Baby Names · Nakshatra 14 of 27
Chitra nakshatra baby names
14 traditional boys' and girls' names with meanings, arranged by the four pada syllables.
Pada 1: Pe · Pada 2: Po · Pada 3: Ra · Pada 4: Ri
How the Chitra Naming Syllable Is Chosen
At the namakarana, the rite of naming held traditionally on the eleventh or twelfth day, the child’s ritual name begins with a syllable fixed by the Moon’s position at birth. The Moon’s path is divided into 27 nakshatras of 13°20′ each, and each nakshatra into four padas of 3°20′. That gives 108 padas and 108 syllables — one for each, and the same 108 that make up the four-times-27 grid printed in every panchang.
The syllable belongs to the pada, not to the nakshatra. Chitra covers Virgo 23°20′ – Libra 6°40′, and the Moon crosses one pada of it in a little under six hours, so two children born in Chitra on the same day can carry different syllables. This is the reason a birth time and place are needed and a date alone is not enough — any tool that gives you a syllable from the date is guessing.
27 nakshatras × 4 padas = 108 = 12 signs × 9 navamsas, which is why each pada also falls in its own navamsa sign. Those signs are listed against each pada below.
The Four Padas of Chitra
| Pada | Syllable | Navamsa sign | Names listed | Rashi & substitutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pe पे | Leo | none in common use | Pada 1 details |
| 2 | Po पो | Virgo | none in common use | Pada 2 details |
| 3 | Ra रा | Libra | 8 | Pada 3 details |
| 4 | Ri री | Scorpio | 6 | Pada 4 details |
Panchang tables spell this syllable for pronunciation rather than for spelling — Ree is written Ri at the start of a name. The syllable is the same sound either way.
The four name lists are all on this page, in full, below. Each pada also has its own page, which carries what is specific to that quarter rather than to Chitra: the exact degrees it spans, the Moon sign it falls in, and the nine-syllable rashi list that Chitra pada syllable belongs to — the list a panchang prints against a sign, which turns out to be the nine pada syllables inside it.
Not sure which pada? The pada follows from the Moon’s exact longitude, so it needs the time and place of birth — the baby name finder resolves it from a birth date, and the nakshatra finder gives the nakshatra and pada together.
Chitra Pada 1 — Names Beginning With Pe (पे)
Navamsa sign Leo · no established names begin with this syllable
No established name begins with पे. Pehlaj, Pertam, Pernia and Peshala, printed for this pada across the web, are not names in use. Chitra's other three padas are the practical choice.
Chitra Pada 2 — Names Beginning With Po (पो)
Navamsa sign Virgo · no established names begin with this syllable
Also empty. The names usually listed here — Poonam, Poorna, Pooja — begin with पू, not पो, and belong to Hasta's first pada.
Chitra Pada 3 — Names Beginning With Ra (रा)
Navamsa sign Libra · 4 boys' and 4 girls' names
Boys' names — 4
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Rahul | efficient, capable — also the Buddha's son |
| Rajat | silver |
| Raghav | of Raghu's line — Rama |
| Ranveer | a hero in battle |
Girls' names — 4
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Radha | prosperity — Krishna's beloved |
| Rashmi | a ray of light |
| Radhika | a name of Radha |
| Ragini | a melodic mode |
Chitra Pada 4 — Names Beginning With Ri (री)
Navamsa sign Scorpio · 3 boys' and 3 girls' names
Boys' names — 3
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Rishi | a seer |
| Ritvik | the priest who officiates at a sacrifice |
| Rishabh | the bull — the first Jain Tirthankara |
Girls' names — 3
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Riddhi | prosperity, attainment |
| Ritika | of the season, flowing |
| Rishika | a female seer |
When a Pada Syllable Has No Name
The 108 syllables are produced by dividing the zodiac, not by asking what Sanskrit allows at the beginning of a word, so some of them land on sounds that begin few names or none — the retroflex stops ट, ठ, ड, ढ and ण begin almost no inherited Sanskrit word, and ङ and ञ cannot begin one at all. Where that happens the tradition does not improvise a name; it substitutes, and three substitutions are recognised:
- Another pada of the same nakshatra. The pada fixes the syllable, but the nakshatra as a whole is what the naming rite is built on, and using a sibling pada's syllable is the commonest accommodation.
- Any syllable of the same Moon sign. Each rashi covers either two and a quarter nakshatras or nine padas, so this widens the choice to roughly nine syllables.
- A name of the nakshatra's presiding deity, which sidesteps the syllable question altogether — Rudra for Ardra, Indra for Jyeshtha, Vishnu for Shravana.
For Chitra the third route gives names of Vishvakarma, the presiding deity. All three are in ordinary use and none is considered a compromise — a pandit will usually offer the sibling pada first.
What Chitra Says About the Child
The bright jewel, presided over by Vishvakarma, the celestial architect, ruled by Mars. Chitra makes beautiful things and looks good doing it. These natives have a designer's eye that applies to everything — clothes, rooms, presentations, arguments — and an ability to make a thing appealing that is entirely separate from making it work. Charisma is the standing feature.
Lord Mars · presiding deity Vishvakarma · symbol Bright jewel · Rakshasa gana. The full profile — padas, career indications, Kundli Milan values and remedies — is on the Chitra nakshatra page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the name letters for Chitra nakshatra?
How many names are there for Chitra nakshatra?
Do I have to use the Chitra syllable for my baby's name?
What if the Chitra pada syllable has no good names?
Which rashi does Chitra nakshatra belong to for naming?
Is the Chitra naming syllable the same in every regional tradition?
Not Sure Which Pada?
The pada is set by the Moon’s exact longitude at birth, so it takes the time and place as well as the date. A free kundli gives the nakshatra, the pada and the syllable together.
Baby Names by Nakshatra
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