Malayalam nakshatra finder

Look up a birth star by date and time and read the answer in its Malayalam name (Aswathi, Karthika, Makayiram, Thiruvonam and the rest) beside the Sanskrit one, with the pada and the baby-name syllable.

Date, time and place of birth

Date of birth

Time of birth

UTC offset at the place of birth

Time not known (show the whole day)

The Moon moves about 13° a day, half a degree an hour, so the time matters: the rashi changes every two to three days and the nakshatra about once a day. Use the clock time on the birth record. For India choose UTC+05:30 (Indian Standard Time); for a birth abroad, choose the offset in force that day, including summer time.

What the finder does

The Moon takes a little over 27 days to circle the zodiac, and each of the 27 stars is the stretch it covers in about a day. The finder converts the birth time to universal time, computes the Moon’s sidereal longitude with the Lahiri ayanamsa, and sees which of the 27 equal sections of 13°20′ it falls in. The same section is called Makayiram in Malayalam and Mrigashira in Sanskrit; only the label changes, never the sky position.

Many Kerala families remember a child by the star, and mark the birthday when the Moon returns to it. That is why a date alone is not quite enough: the same date can carry two stars, and a star can begin on one date and end on the next.

A worked day

On 14 April 2025 (IST) the Moon began the day in Chothi (Swati) pada 1, reached Chothi (Swati) pada 2 at 03:57, reached Chothi (Swati) pada 3 at 10:43 and reached Chothi (Swati) pada 4 at 17:28. A child born in the earlier hours and one born in the later hours of that day would be given different stars, and different starting syllables.

The 27 stars in Malayalam and Sanskrit

The Malayalam column gives a spelling in common use in English-language Kerala almanacs; where the Sanskrit and Malayalam names are the same, such as Rohini, the two columns match.

The 27 nakshatras: Malayalam name, Sanskrit name and ruling planet
Malayalam name	Sanskrit name	Ruling planet
1. Aswathi	Ashwini अश्विनी	Ketu
2. Bharani	Bharani भरणी	Venus
3. Karthika	Krittika कृत्तिका	Sun
4. Rohini	Rohini रोहिणी	Moon
5. Makayiram	Mrigashira मृगशिरा	Mars
6. Thiruvathira	Ardra आर्द्रा	Rahu
7. Punartham	Punarvasu पुनर्वसु	Jupiter
8. Pooyam	Pushya पुष्य	Saturn
9. Aayilyam	Ashlesha आश्लेषा	Mercury
10. Makam	Magha मघा	Ketu
11. Pooram	Purva Phalguni पूर्वा फाल्गुनी	Venus
12. Uthram	Uttara Phalguni उत्तरा फाल्गुनी	Sun
13. Atham	Hasta हस्त	Moon
14. Chithira	Chitra चित्रा	Mars
15. Chothi	Swati स्वाति	Rahu
16. Visakham	Vishakha विशाखा	Jupiter
17. Anizham	Anuradha अनुराधा	Saturn
18. Thrikketta	Jyeshtha ज्येष्ठा	Mercury
19. Moolam	Mula मूल	Ketu
20. Pooradam	Purva Ashadha पूर्वाषाढ़ा	Venus
21. Uthradam	Uttara Ashadha उत्तराषाढ़ा	Sun
22. Thiruvonam	Shravana श्रवण	Moon
23. Avittam	Dhanishta धनिष्ठा	Mars
24. Chathayam	Shatabhisha शतभिषा	Rahu
25. Pooruruttathi	Purva Bhadrapada पूर्वा भाद्रपद	Jupiter
26. Uthruttathi	Uttara Bhadrapada उत्तरा भाद्रपद	Saturn
27. Revathi	Revati रेवती	Mercury

Learn more

Nakshatra calculator by date of birth: the same calculation with Sanskrit names only, plus the span of each star in the zodiac.
Tamil nakshatra calculator and Telugu nakshatra calculator: the same stars under their Tamil and Telugu names.
Rashi by date of birth and nakshatra by name.
Rashi name finder, nakshatra letters chart and baby names by nakshatra.
The 27 nakshatras explained.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find my nakshatra in Malayalam?

Enter the date, the clock time and the UTC offset of the place of birth. The calculator works out where the Moon stood in the sidereal zodiac and shows the star both by its Malayalam name, such as Makayiram or Thiruvathira, and by its Sanskrit name, with the pada and ruling planet. The table on the page lists all 27 names side by side.

Is this the same as the star in a Kerala jathakam or horoscope?

It is the same thing, the Moon's nakshatra at birth, the janma nakshatram. This page computes it from the date and time; it does not draw the full chart, so it gives no ascendant, houses or dasha. If a family horoscope already names a star, that written record is the one to keep using.

Why does my Kerala panchangam give a different star?

Almanacs differ in method and in what they print. Some compute the Moon directly, others follow older rule-based tables, and a printed day usually shows the star in force at a fixed time, not at the moment of birth. A birth within half a degree (about an hour) of a star boundary can fall either side, and the tool warns when that is the case.

Why are some Malayalam star names spelled differently elsewhere?

Malayalam has sounds with no single English spelling, so almanacs and hospitals write Thiruvathira, Tiruvathira or Thiruvaathira, and Karthika or Kartika. The page uses one common Latin spelling for each star and always shows the Sanskrit name next to it, so the star can be matched whatever spelling a document uses.

What if I do not know the time of birth?

Tick 'time not known'. The calculator then lists each star and pada the Moon passed through that day, with the local time of each change. The Moon spends about a day in each nakshatra, so a date alone usually leaves two candidates.

Are the Malayalam names given in Malayalam script?

Not yet. The names are written in English letters, which is how most birth records and forms ask for them. Script versions will be added only after a review by a Malayalam reader.