Tara bala is the strength of the day's star for one person. Count from your birth star to the day's star, both included, and divide by nine: the remainder (nine if nothing is left) names the tara. The nine, in order, are Janma, Sampath, Vipath, Kshema, Pratyari, Sadhaka, Vadha, Mitra, Parama Mitra. Muhurta Chintamani (pp. 108–109) counts the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th taras as favourable and the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th as not.
☕ How the count works
Every day the Moon is in one of the 27 stars. A panchangam prints that star for everyone. Tara bala asks a personal question: how does today's star stand from your own birth star? Two people can have different taras on the same day. (The nakshatra page explains the 27 stars.)
Muhurta Chintamani gives a worked example. A person's birth star is Shatabhisha and the day's star is Punarvasu. Count from Shatabhisha as 1: Punarvasu is the 11th star. Take away nine and 2 is left, so the day is the 2nd tara, Sampath. After 27 the count starts again, so the nine taras come round three times.
Muhurta Chintamani and Kalaprakasika both give the nine names in this order. They belong to one tradition, so their agreement shows how the list was handed down, not two separate proofs. The books say which taras are favourable; they do not rank them by how much. Kalaprakasika also treats the second and third rounds differently: see the Pariyaya page.
Nava Panchangam's day score uses this rule. The weight the score gives it is the app's own choice; the books give the rule, not a number.
The nine taras, and how the book grades them
- 1. Janma Tara
- 2. Sampath Tara
- 3. Vipath Tara
- 4. Kshema Tara
- 5. Pratyari Tara
- 6. Sadhaka Tara
- 7. Vadha Tara
- 8. Mitra Tara
- 9. Parama Mitra Tara
- Favourable: Sampath, Kshema, Sadhaka, Mitra, Parama Mitra
- Not favourable: Janma, Vipath, Pratyari, Vadha
- The book gives no ranking inside either group
- The count is personal: it starts from each person's own birth star
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find today's tara?
Count from your birth star to today's star, both included. If the count is above nine, take away nine, and again if needed. The number left (1 to 9) is the tara. The table on this page lists all 27 counts.
Which taras are favourable?
Muhurta Chintamani counts Sampath, Kshema, Sadhaka, Mitra, Parama Mitra as favourable, and Janma, Vipath, Pratyari, Vadha as not favourable.
Is a Vipath or Vadha day the same for everyone?
No. A tara is counted from one person's birth star, so the same day is a different tara for people with different birth stars. A panchangam can print the day's star for all, but not one tara for all.
How is tara bala different from Dinam porutham?
They use the same nine-step count. Tara bala counts from your birth star to the day's star. Dinam porutham counts from the bride's star to the groom's: see the Dinam page.
Why does the app treat Vadha as the most adverse tara?
That is the app's own choice of weights. The books place the nine taras in two groups and do not say that one adverse tara is worse than another.
From the sources
All 27 counts and their taras, where the nine names come from, and what this page leaves out.
🔢 Every count from 1 to 27
Each tara comes once in each round of nine. The first column lists the three counts that give it.
| Star counted from yours (1st, 2nd and 3rd round) | Tara |
|---|---|
| 1, 10, 19 | Janma |
| 2, 11, 20 | Sampath |
| 3, 12, 21 | Vipath |
| 4, 13, 22 | Kshema |
| 5, 14, 23 | Pratyari |
| 6, 15, 24 | Sadhaka |
| 7, 16, 25 | Vadha |
| 8, 17, 26 | Mitra |
| 9, 18, 27 | Parama Mitra |
📚 Where the nine names come from
Muhurta Chintamani (pp. 108–109) names the nine, gives the count, works the example on this page and splits them into favourable and not. Kalaprakasika (1917) names the same nine on p. 166. Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra (Santhanam's edition, p. 575) gives the same nine in the same order, but as a scheme of periods in a birth chart, not as a test for a day.
The spelling of the 5th varies: the app writes Pratyari, as Muhurta Chintamani does; Kalaprakasika prints Prathyara, and many modern books write Pratyak.
✂️ What this page leaves out
On p. 167 Kalaprakasika gives each tara a short effect, some of them about health and harsh outcomes. This page keeps the names and the book's favourable and unfavourable groups, and leaves those effect words out.