Bharani nakshatra
Updated
Bharani is the 2nd of the 27 nakshatras, the lunar mansions of Vedic astrology. Its name is traditionally read as “the bearer”; its symbol is the womb (yoni), and its presiding deity is Yama, lord of dharma and endings.
- Number
- 2 of 27
- Ruling planet
- Venus
- Deity
- Yama, lord of dharma and endings
- Symbol
- The womb (yoni)
- Zodiac span
- 13°20′–26°40′ Aries
- Gana
- Manushya
- Yoni
- Elephant
- Nadi
- Pitta
- Pada navamsas
- Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio
Character and symbolism
Bharani pairs the womb with the god of endings — the nakshatra of carrying things through from conception to conclusion. Its classical themes are responsibility, restraint and transformation.
As with everything in a chart, these are classical descriptions of a temperament, not a verdict on any person — a nakshatra is one layer of a reading, always weighed with the rest of the chart.
Where Bharani sits in the zodiac
Each nakshatra spans 13°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, divided into four padas (quarters) of 3°20′. Bharani occupies 13°20′–26°40′ Aries, entirely within Aries. Its four padas take the navamsa signs Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio — the sub-chart positions used in the D9 (Navamsa) divisional chart.
Ruling planet and your starting dasha
Bharani is ruled by Venus, which carries a 20-year period in the Vimshottari dasha cycle. If your Moon sits in Bharani, Venus’s mahadasha is the period your life begins in, and the themes classical texts associate with Venus colour how this nakshatra expresses itself.
Bharani in marriage matching
Three of this nakshatra’s classifications feed the 36-point Guna Milan used in Kundali matching. Bharani belongs to the manushya (human) temperament group — read as practical, social and balanced, which the Gana koota (6 points) compares between partners. Its yoni is the Elephant, one of fourteen animal archetypes whose pairings the Yoni koota (4 points) scores for instinctive compatibility. And its nadi is Pitta (bile) — the Nadi koota (8 points) awards full marks only when the two nadis differ.
None of these classifications is good or bad on its own — they only ever describe a pairing, and even then they are a starting point beside the full charts.
Frequently asked
Which planet rules Bharani nakshatra?
Bharani is ruled by Venus. In the Vimshottari dasha system, a person born with the Moon in Bharani begins life in a Venus mahadasha of up to 20 years — how much of it remains depends on how far the Moon had moved through the nakshatra at birth.
Which rashi (sign) does Bharani fall in?
Bharani lies entirely within Aries, spanning 13°20′–26°40′ Aries of the sidereal zodiac.
What are Bharani's gana, yoni and nadi?
Bharani is classified as Manushya gana, Elephant yoni and Pitta nadi. These three classifications are inputs to Guna Milan marriage matching — gana compares temperament groups, yoni instinctive compatibility and nadi constitution.
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