Even if you are least familiar with Vedic and Hindu astrology, you must have heard of Mangal Dosha, especially in context of marriages. This is the foremost parameter in a Hindu marriage and often the most dreaded one. Mangal refers to Mars, the fiery planet which represents aggression, heightened passion and ambition. Mars’ placement in 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, or 12th houses is considered negative for a marriage, which is why it is referred to as a ‘dosha’. First house refers to self, second house represents immediate family, fourth house stands for domestic comforts and happiness, 7th house is for the partner, 8th house refers to deaths & longevity, and twelfth house stands for bed comforts. Since our married life revolves primarily around these houses, the placement of destructive planet like Mars is considered unfavorable. The person who is under the malefic impact of Mangal Dosha is called Manglik.
Since it’s fiery malefic planet, it often destroys the happiness associated with the houses mentioned above. Sometimes, it also leads to widowhood, which is why Manglik Dosha is dreaded by the believers of Vedic astrology. These are 6 houses so anyways there is a big possibility that 50-60% people turn out to be Mangliks. This dosha is not as dreadful as it has been popularized as. As per the principles of Vedic Astrology, when a Manglik person marries a Manglik person, the negative effects get neutralized. In fact, there are several other positions of planets in a horoscope that deem it cancelled.
Now Mangal Dosha is calculated in three ways. It is seen from Ascendant, Moon and most importantly Venus. Ascendant is your rising sign, Moon sign is held very important in Vedic astrology because it relates to mind and emotions and Venus because it is the indicator of love.
For example, Venus is placed in your 4th house, and if Mars is be placed in your 4th, 5th, 7th, 10th, 11th, or 3rd house (1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, or 12th from where Venus is positioned), you will be considered a Manglik. Same logic applies to Moon as well.
Mangal Dosha from seen from Ascendant is weak, from Moon is strong and from Venus, it is the strongest. Mars is inimical towards Venus. Mars is a fiery masculine planet while Venus is watery feminine energy. Mars is aggression and action while Venus is love and beauty. Venus denotes partner so bad placement of Mars causes negative influence on the partner so it is important to calculate Mangal Dosha from Venus too.