Today's Nakshatra Calculator

A nakshatra is a lunar mansion, one of 27 equal divisions of the ecliptic, each spanning 13 degrees 20 minutes. A zodiac sign (Rashi) is one of 12 divisions of 30 degrees each. Nakshatras track the Moon's daily position, while Rashis give the broader solar-month framework, and every Rashi contains exactly 2 and a quarter nakshatras. That makes nakshatras a more nuanced, day-by-day layer of detail than Rashis alone. In Vedic astrology, your birth nakshatra (Janma Nakshatra), the one your Moon occupied at birth, is often treated as more significant than your Moon sign for personality reading and timing calculations.

You divide the Moon's sidereal longitude by the span of one nakshatra, 13°20' or 13.333°. Nakshatra number equals the Moon's sidereal longitude times 27, divided by 360, rounded down. Getting the sidereal longitude means converting the Moon's tropical (seasonal) longitude by subtracting the Lahiri ayanamsa, roughly 24.2° as of 2026 and growing by about 50.3 arcseconds a year. This calculator handles that conversion automatically using Jean Meeus's lunar position algorithm.

Each nakshatra splits into 4 equal quarters called padas (feet), each spanning 3 degrees 20 minutes. The padas map onto the 4 signs of the Navamsa (D9) chart, cycling through Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer for the first nakshatra, then Leo, Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio for the second, and so on. Pada 1 carries Dharma (Aries) qualities, Pada 2 carries Artha (Taurus), Pada 3 carries Kama (Gemini), and Pada 4 carries Moksha (Cancer), though the specific sign shifts as you move through the nakshatras. In naming ceremonies (Namakarana), the pada sets the first syllable of the traditional Vedic name.

The nakshatras most often called auspicious for ceremonies include Rohini (Moon, fertility and beauty), Uttara Phalguni (Sun, all-round prosperity), Uttara Ashadha (Sun, victory), Uttara Bhadrapada (Saturn, depth and stability), Pushya (Saturn, nourishment, sometimes called the king of nakshatras), Hasta (Moon, skill and craftsmanship), Shravana (Moon, learning, tied to Vishnu), and Revati (Mercury, completion and safe journeys). Pushya is rated highly for most ceremonies because of its nourishing quality, with one notable exception: it's traditionally avoided for marriages.

Gana, or temperament group, matters a lot in Vedic marriage compatibility (Ashtakoot matching). Deva (divine) gana nakshatras tend gentle and idealistic: Ashwini, Mrigashira, Punarvasu, Pushya, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Shravana, Shatabhisha, Revati. Manushya (human) gana nakshatras run balanced and practical: Bharani, Rohini, Ardra, Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Purva Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada. Rakshasa (demonic) gana nakshatras are intense and unconventional: Krittika, Ashlesha, Magha, Chitra, Vishakha, Jyeshtha, Mula, Dhanishtha. For marriage matching, Deva paired with Deva is ideal, Manushya with Manushya works well, Deva with Manushya is acceptable, and Rakshasa pairings call for closer scrutiny.

Nadi is one of the 8 Ashtakoot factors used in Vedic marriage compatibility, and it carries the most weight of any of them, 8 points out of 36. The three nadis, Vata (air), Pitta (fire), and Kapha (water), reflect Ayurvedic constitution, and each of the 27 nakshatras belongs to one. When both partners' Janma Nakshatras fall in the same Nadi, that's Nadi Dosha, traditionally regarded as the most serious incompatibility and linked to health trouble or separation. That said, several recognised exceptions (Nadi Dosha parihara) can cancel it out, so it's worth having a qualified astrologer look at the full chart rather than reading the Nadi alone.

On average, about 24-25 hours. The Moon covers 360 degrees in roughly 27.3 days, which works out to about 13.2 degrees a day, just under one nakshatra span (13.33 degrees). The exact duration shifts because the Moon's orbit is elliptical: near perigee, when it's closest to Earth, the Moon moves faster and can clear a nakshatra in as little as 21-22 hours, while near apogee it slows down and can take up to 26-27 hours. That variability is exactly why the Janma Nakshatra, the one active at the precise moment of birth, needs an accurate birth time to calculate correctly.

Abhijit is an extra nakshatra occasionally added to the standard 27, bringing the count to 28. It spans roughly 6°40' to 10°53' in Capricorn, close to Uttara Ashadha, and corresponds to the star Vega, one of the brightest in the night sky. It's considered highly auspicious, associated with Lord Brahma and with invincibility, and Vedic mythology holds that Indra performed his most important ceremonies during Abhijit muhurat. Standard Jyotish practice, meaning horoscopes, dasha calculations, and compatibility matching, still sticks to 27 nakshatras. Abhijit shows up mainly in muhurat, or auspicious-timing, selection.