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मुख्य पृष्ठ /नक्षत्र वाटिका
नक्षत्र वृक्षों का बगीचा

नक्षत्र वाटिका

सत्ताईस नक्षत्र, सत्ताईस वृक्ष — जिस नक्षत्र में जन्म हुआ, उसी का पेड़ लगाइए और सँभालिए।

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The nakshatra vatika assigns a tree to each of the twenty-seven nakshatras of the Indian lunar calendar. The custom is to plant the tree of the nakshatra a child is born under and to keep it: a person and a tree growing on the same clock. Planted as a full set — by a temple, a school, a colony — the twenty-seven make a grove, and a grove of largely native trees does what native trees do, whatever one makes of the astrology.

The lists are not fixed. Different texts and different regions name different species for the same nakshatra, and several nakshatras carry more than one tree. We publish the commonly cited North Indian set, say so plainly, and note where the library holds a record for the tree.

The twenty-seven star trees

1AshwiniStrychnine tree कुचलाStrychnos nux-vomica
2BharaniIndian gooseberry आँवलाPhyllanthus emblica3KrittikaCluster fig गूलरFicus racemosa4RohiniJava plum जामुनSyzygium cumini5MrigashiraCatechu खैरSenegalia catechu
6ArdraAgarwood अगरAquilaria malaccensis
7PunarvasuBamboo बाँसDendrocalamus strictus8PushyaSacred fig पीपलFicus religiosa9AshleshaCeylon ironwood नागकेसरMesua ferrea10MaghaBanyan बरगदFicus benghalensis11Purva PhalguniFlame of the forest पलाशButea monosperma12Uttara PhalguniWhite fig पाकड़Ficus virens13HastaSoapnut रीठाSapindus mukorossi14ChitraBael बेलAegle marmelos15SwatiArjuna अर्जुनTerminalia arjuna
16VishakhaGovernor's plum विकंकतFlacourtia indica
17AnuradhaBullet wood मौलसरीMimusops elengi
18JyeshthaSilk cotton tree सेमलBombax ceiba19MulaSal सालShorea robusta
20PurvashadhaIndian willow जलवेतसSalix tetrasperma
21UttarashadhaJackfruit कटहलArtocarpus heterophyllus22ShravanaGiant milkweed आकCalotropis gigantea23DhanishtaKhejri शमीProsopis cineraria24ShatabhishaKadam कदंबNeolamarckia cadamba25Purva BhadrapadaMango आमMangifera indica26Uttara BhadrapadaNeem नीमAzadirachta indica27RevatiMahua महुआMadhuca longifolia

Lists differ between texts and between regions — several nakshatras carry more than one tree, and southern lists name different species from northern ones. This is the commonly published North Indian set, recorded as tradition. Where the library holds a record for the tree, the card links to it.


Planting one

🌳
Start with what will liveA full vatika needs ground and decades. Most households plant one tree — their own nakshatra — and a society or school plants the set.
Match the tree to the placeSeveral of the twenty-seven are forest trees that will not take to a small plot or a dry district. Substitute honestly rather than plant something that will die.
📐
Give them roomThese are trees, not shrubs. Spacing, root spread and eventual canopy decide the layout long before aesthetics do.
📚
Record what you plantNote the species you actually used and where the list came from. Variants are the norm, and an honest record is worth more than a tidy one.

Growing a nakshatra vatika?

Schools, societies and temple trusts across India are planting these. Tell us where yours is and which species you used — regional substitutions are exactly what we want to record.

Tell us about it

Traditional KnowledgePractices and observations held in communitiesExplore PlantsThe full library, filtered by purpose, space, season and regionBiodiversityWhat native trees bring back