The classical Jain biographies record, for every Tirthankara, the nakshatra the moon occupied at his birth. This data is ancient, doctrinally significant (the kalyanaka celebrations are timed by it), and, remarkably, has never been compiled into one clean, sourced English table online. So we built it.
Methodology, stated up front. We cross-checked two textually independent tradition lines: the Shvetambara “Bhagwan Parichay” series of Muni Dipratnasagar (drawing on the Agamic and Kalpa Sutra line), and the Digambara Tiloya Pannatti (4/526-549, via the Jainkosh encyclopedia). 21 of the 24 nakshatras agree across both traditions, which is strong verification given the sources’ independence. The three disagreements are genuine sect-level differences, not errors, and we show both readings rather than picking a winner. Rashis are as stated in the sources; where a source did not state the rashi we derive it from the nakshatra and mark it so.
The Table
| # | Tirthankara | Lanchhana | Janma Nakshatra | Rashi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rishabhanatha (Adinatha) | Bull | Uttarashadha | Dhanu (Sagittarius) |
| 2 | Ajitanatha | Elephant | Rohini | Vrishabha (Taurus) |
| 3 | Sambhavanatha | Horse | Mrigashirsha (Shvet.) / Jyeshtha (Dig.) | Mithuna (Shvet.) |
| 4 | Abhinandananatha | Monkey | Punarvasu | Mithuna (Gemini) |
| 5 | Sumatinatha | Krauncha bird | Magha | Simha (Leo) |
| 6 | Padmaprabha | Lotus | Chitra | Kanya (Virgo) |
| 7 | Suparshvanatha | Swastika | Vishakha | Tula (Libra) |
| 8 | Chandraprabha | Crescent moon | Anuradha | Vrishchika (Scorpio) |
| 9 | Suvidhinatha (Pushpadanta) | Crocodile | Mula | Dhanu (derived from nakshatra) |
| 10 | Shitalanatha | Shrivatsa | Purvashadha | Dhanu (Sagittarius) |
| 11 | Shreyansanatha | Rhinoceros | Shravana | Makara (Capricorn) |
| 12 | Vasupujya | Buffalo | Shatabhisha (Shvet.) / Vishakha (Dig.) | Kumbha (Shvet.) |
| 13 | Vimalanatha | Boar | Uttara Bhadrapada | Meena (Pisces) |
| 14 | Anantanatha | Falcon | Revati | Meena (Pisces) |
| 15 | Dharmanatha | Vajra | Pushya (Shvet.) / Revati (Dig.) | Karka (Shvet.) |
| 16 | Shantinatha | Deer | Bharani | Mesha (Aries) |
| 17 | Kunthunatha | Goat | Krittika | Vrishabha (Taurus) |
| 18 | Aranatha | Nandavarta | Revati | Meena (Pisces) |
| 19 | Mallinatha | Kalasha | Ashwini | Mesha (derived from nakshatra) |
| 20 | Munisuvrata | Tortoise | Shravana | Makara (Capricorn) |
| 21 | Naminatha | Blue lotus | Ashwini | Mesha (Aries) |
| 22 | Neminatha (Arishtanemi) | Conch | Chitra | Kanya (Virgo) |
| 23 | Parshvanatha | Serpent | Vishakha | Tula (Libra) |
| 24 | Mahavira (Vardhamana) | Lion | Uttara Phalguni (Hastottara) | Kanya (Virgo) |
Reading the Table
Where the sects differ. Only three rows: Sambhavanatha (Mrigashirsha vs Jyeshtha), Vasupujya (Shatabhisha vs Vishakha), and Dharmanatha (Pushya vs Revati). If your family follows the Shvetambara tradition, use the first reading; Digambara, the second. Neither is wrong; they are two ancient textual lines, and both are honored here.
Patterns worth noticing. Some nakshatras carry more than one Tirthankara: Revati holds Anantanatha and Aranatha (and Dharmanatha in the Digambara reading); Shravana holds Shreyansanatha and Munisuvrata; Ashwini holds Mallinatha and Naminatha; Chitra holds Padmaprabha and Neminatha; Vishakha holds Suparshvanatha and Parshvanatha. Meanwhile several nakshatras hold none. The tradition itself draws no astrological conclusion from this, and neither do we; it is simply what the texts record.
Two Jinas share Mahavira’s rashi. Kanya (Virgo) carries Padmaprabha, Neminatha, and Mahavira: the most Tirthankara-dense sign in the table.
Find Your Shared Star
Your own janma nakshatra is the nakshatra the moon occupied at your birth: our free Kundali tool computes it in seconds. If it matches a Tirthankara’s, the tradition offers a lovely practice: taking special joy in that Jina’s kalyanaka days and drawing on his story in your own practice. This is devotional kinship, not destiny; sharing Mahavira’s Uttara Phalguni makes you his admirer, not his heir.
Honest Caveats
- The tithi column was deliberately left out. Our source-comparison found the birth tithis far less stable than the nakshatras: book summaries sometimes surface the conception (chyavana) tithi instead of the birth tithi, and amanta vs purnimanta month-naming shifts Krishna-paksha months between regional conventions. Rather than print a shaky column, we are compiling kalyanaka tithis separately with source-by-source verification.
- What “verified” means here: the nakshatra appears identically in both the Shvetambara and Digambara source lines. It does not mean historical-astronomical verification, which is impossible at this distance; it means faithful transmission of what the tradition records.
Sources
- Muni Dipratnasagar, Tirthankar Bhagwan Parichay series (Shvetambara), books 035101-035124 via JainQQ/JainGPT
- Tiloya Pannatti 4/526-549 (Digambara), via the Jainkosh encyclopedia
- Ekvinshatisthan Prakaranam (Siddhasena Suri) for corroboration of rows 1 and 24
- Kalpa Sutra tradition for Rishabhanatha, Neminatha, Parshvanatha, and Mahavira
Spotted a discrepancy with your sangh’s records? Tell us. Corrections to this table are seva, and we credit them.