Astrological understanding of Live -in – relationship. Written by Jayasree Saranathan (Published in December 2010 issue of The Astrological eMagazine)
A land mark judgment was passed in the month of October this year by the Supreme Court of India on a crucial issue of Dharma. It was in consonance with how Sanatana Dharma of Bharat upholds the institution of marriage. According to Sanatana Dharma, commonly known as Hinduism, marriage is not a license to live together. But it is a license to discharge the duties of life that revolve around just four concepts namely dharma, artha, kaama and moksha. The duties and activities pertaining to these can be discharged in a shared way by a man and a woman united in marriage with Agnideva as the witness.
The man (purusha) and the woman (sthree) form two complementary halves making each of them the better half of the other. Even Gods have revealed this supreme essence of marriage in their manifestation as Ardhanaareeswara and as Maha Vishnu by giving permanent abode to Lakshmi in the chest. When a man is having his wife as the other half, he can not bring in yet another wife.
He can marry another woman only after the death of his first wife. The same is also applicable to woman. Widow re-marriage was prevalent until Mahabharatha times. After the death of Shanthanu, Satyavati was proposed by Ugrayudha, according to Harivamsa purana. Arjuna married Uloopi, the Naga princess who was a widow. Like this many instances of woman re-marrying after the death of her husband are found. But when one is alive, a person can not marry another. This concept has been reinforced by the SC order on live-in relationships. Outwardly the judgment seems to be about giving alimony to the woman with whom a man is in an extra marital relationship, but it has put in perspective what kind of relation ship must prevail between a man and a woman. According to the judgment, (1) the couple must hold themselves out to the society as akin to spouses; (2) they must be of legal age to marry; (3) they must be otherwise qualified to enter into a legal marriage and must be unmarried, (4) and they must have voluntarily cohabited for a significant period of time.
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By this it is implied, that extra marital affairs do not qualify as marriage, nor there be a claim for alimony in such relationships. Those who live together must be unmarried either with some one else or within themselves. This is a strong denouncement of seeking another partner while one is already there. In other words, the SC verdict encourages monogamy as against polygamy. It also refuses to respect extra marital relationship even if it was sanctified by the conduction of marriage ceremonies.
Monogamy as a virtue.
It may be asked how then we could justify men or kings like Arjuna mentioned above marrying many wives. In the case of kings, four accomplices come into the picture. In Valmeeki Ramayana, we find a reference to the Crowned queen (patta mahishi), the neglected wife of the king and the concubine being offered symbolically to hota, adhwaryu and udgaata (the priests) in the Ashwamedha yajna conducted by the King Dasharatha. (Valmeeki Ramayana 1-14-35). In addition there is a fourth woman, a goblet-maid being offered to the Brahma ritvik in such yajnas.
Just because many wives had been taken by kings and influential persons, it does not mean that it has dharmic sanction. Though Dasharatha had more wives, his son, the manifestation of Maha Vishnu did not take up a second wife and stood as model for Eka patni dharma. The supreme Dharma in marriage is monogamy and it was upheld by Sri Rama. Rama remained single in the absence of his wife. He kept the golden image of his wife beside himself when he had to discharge the duties as a married man in the yajnas. Thus monogamy is one of the messages to mankind from Ramavathara.
For an ordinary man, cohabiting a single woman at a time has been stressed by the SC verdict. It denies “palimony” -a new term of alimony given to a ‘pal’ in live-in relationship - to the woman. Though this might look as an injustice to the woman who may have been lured into a relationship by the man or who may not have known that the man is already married, this does help in making the woman to be more cautious and judicious before accepting a man as a live –in- partner or as husband. Ultimately the judgment endorses the marriage concept as propounded by Hindu dharma.
The concept of monogamy and marriage as a Dharma by itself can be understood by my means of Jyothisha sastra very well. Dharma sastra and Jyothisha sastra go hand in hand. A number of combinations have been revealed by olden astrological texts on extra
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marital affairs, adultery, immoral and lose character in personal life. But live in relationship is a different issue. It is about a man and a woman coming together and living as a couple but not sanctified as a marriage. The liberty to experiment and separate exists in that set up. The rights and duties of a marriage do not have a place in that set-up. In other words, it is somewhat akin to lose morals but without committing adultery. In this article we shall explore some astrological facets of live-in –relationships
Purpose of Marriage. First of all we have to know why marriage is necessary. The very term 'vivaha' (marriage) means 'vishesena vahati iti vivaha:' Vivaha is that which gives special rights. What are those special rights? They are about the rights which the man can have only if he is married. These rights pertain to conduction of yajna with his better half beside him and in the discharge of the purusharthas. Human life revolves around four purushaarthas namely, Dharma, Artha , Kama and Moksha. The middle two are the testing grounds. The first and the last are to be linked. It is dharma that takes one to moksha. But one must cross artha and kaama to reach moksha. For this one must know what the dharma in artha and kaama is. Artha is about the material life – the money and materials and the ways of attaining them. Dharma must be adhered to in material acquisition. Next is Kaama which is about personal life. Dharma must be adhered to even in personal and sex life. Ravana is a popular example of adharma in kaama because he desired another man’s wife. Whatever dharma and artha he had accumulated until then, could not protect him when he slipped in the realm of kaama. So all the three are essential and adherence to dharma in material life and personal life is also needed. Then only Moksha will be at a reachable distance. That is why Sanatana dharma or Hindu dharma has laid clear cut rules for personal life too. Monogamy is a virtue or a dharma of Kaama that helps one to evolve better towards Final Emancipation! The very design and significance of the bhavas in a horoscope are based on these 4 purusharthas. Staring form the lagna bhava, the purusharthas go in the same order. It can be depicted as a diagram as given below.
