Vishakha

Definition

Vishakha is the sixteenth nakshatra (lunar mansion), running from 20°00' Libra to 3°20' Scorpio. Its name means 'forked' or 'two-branched,' and it also goes by Radha. Two deities preside over it together — Indra and Agni — and Jupiter rules it. Its symbols are a triumphal archway or gateway and a potter's wheel. Trivedi classes it as Active, Female, Sattwic, Fire-element, and Rakshasa (demonic) in nature, of the Mleccha caste, Downward Looking, and Mixed in disposition; Harness gives its animal as the male tiger.

In Tradition

Across this modern Jyotish writing, Vishakha is read as a nakshatra of accomplishment: both Trivedi and Harness give it a shakti (a defining power) whose effect is the power to make manifest and achieve many and varied things in life. The two authors name that shakti differently and explain its workings in their own terms, so what they share is the broad principle of achievement rather than one fixed mechanism.

In Practice

Trivedi names Vishakha's shakti 'yapana shakti,' the power to make things manifest and achieve various ends, and ties its archway-or-gateway symbol to marriage and triumph. Harness calls it the 'star of purpose' and gives it the 'vyapani shakti' — the power to achieve many and various fruits through patience, the way a farmer waits for the harvest, with success arriving in the second half of life. Sutton reads the nakshatra's twofold nature from the planetary dignities that fall within it: Saturn is exalted in its Libra portion, which he says forces the soul to learn from experience, while the Moon is debilitated at 3° Scorpio, marking a churning of the mind between the lower self and higher aspirations. He reads the Libra portion as affluence, comfort, and pleasant experiences, and the Scorpio portion as trials and tribulations, with Agni burning away what is superfluous and Indra enjoying sensual luxury.

Historical Origin

The accounts gathered here are all modern works. Trivedi's The Book of Nakshatras and Harness's The Nakshatras give the fullest descriptions; Komilla Sutton's The Essentials of Vedic Astrology adds the dignity-based reading; and B.V. Raman's Notable Horoscopes notes only that Vishakha is the sixteenth of the twenty-seven nakshatras. No classical Sanskrit source is quoted in this material.

Further Reading

• Trivedi, The Book of Nakshatras
• Komilla Sutton, The Essentials of Vedic Astrology
• B.V. Raman, Notable Horoscopes
• Harness, The Nakshatras