Gandmool Dosh
According to its prevalent definition; if in a horoscope, Moon is placed in Ashwini, Ashlesha, Magha, Jyeshtha, Moola or Revati nakshatra, Gandmool Dosh is formed in such horoscope. Formation of Gandmool Dosh is associated with troublesome results including death of native’s mother or father; and native’s own death in some cases.
Let’s look into the formation of Gandmool Dosh. The playground for all astrological entities is taken as circular; which includes movement within a range of 360 degrees. This playground is further divided into 12 zones which are called zodiac signs and each zone or zodiac sign owns 30 degrees. These zodiac signs keep appearing on the sky of a particular location, one after another, in cyclic motion. While one of these signs takes lead at a time; the others assume different positions or angles, according to a fixed pattern.
This way, each sign gets to be the leader for about two hours and a cycle is completed in about 24 hours. The sign which appears as the leader on the sky of a particular place at the time of birth of a native; represents the first house of his horoscope. Hence this sign becomes his ascendant or Lagna. Horoscopes are also divided into twelve houses with each house enclosing 30 degrees, just like signs. If Aries is the rising sign at the time of birth of a native, it is assigned to the first house, which means Aries becomes the ascendant in such horoscope.
The next sign Taurus is assigned to the second house and this process goes on, completing at the twelfth house being assigned to the twelfth sign Pisces. If the second sign Taurus is leading the equation at the time of birth of a native; Taurus becomes his ascendant. The third sign Gemini represents the second house, the twelfth sign Pisces represents the eleventh house and the first sign Aries represents the twelfth house.
At any given point in time, each planet among navagraha transits through a zodiac sign. The movement of these planets also happens to be cyclic, which means each planet among navagraha except Rahu and Ketu, generally moves from Aries to Pisces and then repeats this movement, based on its speed of movement. Rahu and Ketu move in retrograde motion, from Pisces to Aries and they also follow the same cyclic pattern. Once the sign representing the ascendant as well as those representing the other houses of a horoscope are found, the planets are assigned to various houses; according to their transits in various signs at that time.
This is the bigger setup and there is a finer setup which works within this bigger setup. This finer setup is used to calculate finer results and this setup is represented by nakshatras. According to this finer setup, the playground is further divided into 27 sub zones called nakshatras, with each one of them claiming 13 degrees and 20 minutes; amounting to a total of 360 degrees.
Each subzone further contains 4 finer zones called four parts or padas of a nakshatra, with each one of them claiming 3 degrees and 20 minutes. This way, the playground is divided into 108 finer divisions, with 4 divisions for each one of 27 nakshatras. These 108 finer divisions once again add up to 360 degrees.
Since each sign contains 30 degrees, it means it contains 9 out of such 108 finer divisions called navamshas. The word navamsha literally means the ninth part of something, which in this context means the ninth part of a sign. Nine multiplied by 3 degrees and 20 minutes gives 30 degrees and 108 multiplied by 3 degrees and 20 minutes gives 360 degrees; which solves the equation perfectly.
The first nakshatra Ashwini is aligned with the first sign Aries and all four quarters of Ashwini fall in Aries. The navamshas corresponding to these quarters are Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer. All four quarters of the next nakshatra Bharani also fall in Aries whereas only the first quarter of the third nakshatra Krittika falls in Aries, since a sign can only accommodate nine quarters of various nakshatras. Navamshas corresponding to these five quarters are Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius respectively. The next three quarters of Krittika fall in the second sign Taurus, all four quarters of the fourth nakshatra Rohini fall in Taurus, two quarters of the fifth nakshatra Mrigashira fall in Taurus and the remaining two fall in Gemini. Navamshas for Krittika nakshatra are Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. The cycle starts again, with Aries being the navamsha for first quarter of Rohini.
Moving on, all four quarters of Ardra nakshatra fall in Gemini, three quarters of Punarvasu nakshatra fall in Gemini, one quarter of Punarvasu falls in Cancer, all four quarters of Pushya nakshatra fall in Cancer and all four quarters of the ninth nakshatra Ashlesha fall in Cancer.
It can be seen that with the end of Ashlesha, the sign of Cancer also ends. This is where we reach the end of a sub-cycle within this bigger cycle of 360 degrees. Hence the next nine nakshatras ranging from Magha to Jyeshtha fit into the next four signs ranging from Leo to Scorpio, in the same way. Similarly, the last nine nakshatras ranging from Moola to Revati fit into the last four signs ranging from Sagittarius to Pisces. This way, all 27 nakshatras fit into 12 signs and they complete one cycle at the same point which is the completion of 360th degree. The process repeats itself after that, with the appearance of Ashwini nakshatra and Aries sign.
Moon completes its transit through one nakshatra in about a day’s time. It means Moon travels a distance of about 13 degrees and 20 minutes in one day, thereby taking about 28 days to complete 360 degrees. During its motion, a point comes when Moon reaches 13 degrees and 20 minutes counting from 0th degree of Aries; and it is about to enter into the next minute which is 13 degrees and 21st minute. Since these co-ordinates mark the end of Ashwini nakshatra and they mark the beginning of Bharani nakshatra within the sign of Aries, an important point is reached.
