The literal translation for the word Revati is ‘wealthy’. Accordingly Vedic astrology associates Revati with traits like accumulation of wealth, happening of good events and leading good life.
Vedic astrology considers a fish or two fish swimming in water as the main symbol of Revati. Revati marks the completion of journey of liberation. Poorvabhadrapada represents the first part of the final path and Uttarabhadrapada represents the last part of the final path. Hence Poorvabhadrapada deals with extreme learning and Uttarabhadrapada deals with highest forms of teaching. After learning the highest wisdom and after teaching it, the teacher or guru is now supposed to retire. The retirement happens in Revati.
Revati is the sum total of all nakshatras. Hence it possesses traits of all nakshatras. However, unlike Uttarabhadrapada, Revati may not exhibit all of these traits. Having something and showing it are two differing aspects. Revati is good with the first aspect and it may simply not be interested in the second aspect. A teacher needs all his skills polished as long as he is teaching. After retirement, it is of no use to polish them. The teacher may rather tend to forget them, so that he may enjoy his peace which comes with retirement.
Among all 27 nakshatras, Revati is simply incomparable to any nakshatra with the exception of Uttarabhadrapada. It means no other nakshatra except Uttarabhadrapada may even be considered for comparison with Revati as it is simply out of their league. Let’s try to understand the difference between the working of Uttarabhadrapada and Revati.
The soul has already been liberated in Uttarabhadrapada and hence there is nothing more left to achieve. When you have achieved everything relevant that can be achieved and there is nothing left to achieve, you only have two options left. The first option is to hold on to what you have achieved whereas the second option is to start losing what you have achieved. Uttarabhadrapada represents the first option and Revati represents the second option.
Hence Revati doesn’t tend to achieve more than Uttarabhadrapada since there is nothing more to achieve; it tends to lose. The loss here is not the loss of abilities and traits but it is the loss of will to use them. Revati possesses all the traits possessed by Uttarabhadrapada but it generally has a tendency, not to use most of them. Hence Revati may seem to possess less than Uttarabhadrapada, it is not so in reality.
The difference between Uttarabhadrapada and Revati is very subtle but obvious. Though both these nakshatras represent liberated souls, their working is different. Uttarabhadrapada is willing to actively work for the benefit of the others whereas Revati does so passively. Uttarabhadrapada may try to restore balance by actively engaging in actions when required. On the other hand, Revati is passive and it may simply not be interested in restoring any type of balance through actions.
Due to these traits, Revati may seem to possess less than Uttarabhadrapada. However, its strength lies in possessing less and to be precise; in exhibiting less. Revati doesn’t bother about actively restoring the balance as it knows the balance will ultimately be restored, even without its active help. Hence it keeps watching everything like a viewer instead of being a participant. In deeper sense, Revati does participate in restoring balance, but not actively.
Let’s add another angle to understand this difference in a better manner. The state of liberation makes you achieve your optimum potential. To be precise, the state of liberation is reached when you achieve your optimum potential. However, this state doesn’t change your basic nature. When it comes to basic nature, souls are divided into two broad categories.
The first category represents the souls who are active according to their basic nature. The second category represents the souls who are passive according to their basic nature. Though both types of souls may ultimately reach liberation, their expressions are different; because of the difference in their basic natures. The state of liberation offered by Uttarabhadrapada is for the people having active nature. On the other hand, the state of liberation offered by Revati is for the people having passive nature. Though both these types are liberated, their expressions and even their ways of reaching may be different.
Uttarabhadrapada believes in engaging in Nishkaam karmas, which means karmas without the desires for results. By doing so, it is not bound by the fruits whether good or bad; and hence it is liberated. When it comes to Revati, it has a tendency of not engaging in karmas in the first place. Hence Revati too is not bound by fruits. This topic is as deep as any topic can get and hence, we will leave it here for the time being, in order to move on with the main topic.
Due to this difference in basic natures; most Avatars and highly enlightened souls known for blessing mankind with highest forms of wisdom and also known for making active efforts to restore balance; are likely to be under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada. Liberated souls under strong influence of Revati may often go unnoticed. This is because activity is required to get you noticed. When you are not interested in that much activity even; you may simply go unnoticed.
Hence the classical image of a saint staying at his ashram and praying for universal wellbeing belongs to Revati. Saints under strong influence of Revati may create all the healing and goodness through their prayers; which too may be passive. It means they may not arrange big setups and they may simply make prayers by themselves. Revati believes that the energy itself is sufficient to bring about changes and nothing else may be required.
