Nakshatra finder by date of birth, time and place
This free nakshatra finder tells you your janma nakshatra, the birth star of Indian astrology: the one of 27 lunar mansions the Moon occupied when you were born. Enter the date, time and place of birth and you get the nakshatra and its pada (quarter), the nakshatra lord that starts the Vimshottari dasha, the presiding deity, symbol, gana, nadi and yoni, the Moon sign (rashi), and the namakshar syllables traditionally used to choose a first name.
If you do not know the birth time, the tool lists every nakshatra and pada the Moon passed through on that date, with the changeover times, so you can see whether the birth star is certain. And if you only have a name, the nakshatra finder by name mode reads its first syllable against the Avakahada table. For a full horoscope use the kundli generator; the nakshatra itself is for tradition and entertainment, not prediction or advice.
How to use the Nakshatra Finder
- Keep Date of birth selected and enter the date and the Time of birth on a 24-hour clock. Tick Birth time unknown if you do not have it.
- Choose the Birth place from the list or type the latitude and longitude. The Time zone fills in from the city and handles historical offsets and daylight saving.
- Read the nakshatra, pada and lord in the panel. The wheel marks the Moon among the 27 nakshatras, and the details list adds deity, symbol, gana, nadi and yoni.
- Check Nakshatra through the day when the time is uncertain, and Nakshatras of all planets for the nine grahas.
- To work from a name, switch to Name and type it in Devanagari or English letters (राहुल, Rahul). Copy result copies everything as text.
Nakshatra Finder features
Real Moon position
The Moon’s tropical longitude from Meeus’ lunar theory, converted to the sidereal zodiac with the Lahiri ayanamsa, the standard of the Indian national ephemeris.
Pada and syllables
Each 13°20′ nakshatra is split into four 3°20′ padas; the matching namakshar syllable for every pada is shown, with yours highlighted.
Without birth time
All nakshatra-pada changes during the local day, found by bisection to the minute, so you can see which stars were possible.
All planets
Sun to Saturn plus Rahu and Ketu (mean node) with rashi, degree, nakshatra, pada and nakshatra lord.
By name
A name’s first syllable, clusters such as Pr- and Shr- included, mapped to its nakshatra and pada; ambiguous spellings list the alternatives. Devanagari names: onlinejyotish.com’s Devanagari table (October 2026).
How the nakshatra is calculated
The birth time is converted to Universal Time with the browser’s time-zone database, which knows India’s pre-1947 offsets and foreign daylight saving. The Moon’s apparent longitude for that instant is computed, then the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa — 23.857° at the year 2000 plus the rate of precession — is subtracted to get the sidereal longitude. Dividing by 13°20′ gives the nakshatra (Ashwini starts at 0° Aries), and dividing the remainder by 3°20′ gives the pada. The Moon covers a nakshatra in about a day, so the times it entered and leaves your birth star are shown as well.
Worked example: a sidereal Moon at 218°48′ is 8°48′ into Scorpio. 218.8 ÷ 13.333 = 16.41, so the 17th nakshatra, Anuradha; 0.41 × 4 = 1.64, so pada 2. Anuradha is ruled by Saturn, its deity is Mitra, and its pada-2 syllable is “Ni”.
The 27 nakshatras at a glance
The lords repeat in the Vimshottari order — Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury — three times around the zodiac. The first syllable of each pada, in order, is the namakshar used in naming ceremonies.
| Nakshatras | Lord | Syllables (padas 1–4) |
|---|---|---|
| Ashwini · Magha · Mula | Ketu | Chu Che Cho La · Ma Mi Mu Me · Ye Yo Bha Bhi |
| Bharani · Purva Phalguni · Purva Ashadha | Venus | Li Lu Le Lo · Mo Ta Ti Tu · Bhu Dha Pha Dha |
| Krittika · Uttara Phalguni · Uttara Ashadha | Sun | A I U E · Te To Pa Pi · Be Bo Ja Ji |
| Rohini · Hasta · Shravana | Moon | O Va Vi Vu · Pu Sha Na Tha · Ju Je Jo Gha |
| Mrigashira · Chitra · Dhanishta | Mars | Ve Vo Ka Ki · Pe Po Ra Ri · Ga Gi Gu Ge |
| Ardra · Swati · Shatabhisha | Rahu | Ku Gha Nga Chha · Ru Re Ro Ta · Go Sa Si Su |
| Punarvasu · Vishakha · Purva Bhadrapada | Jupiter | Ke Ko Ha Hi · Ti Tu Te To · Se So Da Di |
| Pushya · Anuradha · Uttara Bhadrapada | Saturn | Hu He Ho Da · Na Ni Nu Ne · Du Tha Jha Na |
| Ashlesha · Jyeshtha · Revati | Mercury | Di Du De Do · No Ya Yi Yu · De Do Cha Chi |
Limits worth knowing
Positions agree with Swiss-Ephemeris-based software to about an arc-minute, which equals roughly two minutes of birth time for the Moon, so a birth within a few minutes of a changeover is flagged. Other ayanamsas (Raman, KP) shift the boundaries by up to about a degree and a half. The name method is a naming convention, not astronomy; spellings that fit two syllables are flagged. To compare two birth stars for marriage, the kundli matching tool scores the eight kootas from the same data.
Nakshatra Finder FAQ
How do I find my nakshatra by date of birth?
Enter the date, time and place of birth above. The tool computes where the Moon was in the sidereal zodiac and shows the nakshatra, pada and lord immediately.
Can I find my nakshatra without a birth time?
Often, yes. The Moon spends about a day in each nakshatra, so on many dates it stays in one star from midnight to midnight. Tick Birth time unknown and the table shows whether the star changed that day and at what time.
How does the nakshatra finder by name work?
Each pada has a traditional first syllable (the namakshar). The tool matches the start of the name to that table. It identifies the nakshatra a name suits, not the nakshatra you were born in.
What is a nakshatra pada?
A quarter of a nakshatra, 3°20′ wide. The 108 padas map onto the navamsa signs and each carries one naming syllable.
Why does another site show a different nakshatra?
Usually the time zone or a different ayanamsa. Check the time-zone line under the inputs; a birth close to a changeover is flagged in the warning box.
Is this nakshatra calculator free and private?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser with no sign-up, and the birth details never leave your device.