Muhurat and times of day
Tara bala in Vedic astrology
Updated
Tara bala: how the API computes it
Tara bala compares two nakshatras (star groups). One is the nakshatra the Moon was in at birth. The other is the one the Moon is in on a given day.
The API counts from the birth nakshatra to the day's nakshatra. It takes the remainder after dividing by nine. The remainder picks one of nine taras.
The 3rd (Vipat), 5th (Pratyari) and 7th (Vadha) are unfavorable. The rest are treated as favorable, and Janma, the birth star itself, is marked as mixed. GET /v1/tara takes a birth nakshatra, a date and a place. It returns the tara at sunrise and every change during the day.
The Moon can enter a new nakshatra at any hour. Ask for several days at once with days. POST /v1/muhurta/{activity} also uses tara bala. It says whether a good time window suits one person.
Tara bala comes back as data only, with no reading text.
Tara bala in a real API answer
GET /v1/tara?nakshatra=5&date=2026-10-01&latitude=40.7128&longitude=-74.006&timezone=America/New_York200 OK{
"birth_nakshatra": {
"nakshatra": "Mrigashira",
"number": 5
},
"days": [
{
"date": "2026-10-01",
"at_sunrise": {
"nakshatra": "Rohini",
"tara": 9,
"name": "Ati-Mitra",
"auspicious": true
}
}
]
}Get it from the API
GET /v1/tara
# New York, Oct 1, 2026
curl "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/tara?nakshatra=Mrigashira&date=2026-10-01&latitude=40.7128&longitude=-74.006&timezone=America/New_York" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY"{
"birth_nakshatra": {
"nakshatra": "Mrigashira",
"nakshatra_lord": "Mars",
"number": 5
},
"place": {
"latitude": 40.7128,
"longitude": -74.006,
"timezone": -4,
"timezone_info": {
"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"
}
},
"days": [
{
"date": "2026-10-01",
"sunrise": "2026-10-01T06:52:37-04:00",
"at_sunrise": {
"nakshatra": "Rohini",
"starts": "2026-09-30T20:32:55-04:00",
"ends": "2026-10-01T18:57:24-04:00",
"tara": 9,
"name": "Ati-Mitra",
"count_name": "Ati-Mitra",
"auspicious": true,
"severity": null,
"severity_reason": null,
"signifies": "the most favorable; support arrives without asking",
"reading": {
"text": [
"**Today is the most helpful step in your cycle of nine.** Count from your birth star, the nakshatra (star group) the Moon was in when you were born, to today's star. Today lands on the step of the great friend. Help tends to come without…",
"What you can do: use the day for something that matters to you. Make an important request or start a task you have planned. Still check the details before you commit."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
},
"during_the_day": [
{
"nakshatra": "Rohini",
"starts": "2026-09-30T20:32:55-04:00",
"ends": "2026-10-01T18:57:24-04:00",
"tara": 9,
"name": "Ati-Mitra",
"count_name": "Ati-Mitra",
"auspicious": true,
"severity": null,
"severity_reason": null,
"signifies": "the most favorable; support arrives without asking",
"reading": {
"text": [
"**Today is the most helpful step in your cycle of nine.** Count from your birth star, the nakshatra (star group) the Moon was in when you were born, to today's star. Today lands on the step of the great friend. Help tends to come without…",
"What you can do: use the day for something that matters to you. Make an important request or start a task you have planned. Still check the details before you commit."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
},
{
"nakshatra": "Mrigashira",
"starts": "2026-10-01T18:57:24-04:00",
"ends": "2026-10-02T17:25:13-04:00",
"tara": 1,
"name": "Janma",
"count_name": "Janma",
"auspicious": false,
"severity": "strict",
"severity_reason": "the birth star itself. Classical texts strictly reject it for big beginnings such as marriage, long journeys and a new business",
"signifies": "the birth star and its 10th and 19th repeats. Best avoided for big new starts such as marriage, long travel or a new business",
"reading": {
"text": [
"**Today the Moon comes back to your birth star.** Your birth star is the nakshatra (star group) the Moon was in when you were born. Old texts say this day is best avoided for big new starts. Your feelings may also sit a little closer to…",
"What you can do: keep today for your usual work. Save big new starts, like a wedding, a long trip or a new business, for another day."
],
"language": "en",
"detail": "standard"
}
}
]
}
],
"rule": "counted from the natal Moon nakshatra to the day nakshatra, mod 9. The 1st (Janma: counts 1, 10 and 19), 3rd, 5th and 7th are unfavorable for a start; the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 9th are favorable. Of the Janma counts the 1st is strict and…"
}Where the API returns it
| GET | /v1/tara | Tara bala: a daily rating from a birth nakshatra, no chart |
| POST | /v1/reading/daily | Daily reading for a chart |
| POST | /v1/reading/weekly | Weekly reading for a chart |
| POST | /v1/muhurta/{activity} | Muhurta: good times to start an activity |
What the API reference says
Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.
- POST /v1/reading/daily · Daily reading for a chartTara bala (a daily rating from the nakshatras; see
/v1/tara) is returned as data only. - POST /v1/reading/weekly · Weekly reading for a chartdays: for each day, the Moon's house counted from the birth Moon, tara bala (the day's star from the birth star) and chandra bala (the Moon's sign from the birth Moon).
- GET /v1/tara · Tara bala: a daily rating from a birth nakshatra, no chartReturns tara bala for one or more days.
The nine taras
- Janma
- Sampat
- Vipat
- Kshema
- Pratyari
- Sadhaka
- Vadha
- Mitra
- Ati-Mitra
- Karma
- Aadhana
Feature page: Panchang and muhurat. Who uses it: Publishers and media. 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.
Related terms
Free tools
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Runs on the same API call. Enter your details and see the answer in your browser.
Today's panchang
Tithi (lunar day), nakshatra, sunrise, rahu kaal and the choghadiya (good and bad parts of the day) for your own city.
See today's panchang
From the blog
Astrology API
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Your first answer
John Doe, New York
- RisingVirgoHast
- SunCancerAshlesha
- MoonTaurusMrigashira
- MarsAriesKrittika
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