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Birth Nakshatra Calculator

Your nakshatra is the star the Moon was passing when you were born: one of 27 slices of the sky, each about 13 degrees wide. Think of it as a sign inside your Moon sign. Enter your birth details to find yours, with its quarter (pada), ruling planet, deity and meaning.

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What a nakshatra is, in plain English

Western astrology cuts the sky into 12 signs. Vedic astrology also cuts it into 27 smaller slices called nakshatras (lunar mansions), each 13°20′ wide, because that is roughly how far the Moon travels in a day. Your birth nakshatra, or janma nakshatra, is the slice the Moon was passing through when you were born. Think of it as a sign inside your Moon sign.

Where popular Western astrology leads with the Sun sign, Vedic astrology leads with the Moon, and the nakshatra is the most personal part of that Moon. Each one has its own ruling planet, presiding deity, symbol and temperament, so it says far more than the Moon sign alone.

It also does practical work. Your nakshatra’s ruling planet sets the first chapter of your Vimshottari dasha, the timing system that maps the rest of your life. A Moon at 12° Virgo, for instance, falls in Hasta, the mansion of the hand, ruled by the Moon itself, so life begins in a Moon period and every later chapter follows from there. Nakshatras are also the basis of traditional compatibility matching and of choosing good dates.

Enter your birth date, time, and place above and the calculator finds your nakshatra with its pada (quarter), ruling planet, deity and symbol, from the Moon’s sidereal position at your exact birth moment.

All 27 nakshatras, where they fall and who rules them

Positions are in the sidereal zodiac used by Vedic astrology, which currently sits about 24 degrees behind the tropical zodiac of Western astrology. If you only know your Western Moon sign, your Vedic Moon is usually one sign earlier, so check with the calculator rather than reading this table from a Western chart.

The 27 nakshatras with sidereal spans and ruling planets
NakshatraSidereal spanRuler
1. Ashwini0°00′ Aries to 13°20′ AriesKetu
2. Bharani13°20′ Aries to 26°40′ AriesVenus
3. Krittika26°40′ Aries to 10°00′ TaurusSun
4. Rohini10°00′ Taurus to 23°20′ TaurusMoon
5. Mrigashira23°20′ Taurus to 6°40′ GeminiMars
6. Ardra6°40′ Gemini to 20°00′ GeminiRahu
7. Punarvasu20°00′ Gemini to 3°20′ CancerJupiter
8. Pushya3°20′ Cancer to 16°40′ CancerSaturn
9. Ashlesha16°40′ Cancer to 30°00′ CancerMercury
10. Magha0°00′ Leo to 13°20′ LeoKetu
11. Purva Phalguni13°20′ Leo to 26°40′ LeoVenus
12. Uttara Phalguni26°40′ Leo to 10°00′ VirgoSun
13. Hasta10°00′ Virgo to 23°20′ VirgoMoon
14. Chitra23°20′ Virgo to 6°40′ LibraMars
15. Swati6°40′ Libra to 20°00′ LibraRahu
16. Vishakha20°00′ Libra to 3°20′ ScorpioJupiter
17. Anuradha3°20′ Scorpio to 16°40′ ScorpioSaturn
18. Jyeshtha16°40′ Scorpio to 30°00′ ScorpioMercury
19. Mula0°00′ Sagittarius to 13°20′ SagittariusKetu
20. Purva Ashadha13°20′ Sagittarius to 26°40′ SagittariusVenus
21. Uttara Ashadha26°40′ Sagittarius to 10°00′ CapricornSun
22. Shravana10°00′ Capricorn to 23°20′ CapricornMoon
23. Dhanishta23°20′ Capricorn to 6°40′ AquariusMars
24. Shatabhisha6°40′ Aquarius to 20°00′ AquariusRahu
25. Purva Bhadrapada20°00′ Aquarius to 3°20′ PiscesJupiter
26. Uttara Bhadrapada3°20′ Pisces to 16°40′ PiscesSaturn
27. Revati16°40′ Pisces to 30°00′ PiscesMercury

If you know Western astrology

Western astrology has its own relative of the nakshatras: the lunar mansions of medieval Arabic astrology, the manazil al-qamar, which also split the Moon’s path into 28 stations. They faded from modern Western practice, while in India the 27 nakshatras stayed central to daily use.

The Moon spends roughly a day in each nakshatra, so most birth dates map to one answer whatever the time. Born near a boundary, the exact time and place decide which side you fall on. If the result surprises you and your birth time is uncertain, check whether the Moon changed mansions that day before doubting the calculation.

Clear answers

Frequently asked questions

What is my birth nakshatra?

Your birth nakshatra is the lunar mansion the Moon occupied when you were born. Enter your birth details in the calculator above and it returns the nakshatra, its pada, ruler, deity, and symbol.

What is a pada?

Each nakshatra divides into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′ each. The pada refines the reading: it links your nakshatra to a navamsa sign and shades how its qualities express. Some traditional techniques, like choosing a name’s first syllable, work by pada.

Is the nakshatra the same as my Moon sign?

They are related but different resolutions of the same position. The Moon sign is one of 12 signs of 30 degrees; the nakshatra is one of 27 mansions of 13°20′. A nakshatra sits within one sign or straddles two. Hasta, for example, lies entirely in Virgo.

Why does my nakshatra matter for timing?

The Vimshottari dasha cycle, Vedic astrology’s main timing system, starts from your birth nakshatra’s ruling planet, and how far the Moon had moved through the mansion sets the remaining length of that first period. Every dasha date in your life traces back to this single point.

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