In Ancient Indian astronomy, there are 27 nakshatras, or sectors along the ecliptic. A list of them is first found in the Vedanga Jyotisha, a text dated to the final centuries BCE. The Nakṣatra system predates the influence of Hellenistic astronomy on Vedic tradition, which became prevalent from about the 2nd century CE. There are various systems of enumerating the Nakṣatra-s; although there are 27-28 days to a sidereal month, by custom only 27 days are used. The following list gives the corresponding regions of sky.[1] Months in the modern Indian national calendar -- despite still carrying names that derive from the nakshatras -- do not signify any material correlation. It stands to reason that during the original naming of these months -- whenever that happened -- they were indeed based on the nakshatras that coincided with them in some manner. The modern Indian national calendar is a solar calendar, much like the Gregorian calendar wherein solstices and equinoxes fall on the same date(s) every year.
| 1 | Ashvini - अश्विनी "physician to the Gods" | β "Sheratan" and γ "Mesarthim" Arietis |
| ||
| 2 | Bharani - भरणी "the bearer" | 35, 39 "Lilii Borea", and 41 Arietis |
| ||
| 3 | Krittika - कृत्तिका an old name of the Pleiades; personified as the nurses of Kārttikeya, a son of Shiva. | Pleiades | |||
| 4 | Rohini - रोहिणी "the red one", a name of Aldebaran. Also known as brāhmī | Aldebaran |
| ||
| 5 | Mrigashira - मृगशिर "the deer's head". Also known as āgrahāyaṇī | λ "Meissa", φ Orionis | |||
| 6 | Ardra - आर्द्रा "the storm god" | Betelgeuse |
| ||
| 7 | Punarvasu - पुनर्वसु (dual) "the two restorers of goods", also known as yamakau "the two chariots" | Castor and Pollux |
| ||
| 8 | Pushya - पुष्य "the nourisher", also known as sidhya or tiṣya | γ "Asellus Borealis", δ "Asellus Australis" and θ Cancri | |||
| 9 | Āshleshā - आश्ळेषा/आश्लेषा "the embrace" | δ, ε "Āshleshā Nakshatra", η, ρ, and σ "Minchir" Hydrae |
| ||
| 10 | Maghā - मघा "the bountiful" | Regulus |
| ||
| 11 | Pūrva Phalgunī - पूर्व फाल्गुनी "first reddish one" | δ "Zosma" and θ "Chertan" Leonis |
| ||
| 12 | Uttara Phalgunī - उत्तर फाल्गुनी "second reddish one" | Denebola |
| ||
| 13 | Hasta - हस्त "the hand" | α "Alchiba", β "Kraz", γ, δ "Algorab" and ε "Minkar" Corvi | |||
| 14 | Chitra - चित्रा "the bright one", a name of Spica | Spica |
| ||
| 15 | Svati - स्वाति "Su-Ati (Sanskrit) Very good" name of Arcturus | Arcturus |
| ||
| 16 | Vishakha - विशाखा "forked, having branches"; also known as rādhā "the gift" | α "Zubenelgenubi", β "Zubeneschamali", γ and ι Librae | |||
| 17 | Anuradha - अनुराधा "following rādhā" | β "Acrab", δ "Dschubba" and π "Fang" Scorpionis |
| ||
| 18 | Jyeshtha - ज्येष्ठा "the eldest, most excellent" | α "Antares", σ, and τ "Paikauhale" Scorpionis |
| ||
| 19 | Mula - मूल "the root" | ε "Larawag", ζ, η, θ "Sargas", ι, κ, λ "Shaula", μ and ν "Jabbah" Scorpionis |
| ||
| 20 | Purva Ashadha - पूर्व आषाढा "first of the āṣāḍhā", āṣāḍhā "the invincible one" being the name of a constellation | δ "Kaus Media" and ε "Kaus Australis" Sagittarii |
| ||
