graha in nakshatra
Mars in Ashwini Nakshatra (Mangal in अश्विनी)
0°00′ – 13°20′ sidereal · Aries · star of Ketu
Ashwini, the 1st of the 27 nakshatras, covers 0°00′ – 13°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, wholly inside Aries. Ashwini is ruled by Ketu, so Mars in Ashwini stands in Ketu’s star.
Ketu’s row in the friendship lists counts Mars a friend; Mars’s own row names no node, so Mars’s view of the lord of Ashwini has no entry, and this page does not supply one. The other two nakshatras Ketu rules, Magha and Mula, put Mars under the same star lord.
Mars in Ashwini, Pada by Pada
| Pada | Arc | Mars by rashi | Navamsa | Mars by navamsa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashwini 1 | Aries 0°00′ – 3°20′ | in its own sign | Aries (vargottama) (gandanta) | in its own sign |
| Ashwini 2 | Aries 3°20′ – 6°40′ | in its own sign | Taurus | in a neutral sign |
| Ashwini 3 | Aries 6°40′ – 10°00′ | in its own sign | Gemini | in an enemy's sign |
| Ashwini 4 | Aries 10°00′ – 13°20′ | in its own sign | Cancer | debilitated |
By rashi, Mars is in its own sign in all four padas of Ashwini, because the whole nakshatra lies in Aries. By navamsa the four padas fall in Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer. Mars’s strongest navamsa in Ashwini is pada 1 (Aries, in its own sign), and its weakest is pada 4 (Cancer, debilitated).
Ashwini pada 1 is vargottama — Aries in rashi and in navamsa — so Mars there is in its own sign on both counts. Of the 108 padas only twelve are vargottama, one for each sign.
Ashwini pada 1 (Aries 0°00′ – 3°20′) is gandanta: one of the six padas on the junction of a water sign and the fire sign after it, and Mars placed in that quarter of Ashwini sits on the junction itself.
Mars’s moolatrikona, Aries 0°–12°, covers padas 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Ashwini.
When Mars Is in Ashwini, 2026–2028
- 11 May 2026: Mars enters Ashwini, and leaves on 29 May 2026 — 18 days.
- 20 April 2028: Mars enters Ashwini, and leaves on 8 May 2028 — 18 days.
Those are the two spells Mars spends in Ashwini between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029, 36 days in all. Over the same span Mars stands in every one of the 27 nakshatras. The dates are days only; for Mars in Ashwini a minute would be more precise than the ayanamsa behind it.
Inside Ashwini: what the tables locate there for Mars
Of the 49 complete spells Mars has in the table, in any nakshatra, the shortest is 16 days and the longest 47; the Ashwini spells, at 18 and 18 days, sit inside that range.
- 1 May 2028: Mars meets Saturn at 8° Aries, in Ashwini pada 3.
Ashwini as the Setting for Mars
In the nakshatra tables Ashwini’s deity is listed as Ashwini Kumaras and its symbol as horse's head; its gana is Deva, and the muhurta texts put it in the Kshipra class (swift and light). Those belong to Ashwini whichever graha is in it, and they are read on the Ashwini page. What changes with Mars is everything above: the dignities in Aries, the relation to Ketu, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with Mars in Ashwini; the house it occupies and the dasha running decide what the placement does in a chart.
Related Placements
The sign-level reading is on Mars in Aries; Mars in all 27 nakshatras is on the Mars nakshatra table. For the nakshatras themselves, see the 27 nakshatras guide and our Ashwini article.
The Other Grahas in Ashwini
Is Mars in Ashwini in your chart?
A free kundli shows the nakshatra and pada of every graha. A pandit reads them with the houses and the dasha.
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