Planets, Signs ( Rashi’s ) & Nakahshtras ( Constellations)
Planets:-
The solar system is centered around the Sun. The Sun is at the centre of this system and has its own light. The other members of the celestial bodies revolve around the Sun. Located at the centre of the solar system and influencing the motion of all the other bodies through its gravitational force is the Sun, which in itself contains more than 99 percent of the mass of the system. The planets, in order of their distance outward from the Sun, are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Pluto had been officially listed among the planets since it was discovered in 1930 orbiting beyond Neptune. So nine major planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto along with other minor planets or asteroids revolve in elliptical orbits around the Sun. Out of these nine planets, six planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are prominently known in order of the increasing distance from Sun. The last three planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are not taken in to consideration as per Hindu astrology. The solar system is divided into two types of planets, based on their size and proportionate distance from Sun. The inner solar system consists of planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The Jupiter and Saturn fall under the outer solar system. The planetary orbits are not in the same plane and are elliptical in shape. The Earth makes an ecliptic plane when all other planets are slightly inclined to the ecliptic.
Table-1
| Planet | Equivalent Vedic Name | Lord of the Signs ( Rashi’s) | Symbolic Signs |
| Sun | Surya or Ravi | Leo | |
| Moon | Chandra | Cancer | |
| Mars | Mangal or Kuja | Aries & Scorpio | |
| Mercury | Budha | Gemini & Virgo | |
| Jupiter | Brihaspati or Guru | Sagittarius & Pisces | |
| Venus | Shukra | Taurus & Libra | |
| Saturn | Shani | Capricorn & Aquarius | |
| Rahu | ——– | Virgo | |
| Ketu | ——– | Pisces |
Inner and Outer Planets:-
Mercury and Venus are situated between the Earth and Sun and are called as inner and inferior planets. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are situated far away from the Earth, when their orbits are outside the Earth’s orbit. They are thus called as outer planets or superior planets.
Rahu & Ketu:-
In Hindu astrology, Rahu and Ketu are considered as planets. These are two shadowy planets (Chaya-Grehas) with no physical bodies. These are only mathematically calculated sensitive points. Moon when in its orbit on a northerly course from south to north crosses the ecliptic; this point of intersection is called as Rahu or Dragon’s head. Moon in its southerly course from north to south again crosses the ecliptic, when this point is called as Ketu or Dragon’s tail. Since Moon’s orbit is also inclined in respect to the Ecliptic, Sun, Moon and the Earth do not fall in a straight line on each such intersection. Thus the eclipse does not occur. A question arises as to why such an importance is given to Rahu and Ketu. The answer is simple. Sun signifies the body, when Moon signifies the mind. As such with the intersections of these two points, their combined effect is of a major astrological value. Rahu and Ketu consume about 18 years and 6 months to make a revolution around the Earth. It has to be noted that such a motion of Rahu and Ketu is retrograde.
All the planets revolve around the Sun, as also rotate on their own axis. The period of their rotation on their axis and the period of their revolution around the Sun are shown in the table below:-
Table- 2
| Planet | Period of Revolution on its axis | Period of Revolution around Sun |
| Mercury | 59 Days | 88 Days |
| Venus | 243 Days | 224.7 Days |
| Earth | 23.9 Hours | 365.25 Days |
| Mars | 24.6 Hours | 686.98 Days |
| Jupiter | 9.9 Hours | 11.86 Years |
| Saturn | 10.2 Hours | 29.6 Years |
>> Physical Characteristics of Planets:-
Sun >> Sun is supposed to be well build, red-eyed, scanty hair on head, illustrious, of good dark appearance and complexion, bilious in nature, firm temperament with good intelligence. Sun is copper colored?
Moon >> Moon is Young in appearance with slender and globular body, well shaped limbs, intelligent, good eyes, soft spoken, fond of walking or travelling, having good discrimination, thin curly hair, full of sexual urge and restless in nature. Moon is white in color.
Mars >> Mars has penetrating and fierce red eyes possessing a tough glance, young and youthful body, not very tall, fond of self praise, valorously, impatient, restless, hurting tendency, thin waist, fond of sports, commanding influence, fickle in character, bilious in disposition, with Deep red color.
Mercury >> Mercury has a pleasing body and form with reddish eyes, green complexion, generous behavior with healthy posture, healthy skin, diplomatic speech or habit of speaking with double meaning, clear pronunciation, spare and thin body, humorous, fond of fun, learned, clever, prominent, imitate others in speech and dress, plenty of energy, windy and bile in disposition, with green color.
Jupiter >> Jupiter has a big and a fatty body, prominent belly, brownish eyes and hair, benevolent eyes, very wise, having the voice of a lion. Jupiter is virtuous by all facets of astrology. Jupiter is ‘Phlegmatic’ in its disposition and ‘Satwick’ in character. Jupiter represents knowledge and the knowledge of scriptures. Sharp intelligence, committed to religious pursuits and a follower of ‘Niyams’ which means to observe the settled traditional and ritualistic values of various spheres of life. The color of Jupiter is yellow, thus representing yellow colored dresses.
