Sun in Krittika Nakshatra (Surya in कृत्तिका)

Krittika, the 3rd of the 27 nakshatras, covers 26°40′ – 40°00′ of the sidereal zodiac, across the boundary between Aries and Taurus. Krittika is ruled by the Sun itself — one of the three nakshatras the Sun rules, with Uttara Phalguni and Uttara Ashadha — so the Sun in Krittika stands in its own star, and there is no second graha’s view to read at the level of the nakshatra.

The Sun in Krittika, Pada by Pada

By rashi, the Sun in Krittika is exalted in pada 1 (Aries) and in an enemy's sign in padas 2, 3 and 4 (Taurus), because Krittika crosses from Aries into Taurus. By navamsa the four padas fall in Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. The Sun’s strongest navamsas in Krittika are padas 1 (Sagittarius, in a friend's sign) and 4 (Pisces, in a friend's sign), and its weakest are padas 2 (Capricorn, in an enemy's sign) and 3 (Aquarius, in an enemy's sign).

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

When the Sun Is in Krittika, 2026–2028

• 11 May 2026: the Sun enters Krittika, and leaves on 25 May 2026 — 14 days.
• 12 May 2027: the Sun enters Krittika, and leaves on 25 May 2027 — 13 days.
• 11 May 2028: the Sun enters Krittika, and leaves on 25 May 2028 — 14 days.

Those are the three spells the Sun spends in Krittika between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029, 41 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 Krittika a minute would be more precise than the ayanamsa behind it.

Inside Krittika: 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 Krittika is level with the longest.

• 14 May 2026: the Sun meets Mercury at 29° Aries, in Krittika pada 1.

The lunation table puts the new moons of 17 May 2026 and 24 May 2028 in Krittika: the Moon joins the Sun there, inside one of the spells listed above.

Krittika as the Setting for the Sun

In the nakshatra tables Krittika’s deity is listed as Agni and its symbol as razor; its gana is Rakshasa, and the muhurta texts put it in the Mishra class (mixed). Those belong to Krittika whichever graha is in it, and they are read on the Krittika page. What changes with the Sun is everything above: the dignities in Aries and Taurus, its own lordship of Krittika, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with the Sun in Krittika; 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 Aries and Sun in Taurus; 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 Krittika