Vṛṣabha, the Bull, spans 30° to 60° of the sidereal zodiac and stands as the second rāśi in the classical sequence. It is a pṛthvī (earth) tattva sign of fixed (sthira) quality — enduring, patient, and fundamentally oriented toward stability, accumulation, and the pleasures of embodied existence. Parāśara classifies Vṛṣabha as a female (strī) sign, belonging to the vaiśya (merchant) varṇa, rising from its back (pṛṣṭhodaya), and predominantly pitta-vāta in temperament. As the exaltation sign of Candra (Moon — exalted at 3° Vṛṣabha), it carries a special association with the mind’s capacity for contentment, sensory pleasure, and emotional steadiness.
Śukra (Venus) rules Vṛṣabha, and the Venusian qualities of beauty, refinement, music, desire, and material enjoyment suffuse the entire character of this rāśi. This is not Venus in the abstract — it is Venus embodied, grounded, surrounded by the pleasures of earth: fertile land, food, fragrance, art, and the sensory richness of the physical world. The classical texts describe Vṛṣabha natives as possessing pleasing features, a musical or melodious voice, affinity for the arts, and a deep comfort with physical existence. The fixed quality means that once a Vṛṣabha-influenced person has established a pattern — of thought, habit, relationship, or resource — they maintain it with extraordinary tenacity. This is both the great strength (reliability, persistence) and the great challenge (resistance to change, stubbornness) of this rāśi.
The nakṣatras spanning Vṛṣabha are the last three pādas of Kṛttikā (26°40’–30° Meṣa into 0°–10° Vṛṣabha), Rohiṇī (10°–23°20’ Vṛṣabha), and the first two pādas of Mṛgaśīrṣā (23°20’–30° Vṛṣabha). Rohiṇī — beloved of Candra in the Purāṇic narratives, the Moon’s favorite nakṣatra — sits at the heart of Vṛṣabha, lending a quality of extraordinary fecundity, beauty, and sensory richness to planets placed here. Mṛgaśīrṣā’s Marsian energy introduces a searching, questing quality to the later degrees of this sign, a restlessness that can disturb the otherwise stable Venusian temperament.
In Praśna Jyotiṣa, Vṛṣabha rising typically indicates a question involving material concerns — property, wealth, possessions, food, family resources, and the body’s physical comfort. The Moon’s exaltation here makes Vṛṣabha a favorable Praśna lagna for matters requiring clarity of perception and emotional steadiness. Classical Praśna commentators note that Vṛṣabha lagna tends to indicate the querent is acting from a position of relative security, that the matter at hand involves establishing or protecting something of tangible value, and that outcomes, when favorable, manifest through gradual accumulation rather than sudden windfall.
The second bhāva, naturally associated with Vṛṣabha, governs speech, family, accumulated wealth (dhana), and the oral/gustatory senses. Planets in Vṛṣabha, whether natally or in Praśna, often speak to these themes: the quality of one’s speech, the stability of family lineage, the accumulation of resources, and the relationship between pleasure and virtue. In Muhūrta, Vṛṣabha is considered favorable for undertakings related to agriculture, commerce, music, arts, and the establishment of enduring structures. Marriage elections often benefit from Vṛṣabha involvement given its association with Śukra (ruler of marriage as kāraka) and the exalted Moon.