Saturn in Punarvasu Nakshatra (Shani in पुनर्वसु)

Punarvasu, the 7th of the 27 nakshatras, covers 80°00′ – 93°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, across the boundary between Gemini and Cancer. Punarvasu is ruled by Jupiter, so Saturn in Punarvasu stands in Jupiter’s star.

Saturn and Jupiter count each other neutral, so in Punarvasu the graha and the lord of its star agree about each other. The other two nakshatras Jupiter rules, Vishakha and Purva Bhadrapada, put Saturn under the same star lord.

Saturn in Punarvasu, Pada by Pada

By rashi, Saturn in Punarvasu is in a friend's sign in padas 1, 2 and 3 (Gemini) and in an enemy's sign in pada 4 (Cancer), because Punarvasu crosses from Gemini into Cancer. By navamsa the four padas fall in Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer. Saturn’s strongest navamsas in Punarvasu are padas 2 (Taurus, in a friend's sign) and 3 (Gemini, in a friend's sign), and its weakest is pada 1 (Aries, debilitated).

Punarvasu pada 3 is vargottama — Gemini in rashi and in navamsa — so Saturn there is in a friend's sign on both counts. Punarvasu pada 4 is vargottama — Cancer in rashi and in navamsa — so Saturn there is in an enemy's sign on both counts. Of the 108 padas only twelve are vargottama, one for each sign.

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

When Saturn Is in Punarvasu, 2026–2028

Saturn does not enter Punarvasu at any point between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029. It stands in Purva Bhadrapada when the table opens and in Ashwini when it closes, having visited 5 of the 27 nakshatras, and from Ashwini Punarvasu is 6 nakshatras further on. So Saturn in Punarvasu is, for these years, a birth-chart placement and not a transit anyone can wait for.

Punarvasu as the Setting for Saturn

In the nakshatra tables Punarvasu’s deity is listed as Aditi and its symbol as quiver; its gana is Deva, and the muhurta texts put it in the Chara class (movable). Those belong to Punarvasu whichever graha is in it, and they are read on the Punarvasu page. What changes with Saturn is everything above: the dignities in Gemini and Cancer, the relation to Jupiter, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with Saturn in Punarvasu; the house it occupies and the dasha running decide what the placement does in a chart.

Related Placements

The sign-level reading is on Saturn in Gemini and Saturn in Cancer; Saturn in all 27 nakshatras is on the Saturn nakshatra table. For the nakshatras themselves, see the 27 nakshatras guide and astrology for beginners.

The Other Grahas in Punarvasu