| 21 | Uttara Ashadha - उत्तर आषाढा "Later invincible" | ζ "Ascella" and σ "Nunki" Sagittarii |
| ||
| 22 | Shravana - श्रवण | α "Altair", β and γ Aquilae |
| ||
| 23 | Dhanishta - श्रविष्ठा/धनिष्ठा "most famous", also Shravishthā "swiftest" | α "Sualocin" to δ Delphini |
| ||
| 24 | Shatabhisha - शतभिष/शततारका "requiring a hundred physicians" | γ Aquarii "Sadachbia" |
| ||
| 25 | Purva Bhadrapada - पूर्व भाद्रपदा/पूर्व प्रोष्ठपदा "the first of the blessed feet" | α "Markab" and β Pegasi |
| ||
| 26 | Uttara Bhādrapadā - उत्तर भाद्रपदा/उत्तर प्रोष्ठपदा "the second of the blessed feet" | γ "Algenib" Pegasi and α "Alpheratz" Andromedae |
| ||
| 27 | Revati - रेवती "prosperous" | ζ Piscium "Revati" |
| ||
| 28 | Abhijit - अभिजित "Invincible" | Lyra |
|
The 27 Nakshatras cover 13°20’ of the ecliptic each. Each Nakshatra is also divided into quarters or padas of 3°20’, and the below table lists the appropriate starting sound to name the child. The 27 nakshatras, each with 4 padas, give 108, which is the number of beads in a Japa mala, indicating all the elements (ansh) of Vishnu:
| Name | Pada 1 | Pada 2 | Pada 3 | Pada 4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ashwini (अश्विनि) | चु Chu | चे Che | चो Cho | ला La | |
| 2 | Bharani (भरणी) | ली Li | लू Lu | ले Le | लो Lo | |
| 3 | Krittika (कृत्तिका) | अ A | ई I | उ U | ए E | |
| 4 | Rohini (रोहिणी) | ओ O | वा Vaa/Baa | वी Vi/Bi | वु Vu/Bu | |
| 5 | Mrigashīrsha(मृगशीर्ष) | वे Ve/Be | वो Vo/Bo | का Ka | की Kii | |
| 6 | Ārdrā (आर्द्रा) | कु Ku | घ Gha | ङ Ng/Na | छ Chha | |
| 7 | Punarvasu (पुनर्वसु) | के Ke | को Ko | हा Ha | ही Hii | |
| 8 | Pushya (पुष्य) | हु Hu | हे He | हो Ho | ड ḍa | |
| 9 | Āshleshā (अश्लेषा) | डी ḍi | डू ḍu | डे ḍe | डो ḍo | |
| 10 | Maghā (मघा) | मा Ma | मी Mi | मू Mu | मे Me | |
| 11 | Pūrva or Pūrva Phalgunī (पूर्व फल्गुनी) | मो Mo | टा ṭa | टी ṭii | टू ṭuu | |
| 12 | Uttara or Uttara Phalgunī (उत्तर फल्गुनी) | टे ṭe | टो ṭo | पा Pa | पी Pi | |
| 13 | Hasta (हस्त) | पू Pu | ष Sha | ण Na | ठ ṭha | |
| 14 | Chitra (चित्रा) | पे Pe | पो Po | रा Ra | री Ri | |
| 15 | Svātī (स्वाति) | रू Ru | रे Re | रो Ro | ता Ta | |
| 16 | Viśākhā (विशाखा) | ती Ti | तू Tu | ते Te | तो To | |
| 17 | Anurādhā (अनुराधा) | ना Na | नी Ni | नू Nu | ने Ne | |
| 18 | Jyeshtha (ज्येष्ठा) | नो No | या Ya | यी Yi | यू Yu | |
| 19 | Mula (मूल) | ये Ye | यो Yo | भा Bha | भी Bhi | |
| 20 | Pūrva Āshādhā (पूर्व आषाढ़) | भू Bhu | धा Dha | फा Bha/Pha | ढा Da | |
| 21 | Uttara Āṣāḍhā (उत्तर आषाढ़) | भे Bhe | भो Bho | जा Ja | जी Ji | |
| 22 | Śrāvaṇa (श्रावण) | खी Ju/Khii | खू Je/Khu | खे Jo/Khe | खो Gha/Kho | |
| 23 | गा Ga | गी Gii | गु Gu | गे Ge | ||
| 24 | Shatabhisha (शतभिषा)or Śatataraka | गो Go | सा Sa | सी Si | सू Su | |
| 25 | Pūrva Bhādrapadā (पूर्व भाद्रपद) | से Se | सो So | दा Da | दी Di | |
| 26 | Uttara Bhādrapadā (उत्तर भाद्रपद) | दू Du | थ Tha | झ Jha | ञ ña | |
| 27 | Revati (रेवती) | दे De | दो Do | च Cha | ची Chi |
The names of nakshatras in other languages are adapted from the Sanskrit variation (apabhramsa) through Pali or Prakrit. The variations evolved for easier pronunciation in popular usage.
