. The literal translation for the word Uttarabhadrapada is ‘the latter lucky feet’. Accordingly, it is believed that Uttarabhadrapada blesses the native with luck and fortune.
As already discussed in previous chapter named Poorvabhadrapada, the term feet here represents steps and the steps represent a journey. It was seen that a more relevant meaning of the word Poorvabhadrapada may be ‘the last part of the lucky path’. This lucky path is the final path of liberation and it has two parts. The first part is covered in Poorvabhadrapada which practically experiences a number of good and evil things. After indulgence, it creates the need for repentance and penance which help it reach realization. Hence this realization is the fruit or essence, which is received after awarely going through indulgence, repentance and penance. This fruit called realization helps Poorvabhadrapada reach the second part of the final path; called Uttarabhadrapada.
In the journey of a soul for liberation, Poorvabhadrapada and Uttarabhadrapada represent two parts of the final stage or the final path. Poorvabhadrapada receives the fruit of realization. This realization teaches it that it is better not to engage in bad karmas in the first place. Once engaged, the purity of the soul is corrupted and it needs to be retained through processes of repentance and penance, conducted with awareness. The last quarter of Poorvabhadrapada falling in Pisces achieves this realization and the next part of the final path, called Uttarabhadrapada begins.
In Uttarabhadrapada, the realization is turned into wisdom. Hence wisdom is the primary trait exhibited by Uttarabhadrapada. This wisdom is achieved through personal experiences and that is why it is of supreme value. In the deepest sense, wisdom can only be achieved through personal experiences and not otherwise. Just like Poorvabhadrapada is the sum total of all previous nakshatras; Uttarabhadrapada is also the same. It is the sum total of all previous nakshatras, including Poorvabhadrapada.
Hence Uttarabhadrapada represents that stage in the journey of a soul, which has been achieved after awarely going through everything. The realization gained through such experiences blesses it with wisdom. As a result, there is no other nakshatra like Uttarabhadrapada, when it comes to discriminate between the good and the evil, necessary and unnecessary; and between all other polar extremes. The beauty of Uttarabhadrapada is that it does so effortlessly; means naturally. For this reason, Uttarabhadrapada is called the wisest among all nakshatras. Hence people under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada may be some of the wisest people.
The challenge posed by the first part of the final path is to achieve realization after personal experiences. Once this task is completed in Poorvabhadrapada, the next and the last part of the final path begins. The task for this part is to use wisdom for the wellbeing of the universe. Hence Uttarabhadrapada has the task of spreading wisdom instead of enjoying it alone. It is like a student has completed the final course of his studies and he is now left with one job only; to teach others.
Since spreading wisdom is the final task before the journey comes to an end; people under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada may form a high percentage of those spiritually enlightened souls who are supposed to enlighten others. It means many of the spiritually most enlightening teachings may be delivered by people under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada.
One of the most revered saints Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was born with exalted Venus placed in the first house of his horoscope in Pisces in Uttarabhadrapada; and Revati rises in the ascendant. He received final wisdom through goddess Kali as represented by exalted Venus in Uttarabhadrapada in the first house. He then enlightened the world with his spiritual teachings.
Shree Osho Rajneesh is known for delivering some of the spiritually most enlightening discourses in the recent years. His horoscope features Rahu in the fourth house in Pisces in Uttarabhadrapada, and five planets in ascendant in Sagittarius. Retrograde exalted Jupiter is placed in the eighth house in Cancer. It is important to note that most of these discourses were delivered during the planetary period of Rahu which was in effect for 18 years from 1969 to 1987. This period was followed by Jupiter’s planetary period which was in effect till his death.
Shri Guru Nanak is another highly enlightened spiritual soul who blessed us with a highly enlightening spiritual discourse, Shri Japji Saheb. His horoscope features exalted Venus in Pisces in Uttarabhadrapada and exalted Jupiter in Cancer in Pushya.
