Rahu in Mrigashira Nakshatra (Rahu in मृगशिरा)

Mrigashira, the 5th of the 27 nakshatras, covers 53°20′ – 66°40′ of the sidereal zodiac, across the boundary between Taurus and Gemini. Mrigashira is ruled by Mars, so Rahu in Mrigashira 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 Mrigashira has no entry for Rahu, and this page does not supply one. The other two nakshatras Mars rules, Chitra and Dhanishta, put Rahu under the same star lord.

Rahu in Mrigashira, Pada by Pada

By rashi, Rahu in Mrigashira is exalted on the commoner reckoning in padas 1 and 2 (Taurus) and in a friend's sign in padas 3 and 4 (Gemini), because Mrigashira crosses from Taurus into Gemini. By navamsa the four padas fall in Leo, Virgo, Libra and Scorpio. Rahu’s strongest navamsas in Mrigashira 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 Mrigashira 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 Mrigashira, 2026–2028

Rahu does not enter Mrigashira at any point between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029. It stands in Shatabhisha when the table opens and in Purva Ashadha when it closes, having visited 5 of the 27 nakshatras, and from Purva Ashadha Mrigashira is 15 nakshatras further, counted backwards, the way the nodes move. So Rahu in Mrigashira is, for these years, a birth-chart placement and not a transit anyone can wait for.

Mrigashira as the Setting for Rahu

In the nakshatra tables Mrigashira’s deity is listed as Soma and its symbol as deer's head; its gana is Deva, and the muhurta texts put it in the Mridu class (tender). Those belong to Mrigashira whichever graha is in it, and they are read on the Mrigashira page. What changes with Rahu is everything above: the dignities in Taurus and Gemini, the relation to Mars, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with Rahu in Mrigashira; 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 Taurus and Rahu in Gemini; Rahu in all 27 nakshatras is on the Rahu nakshatra table. For the nakshatras themselves, see the 27 nakshatras guide and our Mrigashira article.

The Other Grahas in Mrigashira