Nakshatra questions and answers

What is Nakshatra?

Nakshatra is a free Android app by Sonicon Software for Vedic astrology in Hindi and English. From your birth date, time and place it works out a North-Indian kundli with Vimshottari dasha, a daily rashifal from your moon sign, a daily nakshatra card and the day's panchang, all on the phone.

Does Nakshatra need the internet or an account?

No. The app has no internet permission and no account, ads or analytics. Your birth details, kundli, cards and streak stay in its private storage, and Android backup is turned off for them, so they are not copied to your Google account backup or to a new phone. Full details are in the privacy policy.

Which ayanamsa and house system does Nakshatra use?

Nakshatra uses the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa and whole-sign houses, so the lagna's sign is the first house, drawn in the North-Indian style. Rahu and Ketu are placed at the mean lunar node. The app shows the birth chart only; it doesn't draw divisional charts such as the navamsa.

Why is my kundli different in another app?

Apps differ in ayanamsa variant, house system, node type and planet theory. For the demo birth, Nakshatra's dasha dates fall about a week earlier than AstroSage's, and Jupiter and Saturn differ by up to a quarter of a degree. Birth time matters most: the lagna moves about a quarter of a degree each minute.

How is the daily rashifal worked out?

Each morning the app counts where the planets are from your moon sign at sunrise at your birth place. It picks one of Jupiter, Venus, Mercury or the Moon by a fixed rule and shows the line written for that planet and house. The same chart and day give the same reading, however often you open the app.

Is the daily card the same for everyone?

Yes. The card follows a fixed order through the 27 nakshatras, one per calendar day, so everyone opening Nakshatra that day sees the same card. It is not the nakshatra the Moon is in. Opening it adds the card to your collection and counts toward your streak.

Which place are the panchang times for?

For the birth place saved in your profile. Nakshatra has no location permission, so it doesn't know where you are now. If you were born in Jaipur and live in Mumbai, sunrise, rahu kaal and choghadiya are Jaipur's. Sunrise is when the Sun's upper edge meets the horizon, with standard refraction.

What if I don't know my birth time?

Nakshatra needs a birth time and has no unknown-time mode. The lagna moves about a quarter of a degree for each minute of birth time, so an error of a few minutes can change the lagna when it falls near a sign edge. Use the time from a birth certificate or a family record if you have one.

Can I enter a birth place outside India?

Yes. The app stores 1,503 Indian places for an offline search. For a place outside India, or one missing from the list, type its latitude, longitude and time zone, such as Europe/London. Nakshatra then works out the kundli, rashifal and panchang for that place in the same way.

Can I rely on a reading for a decision?

No. Nakshatra computes traditional astrology from your birth details and shows it for reflection. Its readings, colour, hour and number tags, cards and panchang times are not advice, and the methods have limits listed on How it works. Don't base marriage, health, money, legal or other important decisions on them.

Is Nakshatra free?

Yes. Nakshatra is free on Google Play, with no ads, no in-app purchases, no subscription and no account. Every feature works without paying, from the kundli and daily rashifal to the panchang. It runs on Android 8.0 and later, in Hindi or English, which you switch in the profile.