Mars in Chitra Nakshatra (Mangal in चित्रा)

Chitra, the 14th of the 27 nakshatras, covers 173°20′ – 186°40′ of the sidereal zodiac, across the boundary between Virgo and Libra. Chitra is ruled by Mars itself — one of the three nakshatras Mars rules, with Mrigashira and Dhanishta — so Mars in Chitra stands in its own star, and there is no second graha’s view to read at the level of the nakshatra.

Mars in Chitra, Pada by Pada

By rashi, Mars in Chitra is in an enemy's sign in padas 1 and 2 (Virgo) and in a neutral sign in padas 3 and 4 (Libra), because Chitra crosses from Virgo into Libra. By navamsa the four padas fall in Leo, Virgo, Libra and Scorpio. Mars’s strongest navamsa in Chitra is pada 4 (Scorpio, in its own sign), and its weakest is pada 2 (Virgo, in an enemy's sign).

Chitra pada 2 is vargottama — Virgo in rashi and in navamsa — so Mars there is in an enemy's sign on both counts. Chitra pada 3 is vargottama — Libra in rashi and in navamsa — so Mars there is in a neutral sign on both counts. Of the 108 padas only twelve are vargottama, one for each sign.

Neither Mars’s deepest exaltation (Capricorn) nor its deepest debilitation (Cancer) degree falls inside Chitra, and Mars’s moolatrikona lies outside it as well, so in Chitra the rashi and navamsa verdicts above are the whole of Mars’s dignity.

When Mars Is in Chitra, 2026–2028

• 13 August 2027: Mars enters Chitra, and leaves on 3 September 2027 — 21 days.

That is the one spell Mars spends in Chitra between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029, 21 days in all. Over the same span Mars stands in every one of the 27 nakshatras. The dates are days only; for Mars in Chitra a minute would be more precise than the ayanamsa behind it.

Inside Chitra: 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 Chitra spell, at 21 days, sits inside that range.

Chitra as the Setting for Mars

In the nakshatra tables Chitra’s deity is listed as Vishvakarma and its symbol as bright jewel; its gana is Rakshasa, and the muhurta texts put it in the Mridu class (tender). Those belong to Chitra whichever graha is in it, and they are read on the Chitra page. What changes with Mars is everything above: the dignities in Virgo and Libra, its own lordship of Chitra, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with Mars in Chitra; 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 Virgo and Mars in Libra; Mars in all 27 nakshatras is on the Mars nakshatra table. For the nakshatras themselves, see the 27 nakshatras guide and our Chitra article.

The Other Grahas in Chitra