Hasta occupies 10°00’ to 23°20’ of Kanyā (Virgo) and carries the open hand as its primary symbol — perhaps the most immediate and universally intelligible symbol of all twenty-seven nakṣatras. The hand is the instrument of craft, of healing, of giving and receiving, of creation and communication. Governed by the Moon and presided over by Savitṛ — the solar deity as the generative, stimulating aspect of the Sun (as distinct from its illuminating aspect) — Hasta combines the Moon’s sensitivity and receptivity with Savitṛ’s creative energy. The result is a nakṣatra of extraordinary manual and intellectual dexterity.
Parāśara describes Hasta natives as charitable, courageous, knowledgeable, and skilled with their hands. Across classical commentaries, there is consistent emphasis on their practical intelligence — they understand how to make things work, how to take abstract concepts and translate them into tangible results. The Moon’s rulership gives them emotional sensitivity and intuitive receptivity; Savitṛ’s creative impulse (the deity after whom the Gāyatrī Mantra is addressed) gives them the capacity to channel that sensitivity into productive creation.
The Kanyā setting amplifies Hasta’s analytical and craft-oriented qualities. These natives tend to be perfectionists — the hand can always be steadier, the execution always more precise. This perfectionism is both their greatest professional asset and a source of personal frustration when they apply it to themselves or to relationships. They often excel in fields requiring skillful hands: surgery, dentistry, music (particularly stringed instruments), sculpture, writing (literally — many have remarkable penmanship), cooking, and craft-based trades. The Moon’s influence also draws them toward care professions.
Hasta is classified as a kṣipra (swift) and laghu (light) nakṣatra — auspicious for skill-based activities, trade, financial transactions, learning new crafts, travel, and all activities requiring manual precision. Varāhamihira notes that Hasta natives are “shameless” in some classical translations — a word that likely points to their direct, practical, unsentimental approach to problems rather than actual shamelessness. At their best, Hasta individuals embody the sacred function of the hand in all traditions: the healer’s touch, the artist’s grasp, the craftsman’s faithful service to material.