One of the prevalent horoscopes of Lord Krishna features the placement of Jupiter in the eleventh house in Pisces. Though the nakshatra of placement of Jupiter is not mentioned; it is highly likely to be Uttarabhadrapada. This is because no other planet may be as capable of delivering one of the spiritually most enlightening discourses; as Jupiter in Uttarabhadrapada.
Hence the primary task for Uttarabhadrapada is to spread wisdom or enlightenment; depending on the overall horoscope under consideration. Though Revati represents the peak of all nakshatras, it is generally not interested in actions. Enlightened souls under strong influence of Revati may support universal balance, in more passive and subtler ways. On the other hand, people under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada may actively engage in acts of restoring balance; depending on their overall horoscopes.
Uttarabhadrapada represents the final part of the final path. Hence the primary job here is not to learn, but to teach. Applying this fact to various fields of life; people under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada may be seen practicing as spiritual gurus, religious gurus, astrologers, consultants, advisors, counsellors and all other professionals who guide people.
Wisdom, the main trait of Uttarabhadrapada, is different than cleverness, intellect and intelligence. Cleverness is the trait of Mercury, where one looks at the small picture, primarily in order to gain some type of advantage. Intellect is also represented by Mercury and it is the ability to understand something through logic or reason. Intellect also helps with usage of such information later on, as and when required.
It means intellect may help us gain and store information though it may not help acquiring knowledge through real experiences; especially in domains like spiritualism. Hence spiritual teachers under strong influence of Mercury may not have themselves witnessed divine experiences. They are more likely to learn what highly enlightened souls have delivered and then they may teach what they have learnt. Their teachings may not be their own experiences; and they are likely to teach what is mentioned in books or in other types of discourses. A number of scholars and religious teachers may fall in this category. This is because they may be merely repeating what was experienced by someone else; without applying such experiences to their own lives.
The trait of intelligence is represented by Sun and Jupiter. It is the ability to learn new things and make decisions without having previous experiences. It means a native under strong influence of Mercury may deal with all such situations which he is familiar with. However, he may find it difficult to deal with situations which are new and which may be entirely different from what he has learnt. On the other hand, a native under strong influence of Sun or Jupiter may be fully capable of handling such situations.
Sun and Jupiter don’t depend much on storing information and they believe more in spontaneity, guided by intelligence. A typical Mercury type student may be comfortable as long as an examination is set from within the syllabus. However, he may not be able to do much if there are some questions which are out of syllabus. Sun and Jupiter may be able to handle such questions without much trouble.
It means Mercury believes in preparing itself properly for future events. On the other hand, Sun and Jupiter believe in being prepared all the time. This means they generally don’t depend on specific preparations as they understand that new situations may often show up. Hence intelligence is more like the ability to learn and handle things; as and when they appear.
When it comes to wisdom, it is above all these traits. Wisdom in its purest form is collectively represented by Jupiter and Saturn; among navagraha. Wisdom is directly proportional to conscience which is the trait ruled by Jupiter alone. Jupiter helps you grow conscience and then conscience helps you achieve spiritual growth. The result of spiritual growth is delivered in the form of wisdom. It is the ability which guides you how to use intellect, intelligence, cleverness, expertise and all likewise qualities.
You may be intellectual, clever and/or intelligent but you may use these traits for selfish motives, if you don’t have wisdom. Intellect and intelligence are more like tools or weapons and they don’t know how to be used. In the wrong hands, they may often end up causing destruction. Wisdom guides you when to use these traits and how to use them. Wisdom will always work for universal wellbeing, even when it is engaging in acts of war. Lord Krishna says the war (Mahabharata war) is absolutely necessary for peace; a perfect example of wisdom.
Saturn deals with traits like perseverance, patience and experience. These traits help the conscience in achieving wisdom. Hence wisdom may be considered as the sum total of best traits of Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter guides what to do and Saturn ensures execution. Jupiter guides what to avoid and Saturn ensures compliance. Together, these two planets form a perfect pair; like the one formed by Lord Krishna and Arjuna. Lord Krishna guides and Arjuna complies. This is why Jupiter and Saturn are considered as the two most important planets for spiritual growth.
