Vishakhaविशाखा

Vishakha is the sixteenth nakshatra and straddles Libra and Scorpio, moving at 3 degrees 20 minutes into the latter. The name suggests having branches or forks, and it is often linked with a paired star group. The symbol is a triumphal archway or a potter's wheel, two pictures of something decorated to mark a passing or shaped through patient turning. The Vedic month of Vaishakha is named for the full moon occurring near it.

The deity is the joint figure Indra-Agni. Indra is the thunderbolt-wielding king of the gods and Agni is the sacrificial fire, and the Rigveda has hymns dedicated to the two together as allies. Jupiter is the planetary lord, and the gana is Rakshasa in some lists, a descriptive classical label. Kartikeya has the epithet Vishakha, and some traditions connect the nakshatra to him. Buddha Purnima is also observed on the Vaishakha full moon.

For muhurat selection Vishakha is placed in the mixed group with Krittika, a category traditionally considered suitable for ordinary tasks and for combined or compound work. Naming syllables commonly listed for the four padas are Ti, Tu, Te and To. The first three padas lie in Libra and the last in Scorpio, so the pada is read with the sign. Do not treat any such correspondences as personal predictions.