What a nakshatra is
Where the twelve rashis divide the zodiac into broad seasons, the nakshatras divide it into twenty-seven precise segments of 13°20′ each. The Moon moves through roughly one nakshatra per day, so they act as the zodiac's fine print - the detail behind the headline.
Each nakshatra carries its own symbol, deity, and temperament. Two people can share a moon sign yet feel completely different - usually because they were born under different nakshatras.
Your janma nakshatra
The nakshatra the Moon occupied at your birth is your janma nakshatra - in many Indian families, the first thing an astrologer notes. It shapes your temperament in traditional readings, seeds your Vimshottari dasha sequence, and guides naming ceremonies, birthdays by the lunar calendar, and muhurta choices.
Padas and rulers
Every nakshatra splits into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′, and each is ruled by one of nine grahas in a repeating sequence - Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury. That ruler is why your dasha cycle starts where it does.
All 27, with their rulers
- AshwiniKetu
- BharaniVenus
- KrittikaSun
- RohiniMoon
- MrigashiraMars
- ArdraRahu
- PunarvasuJupiter
- PushyaSaturn
- AshleshaMercury
- MaghaKetu
- P. PhalguniVenus
- U. PhalguniSun
- HastaMoon
- ChitraMars
- SwatiRahu
- VishakhaJupiter
- AnuradhaSaturn
- JyeshthaMercury
- MulaKetu
- P. AshadhaVenus
- U. AshadhaSun
- ShravanaMoon
- DhanishtaMars
- ShatabhishaRahu
- P. BhadrapadaJupiter
- U. BhadrapadaSaturn
- RevatiMercury
P. = Purva (earlier) · U. = Uttara (later). In the app, tap any nakshatra for its symbol, deity, and temperament.