Tara Bala Meaning and Calculation

A day can be auspicious by the panchang and still not suit you. Vedic Muhurtha (electional astrology) therefore adds a personal check based on your birth nakshatra (janma nakshatra). It is called Tara Bala, the strength of the stars, and it is one of the oldest and simplest tools for choosing a good day.

The nine taras

Starting from your birth star, the 27 nakshatras are grouped into three cycles of nine. Each position in the cycle has a name:

Tara	Name	Meaning	Nature
1	Janma	Birth	Mixed
2	Sampat	Wealth	Favourable
3	Vipat	Danger, hurdle	Avoid for beginnings
4	Kshema	Well-being	Favourable
5	Pratyak (Pratyari)	Obstacle	Avoid for beginnings
6	Sadhaka	Achievement	Favourable
7	Vadha (Naidhana)	Hindrance	Avoid for beginnings
8	Mitra	Friend	Favourable
9	Parama Mitra (Ati Mitra)	Best friend	Favourable

The pattern repeats for the 10th to 18th and 19th to 27th stars from your birth star. The 10th is called Anujanma (or Karma) and the 19th Trijanma (or Adhana); like the birth star itself, they are treated as sensitive, mixed days.

How to calculate it

1. Find your birth nakshatra (the Moon's nakshatra at birth) and the nakshatra of the day you are considering.
2. Count from your star to the day's star, counting your own star as 1. If the day's star comes earlier in the list, continue past Revati back to Ashwini.
3. Divide the count by 9 and take the remainder. A remainder of 0 means 9.
4. Read the tara from the table.

Worked examples

• Birth star Ashwini, day star Rohini. Ashwini 1, Bharani 2, Krittika 3, Rohini 4. Count 4, remainder 4: Kshema, favourable.
• Birth star Rohini, day star Hasta. Rohini is 4th and Hasta 13th, so the count is 13 - 4 + 1 = 10. 10 / 9 leaves 1: Janma tara (Anujanma), a mixed day.
• Birth star Revati, day star Bharani. Revati 1, Ashwini 2, Bharani 3. Count 3: Vipat, avoid starting something important.
• Birth star Magha, day star Jyeshtha. Magha is 10th and Jyeshtha 18th: 18 - 10 + 1 = 9, remainder 0: Parama Mitra, the best tara.

Using Tara Bala sensibly

It is a filter, not a forecast. Tara Bala does not say a day will go well or badly. It helps you choose between days for something you are going to begin: a journey, signing an agreement, starting a course, a house-warming, the first day of a new job.

Use it after the panchang. First choose days with a good tithi, weekday, nakshatra and nithya yoga; then, among those, prefer one whose star gives you a good tara.

Combine it with Chandra Bala. Chandra Bala is the transit Moon's sign counted from your birth Moon sign. It is commonly favourable in the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th and 11th signs from your Moon, and unfavourable in the 8th (Chandrashtama). When Chandra Bala and Tara Bala agree, the day is personally strong. Classical texts say Tara Bala matters most in the dark half of the lunar month and Chandra Bala in the bright half.

Don't panic about Vipat, Pratyak or Vadha days. Ordinary life continues on these days. Traditionally they are simply not chosen for important beginnings, and many authorities say the effect is strongest in the first cycle of nine and much milder in the second and third.

Tara Bala in other areas

The same nine-fold counting appears elsewhere in Vedic astrology:

• In marriage matching, Dina (Tara) porutham counts from the bride's star to the groom's star in a similar way.
• In transits, some astrologers also note which tara a slow planet such as Saturn is passing through, as a finer layer on top of sign-based transit rules like Sade Sati.
• In baby naming and birth-time discussions, people often ask which stars are "good"; every nakshatra has its own strengths, as explained in Best Nakshatra for Baby Birth.

Summary

Count from your birth star to the day's star, divide by 9 and read the remainder: 1 Janma, 2 Sampat, 3 Vipat, 4 Kshema, 5 Pratyak, 6 Sadhaka, 7 Vadha, 8 Mitra, 9 (or 0) Parama Mitra. The even-numbered taras and Parama Mitra are favourable for new beginnings, Vipat, Pratyak and Vadha are avoided, and the birth-star days are mixed. Use it, with Chandra Bala, as a personal filter on days already chosen by the panchang.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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See Also:tara bala nakshatra muhurtha panchang birth star vedic astrology basics