Anuradha Nakshatra: Meaning, Deity, Padas and Traits

Anuradha is the seventeenth of the 27 nakshatras and lies wholly in Scorpio, from 3° 20′ to 16° 40′. The name is explained in several ways, and one common reading is “following Radha”, with Radha being an old name of the neighbouring star Vishakha. The nakshatra is linked with friendship, devotion and success reached through patience and cooperation.

Anuradha at a glance

The deity and the story

The deity is Mitra, one of the Adityas. In the Rigveda his name means friend and also covenant, and he is often invoked together with Varuna as Mitra-Varuna, the pair who keep order in the world. Mitra is the god of daylight, of agreements and of the loyalty between people, and the hymns pray to him to unite those who live in one place in peace.

The lotus is the symbol of the star. It grows from mud, rises through water and opens clean above the surface, and teachers read it as the power to remain unspoiled and graceful in difficult conditions. The torana, a gateway, and the staff are given as secondary symbols, one speaking of reaching a goal and the other of order and support.

Saturn, the planet of discipline, service and time, rules Anuradha in the Vimshottari system. This gives a nakshatra of friendship a serious character: loyalty here is a thing that is kept over years, not a mood. The Moon is in its sign of debilitation in Scorpio in the classical scheme, and teachers usually read the lotus and Saturn’s steady lordship as ways in which the placement finds balance.

Temperament in the classical texts

Traditional descriptions of a person born under Anuradha speak of warmth, loyalty and an ability to make and keep friends, often across different cultures or places. The person is organised, devoted to a cause or a group, able to work hard in the background and often at ease far from home, whether through study, work or travel.

The cautions the tradition gives are about feeling. The Scorpio setting makes emotions deep and sometimes private, a long memory can hold on to hurt, and devotion can become overwork or a heavy sense of duty. Teachers recommend honest talk, rest and a community of people one trusts. These are tendencies of the Moon’s placement and are not predictions.

The four padas

Pada 1 (Scorpio, Leo navamsa, lord the Sun). The Moon is in Scorpio with a Leo navamsa, ruled by the Sun. This pada is described as the most dignified and open, a natural leader of a group.

Pada 2 (Scorpio, Virgo navamsa, lord Mercury). A Virgo navamsa, ruled by Mercury, brings order and care for detail. Teachers describe this pada as practical, analytical and service-minded.

Pada 3 (Scorpio, Libra navamsa, lord Venus). A Libra navamsa, ruled by Venus, adds diplomacy and a taste for beauty. This pada is read as the most sociable, good at partnership and mediation.

Pada 4 (Scorpio, Scorpio navamsa, lord Mars). A Scorpio navamsa, ruled by Mars, repeats the sign of the rashi. This pada is described as the most intense, private and determined, with great powers of concentration and endurance. Rashi and navamsa are the same sign, so this pada is vargottama.

Each planet in Anuradha

• Sun in Anuradha
• Moon in Anuradha
• Mars in Anuradha
• Mercury in Anuradha
• Jupiter in Anuradha
• Venus in Anuradha
• Saturn in Anuradha
• Rahu in Anuradha
• Ketu in Anuradha

The Moon in all the nakshatras page sets Anuradha beside its neighbours.

Compatibility and matching

Anuradha is a Deva gana nakshatra. In the gana table a Deva bride scores six with a Deva or a Manushya groom and zero with a Rakshasa groom, and a Manushya bride with a Deva groom scores five. Its yoni is the hare or deer, which scores four with another of the same yoni and zero with the dog, its natural enemy. Jyeshtha, the next star, shares the same yoni.

The nadi is Madhya (Pitta), and the traditional method scores a shared Madhya nadi at zero of eight, with teachers divided on how strictly to apply it. All four padas lie in Scorpio, so the calculator reads Brahmin for varna and the same vashya group for the whole nakshatra, which makes pada differences small in the first few kutas and larger when the navamsa is considered.

To see how Anuradha fares with another star, open the nakshatra compatibility calculator and choose both nakshatras and padas. Many families read the points together with the full charts and with plain observation of how two people get on.

Names and the naming syllables

The four naming syllables are Na, Ni, Nu and Ne. They are the dental sounds of the Devanagari letters ना, नी, नू and ने, and the baby names page for Anuradha lists names under each one with meanings.

The page of Anuradha nakshatra baby names lists names for each syllable with meanings, and the baby names by date of birth tool finds the syllable from a birth date, time and place.

Find your nakshatra

If you do not know whether the Moon was in Anuradha when you were born, the nakshatra calculator shows your nakshatra and pada from the date, time and place of birth. The nakshatra at a date and time tool answers the same question for a past or future moment and shows when the Moon changes star.

Frequently asked questions