graha in nakshatra
Saturn in Shatabhisha Nakshatra (Shani in शतभिषा)
306°40′ – 320°00′ sidereal · Aquarius · star of Rahu
Shatabhisha, the 24th of the 27 nakshatras, covers 306°40′ – 320°00′ of the sidereal zodiac, wholly inside Aquarius. Shatabhisha is ruled by Rahu, so Saturn in Shatabhisha stands in Rahu’s star.
Rahu’s row in the friendship lists counts Saturn a friend; Saturn’s own row names no node, so Saturn’s view of the lord of Shatabhisha has no entry, and this page does not supply one. The other two nakshatras Rahu rules, Ardra and Swati, put Saturn under the same star lord.
Saturn in Shatabhisha, Pada by Pada
| Pada | Arc | Saturn by rashi | Navamsa | Saturn by navamsa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shatabhisha 1 | Aquarius 6°40′ – 10°00′ | in its own sign | Sagittarius | in a neutral sign |
| Shatabhisha 2 | Aquarius 10°00′ – 13°20′ | in its own sign | Capricorn | in its own sign |
| Shatabhisha 3 | Aquarius 13°20′ – 16°40′ | in its own sign | Aquarius (vargottama) | in its own sign |
| Shatabhisha 4 | Aquarius 16°40′ – 20°00′ | in its own sign | Pisces | in a neutral sign |
By rashi, Saturn is in its own sign in all four padas of Shatabhisha, because the whole nakshatra lies in Aquarius. By navamsa the four padas fall in Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Saturn’s strongest navamsas in Shatabhisha are padas 2 (Capricorn, in its own sign) and 3 (Aquarius, in its own sign), and its weakest are padas 1 (Sagittarius, in a neutral sign) and 4 (Pisces, in a neutral sign).
Shatabhisha pada 3 is vargottama — Aquarius in rashi and in navamsa — so Saturn there is in its own sign on both counts. Of the 108 padas only twelve are vargottama, one for each sign.
Saturn’s moolatrikona, Aquarius 0°–20°, covers padas 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Shatabhisha.
When Saturn Is in Shatabhisha, 2026–2028
Saturn does not enter Shatabhisha 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 Shatabhisha is 23 nakshatras further on. So Saturn in Shatabhisha is, for these years, a birth-chart placement and not a transit anyone can wait for.
Inside Shatabhisha: what the tables locate there for Saturn
The retrograde table runs from 2024 to 2031, wider than the ingress table, and it places one of Saturn's stations in Shatabhisha. On 15 November 2024 Saturn stations direct inside Shatabhisha, in pada 4. At a station Saturn’s motion is at its slowest, so these are the days it is most nearly still in Shatabhisha.
Shatabhisha as the Setting for Saturn
In the nakshatra tables Shatabhisha’s deity is listed as Varuna and its symbol as empty circle; its gana is Rakshasa, and the muhurta texts put it in the Chara class (movable). Those belong to Shatabhisha whichever graha is in it, and they are read on the Shatabhisha page. What changes with Saturn is everything above: the dignities in Aquarius, the relation to Rahu, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with Saturn in Shatabhisha; 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 Aquarius; 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 Shatabhisha
Is Saturn in Shatabhisha in your chart?
A free kundli shows the nakshatra and pada of every graha. A pandit reads them with the houses and the dasha.
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