Mars in Dhanishta Nakshatra (Mangal 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 itself — one of the three nakshatras Mars rules, with Mrigashira and Chitra — so Mars in Dhanishta stands in its own star, and there is no second graha’s view to read at the level of the nakshatra.

Mars in Dhanishta, Pada by Pada

By rashi, Mars in Dhanishta is exalted in padas 1 and 2 (Capricorn) and in a neutral 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. Mars’s strongest navamsa in Dhanishta is pada 4 (Scorpio, in its own sign), and its weakest is pada 2 (Virgo, in an enemy's sign).

Mars’s deepest exaltation, 28° Capricorn in the classical table, falls inside Dhanishta, in pada 2 (Capricorn 26°40′ – 30°00′, the Virgo navamsa).

When Mars Is in Dhanishta, 2026–2028

• 15 February 2026: Mars enters Dhanishta, and leaves on 3 March 2026 — 16 days.
• 26 January 2028: Mars enters Dhanishta, and leaves on 12 February 2028 — 17 days.

Those are the two spells Mars spends in Dhanishta between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029, 33 days in all. Over the same span Mars stands in every one of the 27 nakshatras. The dates are days only; for Mars in Dhanishta a minute would be more precise than the ayanamsa behind it.

Inside Dhanishta: 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, and a spell in Dhanishta is level with the shortest.

• 27 January 2028: Mars meets Mercury at 24° Capricorn, in Dhanishta pada 1.

Dhanishta as the Setting for Mars

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 Mars is everything above: the dignities in Capricorn and Aquarius, its own lordship of Dhanishta, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with Mars 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 Mars in Capricorn and Mars in Aquarius; Mars in all 27 nakshatras is on the Mars nakshatra table. For the nakshatras themselves, see the 27 nakshatras guide and astrology for beginners.

The Other Grahas in Dhanishta