Nakshatra Calculator — Find Your Janma Nakshatraनक्षत्र कैलकुलेटर

Your janma nakshatra (birth star) is the nakshatra — one of 27 equal divisions of the sidereal zodiac, each spanning 13 degrees 20 minutes — that the Moon occupied at the moment you were born. The 27 nakshatras run from Ashwini (1) to Revati (27). The janma nakshatra is the anchor for the vimshottari dasha count, for traditional naming, and for much of muhurta (electional timing), which is why Indian astrologers usually ask for it before anything else.

Enter your date, time and place of birth in the calculator above. The tool computes the Moon's sidereal position for that exact moment using Swiss Ephemeris with the Lahiri ayanamsa and reads off which of the 27 nakshatras it falls in, along with the pada (quarter) and the moon rashi. The date alone is usually enough to identify the nakshatra, because the Moon changes nakshatra roughly once a day — but on a boundary day the exact time and place decide it.

A pada is a quarter of a nakshatra: each nakshatra of 13 degrees 20 minutes divides into four padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes each, giving 108 padas across the zodiac. The pada pins the Moon's position more precisely within the nakshatra — each pada corresponds to one navamsa (D9) division, and traditional practice uses the pada for finer distinctions, such as the syllables suggested for a birth name.

Both describe the Moon's position at birth, but at different resolutions. The rashi (moon sign) is the zodiac sign the Moon occupied — one of 12 divisions of 30 degrees each. The nakshatra is one of 27 finer divisions of 13 degrees 20 minutes each. Every nakshatra pada falls inside a specific rashi, so the two are consistent: this calculator shows your moon rashi alongside the nakshatra and pada.

For the janma nakshatra, an approximate time is often still enough: the Moon stays in one nakshatra for roughly a day, so unless you were born on a day the Moon crossed a nakshatra boundary, the result will not change. The lagna nakshatra is different — it comes from the ascendant degree, which moves through the whole zodiac every day, so it genuinely requires an accurate birth time.

The janma nakshatra is taken from the Moon; the lagna nakshatra is taken from the lagna (ascendant) — the zodiac degree rising on the eastern horizon at your birth time and place. They are usually different nakshatras. This calculator reports both: the janma nakshatra with its pada and moon rashi, and the lagna nakshatra with its pada.

Nakshatras are defined on the sidereal zodiac, which Vedic astrology uses; most Western sites use the tropical zodiac, which is currently offset from the sidereal by roughly 24 degrees (the ayanamsa). This calculator uses the Lahiri ayanamsa — the Indian-government standard — with Swiss Ephemeris positions, which matches standard Indian panchang practice. A site that applies a different ayanamsa can differ near nakshatra boundaries.