| Sanskrit संस्कृतम् | Odia ଓଡିଆ | Malayalam മലയാളം | Tamil தமிழ் | Sinhala සිංහල | Dhivehi ދިވެހި | Telugu తెలుగు | Kannada ಕನ್ನಡ | Bengali বাংলা | Mongolian | Chinese 宿 | Tibetan བོད་སྐད། རྒྱུ་སྐར་ཉེ་བདུན། | Thai ไทย | Khmer ខ្មែរ | Burmese နက္ခတ် | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ashvinī अश्विनी | Aswini ଅଶ୍ଵିନୀ | Ashvati അശ്വതി | Asvini அஸ்வினி | Aswida අස්විද | A'sidha އައްސިދަ | Ashwini అశ్విని | Ashwini ಅಶ್ವಿನಿ | Ashwini অশ্বিনী | Шийдэм | 婁 | ཐ་སྐར། | Asawini อัศวินี | អឝ្វិនី | အသဝနီ | |
| 2 | Bharanī भरणी | Dwijaa ଦ୍ଵିଜା | Bharaṇi ഭരണി | Baraṇi பரணி | Berana බෙරණ | Burunu ބުރުނު | Bharani భరణి | Bharani ಭರಣಿ | Bharaṇi ভরণী | Гоё хүүхэн | 胃 | བྲ་ཉེ། | Bhorani ภรณี | ភរណី | ဘရဏီ | |
| 3 | Krittikā कृत्तिका | Krutikaa କୃତିକା | Kārttika കാർത്തിക | Kārthigai கார்த்திகை | Kethi කැති | Kethi ކެތި | Krittika కృత్తిక | Kritika ಕೃತಿಕ | Krittika কৃত্তিকা | Нэг эхт зургаан хөвгүүн | 昴 | སྨིན་དྲུག | Kritika กฤติกา | ក្ឫតិកា | ကြတ္တီကာ | |
| 4 | Rohiṇī रोहिणी | Rohini ରୋହିଣୀ | Rōhiṇi രോഹിണി | Rōgiṇi ரோகிணி | Rehena රෙහෙණ | Roanu ރޯނު | Rohini రోహిణి | Rohini ರೋಹಿಣಿ | Rohiṇi রোহিণী | Чөлөөт эх | 畢 | སྣར་མ། | Rohini โรหิณี | រោហិណី | ရောဟဏီ | |
| 5 | Mrigashīrsha मृगशीर्ष | Mrugasiraa ମୃଗଶିରା | Makayiram മകയിരം | Mirugasīriḍam/Mirugaḻi மிருகசீரிடம்/மிருகழி | Muwasirasa මුවසිරස | Miyaheli މިޔަހެލި | Mrugashira మృగశిర | Mrigashira ಮೃಗಶಿರ | Mrigashira মৃগশিরা | Гөрөөсөн толгой | 觜 | མགོ | Marukasira มฤคศิระ | ម្ឫគឝីឞ៍ | မိဂသီ | |
| 6 | Ārdrā आर्द्रा | Adra ଆଦ୍ରା | Ātira or Tiruvātira ആതിര (തിരുവാതിര) | Tiruvādirai திருவாதிரை | Ada අද | Adha އަދަ | Arudra ఆరుద్ర | Ardra ಆರ್ದ್ರ | Ardra আর্দ্রা | Хэрцгий охин | 參 | ལག | Ārathrā อารทรา | អាទ្រ៍ា | အဒြ | |
