Rohini Nakshatra: Degrees, Four Padas and a Worked Example

Quick answer: where is Rohini and how do I find its pada?

• Rohini is the fourth mansion in the common Ashwini-first, 27-nakshatra sequence.
• Its four Navamsa signs are Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer, in that order.
• The calculation identifies a traditional zodiac sector; it does not establish personality or life outcomes.

Rohini’s place in the 27-part zodiac

A nakshatra is used in more than one related sense. It can mean a named asterism in the sky, a traditional lunar mansion, or—inside a chart calculator—a defined longitude sector. Those meanings overlap in practice, but they are not interchangeable. The equal-sector calculation used on this page gives each of 27 mansions 13°20′ and starts the chart sequence at 0° sidereal Aries. Rohini is the fourth sector, so its opening longitude is three sectors after zero: 3 × 13°20′ = 40°00′.

Taurus begins at 30°00′ of total longitude. Subtract 30° from Rohini’s 40°00′ start and 53°20′ end: the result is Taurus 10°00′–23°20′. This sign-local form is usually easier to read in a kundli, while the 0°–360° form is easier for arithmetic. Both describe the same sidereal position when they use the same zodiac and ayanamsha.

The historic sky grouping is not a neat 13°20′ wedge bounded by a modern sign grid. Stars have different apparent positions, and different historical lists count the mansions differently. The Taittiriya Brahmana and Atharvaveda preserve nakshatra sequences that do not simply reproduce the later chart convention. A software label is therefore best read as a calculation result under disclosed settings, not as a photograph of the constellation.

Four padas, Navamsa signs and traditional name sounds

Each nakshatra is divided into four equal padas of 3°20′. In the standard Navamsa mapping, every pada corresponds to one ninth-division sign. Rohini begins at Taurus 10°, which is already partway through Taurus’s nine Navamsa divisions; its padas therefore map to Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer, not to a fresh sequence beginning at the sign’s first degree. This is a frequent source of errors when someone counts Navamsas from the nakshatra boundary rather than from 0° of the sign.

The table shows both sign-local and total-longitude limits so a reader can compare either format. Use the interval as half-open: the lower boundary belongs to the row shown, but the upper boundary belongs to the next row. For example, exactly Taurus 16°40′ is Rohini pada 3. It is not a rounding choice between pada 2 and 3. If a program displays only whole degrees, open its settings or export the arcminutes before deciding.

Naming charts commonly associate Rohini’s padas with ओ, वा, वी and वू (often romanized O, Va, Vi and Vu). Books and language communities may write long vowels differently, and a naming sound is not a substitute for calculating the Moon’s position. A child’s registered or family name also need not follow this convention. Treat it as one cultural practice, not a rule for judging a name or identity.

Worked example: Moon at 47°12′ sidereal longitude

Suppose a chart calculator reports the Moon at 47°12′ sidereal longitude. The total longitude is between Rohini’s 40°00′ opening and 53°20′ ending point, so the Moon lies in Rohini. To convert to a Taurus-local degree, subtract Taurus’s total-longitude start, 30°00′: 47°12′ − 30°00′ = Taurus 17°12′.

Now compare 17°12′ with the four Taurus-local intervals. It is above 16°40′ and below 20°00′, so it belongs to pada 3. The third Rohini pada maps to Gemini Navamsa, and the common naming sound is वी / Vi. This labels the same point in three ways: Rohini in D1, its third quarter, and the corresponding Navamsa sign. None changes the Moon’s D1 sign, which remains Taurus.

You can reproduce the result using arcminutes. Rohini starts at 2,400 arcminutes (40 × 60). The example is 2,832 arcminutes, so its offset is 432′ = 7°12′ into Rohini. Each pada is 200′: 432 ÷ 200 is 2 complete padas with 32′ remaining. Counting from zero gives pada 3. This method avoids decimal rounding around 13°20′ boundaries and works for every equal-sector mansion.