During this transition of Moon from Ashwini to Bharani, a phase comes where Moon is partly in Ashwini and partly in Bharani, as this motion is progressive and continuous. Imagine you’re moving from one room to another. Before you leave one room and you enter into the other room, a point comes when you have one step in the first room and the other step in another room. This point in time may give the impression that you are partly present in both rooms and you may not be fully present in any one of the rooms. This is because your body partly lies in the first room and it partly lies in the second room.
The motion of humans is much faster compared to the motion of planets, but both of them follow the same pattern. It means Moon as well as the other eighth planets also reach such points during their journeys through 27 nakshatras, when they are about to leave one nakshatra and they are about to enter the next nakshatra. Though in theory, these planets are shown present in any one of these nakshatras like in Ashwini or in Bharani, this may not be so in actual practice. Hence these planets may reach 27 such points during their journeys, where they are in between two nakshatras, partly in one and partly in the next nakshatra.
Among all nine planets; Moon is the fastest moving, the most impressionable as well as the most fragile planet. It means though most other planets may not take much unwanted impression during such 27 points of transition, Moon may take these impressions and as a result, it may feel some disturbances. However, these incidences alone may not be capable of causing significant problems related to significances of Moon.
Moving on, a point comes at the completion of 30 degrees when Moon is about to leave the sign of Aries and it is about to enter the sign of Taurus. The same issue appears again as Moon may get stuck between Aries and Taurus for some time and it may take unwanted impression of this transition. However, even these transitions may not cause significant problems on their own, in most cases.
During its transit through 12 signs and 27 nakshatras, each planet reaches 3 such points where it faces double impact of transition. It means when Moon is about to leave Cancer and it is about to enter Leo, another transition is happening at the same time. Moon is also leaving Ashlesha and it is entering Magha. This is because the ending point of Ashlesha coincides with the ending point of Cancer and the beginning point of Magha coincides with the starting point of Leo. This is where Moon is stuck between two transitions at the same time; which means Moon is stuck between two nakshatras as well as between two signs for some time.
Though this happens to each planet among navagraha, all other planets may not be significantly affected by this situation as they may be capable of handling such situations. However, Moon being the most impressionable and fragile planet may not be able to properly deal with one such situation; and it may get hurt. As a result, the general as well as specific significances of Moon may suffer in the horoscope having Moon under such double impact. This is when Gandmool Dosh may be formed and the native may suffer from various types of problems related to significances of Moon.
Moving on, the same double impact is witnessed at the end of the sign of Scorpio where Jyeshtha nakshatra also ends. The beginning point of the next sign Sagittarius coincides with the beginning point of the next nakshatra Moola. Moon comes under the double impact whenever it enters this zone during its transitory motion; and Gandmool Dosh is formed. Similarly, Moon experiences this double impact when it is at the end of Pisces and it is about to enter Aries. The ending point of Pisces coincides with the ending point of the last nakshatra Revati and the beginning point of Aries coincides with the beginning point of first nakshatra Ashwini. Here again, Gandmool Dosh is formed due to Moon being under double impact of such transitions.
Therefore, during its journey of 360 degrees, Moon reaches three such phases where it comes under such double impact and these are the phases where Moon forms Gandmool Dosh. As these phases are enclosed between Revati-Ashwini, Ashlesha-Magha and Jyeshtha-Moola; these 6 nakshatras are called Gandmool nakshatras. Hence placement of Moon in any one of these six Gandmool nakshatras is said to form Gandmool Dosh in a horoscope.
However, placement of Moon in one of these six Gandmool nakshatras is the primary condition for the formation of Gandmool Dosh in a horoscope, and it is not the only condition. Moon comes under such double impact only when it reaches such double transitory phases.
It means that the first 3 quarters of the last nakshatra Revati may not cause this double impact since Moon is very much within the sign of Pisces and it is not about to leave Pisces as well as Revati. The problem however begins, when Moon enters the fourth quarter of Revati nakshatra as this is the point when Moon may enter the phase of double impact any time. Hence, only the fourth quarter of Revati nakshatra should be considered for the formation of Gandmool Dosh and the first three quarters should be ignored.
Similarly, the first quarter of the next nakshatra Ashwini should be considered for the formation of Gandmool Dosh and the last three quarters of this nakshatra should be ignored. This is because, once Moon travels through the first quarter of Ashwini, it may recover from the double impact and by the time it enters the second quarter of Ashwini, it may fully recover from the double impact. In this case, Moon comes under such double impact during the last 3 degrees of Pisces or Revati and the first 3 degrees of Aries or Ashwini; which respectively mark the last phase of Pisces and the first phase of Aries.
On the other hand, when Moon is placed in the first quarter of Revati, it is almost between 17 to 20 degrees within the sign of Pisces which features 30 degrees like all other signs. Since 17 to 20 is almost the middle zone between 0 and 30; Moon may not come under double impact. Likewise, when Moon is placed in the last quarter of Ashwini; it is almost between 10 and 13 degrees within the sign of Aries. Here again, Moon is in the middle zone and no double impact may be found. It means the placements of Moon only in the last quarter of Revati and the first quarter of Ashwini should be considered for the formation of Gandmool Dosh; in case of Revati-Ashwini combination.
