The 9th of the twelve rashis · 240°–270° of the sidereal zodiac
Dhanu Rashi
Sagittarius Moon sign · ruled by Guru
Dhanu is your rashi if the Moon was in Sagittarius when you were born: the rashi your rashifal, Sade Sati and naam akshar go by. People with the Moon in Dhanu are optimistic, open-hearted and fond of freedom. Its lord is Guru, its nakshatras are Mula, Purva Ashadha and Uttara Ashadha (pada 1), and a Dhanu child’s name traditionally begins with one of Ye (ये), Yo (यो), Bha (भा), Bhi (भी), Bhu (भू), Dha (धा), Pha (फा), Ḍha (ढा), Bhe (भे).
Also written Dhanus, Dhanusu.
Dhanu at a glance
The sign’s own facts, the same for every Dhanu Moon.
People with the Moon in Dhanu
The Moon is the karaka (significator) of the mind, so its rashi says how a person feels and takes things. Your lagna and the rest of the chart shape it further.
They love learning, travel, faith and a good discussion, and they speak honestly, sometimes too bluntly. They can promise more than they can keep. Dhanu is Guru's rashi, so they do well as teachers and advisers, in law, and in anything to do with travel or dharma.
What Varahamihira says
Brihat Jataka says a person born with Chandra in Dhanu (Sagittarius) inherits from the father, is generous, strong and eloquent, and has a deep, inventive mind with sound judgement. Such a person writes, takes up many works and is skilled in crafts such as sculpture. They cannot be forced but give way to kindness; the verse also says such a person is often at odds with relatives, and describes a long face and neck. Varahamihira adds (17.13) that this holds in full only when the Moon, Dhanu and its lord Guru are all strong at birth.
Brihat Jataka 17.9
Strengths
Guru's rashi gives Dhanu the instinct of a mentor, so younger cousins come to it for advice on a college, a job offer or a rishta. It is also the ninth sign of the natural zodiac, the place of dharma and pilgrimage, and Dhanu is often the one who plans the family yatra and gets everyone there. When a year turns hard, its fire keeps the household's spirits up.
What to watch
Dhanu sees the big picture and can leave the details to chance: the missing document, the instalment paid late, the application never signed. Advice offered freely may also land as a lecture with a spouse or a grown-up child. One folder for the household's important papers, and asking 'do you want my view?' before giving it, saves this well-meaning rashi a lot of friction.
Work, marriage and health for Dhanu
Jyotish also reads a chart with the Moon sign as its lagna (Chandra lagna): the 10th from the Moon for work, the 7th for marriage, and the rashi’s own limb and element for health. The 7th sign describes the partner’s nature, not the rashi your partner will have. This is tradition, not a forecast; your full kundli decides.
Work and career
For Dhanu the 10th sign from the Moon is Kanya (Virgo), ruled by Budh (Mercury), so the tradition looks to trade, writing, accounts and IT. Dhanu's own lord Guru (Jupiter) adds teaching, law, finance and advice, which makes a teacher, a lawyer, a financial adviser or a writer a natural fit. Writing and skilled crafts suit too, as the verse says, and so does publishing.
Marriage
The 7th sign from the Moon is Mithun (Gemini), ruled by Budh (Mercury), so tradition reads a partner who is quick-witted, talkative and curious. Mithun is a Dvisvabhava (dual) sign, as Dhanu is, so the pair adjusts easily and enjoys good conversation; the care needed is with Dhanu's blunt words and such a partner's changing views. A spouse gets further with Dhanu by asking kindly than by insisting.
Health
Tradition links Dhanu to the thighs in the Kalapurusha, the zodiac pictured as one body (Brihat Jataka 1.4), and as an Agni (fire) rashi to heat and an active body. Walking, travel and sport suit this rashi, with some care for the thighs and legs in later years.
Dhanu’s nakshatras and naam akshar
Each rashi holds nine padas, a quarter of a nakshatra each. The pada the Moon was in gives the syllable a name traditionally begins with.
| Nakshatra | Lord | Span in Dhanu | Padas in Dhanu | Naam akshar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mula | Ketu | 0°–13°20′ | all four | Ye (ये), Yo (यो), Bha (भा), Bhi (भी) |
| Purva Ashadha | Shukra (Venus) | 13°20′–26°40′ | all four | Bhu (भू), Dha (धा), Pha (फा), Ḍha (ढा) |
| Uttara Ashadha | Surya (Sun) | 26°40′–30° | 1 | Bhe (भे) |
A dot under the letter marks the hard sound: Ṭa is ट, not त; Ḍa is ड, not द; Ṇa is ण, not न.
Shani, Guru and Rahu for Dhanu now
These houses are counted from your Moon, as the rashifal counts them. Sade Sati is Shani in the 12th, 1st or 2nd from the Moon, about seven and a half years; a dhaiyya is Shani in the 4th (Kantaka) or 8th (Ashtama), about two and a half. The same for every Dhanu Moon; your own chart decides how they land.
- Shani (Saturn)Dhanu is in Kantaka Shani (a dhaiyya, Shani in the 4th) until 23 February 2028. The dhaiyya lifts from 3 June 2027 until 20 October 2027, while Shani dips into Mesh (your 5th). Next comes Ashtama Shani (a dhaiyya, Shani in the 8th) from 13 July 2034 until 27 August 2036. Sade Sati · dhaiyya dates.
- Guru (Jupiter)Now in your 8th house from the Moon, the house of health, sudden events, hidden matters and in-laws. After that it moves to your 9th (father, fortune, faith and long journeys) from 31 October 2026, back to your 8th from 25 January 2027, back to your 9th from 26 June 2027 and to your 10th (work, status and dealings with seniors) from 26 November 2027.