Prajapati, Rohini and the limits of symbolism

The Taittiriya Brahmana’s nakshatra sequence associates Rohini with Prajapati. The same Vedic passage is a ritual list, not a modern personality profile. Later Jyotisha works and regional teaching materials attach additional meanings, images and interpretive language to nakshatras. A cart or chariot is a familiar Rohini image in many contemporary summaries, but the image should be identified as a later or teaching convention when a specific textual source has not been named.

This distinction matters because popular pages often blend deity, symbol, planetary ruler, mythology and psychological description into one timeless definition. They answer different questions. ‘Prajapati is named in this text’s association’ is a text claim. ‘The Moon in Rohini guarantees charm or prosperity’ is a predictive claim. The first can be checked against a passage; the second is a traditional interpretation and should be clearly attributed rather than presented as a measured fact about every person.

The official Jyotisha teaching text published by Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Veda Vidya Pratishthan describes the 360° circle divided into 27 parts, each 13°20′, and four 3°20′ padas. It also cites Atharvaveda 19.7 in its nakshatra lesson. That supports the calculation framework used here; it does not mean every later naming chart, deity list or sign interpretation comes from the same verse. Keep the mathematical convention and the literary tradition in their proper lanes.

How astrologers may interpret a Rohini placement

In Jyotisha, the Moon’s nakshatra is used for several tasks, including the starting point for a Vimshottari dasha calculation and as one part of a broader natal interpretation. Those are separate from the Moon sign. In the commonly used Vimshottari order, Rohini is Moon-ruled; this is a period-lord assignment, not the same as the presiding deity Prajapati and not the same as Taurus’s sign ruler Venus. A report should say which role it means when it uses the word ‘lord.’

An astrologer using the placement may consider the Moon’s sign, house, phase, aspects, conjunctions, dispositor and the rest of the chart. A pada or Navamsa sign can add a traditional interpretive layer, but it cannot replace that chart context. Descriptions of Rohini as fertile, attractive, artistic, steady or materially fortunate are not diagnoses, test results or reliable guarantees. Do not infer someone’s character, fertility, income, relationship quality or worth from one lunar-sector label.

A useful consultation separates the chart fact from the interpretation: ‘The Moon is at 17°12′ Taurus in Rohini pada 3’ is a checkable placement; ‘this tradition reads it through a particular symbolic theme’ is an interpretation. If an astrologer turns a nakshatra name into fear or promises that a paid remedy will force an outcome, ask for the method and consider a second opinion. Ordinary life decisions should also use relevant evidence, consent and qualified advice.

For the difference between a Moon sign and other chart anchors, see Lagna, Moon sign and Sun sign. To understand the Moon’s timing calculation, continue to how Vimshottari dasha balance is calculated. Compare the first mansion in the sequence in the Ashwini Nakshatra guide.

Check the calculator, birth time and boundary before sharing a result

For a reproducible result, record the birth date, recorded local time, birthplace, time zone, chosen ayanamsha and whether the app displays tropical or sidereal longitude. Then copy the Moon’s full degree, minutes and seconds. A small difference between ayanamshas can move a planet near a nakshatra or pada boundary; an inaccurate clock time can also change the Moon’s position. Do not call two outputs contradictory until their inputs and settings match.

Compare the precise longitude with 40°00′, 43°20′, 46°40′, 50°00′ and 53°20′. A value at 43°20′ begins pada 2; a value at 46°40′ begins pada 3; a value at 50°00′ begins pada 4. If a chart is within a few arcminutes of a threshold, keep the uncertainty visible and calculate both plausible outcomes. Different rounding displays can conceal that sensitivity.

The chart shows where a conventional sector starts and ends; the visible star group does not move because an app chose a different ayanamsha. Use one calculation system for sign, nakshatra and pada, and label any separate house system. For a broader primer on sign and house terminology, read the guide to the twelve Jyotisha houses. This small audit note makes the result understandable to a reader who did not see the original software screen.

Frequently asked questions