Mithun Rashi Names — Baby Boy & Girl Names Starting with Ka, Ki, Ku, Gha, Ng, Chha, Ke, Ko, Ha

Mrigashira, Ardra and Punarvasu

The second half of Mrigashira opens the sign with Ka and Ki. Mrigashira belongs to Soma and is ruled by Mars. Next comes the whole of Ardra, the teardrop, whose deity is Rudra, the fierce form later identified with Shiva, and whose ruling planet is Rahu. Ardra's padas give Ku, Gha, Ng and Chha. The sign closes with the first three padas of Punarvasu, presided over by Aditi, mother of the gods, ruled by Jupiter and pictured as a quiver of arrows. These give Ke, Ko and Ha; Punarvasu's last pada, Hi, already belongs to Kark.

Punarvasu is remembered as the birth star of Rama in the Ramayana. It is a nice irony for name-seekers that Rama's own name begins with Ra, a Tula letter, so a Punarvasu child named after him would be following devotion rather than the akshar. Families who want both often choose another name of Rama's line or of Vishnu that fits Ke, Ko or Ha, Keshav or Hari for instance.

How the nine letters behave in practice

Ka, Ki, Ku, Ke and Ko together produce more names than most whole rashis: Kamal, Karan, Kavya, Kiran, Kirti, Kunal, Kusum, Ketan, Ketaki, Komal. Ha is strong as well, with Hari, Harsh, Harini and Hamsa. Gha is thinner but has Ghanshyam, a name of Krishna. Chha gives Chhavi and Chhaya. Ng, the nasal sound written with the letter that begins no Sanskrit word, gives no names at all, so a baby born in Ardra's third pada is usually named from Ardra's other letters or from a short ceremonial name.

Conjunct sounds follow their first consonant. Krishna, with its vocalic ri, is heard as Kri or Kru, and both readings fall on Mithun letters, so the name belongs here. Kshitij counts as Ki because the cluster starts with K and the vowel after it is i. A name like Kailash, beginning with kai, is heard as Ka or Ke, again both Mithun, and stays on the list.

Two names for one child

Mithun's symbol is a pair, and many Indian children do carry two names. The janma nama follows the akshar strictly and is the name a priest uses in a sankalpa or at a wedding; the vyavaharik nama, the name used every day, is chosen freely. A family whose baby is born in Ardra's Ng pada, for example, may keep a brief Ardra-letter name for the horoscope and give the child a well-loved everyday name from any letter. Others pick a single name from the Ka or Ha list so that the one name serves both roles.

Mithun rashi and the Gemini confusion

Being born between late May and June makes a person a Gemini by the Sun-sign columns, but that says nothing about Mithun rashi. The rashi used for naming is the sidereal sign the Moon was in at birth, and the Moon passes through Mithun for roughly two and a quarter days every month. The birth time and place settle which nakshatra and pada the Moon held, and therefore which of the nine Mithun letters applies.

What are the letters for Mithun rashi names?

Ka and Ki from Mrigashira's last two padas; Ku, Gha, Ng and Chha from Ardra; and Ke, Ko and Ha from Punarvasu's first three padas. The baby's letter is the one of the pada the Moon occupied at birth.

Is Krishna a Mithun rashi name?

Yes. Krishna begins with K followed by the vocalic ri, heard as Kri or Kru; both readings land on Mithun letters, Ki and Ku, so the name belongs to this rashi.

What if my baby's letter is Ng from Ardra?

No names begin with that nasal sound. Families usually choose from Ardra's other letters, Ku, Gha and Chha, or keep a short ceremonial janma nama and give a separate everyday name.

My baby was born in Punarvasu. Is the rashi Mithun or Kark?

Punarvasu's first three padas are in Mithun with the letters Ke, Ko and Ha. Its fourth pada is in Kark with the letter Hi. The exact birth time decides which pada applies.

Does Mithun rashi mean the Gemini sun sign?

No. Mithun rashi for naming is the sidereal sign of the Moon at birth. The Gemini sun sign is based on the Sun's tropical position by date, and the two usually differ.