Jataka Parijata names one degree in each sign as the Moon's pushkara degree. It calls the Moon at that degree auspicious, for a muhurtha and for a birth. The degrees are 21, 14, 18, 8, 19, 9, 24, 11, 23, 14, 19 and 9, from Mesha to Meena. The book gives them in running text, not in a table. The Nava app does not compute this. This page explains the rule only.
☕ A good point in every sign
Each sign is 30 degrees wide. Jataka Parijata picks out one of those degrees in every sign. When the Moon stands there, the book calls it auspicious. It names two uses: choosing a time for an undertaking (muhurtha), and a birth. (Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. I, v. 58, p. 39.)
The list runs from Mesha to Meena. Mesha 21, Vrishabha 14, Mithuna 18, Kataka 8, Simha 19, Kanya 9. Tula 24, Vrischika 11, Dhanu 23, Makara 14, Kumbha 19, Meena 9. There is no simple pattern. Each sign has its own number.
The book states these in the running text of one verse. There is no printed table to check them against. We give them as the translation's running text prints them; the Sanskrit was not checked.
The degrees are inside the signs of the sidereal zodiac, the one an Indian panchangam uses. The Moon moves about one degree in two hours. So it passes each pushkara degree in a couple of hours, once a month.
At a glance
- Mesha (Aries): 21°
- Vrishabha (Taurus): 14°
- Mithuna (Gemini): 18°
- Kataka (Cancer): 8°
- Simha (Leo): 19°
- Kanya (Virgo): 9°
- Tula (Libra): 24°
- Vrischika (Scorpio): 11°
- Dhanu (Sagittarius): 23°
- Makara (Capricorn): 14°
- Kumbha (Aquarius): 19°
- Meena (Pisces): 9°
- (Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. I, v. 58, p. 39; given in running text, not a table.)
- These are degrees for the Moon. The verse does not give them for the lagna or for other planets.
- A pushkara degree is not the Moon's exaltation degree. The Moon is deepest in exaltation at 3° of Vrishabha (Taurus) (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (Santhanam–Kapoor ed.), ch. 3, vv. 49–50, p. 38); its pushkara degree there is 14°.
- The verse names whole degrees only. It gives no margin around them, and this page adds none.
- Auspicious is the book's word for a time. It is not a forecast for anyone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pushkara degree of each sign?
Mesha 21, Vrishabha 14, Mithuna 18, Kataka 8, Simha 19, Kanya 9, Tula 24, Vrischika 11, Dhanu 23, Makara 14, Kumbha 19, Meena 9. (Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. I, v. 58, p. 39.)
Is this the same as a pushkara navamsa?
No. A navamsa is a ninth part of a sign, 3°20′ wide. The list on this page names single degrees, one per sign, for the Moon. It is not a list of navamsas.
Why does the book give no table?
The translation gives the twelve numbers in sign order, inside the running text of the verse. It prints no table for them. (Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. I, v. 58, p. 39.)
Does the Nava app mark pushkara degrees?
The Nava app does not compute this. This page explains the rule only.
Deep dive: reading the list
From a Moon position to the list. A degree beside another degree.
🌙 From a Moon position to the list
Take the Moon's position as a sign and a degree in that sign. For example, Tula 24°. Look up Tula in the table: its pushkara degree is 24. So that Moon stands at Tula's pushkara degree.
A Moon at Tula 10° is not at it. Its sign is the same but its degree is not. (Jataka Parijata (tr. Subramanya Sastri), ch. I, v. 58, p. 39.)
📐 One degree in each sign, like exaltation
The books name other single degrees in a sign too. The best known is each planet's deepest exaltation degree. Read exaltation and debilitation to see how those are counted. For the signs themselves, see the twelve rashis.