In Sravana Nakshatra, we learnt the importance of listening to the cacophony of sounds around you as well as your inner voice. It is through this journey that we find our own truth and our life’s vocation and calling. In Dhanishta Nakshatra, the focus shifts from listening to voicing, from tuning inwards to manifesting outwards. Through Dhanishta Nakshatra, we learn to discipline and distill the relationship between the Creator and the Created.

Through Dhanishta Nakshatra, we learn the mighty power of sound creation. The true lesson of Dhanishta is the focused and disciplined creation of sound waves that will arrive at its intended target.

Each and every single day, we create sounds that reverberate through the universe. One day, the ripples will return.

Father and Son

Dhanishta Nakshatra is ruled by Mars, the commander-in-chief of the planetary cabinet. It is he who gives the commands through his voice or through an instrument. The drum, the trumpet, the flute–these are the instruments we use to wake up to a higher calling and to our life’s purpose. But there is no instrument out there that is as powerful as the human voice and the human hand (see Hasta Nakshatra).

Dhanishta is placed half in Capricorn and half in Aquarius. Both constellations are ruled by Saturn–representing the responsibility we have to ourselves as well as those around us: our parents, our spouses, our children, our community and so on. Dhanishta, however, is ruled by Mars, who represents independent action. He wants to go his own way, but he is unable to. In Dhanishta, he is forced to work with a collective to aspire to a higher purpose.

This results in what can be described as a warlike formation. The war in this case is fought between the self, the non-self and the eternal Self. Saturn brings to fruition situations that enable the karma of the self and the community to be purified before it is finally set aside. Mars wants to break away from others and assert his own independence, but Saturn stops him because the cycle is not yet complete.

In the beginning, this requires a soul to learn how to fulfil other people’s expectations instead of their own. This can manifest as the fruitless chasing of dreams that feel unaligned with one’s True Self. But through that journey, a soul learns that all that he thought he is not.

While he may have fought to assert his independence, he sees that being part of a collective that fights together, that eats together and that is on a journey together; is far preferable to being alone. He realises that nobody is going to take responsibility for him if he does not take responsibility for others.

The symbols associated with the Nakshatra are the flute and the drum. The flute is an instrument for our voice, but the drum is an instrument for our hands. It shows that even if we do not possess the power of a strong voice, we can utilise our hands to create the sounds that are destined to reach their intended recipient. Placements in Dhanishta show latent and dormant musical talent.

The true power of these instruments can only harnessed through the collective. Think of a solo act versus an orchestra. Think of a lone soldier versus an army. Through Dhanishta Nakshatra, we learn to work with others to reach shared–as opposed to individual–goals.

The Eight Vasus

The ruling deity of this nakshatra are the Aṣṭa Vasus. They deified as the eight solar rays of the Sun. The name Vasu means ‘Brilliance’ or ‘Wealth Giver’. They represent the various forces that we need to tap into for an unmanifested reality to become a manifested reality.

It begins with us believing that Brahman–the collective consciousness–has a divine plan for each soul that incarnates in human form. We begin to reach for our true potential by expanding the conscious awareness within and seeing glimpses of our True Self. To do this, we need to remember the lessons of Sravana Nakshatra: the lunar mansion that comes before Dhanishta.

To manifest the will of the Cosmos on Earth, all eight Vasus must come together to preside over the different stages of our journey. It can happen one after another or it can happen all at once. It is a metaphor for the different elemental energies that must join forces to create the Will of the Cosmic Intelligence on Earth.

Nakstrani is the name of the pole star–the compass point of our existence which is fixed and can never be altered. Then come the three celestials–the Moon, the Ether and the Sun. Then, the four elements also have to come together as well: Wind, Fire, Water and Earth.

When this journey is complete, an unmanifested vision becomes a temporal reality. The true lesson of this nakshatra is to understand that we are all instruments for the Divine.