarius navamsa, ruled by Saturn, and is vargottama, intensifying the star's Aquarian qualities. The most scientific and humanitarian quarter, drawn to systems, technology and reform, and the most reclusive. |
| Pada 4 | Aquarius 16°40′ - Aquarius 20°00′ | Pisces | Pada 4 falls in the Pisces navamsa, ruled by Jupiter, and is a pushkara navamsa. The most compassionate and imaginative quarter, where the healing theme is strongest, softening Shatabhisha's severity with empathy and intuition. |
In the Vimshottari system
Shatabhisha's lord is Rahu, so a person born with the Moon here begins life in a Rahu mahadasha. How far the Moon has travelled through Shatabhisha sets how much of that first period remains at birth; the free kundli works the whole timeline out from the birth details.
Shatabhisha nakshatra questions
Is Shatabhisha nakshatra good or bad?
Shatabhisha is classed as chara (movable) and rakshasa gana, and older texts note harshness and isolation, but it is also the star of healers, astronomers and truth-tellers, presided over by Varuna. It is neither good nor bad in itself. The Moon's strength, Rahu's condition and the whole chart determine how its depth and reserve express.
Which rashi is Shatabhisha nakshatra?
Shatabhisha lies wholly in Aquarius (Kumbha rashi), from 6 degrees 40 minutes to 20 degrees, so a Shatabhisha Moon is always an Aquarius Moon ruled by Saturn. Its four padas fall in the navamsa signs Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, and the third pada is vargottama.
Who should Shatabhisha nakshatra natives marry?
By gana, Shatabhisha (rakshasa) matches most easily with other rakshasa nakshatras such as Vishakha, Jyeshtha, Mula or Dhanishta. By yoni, horse pairs well with horse (Ashwini) and poorly with buffalo (Swati, Hasta). Given the star's reserve, temperament matters as much as koota points; a full ashtakoota comparison with nadi and bhakoot is advisable.
What is the lucky day and number for Shatabhisha nakshatra?
Shatabhisha is ruled by Rahu, whose weekday is usually taken as Saturday and whose number is 4. Blue-green and smoky shades are the colours commonly associated. These correspondences come from classical planetary tables and are used for choosing observances and timings, not as guarantees of any outcome.