Astrology reading and making of birth charts came into practice much later than the Vedic times. By that time chart making had become a general practice; not only had a lot of time elapsed but the culture, society and human values had changed. All over the world human societies were dependent on agriculture and manpower was used in all activities.
It is an irony of fate that all the shastras or texts were written by men which favour him to the maximum as compared to women. The bias of men can easily be seen in all these texts when one starts looking at them minutely. The same is true for ‘mangal dosha’ or ‘Mars evil’ in astrology. Mars is the most potent planet of the zodiac after the Sun and every astrologer worth his salt, will praise the quality of Mars if it is present in the lagna of his male client. He may say that this person is very strong, courageous, energetic, forceful, dynamic, fearless, can conquer his enemies easily, may become commander –in-chief etc. etc.. However if the same Mars is present in a girl’s chart the astrologer gets depressed himself and makes sure that his client remains depressed for the rest of his life. His total reversal will be seen as he uses words like arrogance, stubborn, aggressive, negative, intolerant, dominating, housebreaker and god-forbid her husband may die due to this harmful Mars. Alas one wonders what has happened to Mars all of a sudden.
According to the prevalent understanding of mangal dosha, the placement of Mars can create havoc if placed in the following houses – 12th, 1st, 4th, 7th and 8th. According to South Indian system of astrology mangal dosha extends to two more houses 2nd and 5th. Mangal dosha is calculated from lagna, Moon and Venus. Acording to this calculation more than 80% people are born ‘manglik’. In other words, if five people are present in a group then four of them are bound to be manglik. It is very difficult to find non-manglik persons according to this calculation.
Lagna represents the physical aspect of human being; Moon denotes the mental makeup of a person and Venus decides the sexual aspect of a human being. The 12th house is considered bad for the placement of Mars because it deals with bed comforts or loss of energy. It is believed that if Mars is present in the 12th house in a woman’s chart especially then her sexual desires may be much more than what her husband can cope with. Therefore a girl born with Mars in the 12th house is generally discarded without giving much importance to the other aspects of her chart.
Lagna or 1st house represents self. If Mars is present in this house especially vis-a-vis to the girl then we had explained what would be the outcome. The 4th house deals with family, comfort and peace of mind. If Mars is placed in the 4th house in a girls chart then sure shot she is going to be a house-breaker sooner or later therefore she is rejected for the happiness of the groom’s family.
The 7th house represents spouse or partner and the placement of Mars in this house can make the girl very demanding from her husband which he cannot easily fulfil. God forbid placement of Mars in the 8th house is a sure shot passport for the death of her husband. The 8th house is considered death house in astrology and Mars being a violent planet one imagines destruction only if it is present in the girls chart.
Our understanding and interpretation of Mars is very different to the prevalent concept. Man and woman are equally important and not lacking in any quality. According to Shivasutra in every man 50% of woman is present and in the same way in every woman 50% man is present. That is why any woman can show her fierce side as and when required and the same way every man has a softer side to him and can exhibit a motherly instinct. No culture no society no country can progress by ignoring or condemning 50% of its population and with changing times women are playing a very important role all over the world and so also in India. If India’s economy is progressing it is because of the large contribution of women power. In Vedic times women were given equal importance and that is why that society and knowledge evolved to the maximum.
Times are changing and so is the awareness of womenfolk especially in India. Astrology is nothing but the understanding, reading and study of time alone. Therefore it is the duty of savant astrologers to adapt to the changing times. According to our understanding if Mars is present in the 12th house of a girl’s chart then instead of creating problems on the sexual level she may be very useful in teaching her husband the inner concept of sex. The deeper understanding of sex is to enjoy it to the hilt and then drop it and move forward. The energy which was going waste or lying dormant can be used for spiritual development. When Mars is present in the 1st house in the woman’s horoscope then she can be a go-getter and solve the problems of a household just as a man does. The job of Mars in the first house is to give ample energy and force to the person so the person can fulfil their tasks with ease. Mars as a planet does not differentiate between girl and boy.
When Mars is placed in the 4th house of a girl’s chart then instead of destroying the peace of the house or fighting with her mother-in-law she will have better ideas to make the house heaven with her positive energy. When Mars is placed in the 7th house in a girl’s chart then in spite of focusing her energy on sex and destruction she can provide total support to her husband which gives freedom to both of them to bring happiness and harmony in the family. There is no truth in it that when Mars is present in the 8th house in a girl’s chart then she brings death to her husband. Birth and death are controlled by the Almighty and man’s role is insignificant in this scheme of the cosmos. The 8th house is also known for its secret power and hidden knowledge and treasure and placement of Mars in this house always contributes in those fields.
