Bharani nakshatra

Bharani is the 2nd of the 27 nakshatras, occupying 13°20' Aries to 26°40' Aries in the sidereal zodiac. If the Moon stood in this stretch of sky at your birth, this is your Janma Nakshatra, your birth star.

What is the character of Bharani?

The traditional reading is: intense, disciplined, carries heavy loads, strong appetites.

The behavioural marker most often named: takes on burdens others avoid and refuses to quit until the hard part is fully done.

The classical anchor for this is the shakti, the power assigned to each nakshatra in the Taittiriya Brahmana. For Bharani it is bear/carry away (Taittiriya Brahmana, and the deity Yama and symbol yoni/womb carry the same idea in image form.

What are the four padas of Bharani?

Every nakshatra is quartered. Each quarter, a pada, is 3 degrees 20 minutes wide and maps onto a navamsa sign, which shades the reading:

Pada	Span (sidereal)	Navamsa sign
Pada 1	13°20' Aries – 16°40' Aries	Leo
Pada 2	16°40' Aries – 20°00' Aries	Virgo
Pada 3	20°00' Aries – 23°20' Aries	Libra
Pada 4	23°20' Aries – 26°40' Aries	Scorpio

Because a pada lasts roughly six hours, you need your birth time to know which of the four is yours.

Which planet rules Bharani, and why does it matter?

Bharani is ruled by Venus.

Because Bharani is ruled by Venus, anyone born with the Moon here begins life in the Venus period of the Vimshottari dasha cycle, which runs 20 years. That starting point shifts the timing of every period that follows, which is why two people of the same age can be in completely different chapters.

Common questions

What is the Bharani nakshatra?

Bharani is nakshatra number 2 of 27, spanning 13°20' Aries to 26°40' Aries in the sidereal zodiac. Its ruling lord is Venus, its presiding deity is Yama, and its symbol is yoni/womb.

What are the padas of Bharani?

Each nakshatra is quartered into padas of 3 degrees 20 minutes. For Bharani the four padas fall in the navamsa signs Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, in that order.

Which planet rules Bharani?

Venus rules Bharani. In the Vimshottari dasha system the Venus period lasts 20 years.

Where these details come from

The span and the pada boundaries are arithmetic and exact. The lord, deity and symbol follow the classical sources and vary little between them. The character reading renders the shakti, deity and symbol in plain words; the classical texts themselves are terse here, and anything longer is later compilation.

Recorded source for this entry: BPHS; shakti to bear/carry away (Taittiriya Brahmana); deity Yama, symbol yoni/womb, lord Venus