Sagittarius Ascendant (Dhanu Lagna)

Sagittarius (Dhanu, धनु) rising means Sagittarius was on the eastern horizon at your birth, so it becomes the 1st house of your chart and every other house is counted from it. The chart is then read through Jupiter, the lord of Sagittarius. The chart reads as optimistic, principled and drawn to teaching, law, faith and travel. The Sun rules the 9th and is a strong benefic; Mercury rules the 7th and 10th and is the badhakesha, so the planet of business obstructs as often as it helps.

Jupiter. As lagna lord it signifies the body, vitality and general direction of life, and it also rules the 1st and the 4th houses from Sagittarius. Its condition matters more than any other single factor in the chart.

Sagittarius has no yogakaraka: no single planet rules both a kendra (4th, 7th or 10th) and a trikona (5th or 9th) from this ascendant. Only six of the twelve do — Taurus, Cancer, Leo, Libra, Capricorn and Aquarius. Fortune here comes from combinations between planets rather than a single one.

The marakas are Saturn and Mercury, as lords of the 2nd and 7th. The badhakesha is Mercury, lord of the 7th — the badhaka house for a dual sign. Planets ruling the 3rd, 6th and 11th are treated as functional malefics in the common scheme. The table on this page gives every planet's rulership and role for this ascendant.

No. The ascendant is the sign rising on the eastern horizon at your birth and changes roughly every two hours, so it needs an accurate birth time. The Moon sign is where the Moon was and changes every two to three days. Vedic astrology reads the chart primarily from the ascendant and uses the Moon sign as a second lens — which is why your rashifal and your lagna reading can differ.