Doshas are traditional patterns, not diagnoses. Astrologers differ on the rules and on how much weight to give them, and no single pattern can predict an outcome.
Each dosha below has its own guide with the rule, the common cancellations, the traditional remedies and the questions people ask. To see which of them your own chart shows, use the dosha checker.
Mangal Dosha
Mangal Dosha, also called Manglik Dosha, is the name for Mars standing in certain houses of the birth chart. It is checked mainly before marriage, because Mars is the planet of heat, drive and argument, and these houses relate to the self, home, partnership and shared life.
The rule:नियम: Count the house Mars occupies from the Lagna.लग्न से गिनकर देखें कि मंगल किस भाव में है। Cancellations, remedies and questions →निरस्तीकरण, उपाय और प्रश्न →
Kaal Sarp Dosha
Kaal Sarp Dosha is said to occur when all seven planets, from the Sun to Saturn, lie on one side of the Rahu–Ketu axis, as if held between the two. Many astrologers point out that it is not found in the early classical texts and became popular in recent times; others treat it as important. Either way, it is best read together with the rest of the chart.
The rule:नियम: Check whether all seven planets fall between Rahu and Ketu, going forward from Rahu.देखें कि सातों ग्रह राहु से आगे बढ़ते हुए राहु और केतु के बीच पड़ते हैं या नहीं। Cancellations, remedies and questions →निरस्तीकरण, उपाय और प्रश्न →
Pitra Dosha
Pitra Dosha is a traditional idea that a family may still owe duties of remembrance to its ancestors. In the chart it is read from the Sun, which stands for the father and the family line, and from the 9th house, which stands for fortune and forefathers. There is no single agreed rule, so astrologers use a handful of indicators.
The rule:नियम: The checker looks for three common indicators: the Sun in the same sign as Rahu, Ketu or Saturn; Rahu or Ketu in the 9th house; and the lord of the 9th house placed in the 6th, 8th or 12th house.जाँच तीन सामान्य संकेतक देखती है: सूर्य का राहु, केतु या शनि के साथ एक ही राशि में होना; राहु या केतु का नवम भाव में होना; और नवमेश का छठे, आठवें या बारहवें भाव में होना। Cancellations, remedies and questions →निरस्तीकरण, उपाय और प्रश्न →
Guru Chandal Dosha
Guru Chandal is the name for Jupiter, the planet of teachers, wisdom and tradition, joining Rahu, the planet of ambition and unconventional ideas. Traditional descriptions speak of questioning customs and teachers, or of mixed advice; modern readers often add that it can also mean an original, independent mind.
The rule:नियम: Jupiter and Rahu in the same sign.गुरु और राहु एक ही राशि में। Cancellations, remedies and questions →निरस्तीकरण, उपाय और प्रश्न →
Grahan Dosha
Grahan means eclipse. When the Sun or the Moon shares a sign with Rahu or Ketu, the nodes that cause eclipses, tradition calls it Grahan Dosha. With the Sun it is read as Surya Grahan (linked with confidence, the father and authority), and with the Moon as Chandra Grahan (linked with the mind, the mother and emotional steadiness).
The rule:नियम: The Sun or Moon in the same sign as Rahu or Ketu.सूर्य या चंद्रमा राहु या केतु की ही राशि में। Cancellations, remedies and questions →निरस्तीकरण, उपाय और प्रश्न →
Kemadruma Dosha
Kemadruma is a pattern in which the Moon stands alone, with no planet in its sign or in the signs just before and after it. Traditional texts link it with a feeling of isolation or with ups and downs in finances. It has so many cancellations that it is rarely judged alone.
The rule:नियम: No planet other than the Sun, Rahu and Ketu in the Moon’s sign, the sign before it or the sign after it.चंद्रमा की राशि, उससे पहले की राशि या उसके बाद की राशि में सूर्य, राहु और केतु को छोड़कर कोई ग्रह नहीं। Cancellations, remedies and questions →निरस्तीकरण, उपाय और प्रश्न →
Gandmool Dosha
Gandmool is the name for birth in one of six nakshatras: Ashwini, Ashlesha, Magha, Jyeshtha, Mula or Revati. These sit at the junctions where the water signs end and the fire signs begin (Gandanta). Tradition recommends a Shanti puja for such births, and describes the effect as strongest when the Moon is in the junction pada.
The rule:नियम: The Moon’s nakshatra at birth is one of the six.जन्म के समय चंद्रमा का नक्षत्र इन छह में से एक हो। Cancellations, remedies and questions →निरस्तीकरण, उपाय और प्रश्न →
Sade Sati
Sade Sati (‘seven and a half’) is the period of about 7½ years when Saturn moves through the sign before your Moon sign, your Moon sign, and the sign after it, spending about 2½ years in each. It comes around roughly every 29½ years, so most people live through two or three. Tradition links it with tests of patience, responsibility and rebuilding.
The rule:नियम: Compare the sign Saturn is in now with your Moon sign.आज शनि जिस राशि में है उसकी तुलना अपनी चंद्र राशि से करें। Cancellations, remedies and questions →निरस्तीकरण, उपाय और प्रश्न →
Doshas in marriage matching
Three doshas come from the Kundali Milan score and need two charts: Nadi, Bhakoot and Gana. The Kundali Milan page checks them and shows the common cancellations.
- Nadi Doshaनाड़ी दोष. Both partners share the same Nadi (Aadi, Madhya or Antya), which costs the full 8 of 36 points in Kundali Milan.दोनों साथियों की नाड़ी एक ही (आदि, मध्य या अन्त्य) है, जिससे कुण्डली मिलान में 36 में से पूरे 8 गुण कटते हैं। Remedies: उपाय: A Nadi Shanti puja with a priest, the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra, and charity.पुरोहित के साथ नाड़ी शांति पूजा, महामृत्युंजय मंत्र और दान।
- Bhakoot Doshaभकूट दोष. The two Moon signs are 2/12, 5/9 or 6/8 apart, which costs 7 points.दोनों की चंद्र राशियाँ 2/12, 5/9 या 6/8 की दूरी पर हैं, जिससे 7 गुण कटते हैं। Remedies: उपाय: A Shanti puja with a priest and charity. Friendly Moon-sign lords are a common cancellation.पुरोहित के साथ शांति पूजा और दान। राशि-स्वामियों की मित्रता एक प्रचलित निरस्तीकरण है।
- Gana Doshaगण दोष. The temperaments clash, for example a Deva with a Rakshasa. It costs points in Kundali Milan.स्वभाव मेल नहीं खाते, जैसे देव गण के साथ राक्षस गण। इससे कुण्डली मिलान में गुण कटते हैं। Remedies: उपाय: A Shanti puja with a priest, and an honest conversation about temperament, which is the practical side of the same idea.पुरोहित के साथ शांति पूजा, और स्वभाव पर ईमानदार बातचीत, जो इसी विचार का व्यावहारिक पक्ष है।
How to think about remedies
Traditional remedies are acts of devotion, discipline and kindness: prayer, simple fasting, charity and mantra. They cost little or nothing, and they can be kept up quietly at home.
Be careful of anyone who describes a dosha as dangerous and then sells an expensive gemstone, yantra or large puja. A trusted family priest rarely needs you to spend heavily, and gemstones cannot be proven to work.
Never delay a medical, legal or safety decision because of a dosha, and do not let one pattern decide a marriage.