- RahuNow in your 3rd house from the Moon, the house of courage, younger siblings and short journeys. After that it moves to your 2nd (family, savings and the way you speak) from 5 December 2026.
Upay for Dhanu: its lord Guru
A rashi is kept strong through its lord. These are free; each says what it is for.
- Guru’s mantra, 108 times on Thursdaysॐ गुरवे नमःOm Gurave Namah. The simplest mantra of Dhanu’s lord, said for wisdom, children and good guidance.
- Beej mantra (the seed mantra), for regular japa (chanting on a mala)ॐ ग्रां ग्रीं ग्रौं सः गुरवे नमःOm Graam Greem Graum Sah Gurave Namah. For a fuller japa of Guru, said 108 times a day, when Dhanu’s lord needs strengthening: in its dasha (its planetary period), or when it is weak in your chart.
- Worship of VishnuThe deity tradition links with Dhanu, worshipped for protection and a balanced life; a temple visit or a lamp at home is the simplest form.
A gemstone is not given by rashi. A stone that suits one chart can harm another, so it is chosen from your whole kundli.
Dhanu in kundli matching
Of the eight kootas (the parts of gun milan), four are read from the rashi alone, worth 15 of the 36 points: Varna (1, the sign’s class), Vashya (2, mutual attraction), Graha Maitri (5, the lords’ friendship) and Bhakoot (7, love and the family’s wellbeing).
- Best and hardest on the rashi aloneTaking Dhanu as the boy’s rashi, Dhanu scores highest of the other eleven with Kumbh and Meen (13/15) and lowest with Vrishabh (2.5/15). Two Dhanu Moons together score the full 15 on these four (when both are in the same half of Dhanu). Swap the boy’s and girl’s rashis and Varna and Vashya can score differently, so each pair page gives both ways. The other four kootas, 21 points, need both nakshatras.
- BhakootBhakoot, worth 7 points, scores 0 when the two rashis sit 2nd–12th, 5th–9th or 6th–8th from each other. With Makar, Vrishabh and Kark the dosha stands. With Vrishchik, Mesh and Singh it is cancelled, because the two lords are the same graha or friends to each other: Bhakoot still scores 0 of 7, but astrologers do not treat the match as blocked by it.
- Vashya (2 points)Dhanu is Manava (human) in the first half, Chatushpada (four-footed) in the second. Vashya, the koota of mutual attraction, gives Dhanu the full 2 points with a partner whose Moon is in Dhanu, Mithun, Kanya, Tula or Kumbh. These counts take the first half of Dhanu. With the Moon past 15° of Dhanu, it counts as Chatushpada (four-footed), and the points change; the site’s kundli matching reads the Moon’s exact degree.
Dhanu with every rashi, koota by koota → · Full kundli matching
Dhanu as Parashara describes it
The sign’s own make-up, apart from any graha in it.
- Colour: tawny
- Well-proportioned build
- Image: one holding a bow
- Two-footed in the first half, four-footed in the second
- Strong at night
- Direction: east
- Lives on land
- Splendid
- Sattvic (pure)
- Fiery
- Prishtodaya: rises with its back
- Lord: Guru (Jupiter)
- Dvisvabhava (dual), male, krura (harsh)
- Pitta (bilious) temperament
Sattva, rajas and tamas are the three gunas (calm clarity, drive and inertia). Vata, pitta and kapha are the three doshas of Ayurveda (air, fire and water in the body). A sign rises head first (shirshodaya) or back first (prishtodaya) by how its figure comes up in the east; the texts use this, with day or night strength, to time results. Parashara describes the sign itself; Varahamihira, above, the person whose Moon is in it, so the two can differ.
Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra 4.5, 4.17–18
Common questions
What is Dhanu rashi?
Dhanu (Sagittarius) is the 9th of the twelve rashis, 240°–270° of the sidereal zodiac, ruled by Guru. It is your rashi if the Moon was in it when you were born.
What are the naam akshar for Dhanu rashi?
Ye (ये), Yo (यो), Bha (भा), Bhi (भी), Bhu (भू), Dha (धा), Pha (फा), Ḍha (ढा), Bhe (भे): one for each of the nine padas, in order. The pada of the Moon at birth gives the one to use.
Which rashis match Dhanu best?
On the four kootas a rashi decides, Dhanu scores highest of the other eleven with Kumbh and Meen (13 of 15, Dhanu taken as the boy’s rashi); two Dhanu Moons together score the full 15. A real match needs both kundlis: the nakshatra kootas carry 21 of the 36 points.
What is the mantra for Dhanu rashi?
Om Gurave Namah, the mantra of its lord Guru, 108 times on Thursdays. The upay section above gives the beej mantra and the deity too.
Is Dhanu rashi in Sade Sati or dhaiyya now?
Yes: in Kantaka Shani (a dhaiyya, Shani in the 4th) until 23 February 2028. It pauses from 3 June 2027 until 20 October 2027, while Shani dips into Mesh (your 5th). After it: Ashtama Shani (a dhaiyya, Shani in the 8th) from 13 July 2034 until 27 August 2036. Shani is in Meen, the 4th from Dhanu.
How is 2027 for Dhanu rashi?
2027 is at its best in September and October and slowest in February and March. The 2027 rashifal gives every month, with the Shani, Guru and Rahu moves above.
Your rashi is one part of your kundli
Your lagna, your nakshatra’s pada and your dasha say the rest. Acharya Parashara, an AI astrologer, reads all of it with you.
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