Lunar mansions

The 27 nakshatras

Vedic astrology divides the Moon's path into 27 nakshatras of 13°20′ each, starting from the first point of sidereal Aries. The one holding the Moon at birth is the birth nakshatra, the starting point for dashas and for nakshatra matching. Make your kundli to find yours.

No.	Nakshatra	Sidereal span	Lord	Deity	Gana
1	Ashwini	Aries 0°00′ to 13°20′	Ketu	Ashvins, the twin horsemen	Deva
2	Bharani	Aries 13°20′ to 26°40′	Venus	Yama	Manushya
3	Krittika	Aries 26°40′ to 30°00′, Taurus 0°00′ to 10°00′	Sun	Agni	Rakshasa
4	Rohini	Taurus 10°00′ to 23°20′	Moon	Brahma as Prajapati	Manushya
5	Mrigashira	Taurus 23°20′ to 30°00′, Gemini 0°00′ to 6°40′	Mars	Soma	Deva
6	Ardra	Gemini 6°40′ to 20°00′	Rahu	Rudra	Manushya
7	Punarvasu	Gemini 20°00′ to 30°00′, Cancer 0°00′ to 3°20′	Jupiter	Aditi	Deva
8	Pushya	Cancer 3°20′ to 16°40′	Saturn	Brihaspati	Deva
9	Ashlesha	Cancer 16°40′ to 30°00′	Mercury	Nagas, the serpent beings	Rakshasa
10	Magha	Leo 0°00′ to 13°20′	Ketu	Pitris, the ancestors	Rakshasa
11	Purva Phalguni	Leo 13°20′ to 26°40′	Venus	Bhaga	Manushya
12	Uttara Phalguni	Leo 26°40′ to 30°00′, Virgo 0°00′ to 10°00′	Sun	Aryaman	Manushya
13	Hasta	Virgo 10°00′ to 23°20′	Moon	Savitr, the Sun as enlivener	Deva
14	Chitra	Virgo 23°20′ to 30°00′, Libra 0°00′ to 6°40′	Mars	Tvashtar, the divine craftsman	Rakshasa
15	Swati	Libra 6°40′ to 20°00′	Rahu	Vayu	Deva
16	Vishakha	Libra 20°00′ to 30°00′, Scorpio 0°00′ to 3°20′	Jupiter	Indra and Agni together	Rakshasa
17	Anuradha	Scorpio 3°20′ to 16°40′	Saturn	Mitra	Deva
18	Jyeshtha	Scorpio 16°40′ to 30°00′	Mercury	Indra	Rakshasa
19	Mula	Sagittarius 0°00′ to 13°20′	Ketu	Nirriti	Rakshasa
20	Purva Ashadha	Sagittarius 13°20′ to 26°40′	Venus	Apas, the waters	Manushya
21	Uttara Ashadha	Sagittarius 26°40′ to 30°00′, Capricorn 0°00′ to 10°00′	Sun	Vishvedevas, the universal gods	Manushya
22	Shravana	Capricorn 10°00′ to 23°20′	Moon	Vishnu	Deva
23	Dhanishta	Capricorn 23°20′ to 30°00′, Aquarius 0°00′ to 6°40′	Mars	Eight Vasus	Rakshasa
24	Shatabhisha	Aquarius 6°40′ to 20°00′	Rahu	Varuna	Rakshasa
25	Purva Bhadrapada	Aquarius 20°00′ to 30°00′, Pisces 0°00′ to 3°20′	Jupiter	Aja Ekapada, the one footed goat	Manushya
26	Uttara Bhadrapada	Pisces 3°20′ to 16°40′	Saturn	Ahir Budhnya, the serpent of the deep	Manushya
27	Revati	Pisces 16°40′ to 30°00′	Mercury	Pushan	Deva

How the nakshatras are organised

Each nakshatra has a ruling planet from the Vimshottari cycle of nine lords, which repeats three times across the 27, in this order: Ketu then Venus then Sun then Moon then Mars then Rahu then Jupiter then Saturn then Mercury. The first dasha of a life belongs to the lord of the birth nakshatra. Each nakshatra is split into four padas of 3°20′, and the 108 padas step through the twelve navamsa signs nine times, which is how the navamsa chart is built.

Nine nakshatras straddle two signs, so the nakshatra alone does not always settle the Moon sign. In matching that matters, because four of the eight kootas read the sign rather than the star. The nakshatra matching tool asks for both.