Mangalik - The truth behind the dread and what Prashara said

Mangalik factor in matchmaking is a well-known topic. A lot of things are in circulation and the dread, though seems lessening to some extent in current times, continues to upset the minds of individuals.

Is the presence of Mars in the mentioned places as per Managalik dosha really such a dread?

Let us discuss it in detail and also discover rightly what Prashara actually said and indicated.

As per popular theory, when Mars is placed in 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th and 12th houses, mangalik dosha is caused. Obviously, that covers half of the houses and on top of that, when we see these houses from Lagna (Ascendant), Moon and Venus, the probability of finding such a dosha multiplies.

Since it is unlikely that something bad will happen with mangalik dosha if we start looking at it the way it is being followed, for the combination will affect a majority of people, there are a lot of cancellation theories as well in circulation.

For example, as per Shri BV Raman, the following are the cancellations:

Mars in Leo or Aquarius in any house
Mars in 2nd house, in Gemini or Virgo
Mars in 4th house, in Aries or Scorpio
Mars in 7th house, in Capricorn or Cancer
Mars in 8th house, in Sagittarius or Pisces
Mars in 12th house, in Taurus or Libra
Mars conjuncting Jupiter or Moon
Jupiter or Venus in Ascendant

Then, we may find some other schools of astrology adding a few more in the above-said list, leading to a situation when the crowd with mangalik dosha gets compressed greatly.

But the fact is none of the classics mention these cancellations.

Let us see what Prashara has to say on this in his chapter on female horoscopy, the grassroot from where the theory would have emerged. The Sanskrit slokas in BPHS are:

लग्ने व्यये सुखे वापि सप्तमे चाऽष्टमे कुजे ।
शुभदृग्योगहीने च पतिं हन्ति न संशयः ॥ ४७॥
यस्मिन् योगे समुत्पन्ना पतिं हन्ति कुमारिका ।
तस्मिन् योगे समुत्पन्नो पत्नीं हन्ति नरोऽपि च ॥ ४८॥
स्त्रीहन्त्रा परिणीता चेत् पतिहन्त्री कुमारिका ।
तदा वैधव्ययोगस्य भङ्गो भवति निश्चयात् ॥ ४९॥

The translation of the same as available to us publicly is: “The woman born will become a widow, if mangal be in the Lagna, 12th, 4th, 7th or 8th house, without aspect by, or association with any benefic. The Yog, which causes a woman to become a widow also causes a male native to become a widower. If the man and woman, possessing this Yog, join in wedlock, the Yog ceases to have any effect.”

Let us now analyze it.

Firstly, the right interpretation of sloka 47 is ‘the husband shall be killed’. Secondly, it is clearly mentioned that the yoga happens when Mars is without the aspect or association of a benefic. Thirdly, there is no yoga when Mars is in the 2nd house.

Now, if we just see the cancellation factors mentioned by BV Raman, ‘Mars in Leo or Aquarius’ has no logical explanation, and except ‘Mars in 12th in Taurus’, in other positions Mars becomes functional benefic in the relevant chart.

We actually need to understand the slokas minutely. Here are my findings:

1. The sloka mentions ‘the spouse shall be killed’ but does not mention the time frame, which simply may mean ‘spouse shall die before the native’. It can happen even in old age.
   Since Mars is associated with being a warrior and in ancient times when most of the youngsters were part of an army and average age was less, being a male dominated society, they would not have given much consideration to the reverse case that applies to a male chart also and thus this dosha would have created a dread. But why now? And then, as I said, the verse does not specify the time frame. How does it matter if the spouse dies at the age of eighty but before the native?
2. Mars in the 2nd house has no relevance for mangalik dosha. It is justified since when Mars is in 1st, 4th and 12th, it is fully aspecting the 7th house. When Mars is in 7th or 8th house, it may also affect the spouse because of its position, however there is no direct effect of it as such on the 7th when Mars is in the 2nd house.
3. Mars may simply show aggression and its other malefic influences, not death. The spouse’s chart has more role to play as far as longevity is concerned.
4. When there is a benefic aspect or association, the malefic influence surely gets reduced or nullified. This needs to be kept in mind, which generally is not. In fact, we don’t need a cancellation theory if we go this way.

Hence, even as per the classic text, managalik dosha is not dreadful.

Lastly, let me share with you something that I found in a very old jantri, which seems to be a good input:

- It mentions ‘when Mars is in cancer or weak, the dosha is cancelled’. Obviously, when Mars is weak, its malefic influence reduces.
- It mentions ‘when Ascendant lord is strong and in 7th, it is akin to mangalik dosha’. Another interesting thing since the person may dominate over the spouse and can match the aggression of Mars.
- It mentions ‘see Mars in 1st, 4th, 7th, 8th and 12th from Ascendant only’ and ‘Mars in 2nd house from Moon and Venus. I’ll go further and recommend to choose Venus only and not Moon as far as 2nd house is concerned.

In a nutshell, Mangalik dosha is not a dread at all as per BPHS original verses and Mars needs to be seen only from Ascendant and in the 2nd house position only from Venus. In addition, we need to see the malefic influence strength of Mars and benefic planets influence on it to judge it overall and also look for the equivalent other malefic considerations in the chart that can nullify this aspect. And importantly, we should not relate the managlik dosha to the death of a spouse blindly.

---

More to read

Poornimanta and Amanta, a confusion?

The ancients were using both, a poornimanta system (a lunar month ending on a full moon day) as well as an amanta system ..Read the full article..

Gold selling Tips – old jewelry

The first thing: the process. When we go to sell our old jewelry that doesn’t have a hallmark stamp, there would generally be three types of offers ..Read the full article..

Nothing is stable

We’re currently living in a highly competitive world and getting the desired settlement for the child is bound to go difficult day by day. Salaried class thinks business is better as it can be passed ..Read the full article..

Yog tara is not a junction star

The word “Yogtara” has been translated as “Junction star” by Burgess in his translation work of the Surya Siddhanta. It is in the chapter on conjunction ..Read the full article..