A Rational Approach to Mars Dosha

Introduction

The position of Mars and Venus are very important in judging marital relationships.  Mars is the significator of husband in a female horoscope and Venus signifies the wife in the male horoscope.  Mars is considered to be a natural malefic and so if it is positioned adversely or if it aspects the vital houses associated with marital bliss (2nd house signifying family, 4th house ruling happiness, 7th house indicating spouse, 8th house ruling longevity of the spouse, 12th house ruling bed-pleasures), there is Mars dosha or Kuja dosha in the horoscope and the horoscope is considered to be mangalik.  This is the basic premise of Mars dosha and there are exceptions to that which we will be dealing in the course of this write up…….

It must be noted that there are several elements of much more importance than Kuja dosha in determining marital compatibility between two horoscopes.  The very mention of Kuja dosha sends shivers down the spines of many and this has been the culprit in destroying the happiness of many families by preventing marriages that are otherwise compatible and anxiously wished for.  This write up is an attempt to clear the common misconceptions about Mars dosha and to throw a light upon the remedies for the Dosha that are inherent in the horoscope.

What is Mars Dosha?

The classic Deva Keralam mentions:

“Dhana vyayecha paathaale jamitre chastame kuja:
streenaam bhartu vinaasamscha bharthroonaam sthreevinaasanam”

A literal translation of this is “if Mars is in the 2nd, 12th, 4th, 7th, and 8th houses in the horoscope of the female, the destruction of husband will occur; similar situation in the husband’s horoscope causes destruction to the wife.”

The Lagna represents physical body, the Moon represents Mind and Venus represents sexual relationship in the context of assessing marital bliss in a horoscope.  Therefore, the houses mentioned have to be reckoned with reference to all the three viz. lagna, Moon, and Venus. The dosha is considered to be weak when it exists only from the lagna, a little stronger if it exists from the Moon, and still more powerful from Venus.  In common practice, most astrologers give primary importance to placement of Mars with respect to Moon and lagna only which is erroneous.

IF KUJA DOSHA EXISTS IN THE HOROSCOPES OF BOTH THE BRIDE AND THE BRIDEGROOM, THEN THE DOSHA GETS CANCELLED.

The Remedies of Mars Dosha within the Horoscope

There are many good combinations which assure marital felicity regardless of the presence of Mars dosha in the horoscope.  Granting that Mars dosha is a factor whose presence shouldnot be ignored, there are antidotes within the horoscope itself in many cases.  The exceptions to Mars dosha which make it null are expounded in the ancient classics like Naraadeeyam (reputed to be written by Maharishi Naarad himself), Deva Keralam (another astrological classic), etc.

1. According to Sage Naarada, there will be NO DOSHA if Mars is located in the 2nd and 7th houses in a FEMALE HOROSCOPE.  Similarly, there will be NO DOSHA IF Mars is in the 4th and 8th houses of a MALE HOROSCOPE.
2. There will be NO MARS DOSHA if the 2nd house happens to be Mithuna (Gemini) or Kanya (Virgo).
3. There will be NO MARS DOSHA if the 4th house happens to be Mesha (Aries) or Vrischika (Scorpio).
4. There will be NO MARS DOSHA if the 7th house is Makara (Capricorn) or Kataka (Cancer).
5. There will be NO MARS DOSHA if the 8th house happens to be Dhanus (Sagittarius) or Meena (Pisces).
6. There will be NO MARS DOSHA if Mars is placed in Kumbha (Aquarius) or Simha (Leo).
7. There will be NO MARS DOSHA if Mars is in conjunction with Jupiter, Moon (waxing phase), or if it receives the aspect or conjunction of Mercury.
8. There will be NO MARS DOSHA if Mars is in conjunction with Saturn, Rahu,or Ketu.  (Of course, the presence of so many malefics in vital houses concerning marriage might affect marital bliss in other ways though Mars dosha gets cancelled!).
9. If the owner of the house in which Mars is placed (called “dispositor of Mars” in astro-terminology) is in quadrants (1, 4, 7, or 10) or trines (1, 5, 9 houses), then there the Mars dosha gets cancelled.
10. For Kataka (Cancer) and Simha (Leo) lagna or rashi natives, there will be no Mars dosha regardless of the placement of Mars in the horoscope.

Conclusion and Remedies

From the above discussions, it will be quite obvious that there are so many exceptions that make the Mars dosha void and harmless.  These conditions should be carefully checked before branding a horoscope as mangalik.

Well what should be done if the person has no exceptions and hence has strong Mars dosha?  We must match the horoscope with another horoscope having similar dosha so that the effects get nullified between the couple.  Mars dosha will also lead to delay in marriages for which there are various remedies that have been suggested like lighting of a lamp (with the skin of a lemon) on Tuesdays during Raahu Kaalam (approx. 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. local time assuming sunrise is at 6 a.m. and sunset is at 6 p.m.; if sunrise – sunset timings differ, you should calculate the proportional part of the day – divide the duration of day into 8 parts, and raahu kaalam on Tuesdays will fall in the 7th part) in honour of Durga Devi, undertaking Holy Fast on Tuesdays, propitiating Lord Skanda (Kaartikeyaa), etc.  Apart from that a mantrik remedy is also there in which a particular mantra is to be chanted and the native has to circumambulate the pooja place anti-clockwise during the process.  But this mantrik remedy can be done only on a personal visit of the native, and we cannot divulge it in a public forum as this is not known even to many vedic pandits.  Various remedial measures are elucidated in the work KARMA VIBHAAGA also about these remedies.  If you approach a person who is well-read in that, they can guide you in that.

Article by Pandit R Dakshinamoorthi