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The nakṣatras are the 27 lunar mansions — equal star-segments that divide the zodiac into arcs of 13°20′ each. They represent arguably the most distinctively Vedic layer of the chart: the Moon’s nakṣatra at the moment of birth sets the starting point of the Vimśottarī daśā period system, and many fine interpretive judgements — on character, timing, and temperament — are made at the nakṣatra level rather than the broader sign level. Because the nakṣatras are anchored to actual stars, they only carry their full meaning within a sidereal frame. Using a tropical zodiac would place them against the wrong stars entirely.

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Padas: the quarters of a nakṣatra

Each nakṣatra is divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′ each — exactly one-ninth of a sign. This is not a coincidence: the four padas of a nakṣatra map directly onto four successive signs in the Navāṁśa (D9) divisional chart. A body’s pada therefore tells you both its position within the nakṣatra and its D9 sign in a single piece of data. The app reports both together, for example Jyeshtha · 3, meaning the body occupies the 3rd pada of Jyeṣṭhā.

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The 27 nakṣatras and their daśā lords

The daśā lord is the planet that rules the nakṣatra in the Vimśottarī scheme. The nine lords cycle in a fixed sequence — Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rāhu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury — repeating three times across the 27 nakṣatras.
#NakṣatraDaśā LordSidereal Span
1AśvinīKetu0°00′ – 13°20′ Aries
2BharaṇīVenus13°20′ – 26°40′ Aries
3KṛttikāSun26°40′ Aries – 10°00′ Taurus
4RohiṇīMoon10°00′ – 23°20′ Taurus
5MṛgaśīrṣaMars23°20′ Taurus – 6°40′ Gemini
6ĀrdrāRāhu6°40′ – 20°00′ Gemini
7PunarvasuJupiter20°00′ Gemini – 3°20′ Cancer
8PuṣyaSaturn3°20′ – 16°40′ Cancer
9ĀśleṣāMercury16°40′ – 30°00′ Cancer
10MaghāKetu0°00′ – 13°20′ Leo
11Pūrva PhalgunīVenus13°20′ – 26°40′ Leo
12Uttara PhalgunīSun26°40′ Leo – 10°00′ Virgo
13HastaMoon10°00′ – 23°20′ Virgo
14ChitrāMars23°20′ Virgo – 6°40′ Libra
15SvātīRāhu6°40′ – 20°00′ Libra
16ViśākhāJupiter20°00′ Libra – 3°20′ Scorpio
17AnurādhāSaturn3°20′ – 16°40′ Scorpio
18JyeṣṭhāMercury16°40′ – 30°00′ Scorpio
19MūlaKetu0°00′ – 13°20′ Sagittarius
20Pūrva ĀṣāḍhāVenus13°20′ – 26°40′ Sagittarius
21Uttara ĀṣāḍhāSun26°40′ Sagittarius – 10°00′ Capricorn
22ŚravaṇaMoon10°00′ – 23°20′ Capricorn
23DhaniṣṭhāMars23°20′ Capricorn – 6°40′ Aquarius
24ŚatabhiṣāRāhu6°40′ – 20°00′ Aquarius
25Pūrva BhādrapadāJupiter20°00′ Aquarius – 3°20′ Pisces
26Uttara BhādrapadāSaturn3°20′ – 16°40′ Pisces
27RevatīMercury16°40′ – 30°00′ Pisces

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Why the Moon’s nakṣatra starts the daśā

The Vimśottarī daśā — the period system Jyoti Guide uses by default — begins from the nakṣatra the Moon occupies at birth. The lord of that nakṣatra becomes the first ruling planet of your life sequence. The fraction of the nakṣatra the Moon has already traversed at the birth moment tells the engine how much of that first period had already elapsed — the “balance of daśā” — so the timeline can be anchored precisely to your birth date.
Sample chart example. The Moon sits at 25°43′ Scorpio, which falls in Jyeṣṭhā (nakṣatra #18, ruled by Mercury). Life therefore begins in a Mercury mahādaśā. Because the Moon is already deep into Jyeṣṭhā at birth — having traversed about two-thirds of it — only approximately 5 years and 4 months of that 17-year Mercury period remained. The full worked timeline appears in Vimśottarī Daśā.
Continue reading: see how a single birth produces sixteen charts through the divisional-chart system — Divisional Charts.