Nakshatras · 2 of 27
Bharani nakshatra
The 2nd lunar mansion, 13°20′ Aries to 26°40′ Aries, ruled by Venus.
- Span
- 13°20′ Aries to 26°40′ Aries
- Ruling planet
- Venus (Vimshottari dasha of 20 years)
- Deity
- Yama
- Symbol
- A yoni, the womb
- Nature
- Ugra (fierce)
- Gana
- Manushya (human)
- Yoni (animal)
- Elephant
- Nadi
- Madhya (Pitta)
The meaning of Bharani
Bharani (भरणी) is the 2nd of the 27 nakshatras. Its presiding deity is Yama, the lord of death and of dharma, who carries souls across, and its symbol is a yoni, the womb. In Jyotish the deity of a nakshatra is the key to its nature: what the deity does, the nakshatra does.
It is ruled by Venus, so a person whose Moon is in Bharani begins life in the Venus dasha. The other two nakshatras ruled by Venus are Purva Phalguni and Purva Ashadha; together they share something of Venus’s character.
Good for: Ugra work
In the muhurta texts Bharani is a ugra (fierce) nakshatra, favoured for bold, forceful or competitive undertakings, and confronting opponents. When the Moon passes through Bharani (about once every 27⅓ days) it is a good day for those kinds of beginnings.
The four padas
Each nakshatra divides into four padas of 3°20′. Each pada falls in a navamsa sign, and each has the traditional first syllable used for naming a child born in it.
| Pada | Sign | Navamsa | Naming syllable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aries | Leo | Li |
| 2 | Aries | Virgo | Lu |
| 3 | Aries | Libra | Le |
| 4 | Aries | Scorpio | Lo |
In marriage matching
In guna milan, Bharani is of Manushya gana, elephant yoni and Madhya nadi. Two partners with the same nadi lose all eight points of nadi koota. Match two charts.
Find your birth nakshatra · Aries (Mesha) · Chapter 5: the 27 nakshatras
Sources: Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra and Phaladeepika for the signs, planets and houses; Muhurta Chintamani for the nakshatra classes and the guna milan attributes. Wording is our own.