Saturn in Uttara Bhadrapada Nakshatra (Shani in उत्तर भाद्रपद)

Uttara Bhadrapada, the 26th of the 27 nakshatras, covers 333°20′ – 346°40′ of the sidereal zodiac, wholly inside Pisces. Uttara Bhadrapada is ruled by Saturn itself — one of the three nakshatras Saturn rules, with Pushya and Anuradha — so Saturn in Uttara Bhadrapada stands in its own star, and there is no second graha’s view to read at the level of the nakshatra.

Saturn in Uttara Bhadrapada, Pada by Pada

By rashi, Saturn is in a neutral sign in all four padas of Uttara Bhadrapada, because the whole nakshatra lies in Pisces. By navamsa the four padas fall in Leo, Virgo, Libra and Scorpio. Saturn’s strongest navamsa in Uttara Bhadrapada is pada 3 (Libra, exalted), and its weakest are padas 1 (Leo, in an enemy's sign) and 4 (Scorpio, in an enemy's sign).

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

When Saturn Is in Uttara Bhadrapada, 2026–2028

• 20 January 2026: Saturn enters Uttara Bhadrapada, and leaves on 17 May 2026 — 117 days.
• 9 October 2026: Saturn enters Uttara Bhadrapada while retrograde, backing in from the next nakshatra, and leaves on 8 February 2027 — 122 days.

Those are the two spells Saturn spends in Uttara Bhadrapada between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029, 239 days in all. Over the same span Saturn stands in 5 of the 27 nakshatras. The dates are days only; for Saturn in Uttara Bhadrapada a minute would be more precise than the ayanamsa behind it.

Inside Uttara Bhadrapada: what the tables locate there for Saturn

Of the eight complete spells Saturn has in the table, in any nakshatra, the shortest is 114 days and the longest 145; the Uttara Bhadrapada spells, at 117 and 122 days, sit inside that range.

• 8 March 2026: Saturn meets Venus at 8° Pisces, in Uttara Bhadrapada pada 2.
• 25 March 2026: Saturn meets the Sun at 10° Pisces, in Uttara Bhadrapada pada 3.
• 20 April 2026: Saturn meets Mars at 13° Pisces, in Uttara Bhadrapada pada 4.
• 20 April 2026: Saturn meets Mercury at 13° Pisces, in Uttara Bhadrapada pada 4.

The retrograde table runs from 2024 to 2031, wider than the ingress table, and it places two of Saturn's stations in Uttara Bhadrapada. On 13 July 2025 Saturn stations retrograde inside Uttara Bhadrapada, in pada 2. On 11 December 2026 Saturn stations direct inside Uttara Bhadrapada, in pada 4. At a station Saturn’s motion is at its slowest, so these are the days it is most nearly still in Uttara Bhadrapada.

Uttara Bhadrapada as the Setting for Saturn

In the nakshatra tables Uttara Bhadrapada’s deity is listed as Ahirbudhnya and its symbol as twin; its gana is Manushya, and the muhurta texts put it in the Dhruva class (fixed). Those belong to Uttara Bhadrapada whichever graha is in it, and they are read on the Uttara Bhadrapada page. What changes with Saturn is everything above: the dignities in Pisces, its own lordship of Uttara Bhadrapada, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with Saturn in Uttara Bhadrapada; 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 Pisces; 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 Uttara Bhadrapada