The 27 Nakshatras of Vedic Astrology: A Complete Guide

The 27 nakshatras are the lunar mansions of Vedic astrology — 27 segments of the zodiac, each 13°20' wide, that the Moon passes through over its roughly 27-day orbit. Each nakshatra has a presiding deity, a symbol, an animal, and a ruling planet, and together they form one of Jyotish's most distinctive contributions to astrology. Your *janma nakshatra* — the nakshatra the Moon was in at your birth — is used for naming, marriage matching (Aṣṭakūṭa), and choosing auspicious timing for life events.

If the twelve rāśis (signs) are Vedic astrology's solar layer, the 27 nakshatras are its lunar layer — finer-grained, deeply personal, and the engine behind many of the system's most specific predictions. This guide walks through what nakshatras are, why there are exactly 27, what each one represents, and how to find yours.

What is a nakshatra?

A *nakṣatra* (नक्षत्र) is a lunar mansion — a fixed 13°20' slice of the ecliptic, defined by a specific star or star cluster. The word literally means "that which does not decay" or "imperishable," reflecting the ancient view of the fixed stars as permanent reference points against the wandering planets.

The Moon takes about 27.3 days to complete one orbit through the zodiac. The ancient ṛṣis observed that they could track the Moon's nightly position by noting which star it sat near. Over many centuries, they refined this into a system of 27 equal sectors, each named after the brightest star or asterism in that region of the sky.

Where the twelve signs (rāśis) divide the zodiac into 30° chunks, the 27 nakshatras divide the same zodiac into 13°20' chunks. Twenty-seven nakshatras × 13°20' = 360°. The numbers fit cleanly.

Why 27 nakshatras and not 28?

Some older lists — including a few references in the Atharva Veda — mention 28 nakshatras, with an extra called Abhijit inserted between Uttara Āṣāḍha and Śravaṇa. Over time, classical Jyotish standardised on 27 for two reasons:

1. Mathematical cleanliness. Twenty-seven divides evenly into the 360° zodiac at 13°20' each. Twenty-eight does not. 2. Synchronisation with the Vimśottarī Daśā. The 120-year daśā cycle assigns periods to nine grahas, and 27 nakshatras divide neatly into three groups of nine — one cycle of all nine ruling planets, repeated three times. This is how your nakshatra determines your starting daśā.