Uttara Phalguni is the twelfth of the 27 nakshatras, running from 26 degrees 40 minutes of sidereal Leo to 10 degrees 00 minutes of sidereal Virgo. Its ruling planet is the Sun, its presiding deity is Aryaman, the god of patronage, contracts, and noble friendship, and its symbol is the back of a hammock, the half that carries the weight. The name means "the latter reddish one", the second of the two Phalguni stars. A person born with the Moon in this span has Uttara Phalguni as their janma nakshatra, or birth star, and is read in the classical tradition as loyal, dependable, and kind: a keeper of promises and builder of lasting bonds. Their Vimshottari dasha opens in a Sun period.
This page goes deep on Uttara Phalguni alone. For the system itself, why there are 27 nakshatras and how padas and lords work, start with the guide to all 27 nakshatras and come back.
Uttara Phalguni at a glance
The quick facts first. Each row is unpacked in the sections below.
| Attribute | Uttara Phalguni |
|---|---|
| Position | 26°40′ Leo to 10°00′ Virgo |
| Order | 12th of 27 |
| Ruling planet (lord) | Sun |
| Deity | Aryaman, god of contracts and noble friendship |
| Symbol | Back of a hammock (resting bed) |
| Marker star | Denebola (Beta Leonis), the lion's tail |
| Gana (temperament) | Manushya (human) |
| Nature | Dhruva (fixed, steady) |
| Starting dasha | Sun mahadasha, 6 years |
Where Uttara Phalguni sits in the sky
Uttara Phalguni is one of the nakshatras that crosses a sign border. Its first quarter closes Leo, and its remaining three quarters open Virgo, so the same birth star can come with either a Leo or a Virgo Moon sign. The star pays no attention to the boundary; the Moon's map runs to its own measure.
Its marker star is Denebola, the bright star at the lion's tail, where the figure of Leo ends and the sky hands over to the maiden of Virgo. The crossing matters in practice. A first-pada birth carries Leo's warmth and visibility; the later padas carry Virgo's precision and service. The sections below treat the two faces as one star, which is how the classics treat them.
The deity, the symbol, and the myth
Uttara Phalguni's presiding deity is Aryaman, one of the twelve Adityas, the solar gods. His department is the social fabric itself: hospitality, patronage, formal agreements, the duties between friends, and the bonds sealed in marriage. The star's symbol is the back half of the hammock whose front half belongs to Purva Phalguni.
The split symbol is a precise piece of teaching. The front of the bed is where you recline; the back is what holds you up. Purva Phalguni, under Venus, is the romance and the rest. Uttara Phalguni, under the Sun, is the structure that lets rest be safe: the vow, the contract, the friend who arrives when called. Aryaman's name is invoked in the classical wedding rite, and the pairing of this star with marriage and alliance runs through the tradition. Where its sibling star enjoys, this one undertakes.
The personality of an Uttara Phalguni Moon
Classical sketches of Uttara Phalguni, set out in the Brihat Jataka, describe a person who is liked and relied upon: friendly, courteous, generous, and steady, someone whose help is practical and whose word holds. The dhruva, or fixed, classification of the star is the spine of the portrait.
Because the Moon in Jyotish is the mind, the birth star colours the inner life above all. An Uttara Phalguni Moon tends to think in commitments. It is slow to promise and thorough afterwards, loyal past the point most people would quit, and quietly proud of being the dependable one. The Sun's lordship adds a dignified, organising streak: these are natural patrons, managers, and elder figures, whatever their age. Born in the Virgo padas, the helpfulness turns detailed and exacting; born in the Leo pada, it turns warm and public.
The heavier expression follows from the same fixity: reliability can shade into rigidity, duty into resentment when help goes unthanked, and pride in steadiness into difficulty asking for help. The tradition's pairing is straightforward: Aryaman's bonds run both directions, and an Uttara Phalguni Moon that lets itself receive as well as give gets the full strength of the star. A well-placed Sun, the star's lord, settles the balance.
The four padas of Uttara Phalguni
Each nakshatra divides into four padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes, and each pada corresponds to one navamsa sign, the ninth divisional chart used for marriage and the inner life. Uttara Phalguni's padas run from Sagittarius to Pisces, with the sign change after the first.
| Pada | Degrees | Navamsa sign | Flavour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26°40′ to 30°00′ Leo | Sagittarius | The noble patron: warm, principled, generous in public |
| 2 | 0°00′ to 3°20′ Virgo | Capricorn | The administrator: duty made structural and patient |
| 3 | 3°20′ to 6°40′ Virgo | Aquarius | The ally of many: service widened to community and cause |
| 4 | 6°40′ to 10°00′ Virgo | Pisces | The kind helper: duty softened by compassion |
The pada matters more than usual here because it also fixes the Moon sign. First-pada births are Leo Moons; second, third, and fourth pada births are Virgo Moons. Two people can share this birth star and still differ in Moon sign, which is exactly the kind of resolution the nakshatra layer adds to a chart.
Uttara Phalguni and your dasha timeline
The lord of the birth star opens the Vimshottari dasha, the 120-year cycle of planetary periods laid out in the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. For Uttara Phalguni that lord is the Sun, whose mahadasha is the shortest of the nine at 6 years. The opening chapter therefore belongs to childhood, with the balance at birth proportional to the Moon's progress through the star.
The fixed sequence then runs Moon (10 years), Mars (7), Rahu (18), Jupiter (16), Saturn (19), Mercury (17), Ketu (7), Venus (20), and around again. A short opening period simply means the wheel turns sooner; nothing about the Sun's brevity is read as a deficit. The find your nakshatra page calculates your star, pada, and starting period from your birth details.
Uttara Phalguni in muhurta and matching
In muhurta, the choosing of auspicious times, Uttara Phalguni is a classical favourite for weddings and for any undertaking meant to last, because it combines the dhruva, or fixed, nature with a deity who presides over union and contract. The day's nakshatra is one of the standard inputs to that calculation.
In guna milan, the koota matching used for marriage, Uttara Phalguni enters as a manushya gana star of fixed temperament, and the two birth stars feed several of the 36 points. As always, the count runs across eight kootas so that no single factor decides a match. The kundli matching tool runs the full table for two charts.
Uttara Phalguni in the classics
The attributions on this page are the stable, named ones: the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra carries the nakshatra scheme and the Vimshottari sequence seeded from the birth star, while the Brihat Jataka sketches the temperament of those born under each star. For Uttara Phalguni the notes converge on popularity, comfort, generosity, and earnings through one's own merit.
The star reads best alongside its pair, Purva Phalguni, whose pleasures it secures, and its successor Hasta, where Virgo's skill takes over fully. The whole wheel is laid out on the 27-nakshatra map, and a free birth chart shows which star and pada your own Moon occupies.