Lahiri ayanamsa · Whole Sign houses · Node type: Mean node
Ascendant basis: our Lagna follows a slightly different convention from Drik's, agreeing within about 0.3 degrees. A birth very close to a sign boundary can show a different rising sign. Planets and Panchang elements agree to under one arc-minute.
Dasha timing: our Vimshottari Dasha period boundaries agree with Drik's within a few days, not to the exact day. This comes from two documented sources: a tiny difference in the birth Moon's measured position that compounds across the full 120 year cycle, and a different classical year length the two engines use to lengthen each period (we use 365.25 days, Drik uses the sidereal year of about 365.256 days).
Cross-check these values against Drik Panchang for the same date, time, and place.
Most people know their Sun sign, the zodiac sign Western astrology uses, based on the calendar date you were born. Vedic astrology reads a different placement for most of its work: your Moon sign, sometimes called your Rashi. This calculator finds your Vedic Moon sign from your exact birth details, and shows how it compares to the Sun sign you already know.
Your Moon sign depends on where the Moon sat, sign by sign, at the moment you were born, not where the Sun sat. This calculator sends your birth date, time, and place to VedicShala's astrology calculation provider, which returns the Moon's exact sidereal longitude at that moment. The zodiac is then divided into twelve 30-degree segments, Aries through Pisces, and the segment your Moon's longitude falls into is your Moon sign. The same calculation also returns your Sun sign for comparison, using the Sun's longitude the same way.
Because the Moon moves through roughly one sign every two and a quarter days, an approximate birth time can occasionally place the Moon near a sign boundary. If you do not know your exact birth time, this calculator still returns a result using a noon default for that day, and flags the result so you know to confirm your exact time before treating a near-boundary result as final.
Someone born in late June might carry a Cancer Sun sign under the Western system most calendars use. If their Moon was travelling through Taurus at their exact birth time, their Vedic Moon sign is Taurus, even though their Sun sign is Cancer. Vedic horoscopes, including the daily and monthly readings elsewhere on this site, are built from the Moon sign, not the Sun sign, so this same person's Vedic horoscope reads from Taurus.
Enter your date, time, and place of birth into the form above. Your birth time and place are sent to our astrology calculation provider so it can compute the Moon's exact position for that moment; the provider discards those details afterward and we do not store them unless you choose to save the result to a free VedicShala account.
Once you know your Moon sign, you can follow this site's daily Panchang, the Gochar transit notes on your horoscope page, and any Vedic reading that is written "sign by sign" using your Moon sign as the reference point, the same way most people use their Sun sign for a Western horoscope column.
A Moon sign is one placement among many in a full birth chart, not a complete reading on its own. If your birth time is approximate, treat a result near a sign boundary as provisional until you can confirm the exact time, ideally from a birth certificate or hospital record.