What Are the 27 Nakshatras in Vedic Astrology?

The short answer

The 27 nakshatras are lunar mansions that divide the 360° zodiac into equal 13°20' segments, each with its own ruling graha, deity, and symbol. They track the Moon's roughly daily motion, refine the reading of the Moon sign, and — through the janma nakshatra holding the Moon at birth — set the starting point of the Vimshottari dasha timeline.

A Grid Older Than the Twelve Signs

Long before Indian astronomy adopted the twelve 30° zodiac signs, it divided the sky into 27 nakshatras, or lunar mansions, each exactly 13°20' wide. The number isn't arbitrary: the Moon travels roughly one nakshatra per day, so 27 of them complete a sidereal lunar month. Where a rashi (zodiac sign) takes the Moon about two and a quarter days to cross, a nakshatra takes about one — a finer, faster-moving grid laid directly under the signs.

Nakshatralunar mansion — one of 27 divisions of the zodiac, each 13°20' wide

Why Nakshatras Often Say More Than the Moon Sign Alone

Because each 30° sign holds a little over two nakshatras, two people can share the exact same Moon sign and still land in different nakshatras — with different ruling grahas, different presiding deities, and different Vimshottari dasha sequences. That's a meaningfully different reading hiding underneath what looks, at the rashi level, like an identical placement.

Padas: The Quarter Inside Each Nakshatra

Each nakshatra divides again into four padas of 3°20' each, always counted from the nakshatra's own starting point — never as a simple remainder of the Moon's longitude, since that can misplace a pada at the boundary. Four padas across 27 nakshatras give 108 divisions in total, the same number that recurs throughout Indian tradition (108 beads on a mala, 108 names in many stotras).

Padaquarter — one of the four 3°20' subdivisions of a nakshatra, counted from the nakshatra's own start

The pada matters practically: it decides which sign a graha lands in on the navamsa chart (the D9 divisional chart, covered at the Expert level), and it sharpens a nakshatra's broad theme into one of four narrower shades.

Nine Ruling Grahas, in a Fixed Repeating Cycle

Each nakshatra has one ruling graha, assigned in a fixed cycle of nine that begins with Ketu at Ashwini (the first nakshatra) and simply repeats: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury — then back to Ketu at the tenth nakshatra, Magha. Because 27 divides evenly by 9, this cycle repeats exactly three times across the full belt.

• The same nine-graha cycle that rules nakshatras also sets the order of the Vimshottari dasha sequence
• Each nakshatra carries a traditional presiding deity and symbol, used as interpretive keywords rather than fixed predictions
• The Moon's nakshatra at birth — the janma nakshatra — sets your first mahadasha and how much of it had already elapsed before you were born

All 27 Nakshatras: Span, Lord, Deity, and Symbol

The 27 nakshatras, 13°20′ each

#	Nakshatra	Span (sidereal)	Dasha lord
1	Ashwini	Aries 0°00′ – Aries 13°20′	Ketu
2	Bharani	Aries 13°20′ – Aries 26°40′	Venus
3	Krittika	Aries 26°40′ – Taurus 10°00′	Sun
4	Rohini	Taurus 10°00′ – Taurus 23°20′	Moon
5	Mrigashira	Taurus 23°20′ – Gemini 6°40′	Mars
6	Ardra	Gemini 6°40′ – Gemini 20°00′	Rahu
7	Punarvasu	Gemini 20°00′ – Cancer 3°20′	Jupiter
8	Pushya	Cancer 3°20′ – Cancer 16°40′	Saturn
9	Ashlesha	Cancer 16°40′ – Cancer 30°00′	Mercury
10	Magha	Leo 0°00′ – Leo 13°20′	Ketu
11	Purva Phalguni	Leo 13°20′ – Leo 26°40′	Venus
12	Uttara Phalguni	Leo 26°40′ – Virgo 10°00′	Sun
13	Hasta	Virgo 10°00′ – Virgo 23°20′	Moon
14	Chitra	Virgo 23°20′ – Libra 6°40′	Mars
15	Swati	Libra 6°40′ – Libra 20°00′	Rahu
16	Vishakha	Libra 20°00′ – Scorpio 3°20′	Jupiter
17	Anuradha	Scorpio 3°20′ – Scorpio 16°40′	Saturn
18	Jyeshtha	Scorpio 16°40′ – Scorpio 30°00′	Mercury
19	Mula	Sagittarius 0°00′ – Sagittarius 13°20′	Ketu
20	Purva Ashadha	Sagittarius 13°20′ – Sagittarius 26°40′	Venus
21	Uttara Ashadha	Sagittarius 26°40′ – Capricorn 10°00′	Sun
22	Shravana	Capricorn 10°00′ – Capricorn 23°20′	Moon
23	Dhanishta	Capricorn 23°20′ – Aquarius 6°40′	Mars
24	Shatabhisha	Aquarius 6°40′ – Aquarius 20°00′	Rahu
25	Purva Bhadrapada	Aquarius 20°00′ – Pisces 3°20′	Jupiter
26	Uttara Bhadrapada	Pisces 3°20′ – Pisces 16°40′	Saturn
27	Revati	Pisces 16°40′ – Pisces 30°00′	Mercury

