Nakshatra calculator
The Moon's nakshatra — the lunar mansion where your psyche was born. In Jyotish, it's the single most important piece of information about you.
All 27 nakshatras
Each has its own description: deity, symbol, four quarters with navamsha signs, strengths, shadow side, and compatibility with the others.
ℹ How we calculate this
If you're comparing this result with another program and something differs, the reason is almost always here — not a calculation error.
Which zodiac: Indian (sidereal)
We calculate the way Indian astrology does: based on the actual position of the stars in the sky. Newspaper horoscopes and most Western sites use a different system, shifted by almost a whole sign. That's why your sign might come out different here — it's not a mistake, just a different school.
Rahu and Ketu: traditional version
These are two points in the sky calculated in two different ways. We use the older, classical one. The newer method gives a result shifted by about 1.8° — sometimes enough to land in the neighboring sign. If you see a different result elsewhere, this is almost always why.
House division: a whole sign is one house
The oldest and simplest way of dividing the chart into 12 areas of life. Other programs cut the houses at a different angle — then some planets land in a neighboring area.
Accuracy: verified against eclipses
The Sun's and Moon's positions match real eclipse moments to within a dozen or so seconds. The dates of planets changing signs match those published in India.
Time of birth: accounting for historical daylight saving time
Clocks were changed differently in the past than today — Poland had no daylight saving time from 1950–1976, and Sri Lanka changed its time zone in 1996 and 2006. We account for this so the time of birth is calculated correctly.
What is a nakshatra?
Nakshatras are the 27 “lunar mansions” — equal segments of the sky of 13°20′ each. The Moon passes through one of them in about a day. The nakshatra the Moon occupied at your birth is, in Jyotish, the single most important fact about you: it speaks of your emotional nature, instincts and way of experiencing the world — often more accurately than your Sun sign.
Each nakshatra has a deity, a symbol, a ruling planet and four padas of 3°20′, which link it to the signs of the navamsha D9. The planet ruling your Moon's nakshatra also determines which planetary period your life began with in the Vimshottari system.
The calculator works out your nakshatra and pada from your birth date, time and place, and shows its description, strengths and compatibility with other nakshatras.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my nakshatra?
Enter your birth date, time and place above. The calculator finds the Moon's position in the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri ayanamsa) and shows your nakshatra and pada.
Does the birth time matter?
Yes. The Moon moves about 13° a day — almost a whole nakshatra. If you were born near the boundary of two nakshatras, a few hours can change the result. If you don't know the time, the calculator assumes noon and notes that the result may be uncertain.
What is a pada?
A pada is one quarter of a nakshatra. Each corresponds to one navamsha D9 sign and gives the nakshatra a specific shade — which is why two people with the same nakshatra can differ noticeably.
What is a nakshatra used for?
In Jyotish it is used to understand emotional nature, to choose a name (by the pada's syllable), to assess couple compatibility — Guna Milan points are counted from nakshatras, see compatibility — and to set the planetary periods.
Where can I read about all 27 nakshatras?
Each nakshatra has its own page with a description, deity, symbol, padas and compatibility — start with Ashwini, the first of them.
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