Dhanishtha
twenty-third nakshatra in Hindu astronomy
Dhanishtha (Devanagari: धनिष्ठा, Telugu: ధనిష్ఠ, Kannada: ಧನಿಷ್ಠ), meaning "most famous", also known as Avittam in Tamil and Malayalam (Tamil: அவிட்டம், Malayalam: അവിട്ടം), is the twenty-third nakshatra in Hindu astronomy, corresponding to the four brightest stars of Delphinus: α, β, γ, and δ Delphini. The IAU Working Group on Star Names adopted the name Dhanishta for the star γ1 Delphini in 2026.
Astrology
In Jyotiṣa, Dhanishta is ruled by Mangala (the planet Mars).
Dhanishta is classified as a movable nakshatra, meaning that, under electional astrological beliefs, it is best to begin activities like travel when the moon is in Dhanishta. This is based on the Panchanga reading only (which is also known as a calendar to track the suitable day for doing or starting anything good).
The deities which preside over Dhanishta are the Ashta Vasus: Agni, Prithvi, Vāyu, Varuna, Dyaus, Surya, Chandramas and Dhruva. The powers bestowed by the Ashta Vasus comes under the domain of Lord Nataraja who is the main supreme deity of this nakshatra. The animal associated to this nakshatra is a female lion and it is symbolized as "A Lioness which is resting majestically after a Lioness's share". The symbol that is most commonly used to represent Dhanishta is the drum known as the Udukai in Tamil and Damaru in Sanskrit.
It is the birth star of a great Tamil Siddhar Tirumular and also the birth star of Bhishma, a great hero in the Mahabharata epic.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3502768. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2026.
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This entry incorporates text from “Dhanishtha” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.