| 7 | Punarvasu पुनर्वसु | punarbasu ପୁନର୍ବସୁ | Puṇartam പുണർതം | Puṉarpūsam புனர்பூசம் | Punavasa පුනාවස | Funoas ފުނޯސް | Punarvasu పునర్వసు | Punarvasu ಪುನರ್ವಸು | Punarbasu পুনর্বসু | Өглөгт охин | 井 | ནབས་སོ། | Punappasu ปุนัพพสุ | បុនវ៌សុ | ပုဏ္ဏဗသု | |
| 8 | Pushya पुष्य | Pushyaa ପୁଷ୍ୟା | Pūyam പൂയം | Pūsam பூசம் | Pusha පුෂ | Fus ފުސް | Pushya పుష్య | Pushyami ಪುಷ್ಯ | Pushya পুষ্যা | Найралт эх | 鬼 | རྒྱལ། | Pusaya ปุษยะ | បុឞ្យ | ဖုသျှ | |
| 9 | Āshleshā आश्ळेषा / आश्लेषा | Ashleshaa ଆଶ୍ଳେଷା | Āyilyam ആയില്യം | Āyilyam ஆயில்யம் | Aslisa අස්ලිස | Ahuliha އަހުލިހަ | Ashlesha ఆశ్లేష | Ashlesha ಆಶ್ಲೇಷ | Ashleshā অশ্লেষা | Үнэг | 柳 | སྐག | Assalesa อัสสเลสะ | អាឝ្លោឞា | အသလိဿ | |
| 10 | Maghā मघा | Magaa ମଘା | Makam മകം | Magam மகம் | Maa මා | Maa މާ | Makha మఖ | Magha ಮಘ | Magha মঘা | Их морь | 星 | མཆུ། | Mākha มาฆะ | មធា | မာဃ | |
| 11 | Pūrva or Pūrva Phalgunī पूर्व फल्गुनी | Purba Falguni ପୂର୍ବ ଫାଲ୍ଗୁନୀ | Pūram പൂരം | Pūram பூரம் | Puwapal පුවපල් | Fura ފުރަ | Pubba పుబ్బ | Poorva ಪೂರ್ವ | Purbaphālguni পূর্বফাল্গুনী | Бага морь | 張 | གྲེ། | Burapa Pholkuni บุรพผลคุณี | បូវ៌ផាផាល្គុនី | ပြုဗ္ဗဖလရုနီ | |
| 12 | Uttara or Uttara Phalgunī उत्तर फल्गुनी | Uttara falguni ଉତ୍ତର ଫାଲ୍ଗୁନୀ | Utram ഉത്രം | Uttiram உத்திரம் | Uttrapal උත්රපල් | Uthura އުތުރަ | Uttara ఉత్తర | Uttara ಉತ್ತರ | Uttar Phālguni উত্তরফাল্গুনী | Харцага | 翼 | དབོ། | Utra Pholkuni อุตรผลคุณี | ឧត្តរផាល្គុនី | ဥတ္တရဖလရုနီ | |
| 13 | Hasta हस्त | Hastaa ହସ୍ତା | Attam അത്തം | Asttam அஸ்தம் | Hatha හත | Atha އަތަ | Hasta హస్త | Hastaa ಹಸ್ತ | Hastā হস্তা | Тугчин | 軫 | མེ་བཞི། | Hattha หัตถะ | ហស្ត | ဟဿတ | |
| 14 | Chitrā चित्रा | Citraa ଚିତ୍ରା | Cittira ചിത്തിര (ചിത്ര) | Cittirai சித்திரை | Sitha සිත | Hitha ހިތަ | Chitta చిత్త | Chitra ಚಿತ್ರ | Chitrā চিত্রা | Тэргүүн дагуул | 角 | ནག་པ། | Chitrā จิตรา | ចិត្រា | စိတြ | |
