Nakshatra (lunar mansion)
A nakshatra is one of 27 equal segments of the sidereal zodiac, each 13°20′ wide and named after a star group. The one holding the Moon when you were born is your birth star, or janma nakshatra.
Also known as: Nakshatram, Natchathiram
The Moon circles the zodiac in about 27⅓ days, so it spends roughly a day in each nakshatra. The 27 segments are named after star groups along its path, from Ashwini at 0° Aries to Revati, which ends at 30° Pisces. Each has four quarters (padas), a ruling planet, a presiding deity, a symbol and a traditional temperament. Some muhurat systems add a 28th, Abhijit.
Your janma nakshatra is where the Moon stood at your birth. It sets the starting point of your Vimshottari dasha, gives the traditional first syllable for a name, and supplies the star-based factors of Kundli matching: Tara, Yoni, Gana and Nadi. In the daily Panchang, the day’s nakshatra is one of the five limbs and is central to choosing a muhurat.
A common mix-up is to treat a nakshatra as a star sign. It is narrower: each sign holds two and a quarter nakshatras, and one nakshatra in three straddles two signs. Your nakshatra also comes from the Moon’s actual position against the stars, not from your birthday, so two people born on the same date in different years usually have different stars.