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The 1st and the 7th house stand for the couple in marriage, the self and the spouse. Together they discharge the purusharthas. From the 1st to the 6th bhava it is known as invisible side, indicating invisible factors that come into play in shaping the present life. From the 7th to the 12th bhavas, it is known as the visible side. All the significances starting from the kind of spouse one gets and the kind of married life that one enjoys and the professional and material benefits or losses are there for everyone to see. We can see that each bhava is related to the 7th bhava from it as a kind of cause and effect. Similarly, each bhava in the visible side is related to the corresponding bhavas in the invisible side. The invisible side indicates the kind of past karma that is at work behind what one enjoys in the visible side.
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For instance the lagna bhava denoting Dharma in the invisible section shows the dharmic past karma that decides what his Kaama life is going to be like in this birth which will be seen in the 7th house. The kind of spouse one gets is due to his poorva karma which must be of dharmic nature. The attitude towards wife in one birth will have its reactionary karmic manifestation in the next birth on the issues around the wife. That means if one treats his wife well, he is bound to get a good wife or a happy matrimonial life in the next birth.
Yogas for Eka patni vratha. There are 2 specific yogas for a happy married life with a single partner. They are KaakaLa yoga and Kaama yoga. According to Brahma Rishi vaakyam, ‘KaakaLa yoga’ is formed when the lord of the sign in which the 7th lord is placed, is in exaltation or in own house which happens to be a trine or quadrant from Lagna. The purva karma to get this yoga is loyalty to the spouse or fidelity. This yoga is present in Rama’s horoscope whereby Venus, the lord of the house where the 7th lord is posited is in exaltation in a trinal house. The other yoga called Kaama yoga, is formed when the 7th house receives benefic aspects while the 7th lord exalts in a sign other than 6,8 or 12. This is also present in Rama’s horoscope. The 7th house receives the benefic aspects of exalted Jupiter and Moon from its own house and the 7th lord Saturn is exalted in the 4th. The purva karma as told in Brahma Rishi Vakyam for this yoga to occur is fidelity and not thinking of any other woman at any time. Maha Vishnu is the perfect embodiment of fidelity!
The Kaama triangle. It is be deduced that the factors causing these Yogas can not have any connection with the factors that cause live –in-relationship which is not rooted in purusharthas. To study the live –in –relationship we have to look at the other houses of Kaama. From the diagram we can deduce the Kaama- triangle formed by 3rd, 7th and 11th bhavas. Of these the 3rd falls in the invisible side and the other two fall in the visible side. By relating the symmetry and the opposite bhavas ( the 7th to the bhava under consideration) we can understand how the variants to normal sex life take place. However the basic and the best combination is a benefic ambiance of the 1st and the 7th bhavas and their lords which makes married life and the spouse as the gifts of dharma of the past birth. . The 7th bhava and its lord must not suffer any defect nor must they be associated with dual signs or lords of dual signs. The two sides in the diagram show symmetry. The bhavas in the right (visible side) are the exact reverse or resultant of the corresponding bahvas in the invisible left side. For
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example, the 2nd and 12th bhavas are related. If the 2nd indicates the right eye, the 12th indicates the left eye. If the 2nd shows the material acquisition, the 12th shows the spiritual acquisition. The Artha of the 2nd bhava determines the moksha of the 12th bhava. From the invisible side, we can see what happens in the visible range of one’s life in this birth. The 2nd house artha not only influences the 12th house significances, it also influences the 8th house, which is 7th from itself. It is seen that the 8th also stands for Moksha. It is interpreted from this that when the 2nd house is well protected with benefic lordship, association and aspect, its effect be seen in the 8th and 12th houses. Death and final days will not be dreadful to the native. In this way all the bhavas can be related and studied. Problematic relationships. For this article let us take up the crucial houses of Kaama. We can see that the 3rd, 7th and 11th are the houses of Kaama. We already saw the relevance of 7th connected to the 1st bhava. Dharma must be the basis of kaama for a rightful or legal and happy marriage. But the 7th lord occupying the 3rd constitutes kalathra dosha. Kaama to Kaama connection is not desirable. It shows the play of an invisible karma hampering happiness in the first marriage denoted by 1-7 connection. If not redeemed by benefics, the person will lose his spouse and will have a second marriage. At this stage the 7th house from 3rd determines the second marriage which is the 9th house. This is the bhava of dharma and therefore such a marriage will be rightful and as per dharma. Similarly 7th lord in the 5th causes kalathra dosha. It is a case of visible kaama coming to invisible dharma whereas it must be the other way round. However, if protected with benefic combinations, the 5th house dharma will result in 11th house Kaama and also the 9th house Dharma. Since this combination involves progeny, a malefic nature would affect the progeny from that relationship. But if kaama of the 3rd house in the invisible section becomes the causative karma, then it will be manifest in the 11th (corresponding house in the visible side) house of kaama. If the connection is to the 11th, it will be purely influenced by kaama or lust. It is here we come across unapproved relationships. If it has to have dharmic approval, the 5th house of dharma must be linked to the 11th because the 11th house is the 7th from the 5th house. This is basic logic derived from the purusharthas of the bhavas. To check this we need to have genuine horoscopes of the persons having live-in –relationship. In India this relationship is not in vogue, though there are umpteen cases of extra marital affairs and having multiple wives. These do not qualify as live – in- relationship. Therefore we have to look at the West for identifying such relationships.
