Ketu in Dhanishta Nakshatra (Ketu in धनिष्ठा)

Dhanishta, the 23rd of the 27 nakshatras, covers 293°20′ – 306°40′ of the sidereal zodiac, across the boundary between Capricorn and Aquarius. Dhanishta is ruled by Mars, so Ketu in Dhanishta stands in Mars’s star.

Ketu’s row in the friendship lists counts Mars a friend; Mars’s row names no node, so the star lord of Dhanishta has no entry for Ketu, and this page does not supply one. The other two nakshatras Mars rules, Mrigashira and Chitra, put Ketu under the same star lord.

Ketu in Dhanishta, Pada by Pada

By rashi, Ketu in Dhanishta is in a friend's sign in padas 1 and 2 (Capricorn) and in a friend's sign in padas 3 and 4 (Aquarius), because Dhanishta crosses from Capricorn into Aquarius. By navamsa the four padas fall in Leo, Virgo, Libra and Scorpio. Ketu’s strongest navamsa in Dhanishta is pada 4 (Scorpio, exalted on the commoner reckoning), and its weakest is pada 1 (Leo, in an enemy's sign).

The classical table of deepest exaltation and debilitation degrees covers the seven grahas and gives Ketu none, so for Ketu in Dhanishta no degree of special dignity can be located; the sign-level verdicts above carry the hedge the planet pages use for Ketu.

When Ketu Is in Dhanishta, 2026–2028

Ketu does not enter Dhanishta at any point between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029. It stands in Purva Phalguni when the table opens and in Ardra when it closes, having visited 6 of the 27 nakshatras, and from Ardra Dhanishta is 10 nakshatras further, counted backwards, the way the nodes move. So Ketu in Dhanishta is, for these years, a birth-chart placement and not a transit anyone can wait for.

Dhanishta as the Setting for Ketu

In the nakshatra tables Dhanishta’s deity is listed as Eight Vasus and its symbol as drum; its gana is Rakshasa, and the muhurta texts put it in the Chara class (movable). Those belong to Dhanishta whichever graha is in it, and they are read on the Dhanishta page. What changes with Ketu is everything above: the dignities in Capricorn and Aquarius, the relation to Mars, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with Ketu in Dhanishta; the house it occupies and the dasha running decide what the placement does in a chart.

Related Placements

The sign-level reading is on Ketu in Capricorn and Ketu in Aquarius; Ketu in all 27 nakshatras is on the Ketu nakshatra table. For the nakshatras themselves, see the 27 nakshatras guide and astrology for beginners.

The Other Grahas in Dhanishta