Punarvasu nakshatra: lord, deity and symbol
Punarvasu is the seventh nakshatra, ruled by Jupiter, and its traditional name means 'return of the light'.
What it is
Its symbol is a bow and quiver, and its deity is Aditi, the mother of the gods. Its lord Jupiter has a dasha of 16 years. Punarvasu starts at 80 degrees, in Mithuna, and crosses into Karka at 90 degrees.
How it is worked out or read
Each nakshatra spans 13 degrees 20 minutes of the sidereal zodiac and has four padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes each. Its first three padas are in Mithuna and the last in Karka.
Where it appears on this site
Punarvasu is shown in the panchang for the Moon's position.
Span across two signs
Punarvasu is the seventh nakshatra and straddles Mithuna and Karka. Its first three padas, from 80 to 90 degrees, lie in Mithuna, and the last pada, from 90 to 93 degrees 20 minutes, lies in Karka. The boundary falls at the end of the nakshatra's third pada, so a planet in the last quarter of Punarvasu is in Karka.
Its lord and dasha
Jupiter is the lord of Punarvasu, and the Jupiter dasha lasts sixteen years. A birth with the Moon in Punarvasu begins the sequence with Jupiter, and the balance is the part still to run. Jupiter's themes of wisdom and expansion therefore open the timeline of such a birth, and the reader can see how these themes combine with the Moon's nakshatra in the dasha.
Symbol and deity
Punarvasu is shown as a bow and quiver, and its deity is Aditi, the mother of the gods in the Vedic texts. The name means the return of the light, and this is the basis of the nakshatra's reputation for restoration and renewal. The bow is read as aim and reserve, and the quiver as readiness, so the symbol suggests recovery after a difficulty.
Using Punarvasu in a reading
A reader who meets Punarvasu as the Moon's nakshatra should note Jupiter as the lord, Aditi as the deity and the bow and quiver symbol. Because the nakshatra crosses a sign boundary, the sign must be checked against the pada. The traits of the nakshatra are read together with the Moon's sign, house and aspects, which show how the restoration theme is expressed.
Punarvasu and recovery
The name Punarvasu, the return of the light, makes this nakshatra a natural reference for recovery, renewal and the coming back of something lost. Readers who face a setback often look to it for its theme of restoration. The classical texts link the nakshatra to Aditi, whose name suggests boundlessness and protection, and its lord Jupiter brings the themes of wisdom and expansion to the same idea of return.
In a reading, Punarvasu is best understood through its house and sign. Because it straddles Mithuna and Karka, the Moon's sign tells whether the restoration theme is expressed through communication and exchange, which is Mithuna, or through the home and the emotions, which is Karka. A reader who keeps this distinction clear will describe the theme more accurately than one who treats the nakshatra as a single message.