Baby Name Letters by Rashi and Nakshatra
In many families a child's name is chosen from the pada of the birth nakshatra. The table below has the 27 nakshatras' 108 padas, the syllable of each and its rashi.
Where the letter comes from
The sky is counted in 27 parts, each called a nakshatra. The one the Moon was in at birth is the birth nakshatra.
Each nakshatra has 4 padas. By tradition the first letter of a name is taken from the nakshatra's pada.
A nakshatra has four padas, and the rashi changes every nine padas, so each pada also belongs to one rashi.
The Moon passes through a pada in about six hours, so the birth time needs to be right to know the pada.
The syllables of the 27 nakshatras and 108 padas
* In a starred box, different panchangs give a different syllable; both are given. Go by your family's panchang or priest.
| Nakshatra | Pada 1 | Pada 2 | Pada 3 | Pada 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ashwini | Chu (ચુ)Mesha | Che (ચે)Mesha | Cho (ચો)Mesha | La (લા)Mesha |
| 2. Bharani | Li (લી)Mesha | Lu (લૂ)Mesha | Le (લે)Mesha | Lo (લો)Mesha |
| 3. Krittika | A / Aa (અ / આ)*Mesha | I (ઈ)Vrishabha | U / Oo (ઉ / ઊ)*Vrishabha | E (એ)Vrishabha |
| 4. Rohini | O (ઓ)Vrishabha | Va (વા)Vrishabha | Vi (વી)Vrishabha | Vu (વુ)Vrishabha |
| 5. Mrigashirsha | Ve (વે)Vrishabha | Vo (વો)Vrishabha | Ka (કા)Mithuna | Ki (કી)Mithuna |
| 6. Ardra | Ku (કુ)Mithuna | Gha (ઘ)Mithuna | Nga (ઙ)Mithuna | Chha / Na (છ / ના)*Mithuna |
| 7. Punarvasu | Ke (કે)Mithuna | Ko (કો)Mithuna | Ha (હા)Mithuna | Hi (હી)Karka |
| 8. Pushya | Hu (હુ)Karka | He (હે)Karka | Ho (હો)Karka | Da (ડા / ડ)*Karka |
| 9. Ashlesha | Di (ડી)Karka | Du (ડૂ)Karka | De (ડે)Karka | Do (ડો)Karka |
| 10. Magha | Ma (મા)Simha | Mi (મી)Simha | Mu (મૂ)Simha | Me (મે)Simha |
| 11. Purva Phalguni | Mo / No (મો / નો)*Simha | Ta (ટા)Simha | Ti (ટી)Simha | Tu (ટૂ)Simha |
| 12. Uttara Phalguni | Te (ટે)Simha | To (ટો)Kanya | Pa (પા)Kanya | Pi (પી)Kanya |
| 13. Hasta | Pu (પૂ)Kanya | Sha (ષ)Kanya | Na (ણ)Kanya | Tha (ઠ)Kanya |
| 14. Chitra | Pe (પે)Kanya | Po (પો)Kanya | Ra (રા)Tula | Ri (રી)Tula |
| 15. Swati | Ru (રૂ)Tula | Re (રે)Tula | Ro (રો)Tula | Ta (તા)Tula |
| 16. Vishakha | Ti (તી)Tula | Tu (તૂ)Tula | Te (તે)Tula | To (તો)Vrischika |
| 17. Anuradha | Na (ના)Vrischika | Ni (ની)Vrischika | Nu (નૂ)Vrischika | Ne (ને)Vrischika |
| 18. Jyeshtha | No (નો)Vrischika | Ya (યા)Vrischika | Yi (યી)Vrischika | Yu (યૂ)Vrischika |
| 19. Mula | Ye (યે)Dhanu | Yo (યો)Dhanu | Bha (ભા)Dhanu | Bhi (ભી)Dhanu |
| 20. Purva Ashadha | Bhu (ભૂ)Dhanu | Dha (ધા)Dhanu | Pha (ફા)Dhanu | Dha (ઢા)Dhanu |
| 21. Uttara Ashadha | Bhe (ભે)Dhanu | Bho (ભો)Makara | Ja (જા)Makara | Ji (જી)Makara |
| 22. Shravana | Khi / Ju (ખી / જુ)*Makara | Khu / Je (ખૂ / જે)*Makara | Khe / Jo (ખે / જો)*Makara | Kho / Gha (ખો / ઘા)*Makara |
| 23. Dhanishta | Ga (ગા)Makara | Gi (ગી)Makara | Gu (ગુ / ગૂ)*Kumbha | Ge (ગે)Kumbha |
| 24. Shatabhisha | Go (ગો)Kumbha | Sa (સા)Kumbha | Si (સી)Kumbha | Su (સૂ)Kumbha |
| 25. Purva Bhadrapada | Se (સે)Kumbha | So (સો)Kumbha | Da (દા)Kumbha | Di (દી)Meena |
| 26. Uttara Bhadrapada | Du (દૂ)Meena | Tha (થ)Meena | Jha (ઝ)Meena | Jna / Tra (ઞ / ત્ર)*Meena |
| 27. Revati | De (દે)Meena | Do (દો)Meena | Cha (ચા / ચ)*Meena | Chi (ચી)Meena |
* differs between sources · Rashi: under the syllable in each box.
Some panchangs also count Abhijit nakshatra; its syllables are Ju, Je, Jo, Kha.
Questions
What if the birth time is not known?
The Moon passes through four or five padas in a day, so without the time the pada cannot be said for sure. Many families then ask their priest.
What if a name begins with another letter?
Taking the letter from the nakshatra is a tradition, not a rule. Many families keep a separate rashi name and call the child by a name of their choice.
The Bhuvaji app is coming soon on the Play Store.
