--- title: "Mrigashira Nakshatra: Lord Mangala, Deity, Padas" url: "https://abhisheksoni.in/learn/nakshatra/mrigashira" language: "en" updated: "2026-10-27" description: "Mrigashira spans 53°20'-66°40' of the zodiac, ruled by Mangala, presided by Soma. Symbol: Deer's head. Gana deva, yoni serpent, nadi pitta. Its four padas fall in Vrishabha and Mithuna." --- # Mrigashira Nakshatra *Nakshatra* Mrigashira (मृगशिरा) is the 5th of the 27 nakshatras of Vedic astrology, spanning 53°20' - 66°40' of the zodiac across Vrishabha and Mithuna. Its lord is Mangala and its deity Soma. Symbol: Deer's head. It is of deva gana, serpent yoni and madhya nadi, and its lord's Vimshottari dasha lasts 7 years. ## What is Mrigashira nakshatra? Mrigashira is the 5th of the 27 nakshatras, spanning 53°20' to 66°40' of the zodiac, across Vrishabha and Mithuna. Its lord is Mangala, its deity Soma, the Moon as the divine drink, and its symbol is a deer's head. The name means 'head of the deer'. It is identified with the small group of stars at the head of Orion, chiefly Lambda Orionis, and the story behind it is of Prajapati chasing Rohini in the form of a deer, which is why the nakshatra is tied to searching and pursuit. ## Which rashi is Mrigashira in, and who is its lord? Mrigashira is split evenly: padas 1 and 2 lie in Vrishabha, padas 3 and 4 in Mithuna, with the boundary at 60°00'. Its lord is Mangala, and its lord's Vimshottari dasha lasts 7 years. Mangala also rules Chitra and Dhanishta, and each of the three is split in half by a sign boundary in the same way. A Moon in Mrigashira at birth means life begins in Mangala's dasha, with a balance that depends on how far the Moon had travelled: close to seven years at the start, a few months at the end. ## What are the four padas of Mrigashira? Each pada spans 3°20'. The four padas fall in the navamsas of Simha, Kanya, Tula and Vrishchika. The navamsa (D9) is the chart where each pada becomes a sign, read for marriage and for the inner strength of a graha. The first two padas sit in Vrishabha (53°20' to 60°00') and the last two in Mithuna (60°00' to 66°40'). The fourth pada falls in Vrishchika, Mangala's own navamsa. Mrigashira is not a gandamool nakshatra. ## What does tradition say about people born in Mrigashira? The texts describe Mrigashira natives as curious, restless and always looking for the next thing. Varahamihira's verse calls them changeable, clever, timid, skilful, enthusiastic, well off and fond of pleasure. Tradition holds that the deer gives alertness and a gentle, easily startled nature, and that Soma gives a love of beauty, music and taste. Deva gana is said to soften the temper. Mangala as lord adds energy for the chase, though not always the patience to finish it. ## Which careers are traditionally linked with Mrigashira? Tradition links Mrigashira with research and investigation, travel and exploration, writing, teaching and sales, and with textiles, perfumes and music. The common thread is searching and gathering. These are associations, not predictions. What someone works at is read from the 10th house, its lord and the running dasha. ## What does Mrigashira mean for marriage and kundli matching? In Ashtakoota matching Mrigashira counts as deva gana, serpent yoni (female) and Madhya nadi. Deva agrees fully with deva, is accepted with manushya and scores lowest with rakshasa. Its serpent yoni pairs naturally with Rohini, the other serpent nakshatra, its male. Nadi carries 8 of the 36 points, gana 6 and yoni 4, and two Madhya nadi Moons is the classical concern, nadi dosha, to which the texts give exceptions. Matching scores two Moons. I read the marriage itself from the 7th house, its lord, Shukra and the dashas. ## Which syllables belong to Mrigashira? The traditional syllables for the four padas are Ve, Vo, Ka and Ki, in order. A child's name usually begins with the syllable of the Moon's pada. ## What does Mrigashira not tell you? Because it is cut in half by a sign boundary, 'Mrigashira' alone does not tell you the Moon sign: it can be Vrishabha or Mithuna, and that changes the reading more than the nakshatra does. It also does not tell you where Mangala sits or how strong it is, the ascendant, or the dasha you are in today. Restlessness in the texts is a tendency, not a sentence. Two people with a Mrigashira Moon can be a settled farmer and a travelling writer. ## Classical facts - **Number:** 5 - **Sanskrit name:** Mrigashira - **Hindi name:** मृगशिरा - **Lord:** Mangala - **Deity:** Soma - **Symbol:** Deer's head - **Gana:** Deva - **Yoni:** Serpent, female - **Nadi:** Madhya - **Degree range:** 53°20' - 66°40' - **Rashi:** Vrishabha, Mithuna - **Vimshottari dasha of its lord:** 7 years - **Reference:** [Mrigashira (Wikipedia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrigashira) ## The four padas - 1, 53°20' - 56°40', Vrishabha, Simha - 2, 56°40' - 60°00', Vrishabha, Kanya - 3, 60°00' - 63°20', Mithuna, Tula - 4, 63°20' - 66°40', Mithuna, Vrishchika