90% of the people who come to me, come in Shani, Rahu, or Ketu period. Next to these “Bad Boys of astrology-Shani, Rahu, and Ketu”, Mars is the one that is the most maligned and most feared, especially when it comes to marriages. However, the kind of bad press he gets, is mostly undeserved.

Honestly, I was personally afraid of this planet, for a long…long time. However, after some research, I realized, that this is not the planet one should be afraid of, in fact, one should embrace, accept, and even welcome him, especially the men.

As compared to the real melafics, Shani Rahu and Ketu, Mars is more of an innocuous “wannabe”. Mars is too innocent when compared to menace of Rahu or shrewdness of Shani, and he comes out as a pretty laid-back guy, when compared with an angry Ketu (when Ketu is in a good mood, he is a Jain Muni, when Ketu is angry, he is a Naga Sadhu. No fighter in the world can scare one as much as a Naga Sadhu in battle mode. Holy warriors make the most fearsome opponents)…anyway I digress, let’s get back to Mars.

The closest Archetype of Mars is “Fighter”, I wanted to put “Soldier” but Mars, as such doesn’t have the discipline required for being a soldier, for that he needs assistance from Shani. Neither is Mars a goon, as for that he needs Rahu’s menace. Mars is an innocent fighter, all he wants to do is fight, and does so innocently. At the command of his king Sun, Mars is willing to kill or get killed.

Mars is the Sword Arm of Sun, the Soldier to his King.

While Mars people can show a lot of aggression, they are usually surprisingly innocent. They lack the shrewdness of Shani, malice of Rahu, blinding dogma of Ketu, or even the egomania of Sun.

In reality, Mars is not all that dangerous, as long as the above-mentioned gentlemen don’t mess with his head and manipulate him.

Myths and Legends:

At the risk of repeating myself, I would again say, one must understand mythology in order to understand astrology.

Mars has several stories in Western Astrology. The Greek Ares and the Roman Mars were two sides of the same coin, the Mars energy.

However, Ares (I believe he had something to do with “Aries”) was a clumsy beast, ever angry and ready to fight, but almost always clumsy and innocent. Going from one mess to another, he went into trouble and believe it or not, lost several battles, was humiliated and even mocked, not a suitable image for the “God of War” but it drives a point across.

While the Roman Mars was more of a dignified soldier type showing the refined personality of the planet. Then there was Siegfried, invincible in a direct battle, but would be helpless against an attack from the behind, a very Mars quality. Then there was Hercules, someone who would take on “Herculean” tasks and using his unlimited courage and energy would finally win.

There was another, darker, uglier representation of mars as Berserker, a brute fighter, angry and inebriated in “wine of war” and invincible in battle, representing the crude side of Mars.

These archetypes together bring the various faces of Mars to us. He can be a clumsy brawler, a go getter, a dignified soldier and a brute thug drunken on blood lust.

Indian Mythology of Mars: Mangal: The Auspicious:

As usual, the Indian mythology does a better job of explaining things, and gives us a hint that Mars is not to be feared or rejected, but in fact, embraced and welcomed…we call him “Mangal” which means “Auspicious”. Isn’t it strange that the planet of war and conflict is called “Mangal” or Auspicious?

Legends of Mars:

There are several legends associated with the birth of Mars. All refer to Mars as son of Shiva, The Destroyer. Let’s go through all of them:

Shiva’s Sweat: According to some scriptures, Shiva was in meditation and drops of his sweat fell on the earth, and Mars was born. This is the least likely one. Though Mars is related to sweat and hard work, if there is one activity that Mars cannot do, it is meditation. Another story tells about Shiva’s drops falling on earth during his destructive dance called Tandav, this is closer to reality as Mars has an element of hustle, sweat and destruction in him.

Lord Kartikeya: The God of War: The demon Tarkasur was tormenting the universe, and Lord Kartikeya was born from the seed of Shiva in order to kill him, and after killing him, Karthikeya was appointed the Commander of Deva forces. This seems like more of a Mars story.

Veerbhadra-Shiva’s Rage: The Avenger of Dharma: In my view, this is the most suitable story, as this brings out the rage, invincibility, destructive ability, and most of all, importance of Mars.

Shiva was married to Sati, the daughter of King Daksha. Rich King Daksha considered the Mendicant Shiva unworthy of his daughter and his status. He would take all opportunities of insulting Shiva. Shiva being Bholenaath (sweet, gullible master), forgave his antics and ignored his repeated offences.