Hence it should come as no surprise that Saturn is the planetary ruler of Uttarabhadrapada and all four quarters of this nakshatra fall in Pisces, ruled by Jupiter. As a result, Uttarabhadrapada is under strong influence of Saturn and Jupiter. Jupiter and Saturn bless Uttarabhadrapada with traits like wisdom, patience, perseverance, contentedness, the ability to stay unaffected by circumstances, speech abilities, kindness, generosity, love for the entire existence; and a number of other traits.
Vedic astrology takes the main symbol of Uttarabhadrapada as the back part of a funeral cot. As already seen in Poorvabhadrapada, the symbol is the front part of a funeral cot. The funeral cot represents the journey beyond death, the journey of liberation. The front part of the cot indicates the first part of the final path for liberation. The second part represented by Uttarabhadrapada indicates the stage when liberation has been achieved. However, the native is supposed to act as a teacher now, before finally retiring; where the retirement happens in Revati.
Hence Uttarabhadrapada represents the stage where the soul is liberated but it is engaging in the task of spreading enlightenment. Therefore, Uttarabhadrapada is not a student but it is a teacher who wishes to educate a number of students before his retirement. This is why majority of highly enlightening spiritual discourses have been delivered by people under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada. These souls are kind. They have achieved liberation and before the final retirement, they wish to thank the entire existence for supporting them in their journeys. Hence they express such gratitude by restoring balance and by giving people gems of wisdom.
Vedic astrology assigns Ahir Budhanya as the ruling deity of Uttarabhadrapada. According to Vedic mythology, Ahir Budhanya is considered as a serpent god who lives far beneath the earth. Some Vedic scholars believe that Ahir Budhanya lives deep down under the sea. Ahir Budhanya is considered wise and far more compassionate deity in comparison to Aja Ekapada, the ruling deity of Poorvabhadrapada.
Vedic astrology assigns Lord Shiva as the final presiding deity of Uttarabhadrapada. Lord Shiva is considered to deal with affairs beyond death, including liberation. It is interesting to see that Lord Shiva connects to Poorvabhadrapada as well as to Uttarabhadrapada through their ruling deities. However, Aja Ekapada is considered as a Rudra form of Lord Shiva whereas Ahir Budhanya is considered as a benevolent form of Lord Shiva.
Relating it to the discussion in Dhanishtha; Aja Ekapada represents Rudra Tandava whereas Ahir Budhanya represents Ananda Tandava. The ego has been destroyed in Poorvabhadrapada through Rudra Tandava and it is now the time to engage in Ananda Tandava. Uttarabhadrapada represents this Ananda Tandava.
Uttarabhadrapada people may be capable of looking at the bigger picture. Hence they may not work for selfish motives and they may instead work for the benefits of the others. In most cases, Uttarabhadrapada people may also end up benefitting from such acts. For example, if two parties approach an Uttarabhadrapada native for mediation, he may come up with a solution which is fair to both parties. The parties may accept such solution and they may also give him something in return, though he may not have been doing anything for personal gains.
Uttarabhadrapada people may often receive gifts, which is due to the gratitude people wish to show to them. Such gratitude is there because such Uttarabhadrapada people may guide and help them every now and then, without expecting anything in return. In case of highly evolved souls under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada, such gifts may come through divine sources, though they may come through worldly sources also.
Uttarabhadrapada people are generally content type of people and they may not desire for more and more. Despite these traits, they may often have much more than they need. Uttarabhadrapada is very good at blessing the people under its strong influence with great fortunes which may belong to this world and/or they may belong to higher worlds, depending on their overall horoscopes. Uttarabhadrapada is a very versatile nakshatra and it is capable of behaving in any manner it finds fit according to a situation. It means Uttarabhadrapada is as skilled at the art of disguise as Poorvabhadrapada, though the former may almost always do so for higher motives.
