Nakshatra 19 of 27

Mula (मूल)

Sagittarius 0°00′ – 13°20′

Lord Ketu · Nirriti · Rakshasa gana · Dog yoni · Adi nadi

Gandmool nakshatra — shanti puja traditionally advised

Mula at a Glance

Number: 19 of 27
Sidereal span: Sagittarius 0°00′ – 13°20′
Rashi: Sagittarius
Ruling planet (lord): Ketu — 7-year Vimshottari dasha
Presiding deity: Nirriti
Symbol: Tied roots
Gana: Rakshasa
Yoni: Dog (male)
Nadi: Adi (Vata)
Muhurta class: Tikshna (sharp)
Keywords: Investigative, root-seeking, intense

Degrees are sidereal, using the Lahiri ayanamsa as the Indian ephemeris does. A Western chart uses tropical longitudes and will place the same Moon roughly 24° earlier in the zodiac.

Character of Mula Natives

Tied roots for a symbol, Nirriti the goddess of dissolution for a deity, Ketu for a ruler. Mula digs to the bottom of things and is not deterred by what it finds there. These natives ask the question everyone else is avoiding, and they are exceptional at diagnosis in every sense — medical, mechanical, philosophical. Mula produces genuine originality because it refuses to accept the received account.

The Four Padas and Their Naming Letters

Each nakshatra divides into four padas of 3°20′, and each pada falls in a different navamsa sign — which is why two people born in Mula on the same day can read quite differently. The pada also fixes the traditional first syllable for a child’s name.

Pada	Navamsa sign	Name syllable
Pada 1	Aries	Ye
Pada 2	Taurus	Yo
Pada 3	Gemini	Bha
Pada 4	Cancer	Bhee

27 nakshatras × 4 padas = 108 = 12 signs × 9 navamsas, so the padas run through the navamsa signs in one unbroken cycle. Syllables vary a little between regional traditions; a family pandit’s list takes precedence over any table. Each pada above links to its own page: the exact 3°20′ arc, the rashi it falls in, where Ketu stands in that navamsa, and how much Ketu mahadasha a birth there starts with.

Find names for this nakshatra Find your pada

Career and Work

Research and investigation, medicine and pharmacology, philosophy and theology, engineering, psychology, and anything requiring the dismantling of an existing system.

The nakshatra sets the flavour; the 10th house and its lord decide the actual profession. Where Ketu sits and how strong it is matters more than the list above — see Ketu in Vedic astrology.

What to Watch For

A Gandmool nakshatra at the very start of Sagittarius, and one of the two the tradition treats most seriously — Gandmool shanti is specifically prescribed for a Mula birth. The pattern is upheaval in the early years and instability in the family of origin. What it costs in comfort it returns in depth.

Mula in Kundli Milan

Nakshatra matching scores 36 guna across eight kootas. Three of them are read straight off the birth nakshatra, and these are Mula’s values:

Nadi Koota — 8 guna

Mula is Adi (Vata). A match with another Adi nadi nakshatra scores 0 of 8, which is the single largest deduction available — 8 of the other 26 nakshatras share this nadi. Same-nadi is traditionally excused when both partners share the same birth nakshatra but sit in different padas, or when the Moon signs are the same and the nakshatras differ.

Yoni Koota — 4 guna

Mula carries the dog (male) yoni. Its classical opposite is the deer, held by Anuradha and Jyeshtha —those pairings score 0. The same animal in the same gender scores the full 4.

Gana Koota — 6 guna

Mula is Rakshasa gana — the temperament class, nine nakshatras to each of the three. Rakshasa with Rakshasa scores the full 6. Rakshasa with Manushya scores 3 when the woman is Rakshasa and 0 when the man is; Rakshasa with Deva scores 0 when the woman is Rakshasa and 1 when the man is. Two Rakshasa charts matched together is a stronger result than a Rakshasa matched to a Deva.

18 of 36 is the conventional pass mark. Guna Milan is a filter, not a verdict — Mangal dosha, the 7th house and both Venus positions still have to be read, and a high score does not override a badly afflicted 7th.

Run a full 36-guna match Compatibility by sign

Muhurta: What Mula Is Used For

Mula is classed as Tikshna (sharp) — one of 4 nakshatras in that class, alongside Ardra, Ashlesha and Jyeshtha. Sharp nakshatras are selected for cutting, in every sense: surgery, exorcism and mantra siddhi, taming animals, demolition, and deliberately breaking a habit or an attachment. They are the best class for a difficult operation and the worst for marriage or for beginning anything you want to grow slowly.

