Gand Mool: the six nakshatras and their dates

The 6 gand mool nakshatras

• Ashwini
• Ashlesha
• Magha
• Jyeshtha
• Mula
• Revati

The six come in three pairs. In each pair the first nakshatra ends a rashi and the second begins the next:

• Ashlesha → Magha

  Karka rashi and Ashlesha end here; Simha rashi and Magha begin here.

  120° in the zodiac, from the start of Mesha · Cancer (Karka) → Leo (Simha)

  Ashlesha Nakshatra · Magha Nakshatra

• Jyeshtha → Mula

  Vrishchika rashi and Jyeshtha end here; Dhanu rashi and Mula begin here.

  240° in the zodiac, from the start of Mesha · Scorpio (Vrishchika) → Sagittarius (Dhanu)

  Jyeshtha Nakshatra · Mula Nakshatra

• Revati → Ashwini

  Meena rashi and Revati end here; Mesha rashi and Ashwini begin here.

  0° (360°) in the zodiac, from the start of Mesha · Pisces (Meena) → Aries (Mesha)

  Revati Nakshatra · Ashwini Nakshatra

Nakshatras span 13°20′ and rashis 30°, so their boundaries meet only every 120° (9 nakshatras = 4 rashis): at the start of Mesha, of Simha and of Dhanu. Drik Panchang calls these the junctions of a water rashi (Karka, Vrishchika, Meena) and a fire rashi (Simha, Dhanu, Mesha).

When gand mool falls: October 2026 to December 2027

Each row runs from the Moon entering the first nakshatra to its leaving the second, with the junction in between. A gand mool that runs from one month into the next is listed in both.

All times are Indian Standard Time and the same all over India. Differences of 1–2 minutes between panchangs are normal. How we calculate

Gand mool in the texts

Verse 43 of the vivaha prakarana of the Muhurta Chintamani (Daivajna Rama) calls the last two ghatis of Jyeshtha, Revati and Ashlesha and the first two ghatis of Mula, Ashwini and Magha the nakshatra gandanta (a ghati is 24 minutes). The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (R. Santhanam’s English translation, chapter 92, verse 3) also gives two ghatis on each side of the Revati-Ashwini, Ashlesha-Magha and Jyeshtha-Mula junctions as the nakshatra gandanta. The Piyushadhara commentary on the Muhurta Chintamani quotes other texts and authorities (the Ratnamala, Vasishtha, Narada), who give the junction different lengths, and the book counts the nakshatra gandanta as a fault in a wedding muhurat.

Kedar Datt Joshi’s Hindi commentary on the Muhurta Chintamani (nakshatra prakarana) says that in common use these six nakshatras are also called “mool”. So by “mool nakshatra” many people mean these six, while Mula is also the 19th of the 27 nakshatras.

Panchangs list the whole time the Moon is in any of these six nakshatras as gand mool: in Drik Panchang’s Ganda Mool list each spell runs from the start of Ashlesha, Jyeshtha or Revati to the end of the next nakshatra (Magha, Mula or Ashwini). The list below does the same, and gives the junction, the moment the first nakshatra ends and the second begins, separately. Drik Panchang’s list counts Ashlesha, Jyeshtha and Revati as the “ganda” kind and Ashwini, Magha and Mula as the “moola” kind.

When a child is born in gand mool

By tradition many families have a shanti puja (mool shanti) done when a child is born in gand mool. The texts do not give one day for it: the Piyushadhara commentary on the Muhurta Chintamani quotes Shaunaka that the shanti may be done on the twelfth day after birth or on the day of the birth nakshatra, and says that the learned do it in the birth nakshatra. Drik Panchang gives the 27th day after birth or the return of the same nakshatra; the Moon comes back to a nakshatra after about 27 days. When and how the puja is done follows the family’s own tradition: ask your purohit.

The birth nakshatra and pada follow from the date, time and place of birth; SanatanBodh’s birth panchang works them out. We give no effects or predictions from anyone’s birth nakshatra. Find the birth nakshatra and pada

How we checked the times

We computed the start, junction and end of every gand mool with our panchang engine and compared them with Drik Panchang’s New Delhi Ganda Mool lists and nakshatra lists. The dates of all 50 spells from October 2026 to December 2027 agree, and every time is within 2 minutes of Drik Panchang’s (ours run about a minute later). We do not publish a date or time that does not match.

Gand mool: questions and answers