Rashi 9 of 12
Dhanusధనుస్సు
Sagittarius
A dual fire sign opening at Mula, which points at the galactic centre.
- Ruling planet
- Jupiter
- Element
- Agni (fire)
- Modality
- Dvisvabhava — dual
- Symbol
- The archer, drawn as a centaur with a bow
- Sidereal span
- 240° – 270°
- Sun crosses it
- mid-December to mid-January
About Dhanus
Dhanus runs 240° to 270° and opens with Mula, the nakshatra that sits at the centre of the galaxy — the direction about which the whole visible sky turns. Ruled by Jupiter and classified dual and fiery, it also contains Purva Ashadha, whose name means 'the unsubdued'. In the classical image the archer's arrow points directly at that centre.
Nakshatras in this rashi
Mula, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha pada 1
Where it appears in the panchangam
The sun's passage through Dhanus is Dhanurmasam, kept in the Telugu and Tamil country with pre-dawn worship and the recitation of the Tiruppavai and Tiruvempavai. It is the one month of the year in which weddings are almost universally not held, and it ends at Makara Sankranti.
Janma rashi
Your janma rashi is the rashi the moon occupied at the moment you were born — not the sun, which is what a western star sign uses. This is why the two frequently disagree, and why someone told they are a Leo in a newspaper may be a Karka by Indian reckoning. The janma rashi is what a family uses for naming, for annual rituals, and for matching in the traditional systems.