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Nakshatra finder: what is my janam nakshatra?

Your janam nakshatra is the star group the Moon was in when you were born. Enter your birth details to find it, with the pada (quarter) and the planet that rules it.

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What a nakshatra is

The sidereal zodiac is divided in two ways. Into twelve signs of 30 degrees, and into 27 nakshatras of 13 degrees 20 minutes each. A nakshatra is a 'lunar mansion', roughly the distance the Moon covers in a day. Each one is split into four padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes.

Your janam nakshatra is the one the Moon occupied at birth. It is one of the most used facts in Vedic astrology: it names your birth star, feeds naming traditions and marriage matching, and sets the start of your Vimshottari dasha.

Nakshatra, pada and ruling planet

Each nakshatra is ruled by one of nine planets, in a repeating order that begins with Ketu for the first nakshatra, Ashwini, then Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury, and then around again three times. The result shows the ruling planet next to your nakshatra.

The pada is the quarter of the nakshatra your Moon was in, numbered one to four. It matters for the starting syllable of a name in many families, and each pada falls in one navamsha sign.

The 27 nakshatras and their rulers

The first nine nakshatras are ruled by Ketu, Venus, the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury in turn. The next nine repeat that order, and so do the last nine. To find the ruler of any nakshatra, count its place from 1 to 27 and go around the list of nine lords. The 1st, 10th and 19th share a ruler, and so do the 2nd, 11th and 20th.

Padas and naming syllables

Each pada is 3 degrees 20 minutes wide, which is exactly one navamsha, a ninth of a sign. Four padas make a nakshatra and nine padas make a sign, so 27 times 4 and 12 times 9 both give the same 108 padas around the zodiac. That is why the nakshatra and the navamsha line up so neatly.

In many families a child's first name begins with a syllable linked to the pada. Printed tables of these syllables differ a little between traditions, so ask your family which one they follow.

How the nakshatra is found

The calculator works out the Moon's longitude on the sidereal zodiac at the moment you were born, divides it by 13 degrees 20 minutes, and reads the whole number as the nakshatra and the remainder as the pada. The Moon is nearest a boundary when the remainder is close to zero or close to the full width, and the result flags it when your Moon is within about half a degree of an edge.

Half a degree is roughly an hour of the Moon's travel. That is why the birth time you enter matters, and why a time that is only approximate can change the answer for births near an edge.

What a nakshatra is used for

Traditionally the janam nakshatra is used for naming, for marriage matching, for choosing dates and as the starting point of the dasha sequence. The deity, symbol and temperament attached to each nakshatra in the classical lists are descriptive tradition. Treat them as background and not as a verdict on a person.

The ruling planet shown in the result decides where your own life sequence starts. The dasha calculator turns that into dated periods.

Why the exact time and place matter

The Moon is the fastest body in the sky and can cross from one nakshatra to the next in under a day. If you were born close to a boundary, a few hours of error in the birth time can change the nakshatra, so the result tells you how sensitive your answer is.

For the sign the Moon was in, see the moon sign calculator. For the whole chart, see the free kundli.

Calculated with the Lahiri ayanamsa and whole sign houses; every setting is on the method page. Last checked 2026-10-04.

Questions people ask

How do I find my nakshatra by date of birth?

Enter your date, time and place of birth above. The calculator finds the Moon's sidereal position at that moment and reads off the nakshatra and pada.

How many nakshatras are there?

There are 27, each spanning 13 degrees 20 minutes of the zodiac. Some traditions add a 28th, Abhijit, for certain purposes, but the 27 are used for the Vimshottari dasha.

What is a pada?

A pada is one quarter of a nakshatra, 3 degrees 20 minutes wide. Each pada belongs to a navamsha sign and, in many families, to a naming syllable.

Is my nakshatra the same as my zodiac sign?

No. The sign is a 30 degree section of the zodiac, the nakshatra a 13 degree 20 minute section. A sign contains two and a quarter nakshatras.

Can my nakshatra change if my birth time is off?

Yes, if the Moon was near a boundary. The result flags how close your chart is to one, so you know whether to double check your birth time.

What is the ruling planet of my nakshatra for?

It decides which planet's period your life sequence starts in. If your Moon was in a nakshatra ruled by Venus, you were born in a Venus mahadasha, with part of it already gone.

Is my nakshatra from the Moon or the Sun?

From the Moon. A janam nakshatra is always the Moon's nakshatra at birth. Other planets sit in nakshatras too, but when someone asks for 'my nakshatra' they mean the Moon's.

Do two people born on the same day share a nakshatra?

Often, because the Moon stays about a day in each nakshatra. But the change from one to the next can fall in the middle of a calendar day, so the birth time decides.

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