Nakshatra 9 of 27
Ashlesha
आश्लेषाPenetrating and hypnotic — the embracing serpent, subtle and hard to read.
The Moon is in Ashlesha today — pada 2, leaving for Magha at Thu, 13 Aug, 2026, 6:07 am IST.
The essentials
Born under Ashlesha
Personality
People born with the Moon in Ashlesha display an intense, watchful demeanor that reflects their presiding deities, the Nagas, and their coiled serpent symbol. Governed by Mercury and residing entirely within the watery sign of Kark, they process feelings with a sharp, calculating intellect, making them naturally strategic and emotionally guarded. Others often perceive them as secretive, deeply intuitive, and slow to trust, as they rarely reveal their full intentions. Their Rakshasa gana temperament gives them a formidable instinct for self-preservation and a quick awareness of hidden motives in those around them.
Strengths
This placement grants exceptional analytical insight, emotional depth, and a powerful ability to navigate complex or hidden situations. The influence of Mercury endows them with sharp communication skills and shrewd intellect, while the Nagas impart profound intuitive wisdom. They excel at penetrating beneath surface appearances to uncover underlying truths and protect their personal interests.
Challenges
The shadow side of Ashlesha manifests as deep suspicion, possessiveness, and a tendency toward manipulative self-defense when threatened. Their Rakshasa nature and serpentine energy can make them prone to holding grudges, emotional coldness, or seeking excessive control over their environment. Overcoming a distrustful disposition and learning to surrender emotional control remain significant lifelong hurdles.
Work and career
Driven by Mercury's intellect and the Nagas' connection to secrets and venom, Ashlesha natives thrive in research, psychology, investigation, astrology, and medicine or pharmacology. Their sharp strategic instincts and discretion suit high-stakes legal, political, or diplomatic work where strategic maneuvering is required. Being in the watery rashi of Kark, they are also suited to fluid-related industries, marine fields, and specialized healing professions.
Love and relationships
In personal bonds, Ashlesha individuals are intensely protective and deeply loyal, though they require total emotional security before letting a partner in. Reflecting their cat yoni nature, they can be cautious and self-contained, needing a companion who respects their need for privacy without becoming detached. They offer profound devotion, but their possessive instincts require a partner who is completely transparent and emotionally stable.
Written from the classical attributes shown on this page — the ruling planet, the element, the nakshatra scheme — and checked against them before publishing. It describes the traditional reading of this nakshatra, not a prediction about you.
The four padas
Each nakshatra divides into four padas of 3°20′. A pada is exactly one navamsa (D9) division, so each one carries a second sign alongside the nakshatra’s own — and the traditional first syllable of a child born under it.
In matchmaking (Guna Milan)
Ashtakoota matchmaking scores 36 points across eight kootas, and six of them are read straight off the birth nakshatra. These are Ashlesha’s.
- Gana
- Rakshasa — temperament. Same gana scores all 6 points; Deva with Rakshasa scores 1.
- Yoni
- Cat — physical affinity. The same yoni scores 4; a natural enemy scores 0.
- Nadi
- Antya — the 8-point koota. A partner with the same nadi scores zero (Nadi dosha), so this one field decides nearly a quarter of the total.
- Varna
- Mlechcha — worth 1 point.
- Vashya
- Jalachar — mutual influence, worth 2 points.
- Tara
- Counted by distance between the two nakshatras, so it depends on both charts.
Naming a Ashlesha baby
The namakarana tradition takes the child’s first syllable from the pada the Moon occupied at birth — so a Ashlesha child born in pada 1 is named from De, pada 4 from Do. You need the exact birth time to know which pada.