| 15 | Svātī स्वाती | Swati ସ୍ଵାତୀ | Chōti ചോതി | Suvāti சுவாதி | Saa සා | Hey ހޭ | Swathi స్వాతి | Swathi ಸ್ವಾತಿ | Swāti স্বাতী | Салхины эх | 亢 | ས་རི། | Svātī สวาติ | ស្វាតិ | သွာတိ | |
| 16 | Vishākhā विशाखा | Bishakha ବିଶାଖା | Vishākham വിശാഖം | Visākam விசாகம் | Wisa විසා | Vihaa ވިހާ | Vishakha విశాఖ | Vishakha ವಿಶಾಖ | Bishakha বিশাখা | Эрхтний тэнгэрт | 氐 | ས་ག | Vishākha วิสาขะ | វិឝាខា | ဝိသာခါ | |
| 17 | Anurādhā अनुराधा | Anuradha ଅନୁରାଧା | Anizham അനിഴം | Anusham அனுஷம் | Anura අනුර | Nora ނޮރަ | Anuradha అనురాధ | Anuradha ಅನುರಾಧಾ | Anuradha অনুরাধা | Гар од | 房 | ལྷ་མཚམས། | Anuratha อนุราธะ | អនុរាធា | အနုရာဓ | |
| 18 | Jyeshtha ज्येष्ठा | Jyosthaa ଜ୍ୟୋଷ୍ଠା | Kēṭṭa (Trikkēṭṭa) തൃക്കേട്ട | Kēṭṭai கேட்டை | Deta දෙට | Dhosha ދޮށަ | Jyeshtha జ్యేష్ఠ | Jyeshtha ಜ್ಯೇಷ್ಠ | Jyestha জ্যেষ্ঠা | Хонгорцог | 心 | སྣྲོན། | Shettha เชฏฐะ | ជេ្យឞ្ឋា | ဇေဋ္ဌ | |
| 19 | Mūla मूल | Mulaa ମୂଳା | Mūlam മൂലം | Mūlam மூலம் | Moola මුල | Mula މުލަ | Moola మూల | Moola ಮೂಲ | Mula মূলা | Онгоц | 尾 | སྣུབས། | Mula มูละ | មូល | မူလ | |
| 20 | Pūrva Ashādhā पूर्वाषाढा | Purbasaadhaa ପୂର୍ବାଷାଢା | Pūrāṭam പൂരാടം | Pūrāṭam பூராடம் | Puwasala පුවසල | Furahalha ފުރަހަޅަ | Poorvashadha పూర్వాషాఢ | Poorvashadha ಪುರ್ವಾಷಾಡ | Poorbashada পূর্বাষাঢ়া | Суулга | 箕 | ཆུ་སྟོད། | Burapasādh บุรพษาฒ | បូវ៌ាឞាឍា | ပြုဗ္ဗာသာဠ် | |
| 21 | Uttara Ashādhā उत्तराषाढा | Uttarasaadha ଉତ୍ତରଷାଢା | Utrāṭam ഉത്രാടം | Uttirāṭam உத்திராடம் | Uttrasala උත්රසල | Uthurahalha އުތުރަހަޅަ | Uttarashadha ఉత్తరాషాఢ | Uttarashadha ಉತ್ತರಾಷಾಡ | Uttarashada উত্তরাষাঢ়া | Элдэв тэнгэртэн | 斗 | ཆུ་སྨད། | Utrāsādh อุตราษาฒ | ឧត្តរឞាឍា | ဥတ္တရာသာဠ် | |