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The most prominent personality of the current times involved in such a relationship is the Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie. (June 4, 1975. 09-09 am, Los Angeles.) +-----------------------------------------------+ |Mo Ma | |Su Me(R) |Sa | |Ju | |Ke | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-----------+-----------------------+-----------| | | |As Ve | | | | | | | June,4, 1975 | | | | 9-09 am | | | | Los Angeles | | |-----------| |-----------| | | | | | | RASI | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-----------+-----------------------+-----------| | |Ra | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-----------------------------------------------+
According to classical astrology, the 7th lord in A dual sign indicates more than one partner. The number of planets in the 11th is also indicative of the number of partners. In Jolie’s horoscope, we see the 3rd lord (kaama bhava) occupying the 11th (another kaama bhava) and joining Ketu. The 2nd lord also joins them. Rahu, the planet for shadowy dealings aspect them from the 5th house of dharma! The 11 lord Venus is in the asterism of the 7th lord. Even since the Venus maha dasa started, Jolie started experimenting with many partners. Her first marriage was in Venus – Venus Her second marriage was in Venus – Moon. But after divorcing her second husband she entered into live-in relationship with Brad Pitt in Venus –Rahu! Note the Rahu connection. It was in this relationship she grew up her family and gave birth to kids without entering into marriage with Pitt. This kind of live in relationship can be best understood from a different way of depiction. We can form a diagram of the directions and see what planets are connected to each other. In the charts of this kind of relationship, we find passion ignited by Mars – Venus connection on the one hand and desire to be together ignited by Ketu- Mercury connection on the other. This Ketu - mercury connection is seen in love marriages also. To make the relationship outside the bounds of marriage, the Rahu connection must also
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be there. All these can be studied in a diagram. The planets can be rearranged and shown as below.
The lagna bhava signifies East. Starting from that, the planets are arranged in the respective directions. We can see that all the planets have grouped themselves in opposite directions - in lagna and its other side. Ketu and mercury have joined at one side and Mars and Venus have joined with moon and Rahu giving rise to a relationship that is not approved by norms of marriage. This writer has in possession some charts of live-in –relationship but is not sure about the authenticity of the time of birth in some cases. So a similar grouping of planets was attempted for those charts based on the directions of the natural zodiac. Jolie’s chart can also be arranged on the basis of the natural zodiac and it gives the same result. Here are charts of India-born persons in live- in - relationship. The time and place of birth are not given here for maintaining secrecy.
Chart -1:- May 5, 1969, Male
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Note Ketu – mercury connection on the one side and Venus- Mars in the opposite direction. Rahu gives secrecy to the relationship. Like opposite poles that attract each other, these planets share an attraction among themselves making the native indulge in a relationship that is neither of marriage nor of a legitimate kind. This person’s lagna is Sagittarius. Note the connections of the kaama bhavas. The 3rd lord is in debility in the 5th joining the 9th lord and from there they aspect the 11th house of kaama. Chart -2 :- November 7, 1954, Male
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This is the chart of a famous south Indian actor who is at present living with his former co-star. His moon was in transit on the day of his birth. It could either be at North if born after sun rise or in the west if born before sun rise. But note the combinations for passionate yet unapproved relationship. The relationship started in Rahu bukthi in Venus Maha dasa. Chart -3 :- August 3, 1957 Female
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This is the chart of a female who was not married but was in a relationship with a man. Note the similar combination of planets. Chart -4:- August 24, 1970, Female
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This is the chart of a married woman who left her husband and was in a relationship with another man without formal marriage. Though the nodes are not involved in the combination, both Venus and Mars were in debility in the rasi chart with above 4 bindus in Ashtakavarga. In such a situation the relationship will be scandulous. Chart -5 :- June 23, 1943, Female
This is the chart of a married woman who left her husband and was engaged in a relationship with another man with no formal marriage. Though Mercury is outside the combine, it is the bhadak in the horoscope. It has gone to the 3rd where it joins the 11th lord while the 11th is occupied by Ketu and moon. The bhavas of inimical kaama are filled with passionate planets giving rise to a relationship that is wholly dictated by desire and passion. . ***********************END****************************
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