--- title: "Mula Nakshatra: Lord Ketu, Deity, Padas" url: "https://abhisheksoni.in/learn/nakshatra/mula" language: "en" updated: "2026-10-27" description: "Mula spans 240°00'-253°20' of the zodiac, ruled by Ketu, presided by Nirriti. Symbol: Bunch of tied roots. Gana rakshasa, yoni dog, nadi vata. Its four padas fall in Dhanu." --- # Mula Nakshatra *Nakshatra* Mula (मूल) is the 19th of the 27 nakshatras of Vedic astrology, spanning 240°00' - 253°20' of the zodiac in Dhanu. Its lord is Ketu and its deity Nirriti. Symbol: Bunch of tied roots. It is of rakshasa gana, dog yoni and aadi nadi, and its lord's Vimshottari dasha lasts 7 years. ## What is Mula (Moola) nakshatra? Mula, also spelt Moola, is the 19th of the 27 nakshatras, spanning 240°00' to 253°20', the opening part of Dhanu. Its lord is Ketu, its deity is Nirriti, and its symbol is a bunch of tied roots. Mula means "root"; its stars are the curled tail and sting of the Scorpion. Nirriti is the goddess of dissolution, the force that breaks things down, and the roots stand for getting to the bottom of a matter: the place where things begin and where they are pulled up. ## What is the rasi of Mula nakshatra, and who is the lord of Mula nakshatra? Mula nakshatra's rasi is Dhanu: all four padas lie inside it, and Dhanu itself is ruled by Guru. The lord of Mula nakshatra is Ketu, and its lord's Vimshottari dasha lasts 7 years. Ketu also rules Ashwini and Magha. A Moon in Mula at birth means life begins in the Ketu dasha. How much of the 7 years is left depends on how far the Moon had travelled through the nakshatra, and then comes the long Shukra dasha. ## What are the four padas of Mula, and is Mula gandamool? A pada is a quarter of 3°20', and each falls in a navamsa, the ninth-part division used to judge strength and, in the D9 chart, marriage. The four padas fall in the navamsas of Mesha, Vrishabha, Mithuna and Karka, and all four sit in the Dhanu rashi. Mula is gandamool: its gandanta zone is the first pada, 240°00' to 243°20', just after the join where Vrishchika, a water sign, ends and Dhanu, a fire sign, begins. The best known caution, about the father, belongs to that first pada, and several authorities narrow the sensitive part to the first moments after the boundary. The texts give the other padas different, milder readings, so the tradition is far narrower than the fear attached to the name. ## What does tradition say about people born in Mula? The texts describe Mula natives as searching and direct, inclined to get to the root of things and to take apart what does not hold, which follows from Nirriti and the roots. Ketu is said to add detachment, an interest in philosophy and a habit of letting go suddenly. Rakshasa gana is said to give independence and bluntness. These are tendencies the texts associate with Mula, not a forecast. ## Which careers are traditionally linked with Mula? Tradition links Mula with work that digs down: research and investigation, medicine, especially herbs and roots, botany and farming, philosophy and spiritual teaching, and work that ends or rebuilds things, such as restructuring. The 10th house and its lord decide the actual career, not the birth nakshatra. ## What does Mula mean for marriage and kundli matching? Mula is of rakshasa gana, dog yoni and aadi nadi. In Ashtakoota matching nadi carries 8 points, gana 6 and yoni 4. Rakshasa gana matches rakshasa fully; paired with deva or manushya it is the classical concern. The dog yoni agrees best with dog, and the deer is its traditional enemy. Two aadi nadi Moons score zero on nadi, the nadi dosha, and the texts list exceptions. In some families a Mula bride meets extra hesitation, from a gandamool rule about in-laws; that is a narrow classical rule stretched wide. Matching compares the two Moons; the marriage is read from the 7th house, its lord, Shukra and the dashas. ## What does Mula not tell you? Mula tells you where the Moon was and that Ketu's dasha opened the life. It does not tell you the ascendant, the houses or how strong Guru, the sign lord, is, which matter more. Whether a Mula birth falls in the first pada, the only part inside the gandanta, depends on minutes of birth time, so a gandamool verdict from a birth date alone is not a verdict. I read it from the whole chart. ## Classical facts - **Number:** 19 - **Sanskrit name:** Mula - **Hindi name:** मूल - **Lord:** Ketu - **Deity:** Nirriti - **Symbol:** Bunch of tied roots - **Gana:** Rakshasa - **Yoni:** Dog, female - **Nadi:** Aadi - **Degree range:** 240°00' - 253°20' - **Rashi:** Dhanu - **Vimshottari dasha of its lord:** 7 years - **Gandamool nakshatra:** Yes - **Gandanta zone:** Pada 1, 240°00' - 243°20' - **Reference:** [Mula (nakshatra) (Wikipedia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mula_%28nakshatra%29) ## The four padas - 1, 240°00' - 243°20', Dhanu, Mesha - 2, 243°20' - 246°40', Dhanu, Vrishabha - 3, 246°40' - 250°00', Dhanu, Mithuna - 4, 250°00' - 253°20', Dhanu, Karka ## Articles about Mula Nakshatra - [Famous people born in Mula nakshatra, and why most lists are wrong](/learn/mula-nakshatra-famous-people): Most names on Mula (Moola) celebrity lists cannot have been born in Mula at all. Here is the checked list, and an honest word about the mool dosha fear.