Chandrashtama calculator: dates and the 8th rashi
Find your chandrashtama rashi, the 8th rashi from your birth Moon sign, and the days and times the Moon passes through it over the next three months. Choose your rashi, or work it out from the date of birth.
What chandrashtama is
Chandrashtama joins two words: chandra, the Moon, and ashtama, eighth. It is the time the Moon, moving through the sidereal zodiac, is in the 8th rashi counted from the rashi it was in at your birth. The count is inclusive, so your own rashi is the 1st and the 8th lies seven signs further on.
The Moon spends about two and a quarter days in each rashi (between about two and two and three-quarter days, as its speed changes) and comes back to the same rashi every 27.3 days. So everyone has a chandrashtama of a little over two days roughly once a month, and people of the same birth rashi share the same days.
Chandrashtama rashi for each birth rashi
| Birth rashi | Chandrashtama rashi (8th) |
|---|---|
| Mesh मेष (Aries) | Vrishchik वृश्चिक (Scorpio) |
| Vrishabh वृषभ (Taurus) | Dhanu धनु (Sagittarius) |
| Mithun मिथुन (Gemini) | Makar मकर (Capricorn) |
| Kark कर्क (Cancer) | Kumbh कुंभ (Aquarius) |
| Singh सिंह (Leo) | Meen मीन (Pisces) |
| Kanya कन्या (Virgo) | Mesh मेष (Aries) |
| Tula तुला (Libra) | Vrishabh वृषभ (Taurus) |
| Vrishchik वृश्चिक (Scorpio) | Mithun मिथुन (Gemini) |
| Dhanu धनु (Sagittarius) | Kark कर्क (Cancer) |
| Makar मकर (Capricorn) | Singh सिंह (Leo) |
| Kumbh कुंभ (Aquarius) | Kanya कन्या (Virgo) |
| Meen मीन (Pisces) | Tula तुला (Libra) |
An example
For Mesh (Aries) birth rashi, chandrashtama is the Moon in Vrishchik. Counting from 1 January 2027, the Moon next enters Vrishchik on Sun 3 Jan 2027, 15:01 and leaves it on Wed 6 Jan 2027, 03:07 (IST), a stay of 2 days 12 hours. It returns about 27 days later. The calculator lists every such stay for your rashi from today.
The tradition
In muhurta, the practice of choosing a good time, the Moon’s position from the birth rashi is called chandrabalam, and the 8th position is the one most often set aside. By custom many families avoid beginning something new during chandrashtama: a business, a journey, a purchase of property, an agreement or a ceremony. The idea is to keep new starts for other days when there is a choice; ordinary work goes on.
Related tools
- Rashi calculator by date of birth: your Moon sign, nakshatra and pada.
- Tarabalam calculator: the strength of a day’s nakshatra counted from the birth star.
- Sade Sati calculator: Saturn’s stays counted from the same Moon sign.
- Rashi by name and all twelve rashis.
Frequently asked questions
What is chandrashtama?
Chandrashtama (chandra = Moon, ashtama = eighth; also written chandrashtamam or chandrashtam) is the time the transiting Moon passes through the 8th rashi counted from your birth rashi, the Moon sign at birth. The Moon spends about two and a quarter days in each rashi and goes round all twelve in about 27.3 days, so chandrashtama comes once a month and lasts a little over two days.
How is the 8th rashi counted?
Inclusively: your birth rashi is the 1st, the next is the 2nd, and so on. From Mesh (Aries) the 8th is Vrishchik (Scorpio); from Vrishabh it is Dhanu; from Meen it is Tula. The table on this page gives it for all twelve rashis.
How do I find my chandrashtama days?
Choose your birth rashi in the calculator above (or let it work the rashi out from the date, time and place of birth). It finds every time the Moon enters and leaves your chandrashtama rashi over the next three months, with the times in the UTC offset you choose.
What is avoided during chandrashtama?
By muhurta custom, many families avoid starting new things on those days: a new venture, a journey, signing an agreement, a ceremony or an important first meeting. Routine work carries on as usual. It is one guideline among several (tarabalam, tithi, weekday) that people weigh when choosing a day, and customs differ by region and family.
Is chandrashtama counted from the name rashi or the birth rashi?
From the birth rashi, the sign the Moon was in when you were born. Where the birth details are not known, some people use the name rashi (the rashi of the first syllable of the name) instead; the calculator offers that too and labels it, because the two can differ.
Why do panchangs give slightly different times?
Panchangs use different ayanamsas and calculation methods. This calculator uses the Lahiri ayanamsa, the one most Indian panchangs use, and usually agrees with them within a few minutes. Some calendars also list chandrashtama by nakshatra (the nakshatras that fall in the 8th rashi, or a set star counted from the birth star); the times can then differ a little at the edges.
Is chandrashtama bad?
It is a tradition for choosing days, not a forecast. Nothing about a chandrashtama day is certain to go well or badly; the custom is simply to prefer another day for a new start when there is a choice. This page gives the Moon's positions and does not predict anything.
Are my details saved?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing is stored or sent. A shared link holds only the rashi and the time zone.