Nakshatra Calculator: Find Your Birth Star
Your nakshatra is the star group the Moon was passing through when you were born. Enter your birth date, time and place to find it, along with its pada and ruling planet.
Your birth nakshatra (janma nakshatra) is the one of 27 sidereal star groups that held the Moon at the moment you were born. To find it you need your date, time and place of birth, because the Moon moves through a whole nakshatra in about a day. Enter them below and the calculator shows your nakshatra, its pada (quarter) and its ruling planet.
Find your nakshatra
What a nakshatra is
The Moon takes about 27.3 days to circle the zodiac against the stars, so Vedic astrology divides that circle into 27 equal parts, one for each day of the Moon's journey. Each nakshatra is 13°20′ wide and named after a star or small cluster in that stretch of sky. The 27 nakshatras sit underneath the 12 signs, so every sign holds two and a quarter of them.
That finer grid is why your nakshatra often says more than your Moon sign does. A Moon at 2° Cancer falls in Punarvasu, which is about renewal and coming home. A Moon at 25° Cancer falls in Ashlesha, which is more intense, private and perceptive. Same sign, different tone.
Why the Moon's nakshatra is your birth star
When people ask "what is my nakshatra," they mean the Moon's. Vedic astrology reads the Moon as the mind: how you feel, react and settle. Your birth star is used in several practical ways:
- Timing. Its ruling planet decides which planetary period (dasha) you were born into, and how much of it was left. Your whole mahadasha sequence follows from that.
- Compatibility. Traditional relationship matching in India compares the two partners' birth stars.
- Daily rhythm. Some people compare today's Moon nakshatra with their own to get a feel for the day.
- Names. Each pada has a traditional starting syllable, which some families still use when choosing a baby's name.
Padas: the four quarters
Each nakshatra is split into four padas of 3°20′. Your pada narrows the Moon down to a quarter of a nakshatra, and each pada corresponds to one sign of the navamsa, the ninth-division chart Vedic astrologers use for relationships and inner growth.
Here is a worked example. Mrigashira runs from 23°20′ Taurus to 6°40′ Gemini. Its first two padas are in Taurus and its last two in Gemini. A Moon at 5° Gemini is in Mrigashira pada 4; a Moon at 25° Taurus is in pada 1 of the same nakshatra but in a different sign. The calculator shows both the nakshatra and the pada, so you don't need to do this by hand.
Ruling planets
Each nakshatra has a ruling planet, and the rulers repeat in a fixed order of nine: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury. The cycle runs three times around the zodiac, starting from Ashwini (Ketu), so Magha and Mula are also ruled by Ketu. Your birth star's ruler is the planet whose period you were born in.
Your rising nakshatra, and other planets' nakshatras
If you enter a birth time, the calculator also shows the nakshatra of your rising degree (lagna). It is often read as a second signature, describing your body and how you come across, while the Moon's nakshatra describes your inner life. The planet table lists a nakshatra for every planet, too. Your Sun's nakshatra, for example, adds detail to how you express yourself.
How precise does the birth time need to be?
The Moon moves about half a degree an hour. If your Moon sits in the middle of a nakshatra, an hour's error won't change anything. If it sits within a degree or two of the edge, a small error can flip it to the next star. Without a birth time the calculator uses noon, which can put the Moon up to about 7° off. If the Moon's degree in the planet table is near the start or end of a nakshatra and you don't know your time, read both neighboring nakshatras and see which one sounds more like you.
Explore further
- All 27 nakshatrasMeanings, lords and degrees
- Today's Moon nakshatraWhere the Moon is right now
- Full Vedic birth chartLagna, houses and planets
Questions people ask
What is my nakshatra by date of birth and time?
Your nakshatra is the sidereal star group the Moon occupied when you were born. Enter your birth date, time and place in the calculator above and it returns your nakshatra, its pada and its ruling planet. You need the place as well as the time, because the time zone decides exactly where the Moon was.
Can I find my nakshatra without a birth time?
Often, yes. The Moon spends about a day in each nakshatra, so for most birthdays one or two nakshatras are possible. The calculator uses noon when you don't know your time. If the Moon's degree puts it near the edge of a nakshatra, the neighboring one is also possible, so read both.
Is my nakshatra the same as my Moon sign?
No, but they are linked. Your Moon sign is the 30° sign holding the Moon; your nakshatra is the smaller 13°20′ segment inside it. Each sign contains two and a quarter nakshatras, so knowing your nakshatra tells you your Moon sign, while knowing your Moon sign leaves three possible nakshatras.
What is a nakshatra pada?
A pada is one quarter of a nakshatra, 3°20′ wide. There are 108 padas in the zodiac, and each one matches a sign in the navamsa chart. Your pada fine-tunes the meaning of your nakshatra and is traditionally used to pick the first syllable of a name.
Is the Sun nakshatra or Moon nakshatra more important?
For your birth star, Vedic astrology uses the Moon's nakshatra. It sets your planetary periods and is the one used for compatibility and daily timing. The Sun's nakshatra is still worth reading, since it adds detail about how you express yourself, but it isn't what people mean by "my nakshatra."