However, a saint under strong influence of Uttarabhadrapada is a warrior saint due to his active basic nature. Hence he is trying to restore balance, more through his actions, than through his prayers. Both types of souls complement each other perfectly, though it may not be visible. While Uttarabhadrapada type souls are engaging in actions to restore balance, Revati type souls are sending them more and more energy through their auras. Hence they work in perfect harmony.
A solar panel converts the energy of Sun into electrical energy. We use this energy to benefit in many ways. This solar panel is useful as well as appreciated and we pay for it. However, this fact may go unnoticed that it gets its strength from the sun through its rays. The sun acts passively in this case and hence it often goes uncredited. However, you simply can’t imagine a solar panel working without an external source of energy like Sun.
This may now give you the idea that it is the Sun which is actually doing all the work. However, you simply can’t use Sun’s energy as electrical energy, without the help of a solar panel. It means a solar panel and Sun work in combination and they may both lose their relevance without each other, when it comes to produce electrical energy. In this combination, Sun is passive or taken for granted whereas solar panel is active and hence it seems to do all the work. Uttarabhadrapada is like the solar panel and Revati is like the Sun. Hence both these nakshatras may seem different; they work in perfect combination, complementing each other completely.
Lord Rama received a number of divine weapons from various saints who never used them. He also received an invisible Kavach (armor) before the final battle with Ravana. These saints gave such weapons and Kavach to Lord Rama as they knew he would need them during the final war with Ravana. Lord Rama used those weapons and the Kavach to put an end to the kingdom of evil.
Has this fact ever been realized that all those saints were equally important for achieving the final victory over evil. Lord Rama represents Uttarabhadrapada and hence he engaged in actions to restore balance. All such saints represent Revati. They had such weapons for long periods of time but they had no intentions of using them. When Lord Rama appeared, all of them handed their weapons over to him, so that he might win the final war.
It means Revati transferred its energy to Uttarabhadrapada so that the latter may succeed in restoring balance. The saints were passive but they were still participating in the act of restoring balance. The combination of Uttarabhadrapada and Revati works in most mysterious ways. Both these nakshatras always form a team, to restore balance.
Looking into the symbol of two fish, these fish are moving opposite to each other. Some depictions show they are moving in a circle with each one having its head near other’s tail. The opposite moving fish indicate two opposite sides of most aspects of life. It means they represent the good and the evil, happiness and sadness, day and night, life and death; and all other such phenomena. Revati is the nakshatra which embraces these seemingly opposite extremes at the same time.
Hence Revati exhibits the same level of comfort whether it faces the good or the evil, day or night, prosperity or poverty and all other such phenomena. It may now be easy to understand that, why true saints welcome bad people as well as good people. They are guided by Revati and Revati simply doesn’t discriminate. Such lack of discrimination doesn’t rise from lack of the ability to discriminate since they are completely capable of discriminating. This lack rises from their unwillingness to discriminate.
Hence they can discriminate but they won’t. This is why saints may embrace bad people in the same way as they accept good people. In the domain of Revati, good may change into bad and bad may change into good. This is what the symbol of fish moving in a circle represents. Day keeps changing into night and night keeps changing into day. Hence they don’t judge people for their evil deeds since they know every evil will ultimately turn into good. Since they know this final truth that bad keeps changing into good and good keeps changing into bad; they embrace them both.
Vedic astrology assigns Pushan as the ruling deity of Revati. Pushan is considered as a solar deity in Vedic mythology. He is supposed to bring light wherever it is needed. Pushan is also known as a god who gives wealth and prosperity. All these traits of Pushan are relayed through Revati. These traits make people under strong influence of Revati capable of showing light of wisdom, enlightenment and happiness to others.
Vedic astrology assigns Mercury as the ruling planet of Revati. The influence of Mercury adds Mercurial traits like communication skills, analytical nature, trade skills and sense of humor to Revati. All quarters of Revati fall in Pisces ruled by Jupiter. Hence Revati comes under the influence of Pisces and Jupiter. These influences add traits like benevolence, kindness, hope, faith, wisdom, contentedness, intelligence, creativity and many other traits to Revati. It should be noted that the influence of Jupiter and Pisces on Revati is much stronger than that of Mercury. Jupiter is very strong in Pisces and Mercury is debilitated in Pisces.
It may seem strange why the planet of intellect represents the last nakshatra and that too under the supervision of Pisces and Jupiter, since they both promote faith, conscience and wisdom over intellect. In the deepest sense, the journey of liberation is the journey of growing faith. Intellect stands in opposition to emotions, psychic perception, faith and divine intervention. This is because intellect is comfortable only when it can assign reasons and it can reach the source.