For this reason, people under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada may be the most difficult to predict people, among all 27 nakshatra type people. This is because wisdom has been achieved. Hence these people may not live life with fixed rules and they may make new rules every day or every moment, according to what situations demand. In the deepest sense, they may not make any rules at all, as they may understand that life is much bigger than any rule. Hence whatever life throws at them, they may read the situation and act accordingly.
Lord Krishna promises he won’t use any weapon during the war and then one day, he summons the all powerful weapon Sudarshana to kill Bheeshma. The beauty of this incident is that he is as comfortable in breaking the promise, as he was in making it. Lord Krishna’s life is full of such incidents which make him defy rules and promises every now and then. In reality, he only acted according to the need of situations and nothing else. In the deepest sense, keeping your word is an act of ego, especially when it may cost fortunes to your loved ones. Lord Krishna was far too wise to be fooled by ego. Hence he made and broke promises with the same ease.
Let’s take an incident from Lord Buddha’s life. On a specific day, three different people approached him at different times and they asked the same question; ‘does God exist’? Lord Buddha said no to the first native, he said yes to the second one and he kept quiet in the third case. His disciple Ananda raised curiosity that though the question was same, why did he give three different answers?
Lord Buddha said the question looked the same but it was not. The first person came with strong belief that God existed. However, he had no personal experience and he simply wanted Lord Buddha’s approval so that he may stop searching. Hence Lord Buddha said no to shatter his belief so that he might actually engage in search of God instead of satisfying himself with plain words.
The second native came with a strong belief that God did not exist and Lord Buddha shattered his belief also, so that he might engage in search instead of stopping this noble quest with some words. The third native was actually in search of God and he wanted motivation from Lord Buddha. Hence Lord Buddha said nothing to him, conveying everything through silence.
He conveyed to this native that a true searcher should not find comfort in words and he should engage in efforts. Hence he conveyed that God was not something to be learnt through others, it was something to be personally experienced. Though the first two people left confused, the third native understood and he left after paying gratitude to Lord Buddha.
This is how difficult Uttarabhadrapada people may be to fit into a box. Even the cleverest person may not be able to make sense of such acts of Lord Krishna and Lord Buddha, though they make perfect sense. Hence Uttarabhadrapada people may be highly unpredictable and they may behave in any manner, according to the need of situation. There are no rules in the domain of Uttarabhadrapada and it simply operates through conscience and wisdom.
Uttarabhadrapada people may be fixed towards their goals and they may try their best to achieve such goals. However, they may not be in hurry, they may not get obsessed with goals and they may not engage in selfish acts to accomplish such goals. Uttarabhadrapada people may not be bothered if they are not able to achieve their goals, despite their best efforts. They may simply move on to other goals, as if it is all a game. For them, sincere and genuine efforts may be all that counts and results may not. In deeper sense, it means Uttarabhadrapada is focused on karma and it doesn’t bother about results. This is one of the most valuable lessons taught by Lord Krishna through Bhagwat Gita. This lesson says, engage in best possible karmas and don’t wish for fruits.
In the deepest sense, these native may be able to get all the fruits from the acts of engaging in karmas themselves. When you are playing for fun and you are enjoying a lot, what do you get when the game ends? You don’t get anything in the end and you get everything during the act of playing itself. Hence the wisdom represented by Uttarabhadrapada teaches that karma itself should be your fruit. It means you should be completely absorbed in your karmas.
This way, you may enjoy each and every moment while engaging in karmas; and the desire for fruits may not be formed at all. This is why Uttarabhadrapada people may find it easy to move on to next goals, if they fail to achieve some of them. They may try their best, they may enjoy every moment of their efforts and they may not care much about results. Karmas may indeed be fruits for them.
Uttarabhadrapada people generally radiate strong vibes of safety and friendliness. Hence most people may feel safe in their companies even when they may be meeting them for first or second times. Uttarabhadrapada people may be good at seeing things as they are; which means without prejudice. Hence they may prove very good as advisors, guides or gurus of various types.
