Rahu in Dhanishta Nakshatra (Rahu 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 Rahu in Dhanishta stands in Mars’s star.

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

Rahu in Dhanishta, Pada by Pada

By rashi, Rahu in Dhanishta is in a friend's sign in padas 1 and 2 (Capricorn) and in a sign it co-lords 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. Rahu’s strongest navamsas in Dhanishta are padas 2 (Virgo, in a friend's sign) and 3 (Libra, in a friend's sign), and its weakest is pada 4 (Scorpio, debilitated on the commoner reckoning).

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

When Rahu Is in Dhanishta, 2026–2028

• 2 August 2026: Rahu enters Dhanishta, and leaves on 10 April 2027 — 251 days.

That is the one spell Rahu spends in Dhanishta between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029, 251 days in all. Over the same span Rahu stands in 5 of the 27 nakshatras. The dates are days only; for Rahu in Dhanishta a minute would be more precise than the ayanamsa behind it.

Inside Dhanishta: what the tables locate there for Rahu

Of the three complete spells Rahu has in the table, in any nakshatra, the shortest is 251 days and the longest 252, and a spell in Dhanishta is level with the shortest.

• 26 January 2027: Rahu meets Mercury at 27° Capricorn, in Dhanishta pada 2.
• 9 February 2027: Rahu meets the Sun at 26° Capricorn, in Dhanishta pada 1.
• 17 March 2027: Rahu meets Venus at 24° Capricorn, in Dhanishta pada 1.

Dhanishta as the Setting for Rahu

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 Rahu 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 Rahu 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 Rahu in Capricorn and Rahu in Aquarius; Rahu in all 27 nakshatras is on the Rahu nakshatra table. For the nakshatras themselves, see the 27 nakshatras guide and astrology for beginners.

The Other Grahas in Dhanishta