Ayanamsa
Ayanamsa Calculator
Find the Lahiri ayanamsa (the offset between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs) for any date, free. The same ayanamsa every chart on Nakshara is computed with.
What is ayanamsa?
Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, anchored to the seasons. Vedic astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, anchored to the fixed stars. The gap between the two is the ayanamsa.
The earth's axis slowly wobbles, a motion called precession. That wobble makes the ayanamsa grow by roughly 50 arcseconds (0.014 degrees) every year, adding up to several degrees over the centuries.
Every computation on Nakshara, whether it's a birth chart, a panchang, or a muhurat, is built on the Lahiri ayanamsa. It's also the ayanamsa the Indian government's official calendar uses.
Why the Lahiri ayanamsa specifically?
Several ayanamsas exist, including Raman, Krishnamurti (KP), and Fagan-Bradley, each anchored to a different reference point. Lahiri is the official standard adopted by India's Calendar Reform Committee in 1955, and it's the one most panchang publications, kundli software, and published reference charts use. That's why Nakshara is built on it too.
Read more on this topic
- Correcting a Birth Time From a US Hospital Wristband: The 12-Hour vs 24-Hour Trap : A single AM/PM transcription slip on a US hospital record can shift a birth time by 12 hours and move the ascendant to roughly the chart's opposite side.
- Historical Indian Time Zones: Bombay Time and Calcutta Time Before 1947 : Before India standardized to IST after independence, Bombay and Calcutta ran on their own local time, which matters for charting a grandparent's birth.
- A Baby Born During the DST "Fall Back" Extra Hour: Which 1:30 AM Do You Use? : When clocks fall back in autumn, one clock hour happens twice, and a birth certificate showing 1:30 AM can mean two different real moments.
FAQ
Questions about ayanamsa
How much does the ayanamsa change each year? +
About 50 arcseconds, or 0.014 degrees, per year. That's a slow drift, roughly 1 degree over a human lifetime, but it adds up to several degrees over centuries.
What is the difference between Lahiri and Raman ayanamsa? +
Both are calculated from a different stellar reference point, so their values differ by roughly 0.4 to 0.6 degrees. Lahiri is the government and most-published-panchang standard, which is why Nakshara uses it.
Why would I need to know the ayanamsa? +
Most people never need the raw ayanamsa value directly, it's applied automatically behind every chart. This calculator is useful for astrology students, researchers, and anyone cross-checking a software's calculation.
Is this ayanamsa calculator free? +
Yes, completely free, no sign-up required. For a full birth chart, see our kundli calculator.