The full nakshatra belt, in zodiac order

#	Nakshatra	Degree span	Lord	Deity	Traditional symbol
1	Ashwini	0°–13°20' Aries	Ketu	The Ashvini Kumaras	a horse's head
2	Bharani	13°20'–26°40' Aries	Venus	Yama	the yoni
3	Krittika	26°40' Aries–10° Taurus	Sun	Agni	a razor or flame
4	Rohini	10°–23°20' Taurus	Moon	Brahma (Prajapati)	a cart or chariot
5	Mrigashira	23°20' Taurus–6°40' Gemini	Mars	Soma	a deer's head
6	Ardra	6°40'–20° Gemini	Rahu	Rudra	a teardrop or gem
7	Punarvasu	20° Gemini–3°20' Cancer	Jupiter	Aditi	a bow and quiver
8	Pushya	3°20'–16°40' Cancer	Saturn	Brihaspati	a cow's udder or flower
9	Ashlesha	16°40'–30° Cancer	Mercury	The Nagas	a coiled serpent
10	Magha	0°–13°20' Leo	Ketu	The Pitris	a throne or palanquin
11	Purva Phalguni	13°20'–26°40' Leo	Venus	Bhaga	the front legs of a bed
12	Uttara Phalguni	26°40' Leo–10° Virgo	Sun	Aryaman	the back legs of a bed
13	Hasta	10°–23°20' Virgo	Moon	Savitr	a hand
14	Chitra	23°20' Virgo–6°40' Libra	Mars	Tvashtar (Vishvakarma)	a bright jewel
15	Swati	6°40'–20° Libra	Rahu	Vayu	a young shoot in the wind
16	Vishakha	20° Libra–3°20' Scorpio	Jupiter	Indra and Agni	a triumphal archway
17	Anuradha	3°20'–16°40' Scorpio	Saturn	Mitra	a lotus
18	Jyeshtha	16°40'–30° Scorpio	Mercury	Indra	an earring or umbrella
19	Mula	0°–13°20' Sagittarius	Ketu	Nirriti	a bundle of roots
20	Purva Ashadha	13°20'–26°40' Sagittarius	Venus	Apas (the Waters)	an elephant's tusk or fan
21	Uttara Ashadha	26°40' Sagittarius–10° Capricorn	Sun	The Vishvedevas	an elephant's tusk
22	Shravana	10°–23°20' Capricorn	Moon	Vishnu	an ear, or three footprints
23	Dhanishta	23°20' Capricorn–6°40' Aquarius	Mars	The eight Vasus	a drum
24	Shatabhisha	6°40'–20° Aquarius	Rahu	Varuna	an empty circle
25	Purva Bhadrapada	20° Aquarius–3°20' Pisces	Jupiter	Aja Ekapada	a sword, or a funeral cot's front legs
26	Uttara Bhadrapada	3°20'–16°40' Pisces	Saturn	Ahir Budhnya	the back legs of a funeral cot, or a deep-sea serpent
27	Revati	16°40'–30° Pisces	Mercury	Pushan	a fish, or a drum

How to Find Your Own Nakshatra and Pada

1. Get the Moon's exact sidereal longitude at your birth moment (Lahiri ayanamsa, Astra's default)
2. Divide that longitude by 13°20' — the whole-number result (0 to 26) picks the nakshatra from the table above
3. Take the remainder — how far the Moon sits past the nakshatra's own start — and divide by 3°20' to get the pada, 1 through 4
4. Look up the ruling graha, deity, and symbol for that nakshatra from the table

Cast your free Kundali to see your Moon's exact nakshatra and pada, calculated to the minute rather than approximated from your birth date. →

Where Classical Sources Differ

Common Mistakes With Nakshatras

• Calculating a pada as a plain remainder of longitude modulo 3°20' instead of measuring from the nakshatra's own start — this misplaces boundary cases
• Assuming a nakshatra maps neatly to one sign, when nine of the 27 straddle two signs
• Treating the deity or symbol as a literal prediction rather than a traditional association
• Forgetting that every graha, not just the Moon, has its own nakshatra and pada — 'my nakshatra' usually means the Moon's, but a full reading checks all nine

Questions people ask

How many nakshatras are there in Vedic astrology?

There are 27 nakshatras, each spanning exactly 13°20' of the 360° zodiac. They divide further into four padas of 3°20' each, giving 108 padas in total. The cycle of 27 nakshatras is older than the twelve-sign zodiac and was originally used to track the Moon's daily motion through the sky.

What is my nakshatra based on?

Your janma nakshatra (birth star) is based on the exact sidereal longitude of the Moon at the moment you were born, not your date alone. Because the Moon moves about 13° a day, an inaccurate birth time can place you in the wrong nakshatra, especially near a boundary.

What is a nakshatra pada?

A pada is one of the four equal 3°20' quarters within a nakshatra, counted from that nakshatra's own starting degree. It refines the nakshatra's broad theme into a narrower shade and determines which sign the point falls in on the navamsa (D9) divisional chart.

Which planet rules which nakshatra?

Nakshatra rulership follows a fixed cycle of nine grahas — Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury — starting at Ashwini and repeating three times across the 27 nakshatras. The same nine-graha order and proportions also govern the Vimshottari dasha sequence.

Can two people have the same Moon sign but different nakshatras?

Yes. Each 30° Moon sign contains a little over two nakshatras, so people who share a Moon sign frequently fall into different nakshatras, with different ruling grahas, deities, and dasha sequences — a meaningful difference hidden beneath an apparently identical sign.

Do nakshatras only apply to the Moon?

No. Every graha and the lagna each occupy their own nakshatra and pada, and a thorough chart reading checks all of them. In everyday speech, however, 'my nakshatra' almost always refers specifically to the Moon's nakshatra, since that is the one that sets the dasha timeline.