Ash a manglik, why does it matter?

New Delhi: With all the fuss and whispers about Aishwarya Rai being a manglik adding to the curiousity quotient of her engagement with Bachchan scion Abhishek, the focus is on the Hindu rituals that supposedly “ward off the ill effects” of tying the knot with a manglik.

But who is a manglik and what has that got to do with matrimony?

Simply put, manglik refers to someone who has a presence of Mars in certain houses of his/her birth chart. Astrologers say if Mars appears in any one of six positions in a person’s chart, they are considered manglik.

Aishwarya – born on November 1, 1973 – is said to have a strong planetary presence in her birth chart that is said to have put a number of hurdles in her way to becoming Abhishek’s fiancée.

Several rituals – some of them even bordering on bizarre – are conducted to ensure a happy nuptial with a manglik.

The manglik is first made to marry a tree, is made to sit to the left of his/her spouse while performing religious activities and is not usually allowed to marry unless these rituals are duly conducted.

Some also believe that in the absence of these mandatory rituals, a manglik’s birth chart can be life-threatening to his/her spouse.

Mangliks also run the risk of danger to life, unhappiness at domestic front, dissatisfaction in matrimony (divorce, for instance), physical ailments, loss on professional front.

One of the most common beliefs is that if a manglik person marries a non-manglik, the non-manglik spouse might die. But manglik marrying another manglik works out fine.

All of these draw a sharp parallel with what Aishwarya made to undergo. She reportedly married a tree and, made round of several temples and reportedly sat on Abhishek Bachchan’s left while performing rituals at the Sankat Mochan Mandir in Varanasi.

Many astrologers also say that being manglik was fairly common, was not an irreversible status and depends on the time of birth and the position of Mars.

Mars is considered one of the most important planets in Indian astrology, signifying energy, passion, aggression, activity, marital affairs, honour, fame, physical prowess, stamina and health.

It takes 45 days to traverse 30 degrees arc of the zodiac, or one zodiac sign.