Nakshatras

Nakshatra in Vedic astrology

A nakshatra is one of 27 star groups along the Moon's path, each 13°20′ wide. Each nakshatra has four quarters, called padas, of 3°20′ each. The Moon's nakshatra at birth, often called the birth star, sets the dasha periods. It is also central to marriage matching and to picking good times.

Updated Nov 3, 2026

More terms in Nakshatras

Nakshatra: what it means and how the API computes it

The 27 nakshatras are equal parts of the sidereal (Vedic) zodiac, each 13°20′ wide. Each one has four quarters called padas. The API works out the nakshatra and pada of the ascendant (rising sign) and of every planet. It also gives the planet that rules each nakshatra.

The Moon's nakshatra matters most. It picks the first Vimshottari and Yogini dasha periods, the planet periods of a life. It decides four of the eight kootas (matching factors) in guna milan. It also sets tara bala, a score for how good a day is for a person.

POST /v1/planets returns the nakshatra, lord and pada for each position. In Hindi responses the names are in Devanagari script. The JSON field names stay in English.

Names use the standard spellings, such as Mrigashira and Uttara Phalguni. Your data may spell some differently, so match on the nakshatra number.

Nakshatra in a real API answer

POST /v1/planets200 OK

{
  "positions": [
    {
      "name": "Sun",
      "nakshatra": "Ashlesha",
      "nakshatra_lord": "Mercury",
      "pada": 4
    },
    {
      "name": "Moon",
      "nakshatra": "Mrigashira",
      "nakshatra_lord": "Mars",
      "pada": 1
    }
  ]
}

The nakshatra of John Doe's Sun and Moon, with its ruling planet and the quarter (pada) each one is in. Real output for John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York.

Get it from the API

Planet positions and the ascendant. Here is the call to API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com) for our sample, John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York.

POST /v1/planets

# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/planets" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"year":1990,"month":8,"day":15,"hour":10,"minute":30,"second":0,"latitude":40.7128,"longitude":-74.006,"timezone":"America/New_York"}'

Answer (long lists shortened)200 OK

{
  "meta": {
    "ayanamsa": "lahiri",
    "ayanamsa_value": 23.7260727,
    "julian_day": 2448119.10483,
    "ephemeris": "JPL DE440s",
    "node": "true",
    "timezone": {
      "source": "zone",
      "offset_hours": -4,
      "zone": "America/New_York",
      "abbreviation": "EDT",
      "dst": true,
      "dst_hours": 1,
      "ambiguous_resolved_by_fold": null,
      "note": "read from the IANA tz database at this instant, so daylight saving and historical offset changes are included"
    }
  },
  "ascendant": {
    "name": "Ascendant",
    "longitude": 169.934155,
    "sign": "Virgo",
    "sign_number": 6,
    "degree_in_sign": 19.934155,
    "degree_dms": "19 : 56 : 03",
    "house": 1,
    "nakshatra": "Hast",
    "nakshatra_lord": "Moon",
    "pada": 3,
    "speed": 0,
    "retrograde": false,
    "combust": false,
    "dignity": "n/a",
    "vargottama": false,
    "pushkara": {
      "navamsa": false,
      "navamsa_number": 6,
      "bhaga": false,
      "bhaga_degree": 9,
      "bhaga_by_element": false,
      "bhaga_degree_by_element": 14,
      "sources_agree": true,
      "orb_degrees": 1
    }
  },
  "positions": [
    {
      "name": "Sun",
      "longitude": 118.7753409,
      "sign": "Cancer",
      "sign_number": 4,
      "degree_in_sign": 28.7753409,
      "degree_dms": "28 : 46 : 31",
      "house": 11,
      "nakshatra": "Ashlesha",
      "nakshatra_lord": "Mercury",
      "pada": 4,
      "speed": 0.9610665,
      "retrograde": false,
      "combust": false,
      "dignity": "friend",
      "vargottama": false,
      "pushkara": {
        "navamsa": false,
        "navamsa_number": 9,
        "bhaga": false,
        "bhaga_degree": 8,
        "bhaga_by_element": false,
        "bhaga_degree_by_element": 7,
        "sources_agree": true,
        "orb_degrees": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Moon",
      "longitude": 54.5750352,
      "sign": "Taurus",
      "sign_number": 2,
      "degree_in_sign": 24.5750352,
      "degree_dms": "24 : 34 : 30",
      "house": 9,
      "nakshatra": "Mrigashira",
      "nakshatra_lord": "Mars",
      "pada": 1,
      "speed": 14.258194,
      "retrograde": false,
      "combust": false,
      "dignity": "mulatrikona",
      "vargottama": false,
      "pushkara": {
        "navamsa": false,
        "navamsa_number": 8,
        "bhaga": false,
        "bhaga_degree": 14,
        "bhaga_by_element": false,
        "bhaga_degree_by_element": 14,
        "sources_agree": true,
        "orb_degrees": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Mars",
      "longitude": 27.7149328,
      "sign": "Aries",
      "sign_number": 1,
      "degree_in_sign": 27.7149328,
      "degree_dms": "27 : 42 : 54",
      "house": 8,
      "nakshatra": "Krittika",
      "nakshatra_lord": "Sun",
      "pada": 1,
      "speed": 0.5753266,
      "retrograde": false,
      "combust": false,
      "dignity": "own sign",
      "vargottama": false,
      "pushkara": {
        "navamsa": true,
        "navamsa_number": 9,
        "bhaga": false,
        "bhaga_degree": 21,
        "bhaga_by_element": false,
        "bhaga_degree_by_element": 21,
        "sources_agree": true,
        "orb_degrees": 1
      }
    }
  ],
  "planetary_war": []
}

Where the API returns it

POST	/v1/planets	Planet positions and the ascendant
GET	/v1/tara	Tara bala: a daily rating from a birth nakshatra, no chart
POST	/v1/matching/nakshatra	Compatibility score from two nakshatras, no birth charts
POST	/v1/ascendant	The ascendant only
POST	/v1/kp	Krishnamurti Paddhati: cusps, sub lords, significators
POST	/v1/panchang	Panchang at the birth moment

What the API reference says

Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.

GET /v1/tara · Tara bala: a daily rating from a birth nakshatra, no chartCount from the birth nakshatra to the day's nakshatra, and take the remainder after dividing by nine.
POST /v1/planets · Planet positions and the ascendantYou also get its nakshatra (one of 27 lunar mansions) and pada (one of the four quarters of a nakshatra).
POST /v1/ascendant · The ascendant onlyYou get its degree, nakshatra (one of 27 lunar mansions) and pada (quarter of a nakshatra).

The 27 nakshatras

Feature page: Kundli and birth charts. Who uses it: Baby name apps. The classical rules the API follows are in the rulebook.

How we check the numbers

Every value here starts from planet positions worked out from NASA JPL planet data (DE440). We test them against NASA JPL Horizons, NASA's planet position service. On 25,571 positions from 1850 to 2149, the Sun and planets agree within 0.001 arc seconds. The Moon agrees within 0.011. On 2,000 random birth charts, the rising sign agrees with Swiss Ephemeris within 0.004 arc seconds. An arc second is 1/3,600 of a degree. A practicing astrologer reviews the rules behind these answers. See how we test.

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Nakshatra finder
Your birth star: the Moon's nakshatra, its quarter (pada), its ruler and your Moon sign.
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Astrology API

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Your first answer

John Doe, New York

POST /v1/planets200 OK

RisingVirgoHast
SunCancerAshlesha
MoonTaurusMrigashira
MarsAriesKrittika

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