A Dhanishta-born person brings a rakshasa gana, the lion yoni and the Madhya nadi to matching, and a Moon sign that depends on the pada: Capricorn for the first two, Aquarius for the last two. That split is why nearly every cell in the table above is a range, with the full spread running from 4.5 to 33 as the groom and 5.5 to 33 as the bride.
Dhanishta divides evenly between the two signs, two padas each, so there is no dominant half and knowing your exact Moon position matters more than usual. Our kundli matching engine uses the exact degree; this page explains what changes from one half to the other.
Dhanishta's side of the ledger
Dhanishta, the drum of the eight Vasus, is ruled by Mars. For matching it fixes:
- Gana (6): rakshasa.
- Yoni (4): lion, female. Purva Bhadrapada is the male lion. The elephant, yoni of Bharani and Revati, is the sworn enemy.
- Nadi (8): Madhya.
- Tara (3): its place in the count of 27.
Two halves, one sign lord
The first two padas lie at the end of Capricorn, the last two at the start of Aquarius. Both signs are ruled by Saturn, so graha maitri with any partner stays the same on either side. What changes is bhakoot, which depends on how the two Moon signs sit from each other, along with varna and vashya.
Take Shatabhisha, which lies wholly in Aquarius. When Dhanishta's Moon is also in Aquarius, the two share a sign and the cell reaches 33. With Dhanishta in Capricorn the signs are adjacent, a 2/12 relation that scores 0 for bhakoot, and the cell falls to 24.5 (23.5 when Dhanishta is the bride). Shravana, wholly in Capricorn, shows the reverse: 29 at best, 19.5 or 20.5 when Dhanishta's Moon has moved into Aquarius.
The "usual" figure in each cell is the engine's reading over most of the two arcs. For Dhanishta, with its two halves the same size, treat the range as the honest answer and look up your own Moon.
The row at a glance
As the groom, Dhanishta has 8 usual scores below 18, 7 in the 18–24.5 band, 11 in 25–32 and 1 above 32. As the bride: 8, 6, 12 and 1. The leaders:
- Shatabhisha, 33 both ways.
- Vishakha, 30 as groom and 29 as bride.
- Krittika, 29.5 and 30.5.
- Shravana, 29 both ways.
- Mula, 28.5 and 29.5.
Vishakha, Krittika, Mula and Shatabhisha are rakshasa too, so gana gives the full 6. Vishakha manages this even though it falls on Dhanishta's vipat tara.
At the bottom, a Dhanishta groom scores 10 with Bharani, 10.5 with Purva Phalguni and 12 with Anuradha. All three share the Madhya nadi. Bharani and Purva Phalguni are manushya, which zeroes gana, and both sit on a vadha tara from Dhanishta; Bharani also carries the enemy elephant yoni.
Lion, elephant and gana
Lion and elephant are sworn enemies, so Bharani and Revati give 0 of 4 for yoni. Purva Bhadrapada, the other lion, gives the full 4, but as a manushya nakshatra it scores 0 on gana with Dhanishta.
That gana rule is the main drag on this row: rakshasa with manushya is 0 from either side, and the manushya group is Bharani, Rohini, Ardra, Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Purva Bhadrapada and Uttara Bhadrapada. Deva partners give 1. Some manuals soften a gana mismatch when other factors are friendly; we show the table's figure.
Counted from Dhanishta, the vipat tara lands on Punarvasu, Vishakha and Purva Bhadrapada, pratyari on Ashlesha, Jyeshtha and Revati, and vadha on Bharani, Purva Phalguni and Purva Ashadha. Each direction is worth 1.5, and not every school counts both ways.
The Madhya nadi
Dhanishta shares the Madhya nadi with Bharani, Mrigashira, Pushya, Purva Phalguni, Chitra, Anuradha, Purva Ashadha and Uttara Bhadrapada. Nadi is 0 of 8 with each, and none of the standard exceptions can apply. For Dhanishta with Dhanishta two can: different padas, and, when one Moon is in Capricorn and the other in Aquarius, the same nakshatra in different Moon signs. In that split case the total can drop to 18.5, against the usual 28, because the adjacent signs also lose bhakoot.
Tradition treats a shared nadi as a serious point and lists these exceptions alongside it; astrologers differ on how much relief they give. See the nadi dosha guide for a calm account.
Beyond the table
No score settles a match. A careful reading adds manglik status, the seventh house, the navamsa and the dashas, and South Indian porutham methods may judge the same pair differently. Above all, two people should talk openly. To see the other rows, visit the nakshatra compatibility chart or start with Shatabhisha.