Nakshatra padas (quarters) explained
Each nakshatra has four padas (quarters), each of 3 degrees 20 minutes. The padas are used in the navamsha and in the naming ceremony.
What it is
The first pada of Ashwini runs from 0 to 3 degrees 20 minutes of Mesha. Each following pada is 3 degrees 20 minutes, so 27 nakshatras times four padas make 108 padas in the zodiac.
How it is worked out or read
The pada of the Moon at birth is found from its position within the nakshatra, in quarters. Because the navamsha is also 3 degrees 20 minutes, each pada corresponds to one navamsha in its sign.
Where it appears on this site
The pada is shown in the nakshatra pages in the learn section. See naming by nakshatra.
Four quarters of 3 degrees 20 minutes
Each nakshatra of 13 degrees 20 minutes is divided into four padas, or quarters, of 3 degrees 20 minutes each. With twenty-seven nakshatras, that makes 108 padas around the zodiac, and each sign of 30 degrees holds exactly nine padas. Because the nakshatras and signs do not line up evenly, some nakshatras fall entirely in one sign and others are split between two: Krittika, for example, has its first pada in Mesha and its other three in Vrishabha.
Padas and the navamsha
The 108 padas correspond exactly to the 108 navamshas, the ninth divisions of the signs. The first pada of Ashwini is the Mesha navamsha, the second Vrishabha, the third Mithuna and the fourth Karka; the four padas of Bharani continue with Simha, Kanya, Tula and Vrishchika; and the first pada of Krittika is Dhanu. The sequence continues around the zodiac, repeating the twelve signs nine times. So knowing a planet's pada tells you its navamsha sign directly.
Padas and names
Each pada is linked with a syllable, and the traditional practice of naming a child from the birth nakshatra uses the syllable of the Moon's pada. The four padas of Ashwini, for example, are associated with the syllables chu, che, cho and la. Lists differ slightly between regions, and the syllables are adapted to the sounds of each language. The article on naming by nakshatra on this site covers the practice in more detail.
Padas at the junctions
Three places in the zodiac, where a water sign ends and a fire sign begins, are called gandanta: the end of Karka and start of Simha, the end of Vrishchika and start of Dhanu, and the end of Meena and start of Mesha. These coincide with the last pada of Ashlesha and first of Magha, the last of Jyeshtha and first of Mula, and the last of Revati and first of Ashwini. Traditional texts treat births and beginnings in these padas with particular care.
Finding the pada
To find a planet's pada, take its longitude within its nakshatra and divide by 3 degrees 20 minutes. A Moon 7 degrees into a nakshatra, for example, is in the third pada, since 7 lies between 6 degrees 40 minutes and 10 degrees. The birth chart tool on this site shows each planet's nakshatra, and the degree in the table allows the pada to be worked out in a moment.