Find Your Nakshatra by Date of Birth

Find your nakshatra (birth star)

Your Janma Nakshatra is the lunar mansion — one of 27 star-fields — that the Moon occupied at the moment of your birth. It is the foundation of Vedic astrology (Jyotisha): it determines your naming syllables, your Vimshottari Dasha periods, and your star birthday, observed especially in South India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra).

How the nakshatra is calculated

1. Enter your date, approximate time, and place of birth.
2. The tool computes the Moon's sidereal position using the 57-term Meeus series and the Lahiri ayanamsa.
3. The 360° zodiac is divided into 27 nakshatras of 13°20′ each — your Moon's position lands in one of them.
4. You get your nakshatra, its pada (quarter), and your traditional naming syllables.

The 27 nakshatras

Tap any star to read its deity, ruling planet, symbol and naming syllables:

Common questions

What if I don't know my birth time?

You can still get a likely nakshatra, but accuracy improves a lot with the time, since the Moon passes through a nakshatra in about a day. If you're unsure, try a couple of times across your best guess and see whether the nakshatra changes.

Is nakshatra the same as my zodiac sun sign?

No. Western sun-sign astrology uses the tropical zodiac and the Sun. Your nakshatra is based on the sidereal position of the Moon. They are different systems built on different reference points.

How accurate is the result?

For births from about 1900–2099 it is accurate for the vast majority of people. Only births within ~30 minutes of a nakshatra boundary carry a one-unit uncertainty; in those cases your family panchangam is the final authority.