Ashleshaआश्लेषा

Ashlesha closes Cancer, covering the final stretch from 16 degrees 40 minutes to 30 degrees. The name derives from a word meaning to embrace or cling, and the symbol is a coiled serpent, an image of encircling that is both protective and constricting. Its stars are usually placed in the head of Hydra.

The Nagas, the serpent beings of Indian tradition, are its deity. Stories name Shesha, who bears the world on his hoods, and Vasuki, who served as the churning rope in the Samudra Manthana, as the best known among them. Mercury is the planetary lord and the gana is Rakshasa, a classical label that describes temperament and not character. In Karnataka the Ashlesha Bali offering at the Kukke Subramanya temple is a well-known ritual performed under this nakshatra.

The final portion of Ashlesha meets the start of Magha at a point called gandanta, a junction between a water sign and a fire sign. Traditional texts regard such junctions as sensitive, and some families hold a small propitiatory ritual for children born near them. Muhurat guides place Ashlesha in the tikshna group, traditionally unsuited to gentle ceremonies. The syllables commonly listed for naming are Di, Du, De and Do.