However, things came to a boiling point when Daksha arranged a Yagna, inviting all the important beings in the universe, but did not send an invitation to Shiva, the Supreme Being.

While Shiva wasn’t bothered, Sati took offence to this, and stormed uninvited to the Yagna of Daksha, and objected to the insult against her husband. Sati was mocked and humiliated by Daksha to such an extent, that she jumped into the Yagna fire, immolating herself.

When Shiva got this news, he was outraged and in blinding fury, pulled out one braid of his hair, and smashed it on the earth, giving birth to a fearsome warrior, Virbhadra.

Shiva ordered him to lead his army of ganas and ruin Daksha’s yagna. Virbhadra and his army attacked Daksha’s Yagna, and despite being protected by the likes of Lord Vishnu, Daksha was annihilated. Everyone defending Daksha was killed or defeated, even Lord Vishnu had to retreat. Then Virbhadra went on to defile the Yagna, and finally behead Daksha, thereby completing the vengeance of Shiva, and teaching a lesson to the arrogant King.

This story is one of the most important episodes in Indian mythology, it is marked as beginning of problems in the world.

Why is the planet of war and conflict called “Mangal” or Auspicious?

There is a long deep philosophical reason behind it, my study of history, Dharma, and mythology illuminated me to the reason why, and like most things that happen to me, this also accidently happened. 😀

Perhaps our ancient Rishis could see that in times to come, Mars would be pushed in the background, in fact even denied, leading to an industrial scale assault on Dharma and India. India and Sanatan Dharma paid a heavy price of ignoring and denying Mars. In pursuit of “Shanti” we ignored the fact that “Mangal” (goodness/auspiciousness), happens only when Mars is involved.

Mars is the expression of righteous anger of an otherwise innocent Shiva. It also shows how the “good guys” ultimately have to get angry in order to protect righteousness or Dharma. At times “destruction of the wicked” is necessary in order to protect Dharma.

I would like to request you to remember which place in India is often referred to as “Dharma-Kshetra” (the adobe of Dharma)? It is not the fabled Kedarnaath, or Holy Haridwar, or even the ancient Kashi, which house some of our most important temples, Dharma-Kshetra is the BATTLEFIELD of Kurukshetra…!!! The place where the Mahabharat war took place, and millions were slaughtered. Place where Krishna unleashed his Mars on the unrighteous Kurus, thus defending Dharma, and bringing “Mangal” back to the world.

What happened to medieval India is an example of what happens to nice people who ignore their Mars. If you won’t embrace your Mars, someone else’s Mars will kick the life out of you. This happened in India, when Ashoka threw his sword, we went radically behind impractical notion of “ahimsa at all cost”. Under the Buddhist and Jain influence, there was a flood of monks, but dearth of soldiers. We all know the consequences.

While monks are needed and very much desired, soldier’s role cannot be denied, and if I dare say, in physical realm, a soldier is more necessary than a monk.

You can’t see inner light, if your monastery is set on fire, you can’t gain freedom to sit under a tree meditating, if you are sold in slavery. Tibet is an example when good guys took their Mars out of action, and were annihilated by the other party’s Mars.

Mars is the defender of Dharma, without Mars, nothing can be protected, not even Dharma.

Most of our Gods carry one weapon or the other, and have often battled for defending the righteousness. “Shastra” i.e. weapon and “Shaastra”, i.e. scriptures have been told to go hand in hand. Unfortunately, we forgot this. However, this is the truth.

In Sikh Gurudwaras, you would often find swords and arrows being worshipped along with the Holy Scripture, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, underlining the ancient truth and highlighting the importance of Mars. For the record, historically, the Sikhs fought valiantly defending Dharma.

LOVE, SEX, MARRIAGE AND MARS:

The Manglik Myth: First let me address the elephant in the room, you can’t talk about Mars without talking about Manglik, one of the biggest cash cows of astrology. In the most pathetic interpretation of the scriptures, Mars became the “malefic” planet, whose main job was to prevent people from getting married. Am I angry, or am I angry…my Leo Mars roars with frustration. For the record, MANGLIK is more of a money-making scheme than a real problem.

