Nakshatras: the 27 lunar mansions

The Moon goes round the zodiac in about 27⅓ days. Indian astronomers divided its path into 27 equal parts called nakshatras (नक्षत्र), "lunar mansions", so that the Moon spends roughly one day in each. Every nakshatra spans 13°20′ of the sidereal zodiac and is named after a star or group of stars within it.

Padas

Each nakshatra has four quarters (padas) of 3°20′. The 27 × 4 = 108 padas fit exactly into the twelve signs, nine to a sign, and each pada corresponds to one sign of the navamsa (D9) chart, the most used divisional chart after the birth chart.

Janma nakshatra

The nakshatra holding the Moon at birth is the janma nakshatra. It sets the starting point of the Vimshottari dasha, decides Tara Bala and four of the eight kootas in Guna Milan, and in many families gives the first syllable of a child's name.

Deities, symbols and lords

Each nakshatra has a presiding deity and a symbol: Ashwini, the twin horsemen; Rohini, the chariot of Prajapati; Pushya, the udder of the cow, under Brihaspati; Mula, the roots, under Nirriti. The nine planets rule them in a fixed order (Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury) repeated three times, which is the order of the dasha periods.

#	Nakshatra	Span (sidereal)	Dasha lord
1	Ashwini	Mesha 0°00′ – Mesha 13°20′	Ketu
2	Bharani	Mesha 13°20′ – Mesha 26°40′	Venus
3	Krittika	Mesha 26°40′ – Vrishabha 10°00′	Sun
4	Rohini	Vrishabha 10°00′ – Vrishabha 23°20′	Moon
5	Mrigashira	Vrishabha 23°20′ – Mithuna 6°40′	Mars
6	Ardra	Mithuna 6°40′ – Mithuna 20°00′	Rahu
7	Punarvasu	Mithuna 20°00′ – Karka 3°20′	Jupiter
8	Pushya	Karka 3°20′ – Karka 16°40′	Saturn
9	Ashlesha	Karka 16°40′ – Karka 30°00′	Mercury
10	Magha	Simha 0°00′ – Simha 13°20′	Ketu
11	Purva Phalguni	Simha 13°20′ – Simha 26°40′	Venus
12	Uttara Phalguni	Simha 26°40′ – Kanya 10°00′	Sun
13	Hasta	Kanya 10°00′ – Kanya 23°20′	Moon
14	Chitra	Kanya 23°20′ – Tula 6°40′	Mars
15	Swati	Tula 6°40′ – Tula 20°00′	Rahu
16	Vishakha	Tula 20°00′ – Vrischika 3°20′	Jupiter
17	Anuradha	Vrischika 3°20′ – Vrischika 16°40′	Saturn
18	Jyeshtha	Vrischika 16°40′ – Vrischika 30°00′	Mercury
19	Mula	Dhanu 0°00′ – Dhanu 13°20′	Ketu
20	Purva Ashadha	Dhanu 13°20′ – Dhanu 26°40′	Venus
21	Uttara Ashadha	Dhanu 26°40′ – Makara 10°00′	Sun
22	Shravana	Makara 10°00′ – Makara 23°20′	Moon
23	Dhanishta	Makara 23°20′ – Kumbha 6°40′	Mars
24	Shatabhisha	Kumbha 6°40′ – Kumbha 20°00′	Rahu
25	Purva Bhadrapada	Kumbha 20°00′ – Meena 3°20′	Jupiter
26	Uttara Bhadrapada	Meena 3°20′ – Meena 16°40′	Saturn
27	Revati	Meena 16°40′ – Meena 30°00′	Mercury

Tara Bala

Counting from your birth nakshatra to another one and dividing into cycles of nine gives the tara: Janma, Sampat, Vipat, Kshema, Pratyari, Sadhana, Naidhana, Mitra and Ati-mitra. Sampat, Kshema, Sadhana, Mitra and Ati-mitra are considered supportive. Our personal portfolio test used Tara Bala between a visitor's nakshatra and each stock's listing nakshatra; it did not beat random portfolios.

Where you see them here

The daily Panchang shows the day's nakshatra and when it ends; every stock kundli and your kundli show the Moon's nakshatra at listing or birth.

For learning and curiosity, not investment advice.