Mercury in Mula Nakshatra (Budh in मूल)

Mula, the 19th of the 27 nakshatras, covers 240°00′ – 253°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, wholly inside Sagittarius. Mula is ruled by Ketu, so Mercury in Mula stands in Ketu’s star.

Ketu’s row in the friendship lists counts Mercury neutral; Mercury’s own row names no node, so Mercury’s view of the lord of Mula has no entry, and this page does not supply one. The other two nakshatras Ketu rules, Ashwini and Magha, put Mercury under the same star lord.

Mercury in Mula, Pada by Pada

By rashi, Mercury is in a neutral sign in all four padas of Mula, because the whole nakshatra lies in Sagittarius. By navamsa the four padas fall in Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer. Mercury’s strongest navamsa in Mula is pada 3 (Gemini, in its own sign), and its weakest is pada 4 (Cancer, in an enemy's sign).

Mula pada 1 (Sagittarius 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 Mercury placed in that quarter of Mula sits on the junction itself.

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

When Mercury Is in Mula, 2026–2028

• Mercury is already in Mula when the table opens on 1 January 2026, and leaves on 6 January 2026.
• 22 December 2026: Mercury enters Mula, and leaves on 30 December 2026 — 8 days.
• 15 December 2027: Mercury enters Mula, and leaves on 23 December 2027 — 8 days.
• 6 December 2028: Mercury enters Mula, and leaves on 15 December 2028 — 9 days.

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

Inside Mula: what the tables locate there for Mercury

Of the 100 complete spells Mercury has in the table, in any nakshatra, the shortest is 4 days and the longest 58; the Mula spells, at 8, 8 and 9 days, sit inside that range.

The retrograde table runs from 2024 to 2031, wider than the ingress table, and it places two of Mercury's stations in Mula. On 11 January 2030 Mercury stations direct inside Mula, in pada 3. On 6 December 2030 Mercury stations retrograde inside Mula, in pada 3. At a station Mercury’s motion is at its slowest, so these are the days it is most nearly still in Mula.

Mula as the Setting for Mercury

In the nakshatra tables Mula’s deity is listed as Nirriti and its symbol as tied roots; its gana is Rakshasa, and the muhurta texts put it in the Tikshna class (sharp). Those belong to Mula whichever graha is in it, and they are read on the Mula page. What changes with Mercury is everything above: the dignities in Sagittarius, the relation to Ketu, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with Mercury in Mula; the house it occupies and the dasha running decide what the placement does in a chart.

Related Placements

The sign-level reading is on Mercury in Sagittarius; Mercury in all 27 nakshatras is on the Mercury nakshatra table. For the nakshatras themselves, see the 27 nakshatras guide and our Mula article.

The Other Grahas in Mula