History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c82.523

v6.c82.523

There are other complicated astrological matters for consideration in marriage such as Daśayogacakra (R. M. folios 35b-36b), Saptaśalākācakra (R. M folio 36b-37b), which are passed over here. But there is one matter that is sometimes gone into even now and that must be briefly alluded to, viz the calculation of the *guṇas* (marks) on the comparison of eight matters concerning the nakṣatra and rāśi on which the intending bride and bridegroom were born This is designated 'vadhūvaramelakavicāra' or 'ghaṭitaguṇavicāra' The eight matters (kūṭas as they are called) are varṇa, vaśya, tārā, yoni, grahamaitrī, gaṇamaitrī, rāśikūṭa and nāḍī,⁹³⁵ varṇa carrying one mark, each succeeding one having one more mark (in all 36) than the one immediately preceding All of them are not described even in the latest works; for example, the Dharmasindhu deals only with the last four. Two of these, viz gaṇa and nāḍī are attached great importance even now among brāhmaṇas and other classes also. I have described these two in H of Dh. vol II. p 515. All these eight are described at length in Muhūrtamārtaṇḍa (IV. 1-12) and Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi (VI. 21-35), Saṁskāraprakāśa (part of Vīramitrodaya) pp 773ff and Saṁskāra-ratna-mālā pp. 519ff. One⁹³⁶ rule made matters easy in some cases, viz when the rāśi of birth of both bride and bridegroom was the same, but the nakṣatras of their birth were different or where the nakṣatra was the same but the rāśis were different, then no consideration need be paid to *gaṇa* and *nāḍī* and the like and if the *nakṣatra* of both is one and the same it would be auspicious if they were born on different quarters of the same nakṣatra Now that in most educated families the age of the bride and bridegroom is twenty years and beyond and there are also love marriages the rigours of this examination of astrological details have been very much reduced, but they are not completely gone even now. In the author's youth nearly sixty years ago, even if the girl was quite eligible from all other points of view, a marriage among the well-to-do classes was almost impossible if this tallying of marks was not astrologically favourable.