Rashi Calculator
अपनी राशि जानें
Find the rashi your family’s pandit would write in your kundli: the sign the Moon was in when you were born.
- Rashi lord
- Element
- Nakshatra
- Lagna (ascendant)
- Sun sign, Indian way
- Newspaper sign
Name letters for your rashi
These are the traditional first sounds for names in your rashi. The one in red belongs to your own pada, which is what most pandits suggest for a naamkaran.
What your rashi actually is
When someone at home says “what’s your rashi?”, they are not asking about the horoscope in the newspaper. They mean your chandra rashi: the sign of the zodiac the Moon was passing through at the moment you were born.
Indian astrology gives the Moon pride of place because it stands for the mind, and because it moves fast. The Sun spends a month in each sign, so everyone born in the same month shares a Sun sign. The Moon crosses a sign in about two and a quarter days, which makes your Moon sign much more personal. It’s the sign used for your weekly rashifal, for kundli milan, for Sade Sati, and for choosing the first letter of a baby’s name.
Why your rashi isn’t your “star sign”
This confuses almost everyone, so here it is plainly. There are two differences between your rashi and the sign printed next to your birthday in a magazine:
- Different body. Magazines use the Sun. Your rashi uses the Moon.
- Different zodiac. Western astrology fixes its signs to the seasons (the tropical zodiac). Jyotish fixes them to the stars (the sidereal zodiac). Because the Earth’s axis slowly wobbles, the two have drifted about 24 degrees apart, nearly a whole sign.
So a person born on 10 April is an “Aries” in the newspaper, but their Sun is in Meena (Pisces) in the Indian reckoning, and their rashi could be any of the twelve depending on where the Moon was. The calculator shows all three so you can see the difference for yourself.
How this calculator works
We take your birth date and time as Indian Standard Time, turn it into universal time, and work out the Moon’s true position using the same astronomical engine that powers our daily panchang. We then subtract the Lahiri ayanamsa, the correction the Government of India’s calendar committee adopted and the one almost every Indian panchang uses. Each 30° slice of the result is one rashi.
Two details that matter for older birth dates: between September 1942 and October 1945, clocks in India ran an hour ahead of IST for the war, and we adjust for that automatically. And if you were born outside India, choose “Somewhere else” and enter your place’s latitude, longitude and time difference from GMT.
The twelve rashis at a glance
Open any rashi for its name letters, nakshatras and Sade Sati dates, or see all 12 rashis and the 27 nakshatras.
| Rashi | Hindi | Lord | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mesha (Aries) | मेष | Mars | Fire |
| Vrishabha (Taurus) | वृषभ | Venus | Earth |
| Mithuna (Gemini) | मिथुन | Mercury | Air |
| Karka (Cancer) | कर्क | Moon | Water |
| Simha (Leo) | सिंह | Sun | Fire |
| Kanya (Virgo) | कन्या | Mercury | Earth |
| Tula (Libra) | तुला | Venus | Air |
| Vrishchika (Scorpio) | वृश्चिक | Mars | Water |
| Dhanu (Sagittarius) | धनु | Jupiter | Fire |
| Makara (Capricorn) | मकर | Saturn | Earth |
| Kumbha (Aquarius) | कुंभ | Saturn | Air |
| Meena (Pisces) | मीन | Jupiter | Water |
What if my family’s kundli says something different?
It happens, and it’s usually one of three things. The birth time was noted as “around morning” and the Moon changed sign that day. The kundli was made with a different ayanamsa (a few South Indian traditions use slightly different ones). Or the time was written in local time in an old city register rather than IST. If our answer and your kundli disagree, check the warning under your result: if the Moon changed sign on your birthday, the pandit’s time is what decides it.
If you want someone to go through your whole chart with you, our astrology page explains how to choose an astrologer you can trust.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my rashi by date of birth?
Your rashi is the sign the Moon was in when you were born. Enter your date, time and place of birth above and the calculator works out the Moon’s sidereal position for that moment. If you only know the date, it still works most of the time, and it will warn you if the Moon changed sign that day.
Is my rashi the same as my zodiac sign in the newspaper?
Usually not. Newspaper horoscopes use your Sun sign in the Western (tropical) zodiac. Your rashi is your Moon sign in the Indian (sidereal) zodiac. They are different planets and the two zodiacs are about 24 degrees apart, so most people have two different answers.
Can I find my rashi without the birth time?
Often, yes. The Moon stays in one rashi for about two and a quarter days, so on most dates the rashi is the same all day. On the days it changes sign, you need the time. The calculator checks this for you and tells you the exact time of the change.
What is the difference between rashi and lagna?
Rashi is the sign the Moon occupied at birth. Lagna (the ascendant) is the sign rising on the eastern horizon at that moment. The lagna changes every two hours or so, which is why it needs an exact birth time.
Which rashi letters are used for a baby’s name?
Each rashi covers nine nakshatra padas, and each pada has a traditional starting sound. The name letters shown with your result are the nine sounds of your rashi; the one for your own pada is highlighted.