Lagna calculator (ascendant calculator)
Enter the date, time and place of birth to find your Lagna, the rising sign or ascendant of the Vedic birth chart: its sign and degree in the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri), the nakshatra and pada of that degree, and the Lagna lord. It also shows how long the same sign was rising, so you can see how much the birth time matters.
How the Lagna is calculated
- Convert the birth time to Universal Time with the UTC offset in force at the place of birth.
- From that moment and the longitude of the place, work out the local sidereal time: which part of the sky is on the meridian.
- From the sidereal time, the latitude and the tilt of the Earth’s axis, find the point of the zodiac rising on the eastern horizon (the tropical ascendant).
- Subtract the Lahiri ayanamsa to get the sidereal Lagna, then read its sign, degree, nakshatra and pada.
For example, for Delhi at midnight IST on 15 August 1947 the Lagna was Vrishabh (Taurus) at 7°43′, in Krittika pada 4, with Venus as Lagna lord. Vrishabh was rising there from 23:33 the previous day to 01:27 IST.
The 12 Lagnas, their lords and elements
Each Lagna is one of the twelve rashis, read from the eastern horizon instead of from the Moon. The lord is the planet that traditionally rules the sign; the elements repeat fire, earth, air and water from Mesh.
| Lagna | Western sign | Lord | Element | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mesh मेष | Aries | Mars | Fire | 0°–30° |
| Vrishabh वृषभ | Taurus | Venus | Earth | 30°–60° |
| Mithun मिथुन | Gemini | Mercury | Air | 60°–90° |
| Kark कर्क | Cancer | Moon | Water | 90°–120° |
| Singh सिंह | Leo | Sun | Fire | 120°–150° |
| Kanya कन्या | Virgo | Mercury | Earth | 150°–180° |
| Tula तुला | Libra | Venus | Air | 180°–210° |
| Vrishchik वृश्चिक | Scorpio | Mars | Water | 210°–240° |
| Dhanu धनु | Sagittarius | Jupiter | Fire | 240°–270° |
| Makar मकर | Capricorn | Saturn | Earth | 270°–300° |
| Kumbh कुंभ | Aquarius | Saturn | Air | 300°–330° |
| Meen मीन | Pisces | Jupiter | Water | 330°–360° |
Why the birth time matters so much
The Earth turns once a day, so the Lagna passes through all twelve signs in about 24 hours: roughly two hours a sign on average in India, but Kumbh, Meen and Mesh rise in about an hour and a half while Kark to Vrishchik take well over two hours, and the difference grows further from the equator. Within a sign, the degree moves about one degree every four minutes, and the nakshatra pada of the Lagna changes about every 13 minutes. When the sign changes within 15 minutes of the time entered, the calculator warns you and names the neighbouring sign.
Related tools
- Ashtakavarga calculator: the bhinnashtakavarga of each planet and the sarvashtakavarga of every sign.
- Rashi calculator by date of birth: the Moon sign, nakshatra and pada, with baby-name syllables.
- Nakshatra calculator by date of birth: the Moon’s birth star used for naming.
- Mangal dosha calculator: the house of Mars counted from the Lagna, the Moon and Venus.
- Dasha calculator: the Vimshottari periods from the birth nakshatra.
- Atmakaraka calculator: the chara karakas, from the planets’ degrees in their signs.
- D9 chart calculator: the navamsa chart, with the navamsa of the Lagna and every planet.
- D10, D7 and D60 chart calculators: the dasamsa, saptamsa and shashtiamsa, with how long each divisional Lagna holds.
- Baby names by rashi: the naming letters of all twelve signs.
Frequently asked questions
What is Lagna in astrology?
Lagna (also called the ascendant or rising sign) is the sign of the zodiac that was rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth. In Vedic astrology it is the 1st house of the birth chart, and every other house is counted from it, so it is usually the first thing read in a horoscope, next to the Moon sign (rashi).
How do I calculate my Lagna?
You need the date of birth, the exact time of birth and the place of birth. The time and the longitude of the place give the local sidereal time, which fixes the point of the zodiac on the eastern horizon; the latitude decides how quickly each sign rises there. The calculator above does this and then subtracts the Lahiri ayanamsa to give the sidereal Lagna used in Indian astrology.
Can I find my Lagna without the time of birth?
No. The Lagna runs through all twelve signs every day, about one sign every two hours on average, so a date alone could give any of them. If the time is only roughly known, enter your best estimate: the calculator shows the clock times between which that sign was rising, which tells you whether the uncertainty matters.
Is the ascendant the same as the Lagna?
Yes, they are the same point. The difference people notice is the zodiac: Western astrology usually uses the tropical zodiac and Vedic astrology the sidereal one, about 24 degrees apart today. So a Western ascendant in early Taurus is often a Mesh (Aries) Lagna in an Indian chart. This page gives the sidereal Lagna with the Lahiri ayanamsa.
What is the difference between Lagna and rashi?
The rashi (Moon sign) is the sign the Moon was in at birth; it changes about every two and a half days and needs only the date and approximate time. The Lagna is the sign rising in the east; it changes about every two hours and needs the exact time and the place. Baby names in the Indian tradition usually follow the Moon's nakshatra, not the Lagna.
What is the Lagna lord?
The Lagna lord is the planet that traditionally rules the Lagna sign: Mars for Mesh and Vrishchik, Venus for Vrishabh and Tula, Mercury for Mithun and Kanya, the Moon for Kark, the Sun for Singh, Jupiter for Dhanu and Meen, and Saturn for Makar and Kumbh. The table on this page lists it for every sign.
What does the nakshatra of the Lagna mean?
The zodiac is also divided into 27 nakshatras of 13°20′, each in four padas of 3°20′. The degree of the Lagna falls in one of them, just as the Moon's degree does. Some astrologers read the Lagna nakshatra alongside the birth nakshatra; it is not the birth star used for naming, which is the Moon's.
Why does my Lagna differ from another website or app?
The usual causes are the birth time (a few minutes near a change of sign), the UTC offset (summer time abroad, India's war time in the 1940s, or old local times such as Bombay Time before 1955), the coordinates of the place, and the ayanamsa (Lahiri here; KP and Raman differ by a fraction of a degree to about 1.5°). Check the warning on the result, which appears when the sign changes within 15 minutes of the time entered.
Does it work for births outside India?
Yes. Choose a listed city abroad, or "Other place" with its latitude and longitude, and set the UTC offset that was in force at the birth, including summer time. Places beyond 66° north or south are not supported: beyond the polar circles (about 66.5°) some signs never rise, and close to them the usual Lagna stops being meaningful.
Are my birth details saved?
No. The calculation runs in your browser, and the birth details are not stored or sent anywhere. They appear in the page address only if you open or copy the share link.