Nakshatra Calculator — Your Birth Star & Pada
Your janma nakshatra is the lunar mansion the Moon occupied at your birth. It starts your Vimshottari dasha, drives most of kundli matching and gives the traditional first letter for a name.
What is your janma nakshatra?
The 27 nakshatras divide the zodiac into lunar mansions of 13°20′ each. Your janma nakshatra (birth star) is the one the Moon occupied at your birth, and each nakshatra is split into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′. The nakshatra sets the starting point of your Vimshottari dasha, is the basis of several kundli-matching factors (Nadi, Yoni, Gana and Tara are all nakshatra-based), and gives the traditional first syllable for a child’s name.
The Moon moves through a whole nakshatra in about a day, so the birth time matters more here than for the rashi: two people born on the same date can have different birth stars. The pada changes roughly every six hours and is the most time-sensitive part of the result — enter your birth time as precisely as you can.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find my nakshatra by date of birth?
Enter your date, time and place of birth. The calculator finds the Moon’s sidereal position at that moment and reports the nakshatra and pada it falls in, with the nakshatra’s ruling planet.
What is a nakshatra pada?
Each nakshatra is divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′, giving 108 padas in all. The pada refines the nakshatra’s meaning, decides the Moon’s navamsa sign, and gives the syllable traditionally used to begin a baby’s name.
How is the baby name letter (naam akshar) found from the nakshatra?
Each of the 108 nakshatra padas has a traditional syllable from the Avakahada chakra. The syllable for your janma nakshatra’s pada is used as the first sound of the name — the calculator shows it with your result.
Why does my nakshatra decide my dasha?
The Vimshottari dasha begins with the ruling planet of the birth nakshatra, and the share of the nakshatra the Moon had already crossed at birth decides how much of that first mahadasha remains.