A real muhurta needs the tithi, vara, yoga and karana too, not the nakshatra alone — the day’s panchang carries all five, and choghadiya narrows it to the hour.

Remedies and Practice

Worship Nirriti, the presiding deity of Mula, particularly on the day the Moon transits this nakshatra — which happens roughly once every 27 days and is listed in the daily panchang.
Strengthen Ketu, the nakshatra lord, through its beej mantra and weekday observance. This matters most while the Ketu mahadasha or antardasha is running.
Feed or donate on the Ketu weekday. Charity attributed to the lord is the remedy the classics prefer over gemstones, because it carries no risk of strengthening the wrong graha.
Gandmool shanti puja on the 27th day after birth, performed when the Moon returns to Mula. If it was missed, it can be done on any later return of the Moon to this nakshatra.
Recite the nakshatra’s 108 names or the Nakshatra Suktam during the Moon’s transit through Mula if you want a practice tied to the nakshatra rather than the planet.

If a stone is being considered: the lord here is Ketu, whose stone is Cat's Eye (Lehsunia). Selection by janma nakshatra is the more precise of the two routes, so this differs from the rashi recommendation for Sagittarius (Yellow Sapphire (Pukhraj)).

More precise is still not automatic. Remedies are prescribed for a specific affliction, not for a nakshatra as such: nothing above needs doing unless Ketu is genuinely weak or badly placed in your chart, and no stone should be worn on nakshatra grounds alone. See dosha remedies.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ruling planet of Mula nakshatra?

Mula is ruled by Ketu and presided over by Nirriti. Because Ketu is the lord, anyone born with the Moon in Mula begins life in a Ketu mahadasha, which runs 7 years in the Vimshottari system — the balance remaining at birth depends on how far into the nakshatra the Moon had travelled. Ketu also rules Ashwini and Magha, so those three nakshatras share the same dasha sequence.

What degrees does Mula nakshatra cover?

Mula occupies Sagittarius 0°00′ – 13°20′ and sits entirely within Sagittarius. These are sidereal (Nirayana) degrees using the Lahiri ayanamsa. A tropical or Western chart will place your Moon roughly 24 degrees further on, which is why Western sources give a different nakshatra.

What are the name letters for a baby born in Mula nakshatra?

The traditional first syllables are Ye for pada 1, Yo for pada 2, Bha for pada 3, Bhee for pada 4. Which one applies depends on the pada the Moon occupied at birth, not on the nakshatra alone — each pada is 3°20′ wide. The four padas of Mula fall in the navamsa signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer.

Which nakshatras are incompatible with Mula for marriage?

On Yoni Koota, Mula carries the dog yoni, whose classical opposite is the deer — held by Anuradha and Jyeshtha. Those pairings score 0 of 4. On Nadi Koota, worth 8 of the 36 guna and the heaviest single test, a match with any other Adi nadi nakshatra scores zero. Neither is a veto on its own: 18 of 36 is the usual pass mark, and several kootas have recognised exceptions.

Is Mula nakshatra good or bad?

Mula is one of the six Gandmool nakshatras — the three ruled by Ketu (Ashwini, Magha, Mula) and the three ruled by Mercury (Ashlesha, Jyeshtha, Revati) — because it sits at a junction between a sign ruled by different elements. Tradition prescribes Gandmool shanti puja on the 27th day after birth, when the Moon returns to the same nakshatra. It is not a bad nakshatra; it marks a life with more early turbulence and, classically, more depth as a result.

What kind of work suits Mula natives?

Research and investigation, medicine and pharmacology, philosophy and theology, engineering, psychology, and anything requiring the dismantling of an existing system. This follows from Ketu's natural significations combined with Nirriti's domain. The chart decides whether it happens: the 10th house, its lord, and the dasha running through your twenties and thirties matter more than the birth nakshatra for career questions.

Is Mula Your Birth Nakshatra?

Your nakshatra is set by the Moon’s exact longitude at birth, so it needs the time and place, not just the date. A free kundli gives you the nakshatra, the pada, and the Vimshottari balance you started life with.

Generate a free kundli Talk to an astrologer

← Jyeshtha All 27 Purva Ashadha →

Mula Matching Mula Baby Names 27 Nakshatras The 9 Planets 12 Houses Gemstones by Rashi Kundli Matching Dasha Calculator