The 27 Nakshatras

Updated November 2026. This guide describes a traditional system for information only. It does not predict events or give personal advice.

The nakshatras are the 27 lunar mansions of Indian astronomy and astrology: sections of the sky along the Moon’s path, each about 13⅓ degrees wide. The Moon takes roughly a day to pass through one, and takes about 27.3 days to go around all of them. The idea goes back to the Vedas, where the nakshatras were used to mark the month and choose dates for rituals, long before the 12-sign zodiac was adopted in India. This guide lists them, with their ruling planets and deities, and explains how they are used.

The 27 nakshatras

Padas and names

Each nakshatra is split into four quarters called padas, each of 3°20′. Nine padas make one 30-degree sign, so every sign contains two and a quarter nakshatras. Each pada is linked to a syllable, and many families choose the first sound of a child’s name from the syllable of the pada of the Moon at birth, for example “Chu, Che, Cho, La” for Ashwini. This is a naming custom in many parts of India.

Where nakshatras are used

• Panchang. The nakshatra of the day is one of the five parts of the almanac, along with the tithi, yoga, karana and weekday; see panchang basics.
• Vimshottari dasha. The nakshatra of the Moon at birth fixes the starting planet and the position in the 120-year dasha cycle; see the Navagraha guide.
• Matching. In Ashtakoota matching several of the eight tests, such as yoni, gana and nadi, depend on the nakshatras of the two people.
• Muhurta. Dates for a wedding, house entry or other event are often chosen on a nakshatra that tradition calls favourable.
• Festivals and months. Many Hindu months are named after the nakshatra near which the full moon falls, for example Chaitra from Chitra and Ashvin from Ashwini.

Groups of nakshatras

Traditional writers group the 27 by quality. Some examples are the dhruva (fixed) ones such as Rohini and the three Uttaras, suited to lasting work; the chara (movable) ones such as Punarvasu, Swati and Shravana, linked to travel; and the tikshna (sharp) ones such as Ardra and Mula. Gand Mool nakshatras (Ashwini, Ashlesha, Magha, Jyeshtha, Mula, Revati) sit at the junction between signs, and some communities perform a ritual after a child is born in one. These are customs, and practice varies between regions and families.

Astronomical note

The nakshatras are named after stars or small star groups; for instance Krittika is the Pleiades and Rohini is Aldebaran. Because the Moon moves unevenly, it takes slightly more or less than a day in each. The system divides the zodiac equally, which is a simplification of the unequal real star groups, and the ayanamsa used to align it with the stars is one of the points on which almanacs differ slightly.

How the Moon moves through them

The Moon completes one trip around the sky relative to the stars in about 27.3 days (a sidereal month), which is why there are 27 nakshatras: roughly one for each night. The phase cycle from new moon to new moon takes about 29.5 days, because the Sun has also moved on in the meantime. The tithi follows the phase, and the nakshatra follows the stars, and that is why the two are listed separately in a panchang. A given nakshatra recurs about every 27 days, so the same one is seen at roughly the same time of month, with a monthly shift of about two days against the calendar.

Several festivals are tied to a nakshatra falling on a particular day, such as Onam, which is celebrated when the Thiruvonam (Shravana) nakshatra falls in the month of Chingam in Kerala, and Karthigai Deepam in Tamil Nadu, which follows Krittika.

Reading with caution

The characters traditionally assigned to each nakshatra, such as “noble” or “restless”, are symbolic. They have not been shown to predict personality or events. They are best understood as part of a long cultural vocabulary, found in Sanskrit poetry, temple calendars and family rituals.

Frequently asked questions

How many nakshatras are there?

Twenty-seven, each covering 13 degrees 20 minutes of the zodiac. A few traditions add a 28th, Abhijit, between Uttara Ashadha and Shravana.

What is a pada?

Each nakshatra is divided into four padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes. Nine padas make up one sign, and the pada decides the first syllable of a traditional name.

How do I find my nakshatra?

It is the nakshatra the Moon was in at your birth, which needs date, time and place of birth and a sidereal calculation.

Which planet rules which nakshatra?

The nine planets repeat three times in the Vimshottari order: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, starting from Ashwini.

What is Gand Mool?

It is the name for six nakshatras at the junction of signs: Ashwini, Ashlesha, Magha, Jyeshtha, Mula and Revati. Some families perform a ritual when a child is born in one. It is a custom, and not all communities follow it.