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Nakshatra

Find your birth nakshatra and pada

Your janma nakshatra is the one of the 27 nakshatras the Moon was in at your birth. Enter your birth date, time and city and this free tool shows your nakshatra, its pada and lord, and the traditional starting syllable for a name. It needs no signup and no payment.

A birth nakshatra is the lunar mansion the Moon occupies at the moment of birth. Vedic astrology divides the 360° zodiac into 27 nakshatras of 13°20′ each, with 4 padas (3°20′ each) per nakshatra (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, Ch. 3). The Moon crosses one nakshatra in roughly 24 hours, making precise birth time essential for kundli matching, dasha calculation, and the Vedic naming tradition. Nakshara reads the nakshatra with the Lahiri ayanamsa, the official standard of India's Calendar Reform Committee (1955).

How to use this tool

  1. Enter your birth date. Pick your date of birth in the form.
  2. Enter the birth time. Use the time on the birth certificate, in local time.
  3. Check the birth place. Latitude, longitude and timezone are filled in for New Delhi. Change them to match the birth place.
  4. Press "Compute nakshatra". Your birth nakshatra appears, with your pada syllable.

You get: your birth nakshatra, pada and pada syllable. Free, no signup.

How to read the result

  • The nakshatra is the one of 27 that the Moon was in at birth. Each nakshatra has four padas.
  • The pada syllable is the traditional syllable tied to that pada, the one a name customarily starts with.
  • The Moon changes nakshatra quickly, so use the exact birth time.

FAQ

Questions about nakshatra

What is the difference between nakshatra and rashi?

Rashi is one of 12 equal 30-degree divisions of the sky, while nakshatra is one of 27 finer, 13°20' divisions. Nakshatra gives a more precise placement, and each one further splits into four padas.

What is a pada?

Each nakshatra divides into four equal padas of 3°20' each. In traditional naming, the baby's birth pada determines the first syllable of the name.

Why does finding your nakshatra need an exact birth time?

The Moon spends only about 24 hours in each nakshatra, so a birth time that is off by even a couple of hours can shift the nakshatra or pada. An accurate birth time keeps the result reliable.