Long before the twelve signs, Indian astronomers divided the Moon's path into 27 nakshatras, lunar mansions. The Moon spends roughly a day in each. Nakshatras remain the most distinctive tool of Vedic astrology: they set your dasha periods, are central to horoscope matching and muhurta, and add a layer of detail no sign can give.
The structure
- The 360° zodiac is divided into 27 nakshatras of 13°20' each.
- Each nakshatra has 4 padas (quarters) of 3°20', so 108 padas in all; each pada corresponds to one Navamsa.
- Every nakshatra has a ruling planet, in the repeating order Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury. This order is the order of the Vimshottari dasha.
The 27 nakshatras and their lords
| # | Nakshatra | Sign(s) | Lord |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ashwini | Aries | Ketu |
| 2 | Bharani | Aries | Venus |
| 3 | Krittika | Aries–Taurus | Sun |
| 4 | Rohini | Taurus | Moon |
| 5 | Mrigashira | Taurus–Gemini | Mars |
| 6 | Ardra | Gemini | Rahu |
| 7 | Punarvasu | Gemini–Cancer | Jupiter |
| 8 | Pushya | Cancer | Saturn |
| 9 | Ashlesha | Cancer | Mercury |
| 10 | Magha | Leo | Ketu |
| 11 | Purva Phalguni | Leo | Venus |
| 12 | Uttara Phalguni | Leo–Virgo | Sun |
| 13 | Hasta | Virgo | Moon |
| 14 | Chitra | Virgo–Libra | Mars |
| 15 | Swati | Libra | Rahu |
| 16 | Vishakha | Libra–Scorpio | Jupiter |
| 17 | Anuradha | Scorpio | Saturn |
| 18 | Jyeshtha | Scorpio | Mercury |
| 19 | Mula | Sagittarius | Ketu |
| 20 | Purva Ashadha | Sagittarius | Venus |
| 21 | Uttara Ashadha | Sagittarius–Capricorn | Sun |
| 22 | Shravana | Capricorn | Moon |
| 23 | Dhanishta | Capricorn–Aquarius | Mars |
| 24 | Shatabhisha | Aquarius | Rahu |
| 25 | Purva Bhadrapada | Aquarius–Pisces | Jupiter |
| 26 | Uttara Bhadrapada | Pisces | Saturn |
| 27 | Revati | Pisces | Mercury |
Your birth star
Your janma nakshatra is the nakshatra the Moon occupied at birth. It decides:
- your first dasha and how much of it remained at birth;
- the first syllable traditionally used for a name;
- your scores in Ashtakoota and porutham matching;
- favourable and unfavourable days for you (tara bala).
Other uses
Nakshatras are read for every planet, not just the Moon: a planet behaves partly like the lord of the nakshatra it occupies. In KP astrology the star lord and sub lord of each planet are the heart of prediction. In muhurta, the day's nakshatra is one of the first things checked.
Find your birth star and pada in your free birth chart, and today's nakshatra on our panchang.