Sun in Dhanishta Nakshatra (Surya 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 the Sun in Dhanishta stands in Mars’s star.

The Sun and Mars count each other a friend, so in Dhanishta the graha and the lord of its star agree about each other. The other two nakshatras Mars rules, Mrigashira and Chitra, put the Sun under the same star lord.

The Sun in Dhanishta, Pada by Pada

By rashi, the Sun in Dhanishta is in an enemy's sign in padas 1 and 2 (Capricorn) and in an enemy's sign 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. The Sun’s strongest navamsa in Dhanishta is pada 1 (Leo, in its own sign), and its weakest is pada 3 (Libra, debilitated).

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

When the Sun Is in Dhanishta, 2026–2028

• 6 February 2026: the Sun enters Dhanishta, and leaves on 19 February 2026 — 13 days.
• 6 February 2027: the Sun enters Dhanishta, and leaves on 20 February 2027 — 14 days.
• 7 February 2028: the Sun enters Dhanishta, and leaves on 20 February 2028 — 13 days.

Those are the three spells the Sun spends in Dhanishta between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029, 40 days in all. Over the same span the Sun stands in every one of the 27 nakshatras. The dates are days only; for the Sun in Dhanishta a minute would be more precise than the ayanamsa behind it.

Inside Dhanishta: what the tables locate there for the Sun

Of the 80 complete spells the Sun has in the table, in any nakshatra, the shortest is 13 days and the longest 14, and a spell in Dhanishta is level with the longest.

• 9 February 2027: the Sun meets Rahu at 26° Capricorn, in Dhanishta pada 1.
• 18 February 2027: the Sun meets Mercury at 5° Aquarius, in Dhanishta pada 4.

The lunation table puts the new moons of 17 February 2026 and 6 February 2027 in Dhanishta: the Moon joins the Sun there, inside one of the spells listed above.

Dhanishta as the Setting for the Sun

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

The Other Grahas in Dhanishta