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Today's Nakshatra
The lunar mansion the Moon is passing through right now, with its pada, ruling planet and deity, when it began and ends where you are, and the nakshatras to come.
Calculating…
Times are for the place above, in its local time zone, calculated from the positions of the Sun and Moon (sidereal, Lahiri ayanamsa) — usually within a minute or two of a printed Panchang for the same city.
Today, sunrise to sunrise
Every nakshatra that touches today's Panchang day, with the exact moments it begins and ends.
Coming up
The next nakshatras, with start and end times for your place.
Calculated from the Moon's sidereal ecliptic longitude at this instant — see our full Nakshatra reference for all 27.
See the full Today's Panchanga (all 5 elements), or learn what Nakshatra means.
What a Nakshatra actually is
The 360° band of sky the Moon travels through (the ecliptic) is divided into 27 fixed segments, each exactly 13°20' wide — these are the Nakshatras, sometimes translated as "lunar mansions." Since the Moon completes one full circuit of the ecliptic in about 27.3 days, it spends roughly one day in each Nakshatra before moving into the next. Each Nakshatra also carries a traditional ruling planet and presiding deity, used in Vedic astrology for everything from naming conventions to matching compatibility.
All 27 Nakshatras
In order along the ecliptic, with ruling planet and deity.
| # | Nakshatra | Ruling Planet | Deity |
| 1 | Ashwini | Ketu | Ashwini Kumaras |
| 2 | Bharani | Venus | Yama |
| 3 | Krittika | Sun | Agni |
| 4 | Rohini | Moon | Brahma/Prajapati |
| 5 | Mrigashira | Mars | Soma |
| 6 | Ardra | Rahu | Rudra |
| 7 | Punarvasu | Jupiter | Aditi |
| 8 | Pushya | Saturn | Brihaspati |
| 9 | Ashlesha | Mercury | Nagas |
| 10 | Magha | Ketu | Pitrs |
| 11 | Purva Phalguni | Venus | Bhaga |
| 12 | Uttara Phalguni | Sun | Aryaman |
| 13 | Hasta | Moon | Savitar |
| 14 | Chitra | Mars | Tvashtar |
| 15 | Swati | Rahu | Vayu |
| 16 | Vishakha | Jupiter | Indra-Agni |
| 17 | Anuradha | Saturn | Mitra |
| 18 | Jyeshtha | Mercury | Indra |
| 19 | Mula | Ketu | Nirriti |
| 20 | Purva Ashadha | Venus | Apas |
| 21 | Uttara Ashadha | Sun | Vishvedevas |
| 22 | Shravana | Moon | Vishnu |
| 23 | Dhanishta | Mars | Vasus |
| 24 | Shatabhisha | Rahu | Varuna |
| 25 | Purva Bhadrapada | Jupiter | Ajaikapada |
| 26 | Uttara Bhadrapada | Saturn | Ahirbudhnya |
| 27 | Revati | Mercury | Pushan |
One nakshatra a day, roughly
The Moon goes once round the sky against the stars in about 27.3 days — the sidereal month. Dividing the circle into 27 equal parts of 13°20′ gives it, on average, one nakshatra a day, which is almost certainly why the system has 27 mansions. Because the Moon's speed varies, a nakshatra actually lasts anywhere from about 20 to 27 hours.
The months are named after nakshatras
Each lunar month takes its name from the nakshatra near which the Moon is full in that month:
Padas, and the first letter of a name
Each nakshatra is split into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′, and every pada has a traditional syllable. A child born while the Moon is in Ashwini's first pada, for example, might be given a name beginning with chu; the second pada gives che, the third cho, the fourth la. The 108 padas are also what map the 27 nakshatras onto the 12 rashis — nine padas to each sign.
Abhijit, the 28th
Older texts, including the Atharvaveda's lists, count 28 nakshatras. The extra one, Abhijit (the star Vega), sits between Uttara Ashadha and Shravana. It was dropped from the equal 27-part scheme used for the Moon's daily motion but survives in muhurta — the Abhijit Muhurta at midday shares its name.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Nakshatra?
One of 27 fixed segments the sky is divided into along the Moon's path, each spanning 13°20'. The Moon passes through roughly one Nakshatra per day, and the one it occupies at a given moment is that day's Nakshatra.
How many Nakshatras are there?
27 — each exactly 13°20' of the 360° ecliptic (27 × 13.33...° = 360°).
What's the difference between Nakshatra and Rashi (zodiac sign)?
Both divide the same 360° ecliptic, but into different numbers of segments — 12 Rashis of 30° each versus 27 Nakshatras of 13°20' each. A single Rashi spans exactly 2.25 Nakshatras.
What is my birth Nakshatra used for?
In Vedic astrology, a person's birth Nakshatra (the one the Moon occupied at their birth) is used for naming conventions, compatibility matching (Ashtakoot Milan), and timing of the Dasha planetary periods.