This is why modern science is primarily based on intellect. It believes what can be explained and it may deny what can’t be. However, the domains of emotions, psychic perception, faith and divine guidance come without explanations. All of them may tell you certain things from within; commonly known as intuitions of various types. Whether you embrace them or reject them, they won’t supply you with reasons.
Looking at Mercury, Ashlesha is the first nakshatra ruled by it and this nakshatra falls in Cancer, the sign of emotions. Jyeshtha is the second nakshatra ruled by Mercury and it falls in Scorpio, the sign of psychic perception. Revati is the third and final nakshatra ruled by Mercury and it falls in Pisces, the sign of faith and divine guidance. It indicates that Mercury or intellect is given the task to deal with and embrace emotions, psychic perception, faith and divine guidance.
This means that in a deeper sense, the journey of liberation is primarily meant for intellect. This is because emotions, psychic perception, faith and divine guidance work well with each other. However, intellect is generally opposed to all of them. The journey of liberation is the journey to become one from inside. It means one is supposed to remove all conditions and partitions inside. Since the biggest partition is created by intellect, it is the journey of intellect. It means intellect needs to learn to accept emotions, psychic perception, faith and divine guidance, in order for this journey to be completed.
When it comes to feed ego, nothing feeds it better than intellect. Emotions may at times stand against it since an emotion like love may compel one for complete surrender; and complete surrender means death of ego. Psychic perception, faith and divine guidance come and grow on their own and they can’t be controlled by ego. Hence ego conducts most of its operations through intellect. It means in a deeper sense, the journey to destroy ego is the journey to save intellect from serving for ego and unite with the other entities.
When we look at it from this angle, it comes as no surprise that Mercury reaches its state of debilitation in Pisces, the sign of liberation. It should be noted that Mercury is the only planet among navagraha which gets debilitated in a sign, which features its nakshatra. It means no other planet gets debilitated in a sign which features its nakshatra. Even the other signs which feature nakshatras ruled by Mercury are not comfortable for Mercury.
All these facts indicate that the journey of liberation is indeed the journey of intellect. It means when ego is finally destroyed in Poorvabhadrapada, the intellect surrenders and it starts working in harmony with emotions, psychic perception, faith and divine guidance. Since intellect is debilitated now, it is of no use to ego.
This brings us to one more realization. The journey of liberation can’t be completed with the help of intellect and one needs emotions and faith. As long as you are trying to complete this journey with the help of intellect, you may only end up making your ego stronger. Stronger is the intellect, stronger is the ego. This is why the final act of liberation is unconditional surrender which goes against intellect as well as ego. Intellect can’t surrender to something or someone, until their superiority is literally proved. When it comes to ego, it simply hates surrender. Unconditional surrender and acceptance of divine governance is liberation.
Since Revati possesses so many traits, people under its strong influence may achieve success in a wide variety of fields, related to materialistic as well other domains, like spiritualism. The primary traits which define Revati are acceptance and contentedness. Hence people under strong influence of Revati may be happy with what they have and they may be good at accepting whatever comes their way.
The naming of last three nakshatras has been done in mysterious ways and the names don’t actually mean what they literally mean. We have already seen this in case of Poorvabhadrapada and Uttarabhadrapada. Revati literally means ‘wealthy’. However, this wealth should not be confused with materialistic wealth. The last three nakshatras purely deal with spiritual terminology. Hence the meaning of Revati in this context is ‘one who has achieved the ultimate wealth’. The ultimate wealth is the one which can’t be taken away, once it is accumulated. This means it is the wealth of wisdom, acceptance, love, contentedness and finally; the wealth of peace.
All these traits are exhibited by Revati. Hence people under its strong influence have general tendency to be loving, wise, content, forgiving and peaceful. Possession of ultimate wealth doesn’t mean Revati can’t possess material wealth. It simply means Revati may not be that much interested in such wealth. However, Revati is a very blessed and resourceful nakshatra. Hence people under its strong influence may accumulate as much materialistic wealth as any other nakshatra type people may.
The next trait which is strongly exhibited by Revati is passivity. Hence Revati people may not be known for being active. Most of these people may love rest and peace. Therefore, Revati people are likely to do well in fields which don’t need much physical exertion and aggression. At the same time, Revati people may be gifted with creative and learning abilities. As a result, many people under strong influence of Revati may be seen practicing in creative fields or fields like astrology, spiritualism, teaching, coaching and consultancy.
Revati people are generally very optimistic and they continue to move towards their goals despite failures and setbacks. Revati people may have very good imagination. Traits like optimism and imagination may bless them with very good results when their overall horoscopes are supportive. However, when planets like Sun, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn are weak or afflicted, Revati people may be limited to dreams only. It means such Revati people may be very good at making plans, but they may not engage in necessary efforts to execute such plans.