What is Manglik: By definition, if Mars sits in 1, 4, 7, 8, or 12^th house, a native is considered Manglik. By that definition, 41.6% of all people are Manglik. Then there are some scholars who say that Mars’ position from Moon as well in Navamasha should also be considered, by that definition, probably 123% of all people are Manglik.

What is the poor Mars supposed to do, create a new house for himself? He has to be in some house after all.

Yes these house positions of Mars are difficult, especially 4^th and 12^th and can create tussle in marriages. However, it is not that big a deal, the entire chart has to be analyzed as a whole and two charts have to be matched as whole.

No the non-Manglik person is NOT going to die if married to a Manglik.

Now that I have answered your question, let’s see where the real problem is.

Dating Mars and Marrying Shani:

I often joke, Indian women date Mars and marry Shani. There is a reason for this, while in the modern world, “practical” women look for “a responsible provider” who can “run family and pay bills”, (enter Shani). However, Venus sitting in her heart is typically attracted to the “tough guys”, men with heavy Mars.

Female psyche is more attracted to someone who can “protect” instead of someone who can “provide”.

Chances are that Captain of the football team would be more successful in the dating game, than the president of the science club. However, ask any parent, and the science club guy wins hands down. A Mars boyfriend and a Shani groom is an often the trajectory of most women.

Modern Parenting: Suppressing Mars and Raising Shani: Usually, parents of the urban boys, are busy forcing them into an obedient docile Shani mold. Boys that get into a fight for whatever reason, are reprimanded and are forced to “behave”. They are discouraged from playing physical games or “going out with the boys”. Mostly, they are forced into one coaching after another, being groomed for a Goverment Job in North India or an IT Job with a VISA in South India (Indian parents are going to hate me, but never mind, I am in a Mars mode today…bite me..!)

On the other hand, parts of the rural India suffer from patriarchal toxic masculinity. Where getting into fights, eve teasing, and brute uncouth aggressive behavior is accepted and even encouraged, bringing out the dark side of Mars.

This creates the schizophrenia in society, where Mars is repressed or corrupted, most people won’t stand up to defend themselves, while others won’t hesitate from hurting or humiliating others.

The Solution: Bringing the best out of Mars:

Mars is very important, especially for the male natives. The young boys who are told to “stay away from fights” and are manipulated by parents into being “good boys” often end up suppressing their Mars. They grow up to be soft repressed effeminate men who are never able to assert their will, and are usually dominated by those around them. Or are taken to the other extreme, by encouraging their brutish behavior they become thuggish brutes. Both approaches go from one extreme to another, and both are wrong. A balanced and healthy approach is required. Let’s see what we can do here.

Pray to Lord Hanuman: The supreme soldier brings out the best synthesis of Mars, which is disciplined and righteous aggression. He brings the best synthesis of Mars and Shani, aggression and toughness, along with discipline and humility. Praying to Lord Hanuman and meditating on his glories, would not only bring the best out of Mars and Shani, but would also improve general wellbeing of a person. Visiting a Gurudwara would also do the trick.

Mantra and Yantra: Mars Mantra and Mars Yantra can also help a person balance his Mars. While wearing red coral would boost a person’s Mars, it has to be kept in mind that one should wear a gemstone ONLY post consulting an astrologer. Only if Mars is good in your horoscope, should you wear a coral, else it is safter to stick to Mantra and Yantra.

Work Out or Playing: Working out and getting muscle mass is another thing that would help your Mars, as well as your health. I strongly suggest working out for people with heavy Mars or afflicted Mars. Such Mars gives them tons of energy and aggression, but for lack of guidance, can lead them to conflicts, fights and trouble. There are scores of stories about misguided youth becoming dignified athletes, under the guidance of a sports coach, from Mike Tyson to Michael Phelps.

The purification of Mars energy brings out the best in the native, especially the men. We must try not to suppress our Mars, or that of our boys, we must guide him to become what he can become at best, not a brute thug, but a dignified soldier…“an officer and a gentleman”. Just like Lord Hanuman.

Jai Bajrang Bali…!

GOD BLESS,

G. Vijay Kumar,

MUST WATCH:

RAHU MAHADASHA PART 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogo8KXGmc-s

RAHU MAHADASHA PART 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxzGUxIqysA

KETU MAHADASHA PART 1: https://youtu.be/oAjZGQIKqxo

KETU MAHADASHA PART 2: https://youtu.be/jp4sOHIf-I4

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