Manglik Dosha (“The Spot of Mars”) is defined as a birth that occurs whenever Mars occupies bhavas one, two, four, seven, eight, or twelve in a horoscope, 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 (often 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 so much circulation in the West.
More than half of the world’s population must undergo Kuja Dosha, as it appears in half of all horoscopes when counted from the Ascendant, also in half of those calculated from the Moon, and again in half of all horoscopes. the graphs calculated from Venus. However, its dire exaggerated results, including premature death of life partner, clearly do not occur in the substantial majority of the population that should theoretically affect Kuja Dosha.
The central theme of understanding the Kuja Dosha tradition is the awareness of the Jyotisha canons in languages other than Sanskrit. To our knowledge, only a few classic Sanskrit works refer very briefly to marriage-obstructing Mars positions, one of which is the relatively recent Jataka Parijata by Vaidyanatha Dikshita, and another is the older Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra by Parashara. Jataka Parijata mentions him in only one of his thousands of verses. The first verse of a section called “Combinations for Excellent Brides” says: “Mars occupying the second, twelfth, seventh, fourth or eighth bhava in the horoscope can cause the death of the wife. If Mars is in one of these positions in the table of the wife to be selected, Mars will be detrimental to the husband.”
Towards the end of his section on female horoscopy, and immediately after his definitions of the Visha Kanyas, Parashara describes the marital affliction created by Mars, although he does not overtly identify the combination as Kuja Dosha. He says: “There is no doubt that the husband will die when, in a woman’s horoscope, Mars occupies the twelfth, fourth, seventh, or eighth lagna or bhavas from the Ascendant, and is not associated with a benefic or aspected by him.” The same combination that makes a woman a widower also makes a man a widower.
But when a man and a woman who have this location (of Mars) are joined in marriage, the effects of the combination are cancelled.”
Mangalik Dosha is generally known in North and West India as “Being mangalik”. The word “mangala”, which generally 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 avoid the evil effects of it.
The mangalik dosha cancellations are so many that at least one will work for most of those affected by the combination. Perhaps the main lesson to be gained from the entire cancellation exercise is to get us out of the mentality of thinking of Kuja Dosha as something set in stone. It is better to consider it more as an important factor in marital happiness which, however, must be read in the context of the horoscope as a whole.
Generally speaking, the Indian astrological tradition teaches that anyone with a mangalik dosha can safely marry anyone else with a mangalik dosha of approximately the same strength, because the mangalik doshas are said to cancel each other out. Exactly what the original implications of the cancellation were is not a moot point, but we may wonder if both partners were considered equals because they were both expected to die before their time. Or was it that both partners would be feisty enough to deal with each other’s Martian qualities?
We believe that the “fit competitor” theory is more likely the operating truth behind the mangalik dosha combination, rather than its traditionally described purpose of preventing mate loss. Mars, at his best, is a feisty, free-spirited graha who expresses his opinions forcefully; At worst, this forcefulness turns into aggression. If one member of a couple has a Mars that is markedly stronger than the other’s, one will tend to dominate the other, which is not a recipe for a healthy relationship. When both people have Mars positions of relatively equal strength, their assertiveness is relatively equal, and each can efficiently hold his side of an argument without resorting to abject submission or violence.