Nakshatra Calculator
Find your Janma Nakshatra — the birth star the Moon occupied when you were born — along with its pada, its ruling planet and the Moon rashi that contains it. This one number drives your naming syllable, your dasha sequence and half of a marriage matching score.
What this calculator works out
- Your janma nakshatra
- Which of the 27 lunar mansions the Moon occupied at birth.
- The pada
- Which quarter of that nakshatra — one of four 3°20' segments that fix the naming syllable and the navamsa placement.
- The nakshatra lord
- The graha ruling your birth star, which is also the planet your Vimshottari dasha sequence begins with.
- The containing rashi
- Which Moon sign the nakshatra falls in, since the two divisions do not align.
How it works
The zodiac is divided into 27 nakshatras of 13°20' each, and each of those into four padas of 3°20'. The Moon crosses one nakshatra in roughly a day, and one pada in about six hours — so the nakshatra is usually settled by your date, but the pada genuinely needs your birth time. The ruling planet shown is the nakshatra lord that starts your Vimshottari dasha sequence.
Step by step
- The Moon's sidereal longitude is computed from your birth details.
- That longitude is divided by 13°20' (360 ÷ 27) to give the nakshatra number.
- The remainder is divided by 3°20' to give the pada, 1 to 4.
- The nakshatra number maps to its fixed ruling planet in the Vimshottari sequence.
A worked example
Input: 15 August 1995, 07:12, Delhi
- Moon's sidereal longitude → 353.16°
- 353.16° ÷ 13.333° = 26.49 → nakshatra 27, Revati
- Remainder 6.49° ÷ 3.333° = 1.95 → pada 2
Result: Revati nakshatra, pada 2, ruled by Mercury — so a Mercury mahadasha started the dasha sequence.
How to read your result
- Why 27 divisions rather than 12
- A rashi spans 30°, a nakshatra 13°20'. The finer grid is what lets matchmaking distinguish two people who share a Moon sign, and it is why four of the eight ashtakoot kootas are nakshatra-based.
- The pada is not a footnote
- It fixes the syllable a child is traditionally named with, and it determines which navamsa sign the Moon falls into. Two people in the same nakshatra but different padas have different D9 placements.
- It starts your dasha
- How far the Moon had already travelled into the nakshatra at birth decides how much of the first mahadasha was already spent. That is why the dasha calculator needs the exact longitude, not just the nakshatra name.
What changes the answer
- The Moon crosses a nakshatra in about a day, so the date usually settles it.
- A pada lasts roughly six hours — that is the part that genuinely needs your birth time.
- A nakshatra can straddle a rashi boundary. That is normal, not an error.
- Some traditions add a 28th nakshatra, Abhijit, for specific muhurat work. The standard 27-fold scheme is used here.
Frequently asked questions
What is a nakshatra?
One of the 27 lunar mansions the Vedic zodiac is divided into. Your Janma Nakshatra is the one the Moon was in at your birth, and it is read more closely than the Moon sign for temperament and compatibility.
What is a pada and why does it matter?
Each nakshatra splits into four quarters called padas. The pada fixes the syllable traditionally used to name a child, and it also determines which navamsa sign the Moon falls into — so it carries real weight beyond the naming custom.
How exact does my birth time need to be for the pada?
For the nakshatra, usually not — the Moon takes about a day to cross one. For the pada, yes: a pada lasts roughly six hours, so a few hours of error can move you into the next one.
What does the ruling planet of my nakshatra do?
It starts your Vimshottari dasha. The proportion of that nakshatra the Moon had already crossed at birth decides how much of that planet's dasha was already spent, which is why the dasha calculator needs the Moon's exact longitude and not just the nakshatra name.
Why do 27 nakshatras not divide evenly into 12 signs?
They do not need to. Each rashi spans 30° and each nakshatra 13°20', so a rashi holds two and a quarter nakshatras. A nakshatra can straddle a sign boundary, which is normal and not an error.
Is nakshatra used in kundli matching?
Heavily. Four of the eight ashtakoot kootas — Tara, Yoni, Gana and Nadi — are computed from the two nakshatras, and Nadi alone carries 8 of the 36 points.
Related astrology concepts
- All 27 nakshatras — symbol, deity, ruler and temperament for each
- Vimshottari dasha — built directly from this nakshatra
- Kundli matching — four of eight kootas come from the nakshatra pair
Related calculators
All 27 nakshatras · Kundli Matching · More kundli & birth chart calculators