For this reason, people in their social circle may often contact them for advices, primarily for two reasons. The first one is the fact that they may be wise enough to give such advices. Secondly, these people may be completely selfless while giving such advices. For instance, suppose a friend approaches an Uttarabhadrapada native with a profitable business proposal and asks him whether such native or a common friend should become a part of this venture.
If such Uttarabhadrapada native feels that the common friend is more suitable for this job, he may say so. Though it may cost him a profitable opportunity, he may not even care to realize. This is because all he may care for is that if someone has approached him for advice, he should impartially deliver him the best possible advice. Hence such Uttarabhadrapada native may only care for doing his best while delivering advice. Once again, he is enjoying the karma itself and he doesn’t care for results. It means the act of giving advice may itself be a sufficient reward for him.
Due to these traits, Uttarabhadrapada people may be well respected by their families as well as by people in their social circles. Since Uttarabhadrapada people may often put wellbeing of others before them, they may seem to suffer losses at times; though they may not think so. However, other people may realize this with time and they may start honoring them with gifts and gratitude from time to time.
A true saint doesn’t want any materialistic benefits and he only wishes to work for universal wellbeing. However, all types of people are willing to shower them with gifts and gratitude. This is because such people realize that such saint is unselfishly working for their benefits. Hence they feel strong urges to give him something in return. When they say goodness brings goodness, it almost always comes true in Uttarabhadrapada.
Uttarabhadrapada people are inclined towards social causes. Hence they may be found working for various charitable organizations or making big donations to such organizations. Uttarabhadrapada people may have keen interest in fields related to supernatural and paranormal. Some of these people may practice in such fields.
Uttarabhadrapada people are more likely to engage in soft fields like astrology, numerology, palmistry, spiritualism, yoga, meditation and some soft forms of tantra. However, they may not wish to engage in fields like black magic, fierce forms of tantra, aghorism and other practices which are generally considered dark. These fields may demand sacrifice of various animals at times and Uttarabhadrapada people may not be comfortable with this concept.
Uttarabhadrapada people are generally content in nature and they may try to live happily, even under adverse circumstances. Uttarabhadrapada people generally have forgiving natures. Such people may believe in giving more chances to wrong doers so that they may improve. Uttarabhadrapada people may not be opposed to evil people; they may be opposed to their evil deeds. Their wisdom may guide them not to hate anyone.
Hence an Uttarabhadrapada native may strongly oppose many of your actions and he may even stand against them; but he may still love you. Such native is not against you, he is against your actions. Uttarabhadrapada people may be wise enough to understand that the actions of a person and the complete existence of that person are different. Hence they may not hold your actions against you.
Due to their forgiving natures, Judges under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada may announce punishments or penalties which may be somewhat less than what convicts deserve, depending on the gravity of the offences committed by them. However, they may almost never announce punishments which are even slightly more than what convicts may deserve, depending on the cases.
Likewise, a native under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada may not believe in improving his son by punishing him or by imposing conditions on him. He may instead advise him and then give him time to improve by himself. Uttarabhadrapada people may be peace loving and violence may be their last resort. However, such peace may come from inner strength and not from cowardice or weakness.
Therefore, when violence is the only option left, they may engage in it whole heartedly. They may put such display of violence or aggression that most people may be shocked; as they may not have expected such acts from these people; given their peaceful and forgiving nature. This makes Uttarabhadrapada people very difficult to understand and predict. You simply can’t put them in any personality type since they may be carrying all possible personality types within them.
Lord Krishna goes to Kaurvas as a peace messenger before the final war and he asks for five villages only, instead of asking for the entire empire of Pandvas, as per the promise made by Kaurvas. He asserts that peace is of utmost value and he will convince Pandvas to stay away from war, even if five small villages are given to them. The request is denied and the war begins. While engaging in war, Lord Krishna motivates Arjuna to kill anyone and everyone who comes between him and victory. He says this victory and hence this violence is necessary for peace.
