Nakshatra explained: what your birth star is, and how to find yours

Your rashi tells you which of the 12 signs the Moon was in when you were born. Your nakshatra tells you much more precisely where it was. Each sign is split into smaller parts, and the Moon's exact part at birth is your birth star, or janma nakshatra. Many of the most-used parts of Vedic astrology are read from it.

What a nakshatra is

The zodiac is a circle of 360 degrees. Vedic astrology divides it two ways:

• into 12 rashis (signs) of 30 degrees each, and
• into 27 nakshatras of 13 degrees 20 minutes each.

The Moon moves about 13 degrees a day, so it spends roughly one day in each nakshatra and goes through all 27 in about 27 days. That is why the nakshatra is the Moon's "daily address" in the sky, while the rashi changes only every two and a quarter days.

Padas: the four quarters

Each nakshatra is divided again into 4 padas (quarters) of 3 degrees 20 minutes. That makes 108 padas around the zodiac, nine in each rashi. The pada matters because:

• it tells you which rashi the Moon is in when a nakshatra crosses two signs, and
• each pada has a traditional starting syllable, the naam akshar, which many families use when choosing a baby's name.

The 27 nakshatras

Each nakshatra has a ruling planet. The nine rulers repeat in the same order three times around the zodiac.

Where two rashis are shown, the nakshatra's first padas fall in the first sign and the rest in the second. Some older texts also count Abhijit as a 28th nakshatra, used mainly in muhurta.

Where your nakshatra is used

Your birth star is not just a label. Several parts of a Vedic reading start from it:

• Vimshottari Dasha. Your first planetary period is ruled by the lord of your birth nakshatra, and how far the Moon had moved through it decides how much of that period was left at birth. Everything after follows in a fixed order. Read more in Vimshottari Dasha explained.
• Guna Milan. Four of the eight kootas in marriage matching come from the two nakshatras: Nadi (8 points), Gana (6), Yoni (4) and Tara (3). That is 21 of the 36 points. See Guna Milan: what the 36 points measure.
• Naming. The naam akshar of your birth pada is the traditional first syllable for a name.
• Panchang and muhurta. Nakshatra is one of the five limbs of the Panchang. The Moon's nakshatra on a given day is one of the things looked at when picking a date.

Why the birth time matters

Because the Moon stays in one nakshatra for only about a day, people born on the same date can have different birth stars. If the Moon changed nakshatra on your birthday, your birth time decides which one is yours. For the pada, which lasts about six hours, the time matters even more.

This is also why a nakshatra from a Western (tropical) calculation is often wrong. Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, which today sits about 24 degrees behind the tropical one, nearly two whole nakshatras.

Find your nakshatra

JeevanDrishti's Nakshatra and Rashi tool works out your birth star, its pada, its ruling planet and your rashi from your birth date, time and place. For the full picture, including your Lagna and current dasha, make your free Kundli.