Today's Nakshatra

What is a Nakshatra?

A Nakshatra (नक्षत्र) is a lunar mansion — one of 27 fixed star clusters (or 28, including Abhijit) that the Moon passes through during its monthly orbit. The word nakshatra means “that which does not decay” in Sanskrit, reflecting the eternal nature of the stars.

The Moon spends approximately one day in each Nakshatra, making today's Nakshatra one of the most important daily Panchang elements. Each Nakshatra spans exactly 13° 20' of the zodiac — together they divide the full 360° ecliptic into 27 equal segments.

Each Nakshatra has a ruling deity (devata), a planetary lord (swami), a symbolic animal, and a specific quality — which together determine the energy of any day the Moon occupies that Nakshatra. Understanding today's Nakshatra helps you choose the right activities, plan travel, schedule puja, and even select an auspicious name for a newborn.

Each Nakshatra is further divided into four Padas (quarters) of 3° 20' each. The Pada at the time of birth is used to determine the first syllable of a child's name in the traditional Namakarana ceremony.

All 27 Nakshatras by Planetary Lord

Vedic astrology assigns each Nakshatra a planetary ruler following the sequence: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury — repeated three times across the 27 Nakshatras:

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