Venus >> Venus is handsome and dark brown in appearance, long arms, large thighs, chest and face, dark curly and long hair, graceful, full of valor, fond of dress of variegated color, intelligent, fond of alliances , big eyes, sexy and wealthy. Venus is ‘Phlegmatic’ in its disposition with ‘Rajasik’ character. Venus represents wisdom and represents variegated colors with eye troubles.
Saturn >> Saturn is lazy with a long and a thin body, big or defective teeth, cruel in nature, rough hair on body and head, may have hair on the lower part of ears, lame, hard limbs, selfish. If Saturn is strong, the native would be sober, deep sagacious, fond of mystic and occult sciences and philosophy. Saturn is ‘Tamasik’ in its character with shabby robes. Saturn is of black color.
Rahu and Ketu >> Rahu and Ketu have a smoky completion, are wild and of windy character.
Signs ( Rashi’s):-
The Zodiac consists of 360 degrees. This is further divided in to 12 parts of 30 degrees each, called as signs ( rashis). These Rashis are owned by different planets, like Sun and Moon own Leo and Cancer, Aries and Scorpio are owned by Mars, Gemini and Virgo are owned by Mercury, Sagittarius and Pisces are owned by Jupiter, Taurus and Libra are owned by Venus when Capricorn and Aquarius are owned by Saturn. Sun and Moon are called as ‘Ekadipati’ as they each own one rashi only. These are known as their Lords. These signs of Zodiac, their Hindu equivalent names, the extent of their degrees, the lordship of each sign and the symbolic representation of each sign is mentioned in the table-3 below.
Table-3
| No. | Sign | Hindu Name (Rashi) | Extent in Degrees | Lord of the Sign (Rashi) | Symbol |
| 1 | Aries | Mesha | 0 to 30 | Mars | |
| 2 | Taurus | Virshabha | 30 to 60 | Venus | |
| 3 | Gemini | Mithuna | 60 to 90 | Mercury | |
| 4 | Cancer | Karka | 90 to 120 | Moon | |
| 5 | Leo | Simha | 120 to 150 | Sun | |
| 6 | Virgo | Kanya | 150 to 180 | Mercury | |
| 7 | Libra | Tula | 180 to 210 | Venus | |
| 8 | Scorpio | Vrishchika | 210 to 240 | Mars | |
| 9 | Sagittarius | Dhanu | 240 t0 270 | Jupiter | |
| 10 | Capricorn | Makara | 270 to 300 | Saturn | |
| 11 | Aquarius | Kumbha | 300 to 330 | Saturn | |
| 12 | Pisces | Meena | 330 to 360 | Jupiter |
Nakshtras or Star/Constellations.
The Zodiac of 360 degrees as per Hindu astrology, is also divided into 27 sub parts known as the ‘Nakshtras’, which are the star constellations of 13 degrees and 20 minutes each. A Nakshatra is a group of stars and its name is based on one of the prominent identifying star in such a group. These Nakshtras are equally owned by various planets. Rahu and Ketu too are also allotted the ownership of the Nakshatras. Each Nakshatra is further divided into four ‘Padas’ or ‘Charnas’. As such, there are 108 Nakshtara Padas or quarters in the 27 Nakshatras. Each Nakshtara Pada or Charna measures 3 degrees and 20 minutes ( 3° 20′). As for as the Zodiac is concerned these 27 Nakshatras have a relationship with the 12 Rashi’s (Signs). These celestial luminaries make all the difference in astrological calculations. These constellations or the Nakshatras emerged as one of the most important components in Astrology. The names of these Nakshatras, extent of their longitudes in the Rashis, their planetary lords are shown in the table-4 below.