If any nakshatra can complete both these extreme and opposite tasks with same ease, it is Uttarabhadrapada. Though a nakshatra like Uttarashada may complete the second task with ease, it may not feel at ease with the first task; that of requesting for five villages in order to avoid war. What makes the first task even more difficult is that Lord Krishna is fully capable of winning this war in no time; yet he is requesting to grant five villages to avoid war. This is an act that no other nakshatra may perform as well as Uttarabhadrapada. By virtue of these traits, Uttarabhadrapada people may be respected and loved by people around them. They may seldom wish to command but people may wish to be commanded by them.
Uttarabhadrapada exhibits a number of traits. However, different people may embrace different traits, depending on placements of various planets in this nakshatra, as well as depending on their overall horoscopes. Looking at planets among navagraha; Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Rahu are comfortable in Uttarabhadrapada. Mercury and Ketu are not comfortable in this nakshatra.
Placements of malefic planets in Uttarabhadrapada may weaken or corrupt its traits. As a result, the native may suffer from a number of problems; depending on his overall horoscope. For example, a malefic combination of Mars, retrograde Saturn and Rahu placed in the tenth house of a horoscope in Pisces in Uttarabhadrapada may corrupt its significances. As a result, the native may pretend to be a very good person though he may be selfish.
Depending on the rest of his horoscope, the native may become a fake religious guru, a fake spiritual guru, a fake astrologer or a criminal. The native may be good at forming charitable trusts and raising funds for welfare of weaker sections. However, he may use most of the donations and gifts received by such trusts for selfish motives.
Let’s look at performances of various planets in various navamshas of Uttarabhadrapada. Staring with Leo navamsha; Jupiter, Venus and Ketu may perform well or very well here, depending on overall horoscope. Sun and Mars may perform above average here whereas Moon may perform well in this navamsha. Moon is strong in Pisces, it has decent strength in Leo and it has great comfort in Uttarabhadrapada.
Saturn may perform on average but not below average in this navamsha. Saturn has decent strength in Pisces, it is weak in Leo and it has great comfort in Uttarabhadrapada. Mercury may perform below average or poorly in this navamsha and Rahu may also do the same. Mercury is stronger than Rahu in Leo whereas Rahu is more comfortable in Uttarabhadrapada than Mercury. Among navagraha; Jupiter may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Mercury and Rahu may be the weakest.
Looking at Virgo navamsha; Jupiter may perform well or very well here whereas Venus and Ketu may perform well but not very well in this navamsha; since both of them are debilitated in Virgo. Moon may perform well here since it is strong in Pisces and it has decent strength in Virgo. Sun may perform on average or below average here whereas Mars may perform on average in this navamsha.
Saturn may perform above average in this navamsha, since it is strong in Virgo. Mercury may perform on average or below average here whereas Rahu may perform on average in this navamsha. Within the sign of Pisces; Rahu and Mercury may be the least weak in this navamsha. Among navagraha; Jupiter may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Mercury may be the weakest.
Moving on to Libra navamsha; Jupiter and Venus may perform very well here whereas Ketu and Moon may perform well but not very well in this navamsha. Mars may perform on average or above average here whereas Sun may perform below average in this navamsha, since it is debilitated in Libra.
Saturn may perform above average or well here; since it is exalted in Libra and it has great comfort in Uttarabhadrapada. Mercury may perform below average here whereas Rahu may perform on average in this navamsha. Among navagraha; Venus may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Mercury may be the weakest.
Considering Scorpio navamsha; Jupiter and Ketu may perform very well here whereas Venus may perform well or very well in this navamsha. Ketu is exalted in Pisces as well as Scorpio. Mars may perform well in this navamsha whereas Sun may perform above average here.
Saturn may perform on average or above average here whereas Moon may perform on average in this navamsha, since it is debilitated in Scorpio. Mercury as well as Rahu may perform poorly in this navamsha. Rahu is debilitated in Pisces as well as Scorpio. Among navagraha; Jupiter and Ketu may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Mercury and Rahu may be the weakest.
Himanshu Shangari