| 22 | Shravana श्रवण | Sravana ଶ୍ରବଣା | Tiruvōnam ഓണം (തിരുവോണം) | Tiruvōnam திருவோணம் | Suvana සුවණ | Huvan ހުވަން | Shravana శ్రవణ | Shravana ಶ್ರವಣ | Shraban শ্রবণা | Булаагч/Яруу эгшигт | 女 | གྲོ་བཞིན། | Saravana ศรวณะ | ឝ្រវណ | သရဝဏ် | |
| 23 | Shravishthā or Dhanishta श्रविष्ठा or धनिष्ठा | Dhanishathaa ଧନିଷ୍ଠା | Aviṭṭam അവിട്ടം | Aviṭṭam அவிட்டம் | Denata දෙණට | Dhinasha ދިނަށަ | Dhanishta ధనిష్ఠ | Dhanishta ಧನಿಷ್ಠ | Dhanishta ধনিষ্ঠা | Тооно | 虛 | མོན་གྲེ། | Thanistha ธนิษฐะ | ធនិឞ្ធា | ဓနသိဒ္ဓ | |
| 24 | Shatabhishā or Shatataraka शतभिषक् / शततारका | Satavisaa ସତଭିଷା | Chatayam ചതയം | Sadayam சதயம் | Siyawasa සියාවස | Hiyavihaa ހިޔަވިހާ | Shatabhisha శతభిష | Shatabhisha ಶತಭಿಷ | Shatabhisha শতভিষা | Чөдөр | 危 | མོན་གྲུ | Satabhisat ศตภิษัต | ឝតភិឞក៑ | သတဘိသျှ | |
| 25 | Pūrva Bhādrapadā पूर्वभाद्रपदा / पूर्वप्रोष्ठपदा | Purba vadrapada ପୂର୍ବଭାଦ୍ରପଦ | Pūruruṭṭāti പൂരുരുട്ടാതി | Pūraṭṭādi பூரட்டாதி | Puvaputupa පුවපුටුප | Furabadhuruva ފުރަބަދުރުވަ | Poorvabhadra పూర్వాభాద్ర | Poorva Bhadrapada ಪೂರ್ವ ಭಾದ್ರಪದ | Poorbabhadra পূর্বভাদ্রপদ | Шувуун хошуут | 室 | ཁྲུམས་སྟོད། | Burapa Pattrabot บุรพภัทรบท | បូវ៌ភាទ្របទា | ပြုဗ္ဗဘဒြပိုဒ် | |
| 26 | Uttara Bhādrapadā उत्तरभाद्रपदा / उत्तरप्रोष्ठपदा | Uttara vadrapada ଉତ୍ତରାଭାଦ୍ରପଦ | Uttṛṭṭāti ഉത്രട്ടാതി | Uttiraṭṭādi உத்திரட்டாதி | Uttraputupa උත්රපුටුප | Fasbadhuruva ފަސްބަދުރުވަ | Uttarabhadra ఉత్తరాభాద్ర | Uttara Bhadrapada ಉತ್ತರ ಭಾದ್ರಪದ | Uttarbabhadra উত্তরভাদ্রপদ | Могой хүлэгч | 壁 | ཁྲུམས་སྨད། | Utra Pattrabot อุตรภัทรบท | ឧត្តរភាទ្របទា | ဥတ္တဘဒြပိုဒ် | |
| 27 | Revati रेवती | Revati ରେବତୀ | Rēvati രേവതി | Rēvati ரேவதி | Revathi රේවතී | Reyva ރޭވަ | Revati రేవతి | Revati ರೇವತಿ | Rebati রেবতী | Дэлгэрүүлэгч | 奎 | ནམ་གྲུ། | Revadi เรวดี | រេវតី | ရေဝတီ |