nakshatra · चित्रा
Chitra Nakshatra: Every Day It Held Sunrise, 2026 and 2027
13 days in 2026 · 14 in 2027 · sunrise at New Delhi
Chitra is the 14th of the 27 nakshatras. A panchang names a day by the nakshatra running at sunrise, and between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2027 Chitra was the nakshatra at sunrise in New Delhi on 27 days: 13 in 2026 and 14 in 2027. It never fell between two sunrises without holding one, and it never held two sunrises in a row.
The muhurta texts put Chitra in the Mridu (soft) group, which is the class the muhurat filter reads it by. Its own page, Chitra nakshatra, covers it as a birth star.
The 27 Days, Month by Month
| Month | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| January | 11 | 1, 28 |
| February | 7 | 25 |
| March | 7 | 24 |
| April | 3, 30 | 20 |
| May | 28 | 18 |
| June | 24 | 14 |
| July | 21 | 11 |
| August | 17 | 8 |
| September | 14 | 4 |
| October | 11 | 1, 29 |
| November | 7 | 25 |
| December | 5 | 22 |
By weekday, Chitra held sunrise most often on Thursdays and Saturdays (5 times) and least on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays (3): Sunday 4, Monday 3, Tuesday 3, Wednesday 3, Thursday 5, Friday 4, Saturday 5. Over two years that spread is chance, not a pattern; the weekday and the nakshatra run on unrelated cycles.
Festivals that fell on a Chitra day: Narasimha Jayanti (30 April 2026), Ganga Dussehra (24 June 2026), Nag Panchami (17 August 2026), Ganesh Chaturthi (14 September 2026), Hartalika Teej (14 September 2026), Sharad Navratri begins (11 October 2026), Narak Chaturdashi (7 November 2026), Hanuman Jayanti (20 April 2027), Narasimha Jayanti (18 May 2027), Nirjala Ekadashi (14 June 2027), Ganesh Chaturthi (4 September 2027) and Diwali (29 October 2027).
In the cycle Chitra comes after Hasta and before Swati; all 27 are on the nakshatra index. For what the five limbs are and how a day’s panchang is read, see reading the panchang and the guide to choosing a day. This page in Hindi: चित्रा नक्षत्र.