The twenty-seven nakshatras

The nakshatras are the 27 divisions of 13°20′ that the Moon passes through in its monthly round, each named after a star group, each with a ruling graha in the Vimshottari sequence, a symbol and a deity, and each split into four padas of 3°20′. The Moon's nakshatra at birth is the birth star, and almost everything in Jyotish that concerns the person rather than the chart begins from it.

The list

#	Birth star	Lord	Symbol	Deity
1	Ashwini	Ketu	Horse's head	Ashwini Kumaras
2	Bharani	Venus	Yoni	Yama
3	Krittika	Sun	Flame or razor	Agni
4	Rohini	Moon	Cart or chariot	Brahma
5	Mrigashira	Mars	Deer's head	Soma
6	Ardra	Rahu	Teardrop	Rudra
7	Punarvasu	Jupiter	Quiver of arrows	Aditi
8	Pushya	Saturn	Cow's udder	Brihaspati
9	Ashlesha	Mercury	Coiled serpent	Nagas
10	Magha	Ketu	Throne	Pitris
11	Purva Phalguni	Venus	Front legs of a bed	Bhaga
12	Uttara Phalguni	Sun	Back legs of a bed	Aryaman
13	Hasta	Moon	Hand	Savitar
14	Chitra	Mars	Bright jewel	Tvashtar
15	Swati	Rahu	Young shoot in the wind	Vayu
16	Vishakha	Jupiter	Triumphal arch	Indra and Agni
17	Anuradha	Saturn	Lotus	Mitra
18	Jyeshtha	Mercury	Earring or umbrella	Indra
19	Mula	Ketu	Bundle of roots	Nirriti
20	Purva Ashadha	Venus	Fan or winnowing basket	Apah
21	Uttara Ashadha	Sun	Elephant tusk	Vishvadevas
22	Shravana	Moon	Ear or three footprints	Vishnu
23	Dhanishta	Mars	Drum	Eight Vasus
24	Shatabhisha	Rahu	Empty circle	Varuna
25	Purva Bhadrapada	Jupiter	Front of a funeral cot	Aja Ekapada
26	Uttara Bhadrapada	Saturn	Back of a funeral cot	Ahir Budhnya
27	Revati	Mercury	Fish or drum	Pushan

Lords and the Vimshottari sequence

The nine grahas rule the nakshatras in a fixed order that repeats three times: Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury. Ashwini belongs to Ketu, Bharani to Venus, Krittika to the Sun, and so on, so that each graha owns three stars 120° apart. This same order is the order of the dashas, which is why the birth star's lord gives the first dasha (lesson 16).

Padas

Each nakshatra divides into four padas of 3°20′. A pada corresponds exactly to one navamsa, the ninth part of a sign, so the 108 padas of the zodiac are also the 108 navamsas. The pada refines a reading and is what the naming tradition uses.

Naming syllables

The custom of giving a child a name beginning with a syllable of the birth pada is the oldest bridge between a chart and a name. The table gives the common list.

Birth star	Pada 1	Pada 2	Pada 3	Pada 4
Ashwini	Chu	Che	Cho	La
Bharani	Li	Lu	Le	Lo
Krittika	A	I	U	E
Rohini	O	Va	Vi	Vu
Mrigashira	Ve	Vo	Ka	Ki
Ardra	Ku	Gha	Nga	Chha
Punarvasu	Ke	Ko	Ha	Hi
Pushya	Hu	He	Ho	Da
Ashlesha	Di	Du	De	Do
Magha	Ma	Mi	Mu	Me
Purva Phalguni	Mo	Ta	Ti	Tu
Uttara Phalguni	Te	To	Pa	Pi
Hasta	Pu	Sha	Na	Tha
Chitra	Pe	Po	Ra	Ri
Swati	Ru	Re	Ro	Ta
Vishakha	Ti	Tu	Te	To
Anuradha	Na	Ni	Nu	Ne
Jyeshtha	No	Ya	Yi	Yu
Mula	Ye	Yo	Bha	Bhi
Purva Ashadha	Bhu	Dha	Pha	Dha
Uttara Ashadha	Bhe	Bho	Ja	Ji
Shravana	Ju	Je	Jo	Gha
Dhanishta	Ga	Gi	Gu	Ge
Shatabhisha	Go	Sa	Si	Su
Purva Bhadrapada	Se	So	Da	Di
Uttara Bhadrapada	Du	Tha	Jha	Da
Revati	De	Do	Cha	Chi

The syllables are a tradition, not a rule; families use them, adapt them or ignore them. Numerology's name number, taught in the numerology course, is the other way a name is matched to a birth, and the two are often used together.

Worked example

Born 14 August 1990 at 12:00 in Mumbai, the Moon is at 35°34′ sidereal: nakshatra 3, Krittika, lord the Sun, pada 3, naming syllable U. Krittika's symbol is a flame, its deity Agni, and its character is read as sharp, purifying and determined.

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