The national panchanga defines twenty-seven equal 13°20′ nakshatra sectors. Divide each one into four equal quarters and each quarter is 3°20′. Astrological literature commonly calls these quarters padas. The geometric construction gives 27 × 4 = 108 quarters around the circle. This page shows what that division does to the twelve equal 30° rāśis, without attaching unsourced personality claims to a quarter.
Four quarters per nakshatra
A 30° rāśi contains nine such quarters, because 9 × 3°20′ = 30°. Sign boundaries therefore fall at quarter boundaries when both grids start from the same chosen sidereal zero point. They do not all fall at whole-nakshatra boundaries: 30° is not an integer multiple of 13°20′.
Krittika illustrates the first crossing. Its equal interval is 26°40′–40°. Quarter 1 occupies 26°40′–30° in Mesha, while quarters 2–4 occupy 30°–40° in Vrisha. The sign changes at a quarter boundary inside the same named nakshatra. The atlas supplies the full 27-sector sequence.
The nine nakshatras crossing a rāśi border
The table is derived from the Positional Astronomy Centre’s 13°20′ nakshatra width and its twelve 30° rāśi names. Two sign boundaries—120° and 240°—coincide with whole-nakshatra starts, so the other nine internal sign boundaries cut a nakshatra. “Before/after” counts the 3°20′ quarters on each side.
| Nakshatra | Boundary | Rāśi transition | Quarter split |
|---|---|---|---|
| Krittika | 30°00′ | Mesha → Vrisha | 1 before / 3 after |
| Mrigasiras | 60°00′ | Vrisha → Mithuna | 2 before / 2 after |
| Punarvasu | 90°00′ | Mithuna → Karkata | 3 before / 1 after |
| Uttara Phalguni | 150°00′ | Simha → Kanya | 1 before / 3 after |
| Chitra | 180°00′ | Kanya → Tula | 2 before / 2 after |
| Visakha | 210°00′ | Tula → Vrischika | 3 before / 1 after |
| Uttara Ashadha | 270°00′ | Dhanus → Makara | 1 before / 3 after |
| Dhanishta | 300°00′ | Makara → Kumbha | 2 before / 2 after |
| Purva Bhadrapada | 330°00′ | Kumbha → Mina | 3 before / 1 after |
For example, Chitra’s 173°20′–186°40′ interval straddles the 180° Kanya–Tula border with two quarters in each sign. Punarvasu’s 80°–93°20′ interval has three quarters in Mithuna and the last quarter in Karkata. These are coordinate facts; interpretive schools may give the quarters further meanings that this calculation does not test.
How to locate a quarter from longitude
- Obtain the Moon’s sidereal longitude for the exact instant using a named ayanamsa. A rounded degree near a boundary can be misleading.
- Find the 13°20′ sector in the 27-name atlas.
- Subtract the sector’s starting longitude. A remainder from 0° to less than 3°20′ is quarter 1; 3°20′–6°40′ is quarter 2; 6°40′–10° is quarter 3; 10°–13°20′ is quarter 4.
- Locate the same longitude in the separate 30° rāśi grid. For the nine crossing names, a single nakshatra can return two different rāśis depending on the quarter.
As an arithmetic example, 181° sidereal longitude lies in Chitra (173°20′–186°40′). It is 7°40′ past the start, so it falls in Chitra quarter 3; 181° also lies in Tula (180°–210°). This example is not a dated Moon position.
Questions readers ask
Do all four padas stay in one sign?
No. Nine named intervals in this equal-grid model cross a sign boundary, as the table shows.
Is the quarter grid a substitute for a chart?
No. A natal quarter requires a calculated sidereal longitude at the recorded birth instant. The grid alone cannot establish a person’s placement.
Do the principal stars mark these quarter edges?
No. Quarter edges are mathematical subdivisions. The stars versus sectors guide compares them with the almanac’s dated star coordinates.
Continue through the reference
Sources and calculation notes
- Positional Astronomy Centre, Panchang explanation ↗ — 27 equal 13°20′ sectors
- Positional Astronomy Centre, name table ↗ — published nakshatra and rāśi orders