Tamil nakshatra calculator

Work out a natchathiram from the date and time of birth. The result uses the Tamil star name (Aswini, Karthigai, Mrigasiridam, Thiruvonam and so on) next to the Sanskrit name, and gives the pada and the naming 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.

How the calculation goes

Three steps lie behind every answer. The local birth time is turned into universal time using the offset you choose. The Moon’s longitude is computed and the Lahiri ayanamsa is subtracted to give its place in the sidereal zodiac. That longitude is divided into 27 equal sections of 13°20′, counted from the start of Mesha, and the section it lands in is the star. For example, section 5 is Mrigasiridam in Tamil, which is Mrigashira in Sanskrit.

The ruling planet follows the Vimshottari order, which cycles through nine planets three times over the 27 stars. It is also the planet of the first dasha period, which is one reason families record the star carefully.

One date, more than one star

The Moon covers roughly one star a day, so a single date is often shared by two. On 14 January 2025 (IST) it started in Punarpoosam (Punarvasu) pada 3, moved into Punarpoosam (Punarvasu) pada 4 at 04:20, moved into Poosam (Pushya) pada 1 at 10:17, moved into Poosam (Pushya) pada 2 at 16:17 and moved into Poosam (Pushya) pada 3 at 22:18. With no birth time, tick the box and the tool prints each of these with its change time.

All 27 natchathirams

Read across a row to go from a Tamil name to the Sanskrit name and ruling planet. Several stars, such as Bharani and Rohini, keep the same name in both languages.

The 27 nakshatras: Tamil name, Sanskrit name and ruling planet
Tamil name	Sanskrit name	Ruling planet
1. Aswini	Ashwini अश्विनी	Ketu
2. Bharani	Bharani भरणी	Venus
3. Karthigai	Krittika कृत्तिका	Sun
4. Rohini	Rohini रोहिणी	Moon
5. Mrigasiridam	Mrigashira मृगशिरा	Mars
6. Thiruvathirai	Ardra आर्द्रा	Rahu
7. Punarpoosam	Punarvasu पुनर्वसु	Jupiter
8. Poosam	Pushya पुष्य	Saturn
9. Ayilyam	Ashlesha आश्लेषा	Mercury
10. Magam	Magha मघा	Ketu
11. Pooram	Purva Phalguni पूर्वा फाल्गुनी	Venus
12. Uthiram	Uttara Phalguni उत्तरा फाल्गुनी	Sun
13. Hastham	Hasta हस्त	Moon
14. Chithirai	Chitra चित्रा	Mars
15. Swathi	Swati स्वाति	Rahu
16. Visakam	Vishakha विशाखा	Jupiter
17. Anusham	Anuradha अनुराधा	Saturn
18. Kettai	Jyeshtha ज्येष्ठा	Mercury
19. Moolam	Mula मूल	Ketu
20. Pooradam	Purva Ashadha पूर्वाषाढ़ा	Venus
21. Uthiradam	Uttara Ashadha उत्तराषाढ़ा	Sun
22. Thiruvonam	Shravana श्रवण	Moon
23. Avittam	Dhanishta धनिष्ठा	Mars
24. Sathayam	Shatabhisha शतभिषा	Rahu
25. Poorattathi	Purva Bhadrapada पूर्वा भाद्रपद	Jupiter
26. Uthirattathi	Uttara Bhadrapada उत्तरा भाद्रपद	Saturn
27. Revathi	Revati रेवती	Mercury

Related tools and guides

Malayalam nakshatra finder and Telugu nakshatra calculator: the same calculation with Malayalam and Telugu star names.
Nakshatra calculator by date of birth and rashi by date of birth.
Nakshatra by name, the rashi name finder and the nakshatra letters chart.
Baby names by nakshatra and the 27 nakshatras explained.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate my natchathiram from my date of birth?

Fill in the birth date, the time on the birth certificate and the UTC offset of the place. The calculator finds the Moon's sidereal position at that moment (Lahiri ayanamsa) and names the star it was in, in Tamil style such as Karthigai, Thiruvathirai or Uthiram, with the Sanskrit name, the pada and the ruling planet beside it.

Will the result match my jathagam?

The birth star is a single fact about the Moon, so a correct jathagam and this calculator should agree on it. They can differ when the birth time was recorded loosely, when the Moon was close to the end of a star, or when the jathagam was drawn with a different method. The tool flags births within half a degree of a boundary.

Why do the Vakya and Thirukkanitha panchangams sometimes disagree?

Tamil almanacs are made two ways: the Vakya method uses traditional rule-based tables, and the Thirukkanitha method computes the positions astronomically. Their Moon positions can differ by a fraction of a degree, which is enough to move a birth near a boundary into the neighbouring star. This calculator is a direct computation, closest in spirit to the second method.

Which spelling of the Tamil star names should I use?

Tamil sounds have no single English spelling, so you will see Thiruvathirai or Tiruvadirai, Karthigai or Kartikai. The page uses one common spelling per star and lists the Sanskrit name in the next column, so any document can be matched to the right row. Wedding and school forms normally accept either.

What does the pada number mean?

Each star is divided into four padas of 3°20′. The pada of the birth star decides the first syllable traditionally suggested for a child's name, and the result shows that syllable in English letters and Devanagari.

Are the Tamil names shown in Tamil script?

Not at present; they are in English letters, as most forms ask for them. Tamil-script spellings will be added after a review by a Tamil reader, since a wrong letter in a star name would be worse than none.