The direct answer: Dhanu Rashi in English is Sagittarius — Dates & Letters: Dhanu means Sagittarius. Learn the sign's symbol, ruling planet, naming letters and nakshatras, and how Moon rashi differs from Sun-sign dates. AskSoma publishes this at asksoma.ai/dhanu-rashi-in-english as a free Vedic astrology resource using Swiss Ephemeris calculations and classical Jyotish interpretation — not generic sun-sign copy.
Dhanu means Sagittarius. Learn the sign's symbol, ruling planet, naming letters and nakshatras, and how Moon rashi differs from Sun-sign dates.
Dhanu Rashi in English is Sagittarius — rashi number 9 of 12, symbolised by The Bow / Archer, ruled by Jupiter (Guru).
Dhanu Rashi in English is Sagittarius — the Archer, ninth sign of the zodiac. Sanskrit Dhanu (धनु) means the bow; the classical image is a centaur drawing it, aimed past the horizon. Dhanu rashi means a Sagittarius Moon.
Jupiter — Guru, the teacher — rules Dhanu, making it the zodiac's sign of philosophy, law, dharma and long journeys. The Sun's month in Dhanu (Dhanurmas, mid-December to mid-January) is kept across South India as a month of dawn worship — the calendar's own nod to the sign's devotional bent.
| English name | Sagittarius |
| Sanskrit / Hindi | Dhanu · धनु |
| Common spellings | Dhanu, Dhan, Dhanush |
| Rashi number | 9 of 12 |
| Symbol | The Bow / Archer |
| Ruling planet (lord) | Jupiter (Guru) |
| Element (tatva) | Fire (Agni) |
| Nakshatras | Mula, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha (pada 1) |
| Name letters (naming aksharas) | Ye, Yo, Bha, Bhi, Bhu, Dha, Pha, Dhha, Bhe |
| Sun in Dhanu 2026 (sidereal) | 16 December 2026 → 14 January 2027 |
| Sagittarius dates (Western tropical) | 22 November – 21 December |
The sidereal window is computed with the Lahiri ayanamsa; it shifts by at most a day between years. The two date rows differ because the sidereal and tropical zodiacs are ~24° apart — that difference, not an error, is why Vedic and Western dates disagree.
Dhanu Moons aim — at truths, places, futures — and are constitutionally unable to pretend a small target is worth the arrow. The texts give the Archer optimism, candour and luck (Jupiter's signature), with bluntness as the recurring complaint: a Dhanu native will answer the question you actually asked. Movement and meaning are twin needs; deprive either and the bowstring slackens.
For today's reading of this Moon sign, see the Dhanu rashifal; for the Western-lens portrait of the same constellation, the Sagittarius sign guide; to see which Moon signs pair well with Dhanu, the Dhanu rashi compatibility guide.
Daily, weekly and monthly Dhanu rashifal, computed for the Sagittarius Moon sign — read today's on Dhanu rashifal page.
| # | Rashi | English name | Symbol | Lord | Sun transit 2026 (sidereal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mesha (मेष) | Aries | The Ram | Mars (Mangal) | 14 April 2026 → 15 May 2026 |
| 2 | Vrishabha (वृषभ) | Taurus | The Bull | Venus (Shukra) | 15 May 2026 → 15 June 2026 |
| 3 | Mithuna (मिथुन) | Gemini | The Twins (a couple) | Mercury (Budh) | 15 June 2026 → 16 July 2026 |
| 4 | Karka (कर्क) | Cancer | The Crab | Moon (Chandra) | 16 July 2026 → 17 August 2026 |
| 5 | Simha (सिंह) | Leo | The Lion | Sun (Surya) | 17 August 2026 → 17 September 2026 |
| 6 | Kanya (कन्या) | Virgo | The Maiden | Mercury (Budh) | 17 September 2026 → 17 October 2026 |
| 7 | Tula (तुला) | Libra | The Scales (Balance) | Venus (Shukra) | 17 October 2026 → 16 November 2026 |
| 8 | Vrishchika (वृश्चिक) | Scorpio | The Scorpion | Mars (Mangal) | 16 November 2026 → 16 December 2026 |
| 9 | Dhanu (धनु) | Sagittarius | The Bow / Archer | Jupiter (Guru) | 16 December 2026 → 14 January 2027 |
| 10 | Makara (मकर) | Capricorn | The Makara (sea-crocodile) | Saturn (Shani) | 14 January 2026 → 13 February 2026 |
| 11 | Kumbha (कुंभ) | Aquarius | The Water-pot | Saturn (Shani) | 13 February 2026 → 15 March 2026 |
| 12 | Meena (मीन) | Pisces | The Two Fishes | Jupiter (Guru) | 15 March 2026 → 14 April 2026 |
Sagittarius. Dhanu (धनु) is the Bow — ninth rashi, ruled by Jupiter.
Dhanu is rashi number 9 of 12.
Ye, Yo, Bha, Bhi, Bhu, Dha, Pha, Dhha, Bhe — the nine pada sounds for naming.
The solar month while the Sun transits sidereal Dhanu (roughly 16 December – 14 January — the exact window is computed in the table above). It is observed with pre-dawn worship, especially in the South; weddings are traditionally paused until Makara Sankranti ends it.
To find your own rashi from your birth details, use the free Moon Sign Calculator.
Sidereal date windows computed from the shared Lahiri-sidereal ephemeris — the same ingress engine behind the Sankranti calendar; nakshatra composition derived, not typed. How AskSoma computes things.
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Written by Savan Vyas, founder of AskSoma.
The astrology is not written from memory: every chart position, dasha period and panchang timing AskSoma shows is computed with the Swiss Ephemeris on the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa. How we calculate.