Nakshatra Calculator

What Is a Nakshatra?

A Nakshatra, often translated as a 'lunar mansion' or 'birth star,' is one of 27 equal divisions of the sidereal zodiac that the Moon passes through roughly once every 27.3 days — its sidereal orbital period. Each Nakshatra spans 13°20′ of the 360° zodiac and carries its own presiding deity, ruling planet (Vimshottari dasha lord), symbol and temperament.

Where your Rashi (Moon sign) tells you which of the 12 signs the Moon occupied, your Nakshatra narrows that placement down to a specific 13°20′ band within it — a finer-grained read on personality, and the actual starting point for calculating your Vimshottari dasha, the lifelong sequence of planetary periods.

The 27 Nakshatras and Their Rulers

The 27 Nakshatras run in a fixed order around the zodiac, starting at 0° Aries with Ashwini and ending at 30° Pisces with Revati. Each is ruled by one of nine planets (the Vimshottari lord sequence — Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury — repeating three times), which also sets the length of that planet's Mahadasha in your dasha timeline.

All 27 Nakshatras — with their full deity, gana, yoni and nadi details — appear in the interpretation once you calculate your own birth Nakshatra above; this table is a quick reference to the whole sequence and its rulers.

Gana, Yoni and Nadi Explained

Every Nakshatra carries three additional classifications, used heavily in Ashtakoota (Guna Milan) marriage matching, where a couple's Nakshatras are scored against each other on an eight-factor system:

• Gana (temperament group) — Deva (refined, gentle), Manushya (balanced, human-natured) or Rakshasa (intense, driven). Gana Koota compares how naturally two temperaments coexist.
• Yoni (instinctual/sexual nature) — each Nakshatra is paired with an animal symbol (horse, elephant, serpent, and so on); Yoni Koota reads compatibility through how those animal natures relate — as complementary, neutral or opposed.
• Nadi (constitutional/health axis) — Aadi, Madhya or Antya, one of three physiological groupings; Nadi Koota carries the single highest weight in Ashtakoota matching and is traditionally treated as important for the health and vitality of future offspring.

None of these three factors is read in isolation — a full Ashtakoota score also weighs Varna, Vashya, Tara, Graha Maitri and Bhakoot — but Gana, Yoni and Nadi are the axes most specifically tied to Nakshatra rather than Rashi.

Nakshatra vs. Rashi

Both your Nakshatra and your Rashi (Moon sign) come from the same measurement — the Moon's sidereal longitude at your birth — but they slice it differently. Rashi divides the zodiac into 12 signs of 30° each; Nakshatra divides it into 27 lunar mansions of 13°20′ each. Because a Rashi spans more than two Nakshatras, two people who share a Rashi can easily fall into different Nakshatras — and, as a result, run very different Vimshottari dasha timelines.

In practice, Rashi is the placement most people mean when they casually ask 'what's your Moon sign,' while Nakshatra is the layer astrologers reach for in marriage matching, dasha timing and detailed personality reading — the two are complementary views of the same lunar position, not competing ones.