For this reason, Revati people are also known as dreamers. When their horoscopes are supportive, all their dreams may come true. However when their horoscopes are not supportive, all they may have are dreams. Revati people may have the tendency to build their own worlds of dreams and imaginations. In some cases, such people may completely get lost in their worlds of dreams and they may not engage in actions to realize such dreams.
Revati people are generally cultured and civilized. They know how to live and behave in civilized societies. These people may possess good communication skills. Revati people may be good at helping their friends and relatives. They may also be fortunate enough to receive help and support from their friends and relatives, whenever they may be in need.
Compassion and good fortune may be other traits possessed by people under strong influence of Revati. Many Revati people may believe that doing good to others will bring good to them and this may hold true for many of them. Revati people may be good at understanding emotions of other people. Hence they may help them during troublesome times by sharing their pain. Many people under strong influence of Revati may be associated with charitable organizations to help weaker sections of society.
Revati possesses a number of traits. However, different people may embrace different traits, depending on placements of various planets in this nakshatra, as well as on their overall horoscopes. Looking at planets among navagraha; Jupiter, Venus, Moon, Mars, Saturn and Ketu are comfortable in Revati, though their levels of comfort are different. Sun, Mercury and Rahu are not comfortable in Revati. Placements of malefic planets in Revati may cause a number of problems for the native; depending on his overall horoscope.
Let’s look at performances of various planets in various navamshas of Revati. Starting with Sagittarius navamsha; Jupiter, Venus and Ketu may perform very well here whereas Moon may perform well in this navamsha. Moon is strong in Pisces, it has decent strength in Sagittarius and it is very comfortable in Revati. Sun may perform on average here whereas Mars may perform above average or well in this navamsha. Both Sun and Mars are not strong in Pisces and they are strong in Sagittarius. However, Sun is not comfortable in Revati whereas Mars is comfortable but not very comfortable in this nakshatra.
Saturn may perform on average here whereas Mercury and Rahu may perform poorly or very poorly in this navamsha. Though Mercury rules Revati; it is not comfortable in this nakshatra. Likewise, Rahu is also not comfortable in this nakshatra. Apart from that, both of them are debilitated in Pisces and they are not strong in Sagittarius. Among navagraha; Jupiter may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Rahu may be the weakest.
Looking at Capricorn navamsha; Venus may perform very well here, Ketu may perform well or very well here; and Jupiter may perform well but not very well in this navamsha, since it is debilitated in Capricorn. Moon may perform well in this navamsha and Mars may also perform well here. Mars has decent strength in Pisces and it is exalted in Capricorn. Sun may perform on average or below average in this navamsha.
Saturn may perform above average but not well in this navamsha; since it is not strong in Pisces, it is strong in Capricorn and it is comfortable but not very comfortable in Revati. Mercury as well as Rahu may perform on average or below average in this navamsha. Among navagraha; Venus may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Mercury and Rahu may be the weakest.
Moving on to Aquarius navamsha; Jupiter, Venus and Ketu may perform well or very well here. Jupiter and Ketu have decent strength in Aquarius whereas Venus is strong in this sign. Jupiter, Venus and Ketu are all very comfortable in Revati. Moon may perform above average but not well in this navamsha, since it is weak in Aquarius. Mars may perform on average here whereas Sun may perform below average in this navamsha. Sun is not strong in Pisces, it is weak in Aquarius and it is not comfortable in Revati.
Saturn may perform above average in this navamsha, since it is strong in Aquarius. Rahu may perform on average here whereas Mercury may perform on average or below average in this navamsha. Rahu is stronger than Mercury in Aquarius. Among navagraha, Venus may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Mercury may be the weakest.
Considering Pisces navamsha; Jupiter, Venus and Ketu may perform very well here. Venus as well as Ketu is exalted in Pisces and they are very comfortable in Revati. Jupiter is strong in Pisces and it is very comfortable in Revati. Moon may be strong here but it may not perform well in this navamsha; since it forms Gandmool Dosh here. Hence Moon may be strong but troubled in this navamsha.
Mars may perform on average here whereas Sun may perform on average or below average in this navamsha. Saturn may perform on average in this navamsha whereas Mercury and Rahu may perform very poorly in this navamsha. Among all 108 navamshas of 27 nakshatras; Mercury and Rahu may be the weakest in this navamsha. Rahu faces double debilitation in case of its placement of Scorpio navamsha of Anuradha also; within the sign of Scorpio. However, Rahu is very comfortable in Anuradha whereas it is not comfortable in Revati. Hence it may be the weakest here. Among navagraha; Venus may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Rahu and Mercury may be the weakest.
Himanshu Shangari