Table-4
| No. | Nakhshatra | Extent of Longitude Dig: min: to Dig: min: | Extent in Signs Sign- Deg: min: to Sign- Deg: min | Lordship |
| 1 | Ashwani | 00: 00 to 13: 20 | Aries 00:00 To Aries 13:20 | Ketu |
| 2 | Bharani | 13:20 to 26:40 | Aries 13:20 To Aries 26:40 | Venus |
| 3 | Kritika | 26:40 to 40:00 | Aries 26:40 to Taurus 10:00 | Sun |
| 4 | Rohini | 40:00 to 53:20 | Taurus 10:00 to Taurus 23:20 | Moon |
| 5 | Mrigshira | 53:20 to 66:40 | Taurus 23:20 to Gemini 06:40 | Mars |
| 6 | Ardra | 66:40 to 80:00 | Gemini 06:40 to Gemini 20:00 | Rahu |
| 7 | Punarvasu | 80:00 to 93:20 | Gemini 20:00 to Cancer 03:20 | Jupiter |
| 8 | Pushya | 93:20 to 106:40 | Cancer 03:20 to Cancer 16:40 | Saturn |
| 9 | Ashlesha | 106:40 to 120:00 | Cancer 16:40 to Cancer 30:00 | Mercury |
| 10 | Magha | 120:00 to 133:20 | Leo 00:00 to Leo 13:20 | Ketu |
| 11 | PoorvaPhalguni | 133:20 to 146:40 | Leo 13:20 to Leo 26:40 | Venus |
| 12 | Utra Phalguni | 146:40 to 160:00 | Leo 26:40 to Virgo 10:00 | Sun |
| 13 | Hasta | 160:00 to 173:20 | Virgo 10:00 to Virgo 23:20 | Moon |
| 14 | Chitra | 173:20 to 186:40 | Virgo 23:20 to Libra 06:40 | Mars |
| 15 | Swati | 186:40 to 200:00 | Libra 06:40 to Libra 20:00 | Rahu |
| 16 | Vishakha | 200:00 to 213:20 | Libra 20:00 to Scorpio 03:20 | Jupiter |
| 17 | Anuradha | 213:20 to 226:40 | Scorpio 03:20 to Scorpio 16:40 | Saturn |
| 18 | Jyeshtha | 226:40 to 240:00 | Scorpio 16:40 to Scorpio 30:00 | Mercury |
| 19 | Moola | 240:00 to 253:20 | Sagittarius 00:00 to Sag 13:20 | Ketu |
| 20 | Purva Ashadha | 253:20 to 266:40 | Sagittarius 13:20 to Sag 26:40 | Venus |
| 21 | Uttra Ashadha | 266:40 to 280:00 | Sag. 26:40 to Capricorn 10:00 | Sun |
| 22 | Shravana | 280:00 to 293:20 | Capricorn 10:00 to Cap 23:20 | Moon |
| 23 | Dhanishta | 293:20 to 306:40 | Capricorn 23:20 to Aqu. 06:40 | Mars |
| 24 | Shatbhisha | 306:40 to 320:00 | Aqu. 06:40 to Aquarius 20:00 | Rahu |
| 25 | PurvaBhadrapad | 320:00 to 333:20 | Aquarius 20:00 to Pisces 03:20 | Jupiter |
| 26 | Uttra Bhadrapad | 333:20 to 346:40 | Pisces 03:20 to Pisces. 16:40 | Saturn |
| 27 | Revati | 346:40 to 360:00 | Pisces 16:40 to Pisces 30:00 | Mercury |
>> Linking the Signs (Rashis) with the Nakhshtras, their extent of their longitudes, their Padas (Chranas) and their lords, the situation emerges as shown in the table-5 below:-
Table-5
| No | Sign (Rashi) | Nakhshtra | Extents of Longitude Sign Degree Minutes | Padas | Lordship |
| 1 | Aries Mesha | 1. Ashwani 2. Bharni 3. Kritika | 0 13 20 0 26 40 1 00 00 | 4 4 1 | Ketu Venus Sun |
| 2 | Taurus Vrisha | 3. Kritika 4. Rohini 5. Mrigashira | 1 10 00 1 23 20 2 00 00 | 3 4 2 | Sun Moon Mars |
| 3 | Gemini Mithuna | 5. Mrigashira 6. Ardra 7. Punarvasu | 2 06 40 2 20 00 3 00 00 | 2 4 3 | Mars Rahu Jupiter |
| 4 | Cancer Karka | 7. Punarvasu 8. Pushya 9. Ashlesah | 3 03 20 3 16 40 4 00 00 | 1 4 4 | Jupiter Saturn Mercury |
| 5 | Leo Simha | 10. Magha 11. P. Phalguni 12. U.Phalguni | 4 13 20 4 26 40 5 00 00 | 4 4 1 | Ketu Venus Sun |
| 6 | Virgo Kanya | 12. U.Phalguni 13. Hasta 14. Chitra | 5 10 00 5 23 20 6 00 00 | 3 4 2 | Sun Moon Mars |
| 7 | Libra Tula | 14. Chitra 15. Swati 16. Vishakha | 6 06 40 6 20 00 7 00 00 | 2 4 3 | Mars Rahu Jupiter |
| 8 | Scorpio Vrischika | 16. Vishakha 17.Anuradha 18. Jyeshtha | 7 03 20 7 16 40 8 00 00 | 1 4 4 | Jupiter Saturn Mercury |
| 9 | Sagittarius Dhanu | 19. Moola 20. P. Ashadha 21. U.Ashadha | 8 13 20 8 26 40 9 00 00 | 4 4 1 | Ketu Venus Sun |
| 10 | Capricorn Makara | 21. U.Ashadha 22. Shravana 23. Dhanishtha | 9 10 00 9 23 20 10 00 00 | 3 4 2 | Sun Moon Mars |
| 11 | Aquarius Kumbha | 23. Dhanishtha 24. Shatabisha 25.P. Bhadrapad | 10 06 40 10 20 00 11 00 00 | 2 4 3 | Mars Rahu Jupiter |
| 12 | Pisces Meena | 25.P. Bhadrapad 26.U.Bhadrapad 27. Revati | 11 03 20 11 16 40 12 00 00 | 1 4 4 | Jupiter Saturn Mercury |