Manglik Dosha (“The Blemish of Mars”)
is defined as a birth that occurs whenever Mars occupies bhavas
one, two, four, seven, eight or twelve in a horoscope, as
counted from the Ascendant, from the Moon, or from Venus.
This is a planetary combination that is easy to spot. It is
widely known, and inspires (frequently unnecessary) concern
among astrologers and their clients alike. These factors make
it very popular with immature jyotishis of limited knowledge,
which may be why the notion of Kuja Dosha is now gaining such
wide circulation in the West.
More
than half the world’s population must suffer from Mangalik
Dosha, since it occurs in half of all horoscopes when reckoned
from the Ascendant, also in half of those computed from the
Moon, and again in half of all charts figured from Venus.
Its exaggerated dire results, however, which include the early
death of the life partner, clearly do not occur in the substantial
majority of the population that Mangalik Dosha should theoretically
afflict.
Central
to the issue of understanding the Mangalik Dosha tradition
is an awareness of canons of Jyotisha in Languages other than
Sanskrit. To the best of our knowledge, only a very few classical
Sanskrit works very briefly refer to the positions of mars
that obstruct marriage, one being Vaidyanatha Dikshita’s
relatively recent Jataka Parijata, another being the older
Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra of Parashara. Jataka Parijata
mentions it in but one of its thousands of verses. The first
verse of a section called “Combinations for Excellent
Brides” says: “Mars occupying the second, twelfth,
seventh, the fourth, or the eighth bhava in the horoscope
may cause the death of the wife. If Mars is in one of these
positions in the chart of the wife to be selected, Mars will
be harmful to the husband.”
Towards
the end of his section on female horoscopy, and immediately
on the heels of his definitions for Visha Kanyas, Parashara
describes the marital affliction created by Mars, though he
does not openly identify the combination as Mangalik Dosha.
He says “ There is no doubt that the husband will die
when in a woman’s horoscope Mars occupies the lagna
or the twelfth, fourth, seventh or eighth bhavas from the
Ascendant, and is not associated with or aspected by a benefic.
The same combination that makes a woman a widow also renders
a man a widower.
But when a
man and a woman who both have this placement (of Mars) join
in marriage, the effects of the combination cancel.”
Mangalik Dosha
is usually referred to the North and West India as “Being
Mangalik”. The word “mangala”, which usually
means “auspicious”, is also a name for Mars. Some
Jyotishis believe that Mars is called Mangala less because
it is innately auspicious than because a native must perform
many penances, sacrifices, and other auspicious actions to
avert its evil effects.
Cancellations
of mangalik Dosha are so many that at least one will operate
for the majority of those afflicted by the combination. Perhaps
the main lesson to be gained by the whole cancellation exercise
is to get us out of the mindset of thinking of Mangalik Dosha
as something set in stone. We are better off regarding it
more as an important factor in marital happiness that must,
however, be read in the context of the horoscope as a whole.
Generally
speaking, Indian astrological tradition teaches that anyone
who has mangalik Dosha can safely marry anyone else who has
a mangalik Dosha of approximately equal strength, because
the mangalik doshas are said to cancel each other. Exactly
what the original implications of the cancellation were is
not a moot point, but we can wonder if both partners were
regarded as evenly matched because both were expected to die
early. Or was it that both partners would be feisty enough
to deal with one another’s Martian qualities?
We believe
that the “fit competitor” theory is more likely
to be the truth operating behind the matching of mangalik
dosha, rather than its traditionally described purpose of
preventing loss of partner. Mars, at his best, is a feisty
and free-spirited graha that expresses his opinions forcefully;
the worst, this forcefulness becomes aggression. If one member
of a couple has a Mars that is markedly stronger than the
other’s is the one will tend to dominate the other –
which is no prescription for a healthy relationship. When
both people have Mars positions of relatively equal strength,
their assertiveness is relatively equal, and each can efficiently
hold up his or her side of an argument without having to resort
either to abject submission or to violence.
