Nakshatra by Name

What a nakshatra is

A nakshatra is one of 27 lunar mansions that Vedic astrology divides the sky into, each 13°20′ wide. The one the Moon was in when you were born is your janma nakshatra, or birth star. Each nakshatra splits into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′, which gives 108 padas in all.

By tradition, every pada has a starting syllable. At the naamkaran, many Hindu families name a baby with the syllable of their birth pada. That custom is why the first sound of a name can point back to a nakshatra.

What the result shows

All 27 nakshatras and their name syllables

When a nakshatra spans two rashis, its first padas fall in the first rashi and the rest in the next. Krittika pada 1 (A) is Mesha, for example, while padas 2 to 4 (I, U, E) are Vrishabha. The lords repeat in a fixed cycle of nine: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury.

Gana, yoni and nadi of each nakshatra

These three traits carry 18 of the 36 points in kundli matching, so this is the table to check if you are comparing two birth stars.

A Rakshasa gana is a label from tradition, not a judgement of character. It only affects how many Gana points two people get in matching.

Worked examples

Neha starts with Ne (ने), the fourth syllable of Anuradha. So Neha is Anuradha nakshatra, pada 4, in Vrischika rashi. Anuradha is ruled by Saturn, is Deva gana, has the deer as its yoni and sits in Madhya nadi.

Rahul starts with Ra (रा), the third syllable of Chitra. So Rahul is Chitra nakshatra, pada 3, in Tula rashi, ruled by Mars, Rakshasa gana, tiger yoni and Madhya nadi.

Neha and Rahul share Madhya nadi, so a gun milan between these two names would show Nadi dosha. That is the kind of detail this table lets you spot before you run the kundli matching by name tool.

How English spellings are read

English letters can hide the sound. “Na” could be न (Anuradha) or ण (Hasta), and “Ta” could be त (Swati) or ट (Purva Phalguni). The tool reads the soft sound most Indian names use and adds a note with the other nakshatra when it differs. Typing the name in Hindi (नेहा) removes the doubt.

• Joined consonants are read up to the first vowel: Krishna is “Ki” (Mrigashira 4), Priya is “Pi” (Uttara Phalguni 4).
• Sh is read as ष, Hasta pada 2. B is read as व, so Babita is Rohini.
• All names starting with A (Aarav, Amit, Ananya) fall in Krittika pada 1, which is why so many people get the same result.

Name nakshatra vs birth nakshatra

Your real janma nakshatra comes from the Moon’s exact position at birth, worked out from your date, time and place of birth. The Moon moves through one nakshatra in about a day, so even the birth date alone is not always enough.

A name gives the same nakshatra only if it was chosen from your birth syllable. If your family followed that custom, or you have a separate janma naam, the name result is a good guide. Otherwise, use your birth chart for anything important, and treat this tool as a way to learn the system.

The same chart works in reverse for baby names: find the baby’s birth nakshatra and pada, then pick a name that starts with that pada’s syllable. For the Moon sign view of the same chart, see rashi by name, and for a number-based reading of a name, try the numerology calculator.