Rashi & Nakshatra Calculator: find your moon sign and birth star

Your rashi is your Vedic moon sign, based on where the Moon sat in the sidereal zodiac at birth. A Western 'sun sign' is based on the Sun in the tropical zodiac. They use different reference points, so your rashi is usually different from your Western sun sign.

Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, which is fixed to the seasons (the equinox). Vedic jyotish uses the sidereal zodiac, which is fixed to the actual stars. Because the stars slowly shift (precession), the two are offset by an ayanamsa of about 24 degrees. So your Vedic sun sign is usually one sign behind your Western one, meaning the Western sign is one ahead. For example, a Western Cancer is often a Vedic Gemini (Mithuna).

Enter your date, time and place of birth into the calculator above. The Moon changes rashi in about 2.25 days, so the exact date, and ideally time, of birth is needed to place it correctly.

No. Your janma rashi is fixed at birth and never changes. What changes daily is the Moon's current transit rashi (chandra gochar), which is different from your birth moon sign.

A nakshatra is one of the 27 lunar mansions, a finer 13°20′ division of the zodiac. Your birth nakshatra shapes your Vimshottari dasha timeline and is central to marriage matching (guna milan).

Your rashi is your moon sign, based on the Moon's position at birth. Your lagna (ascendant) is the sign rising in the east at your birth time and place. The lagna sets the 12 houses of your kundli, while the rashi reflects your mind and emotions.

Each rashi has a ruling planet: Aries and Scorpio are ruled by Mars, Taurus and Libra by Venus, Gemini and Virgo by Mercury, Cancer by the Moon, Leo by the Sun, Sagittarius and Pisces by Jupiter, and Capricorn and Aquarius by Saturn.

Usually yes for the rashi itself, because the Moon stays in one rashi for about 2.25 days. But if you were born close to when the Moon changed signs, or you want an accurate nakshatra and pada, the birth time is needed.

In Vedic astrology the daily rashifal is read from your moon sign (janma rashi), not your Western sun sign. So for a Vedic horoscope, use your rashi, not your sun sign.

No rashi is better or worse than another. Each has its own strengths and challenges, and what matters for a reading is your whole chart, the planets, dasha and transits, not the rashi alone.

In the naamkaran tradition, the first syllable of a baby's name is chosen from the pada (quarter) of their birth nakshatra. Each nakshatra pada has an assigned syllable, so your birth star suggests an auspicious starting sound for the name.