Taurus Ascendant (Vrishabha Lagna)

Taurus (Vrishabha, वृषभ) rising means Taurus 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 Venus, the lord of Taurus. Saturn is the yogakaraka here — ruling the 9th and 10th — which is unusual and important: the greatest natural malefic becomes this chart's best friend, and success comes through patience and structure rather than flair. The constitution is strong and the appetite for comfort is real.

Venus. As lagna lord it signifies the body, vitality and general direction of life, and it also rules the 1st and the 6th houses from Taurus. Its condition matters more than any other single factor in the chart.

Saturn — because it rules both a kendra and a trikona from Taurus, which makes it powerfully positive for this chart regardless of its natural nature. Only six of the twelve ascendants have one.

The marakas are Mercury and Mars, as lords of the 2nd and 7th. The badhakesha is Saturn, lord of the 9th — the badhaka house for a fixed 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.