Similarly, only the fourth quarters of Ashlesha and Jyeshtha should be considered for the formation of Gandmool Dosh; and only the first quarters of Magha and Moola should be considered for the formation of Gandmool Dosh. The remaining quarters of these nakshatras should be ignored on the basis of the aforementioned explanation.
Therefore, Gandmool Dosh is formed in a horoscope, if Moon is placed in any one of the following:
4th Pada or Quarter of Revati nakshatra.
1st Pada or Quarter of Ashwini nakshatra.
4th Pada or Quarter of Ashlesha nakshatra.
1st Pada or Quarter of Magha nakshatra.
4th Pada or Quarter of Jyeshtha nakshatra.
1st Pada or Quarter of Moola nakshatra.
Once the formation of Gandmool Dosh is confirmed, next things to check are its strength and field of impact. When it comes to check strength of Gandmool Dosh, the primary factor is closeness of Moon to the points of transition. For example, Moon in Jyeshtha-Moola forms Gandmool Dosh between 27 degrees of Scorpio and 3 degrees of Sagittarius. At 27th degree of Scorpio as well as at 3rd degree of Sagittarius; Gandmool Dosh may be weak. At 28th degree of Scorpio and at 2nd degree of Sagittarius; Gandmool Dosh may be strong. At 29th degree of Scorpio and at 1st degree of Sagittarius; Gandmool Dosh may be even stronger. Between 29th degree of Scorpio and 1st degree of Sagittarius; Gandmool Dosh may be even stronger. The strongest impact may be felt closer to 30th degree of Scorpio and 0th degree of Sagittarius. The same concept holds in case of Revati-Ashwini and Ashlesha-Magha type of formation for this defect.
After this, the overall strength of Moon in a horoscope is checked as this factor can change the results of Gandmool Dosh. For example, formation of Gandmool Dosh in Ashlesha may prove less troublesome compared to the formation of this defect in Jyeshtha. This is because Moon is placed in Cancer when it transits through Ashlesha. Since Cancer is ruled by Moon, it is strong in this sign. Hence it may be in better position to handle such double impact called Gandmool Dosh.
On the other hand, Moon is placed in Scorpio when it transits through Jyeshtha. Since Moon is debilitated in Scorpio, it may not be capable of properly handling such Gandmool Dosh; and hence it may receive more damage. Similarly, placements of Moon in certain specific houses of horoscope may increase or decrease the capacity of Moon to deal with Gandmool Dosh, thereby changing the net results given by Gandmool Dosh.
Another factor which carries importance in case of Gandmool Dosh is the functional nature of Moon in one such horoscope. It should be noted that Gandmool Dosh is different from most other defects in this regard. Whereas it may be essential for the planets involved in the formation of negative Yogas to be malefic, it is not so in case of Gandmool Dosh. Gandmool Dosh is one of the rarest yogas in Vedic astrology, where the functional nature of the planet involved is not an essential factor. For example, only malefic Mars may form Manglik Dosh and only malefic Rahu as well as Ketu may form Kaal Sarp Yog. However, even benefic Moon may form Gandmool Dosh. Hence this defect is unique in this way.
However, Gandmool Dosh formed when Moon is benefic may be far less troublesome than Gandmool Dosh formed when Moon is malefic in a horoscope. This is because malefic Moon may add more negative energy to Gandmool Dosh whereas benefic Moon may counteract a part of the negative energy generated by Gandmool Dosh, thereby reducing the damage caused by it. Hence functional nature of Moon should be checked in order to assess the strength of Gandmool Dosh in a horoscope.
The impact of other benefic and malefic planets on Moon should also be checked properly as this factor can also make significant changes to the net results of Gandmool Dosh. For example, if Gandmool Dosh is formed due to placement of benefic Moon in the fourth quarter of Revati nakshatra, presence of benefic Jupiter in Pisces along with Moon may provide extra strength to Moon. This combination may also form Gaj Kesari Yoga. As a result, the damage caused by Gandmool Dosh may reduce and the native may not suffer much due to this defect.
On the other hand, if Gandmool Dosh is formed due to placement of Moon in the fourth quarter of Revati nakshatra, placement of malefic exalted Ketu in Pisces may intensify the problem. This is because malefic Ketu may form Grahan Yoga by afflicting Moon. Hence the native may suffer even more due to combined malefic influence of Gandmool Dosh and Grahan Yoga.
Coming to the next factor, the overall theme of horoscope having Gandmool Dosh should also be studied carefully, as this factor alone can change each and everything. For example, if Gandmool Dosh is formed in a horoscope due to placement of benefic Moon in one of the Gandmool nakshatras and the overall theme of horoscope is strong and positive, the native may not face problems of high quantum. This is because the overall strong and positive horoscope of the native may provide him with sufficient strength to deal with the negative energy generated by Gandmool Dosh.
On the other hand, an overall negative or a weak horoscope may become a cause of concern for the native having Gandmool Dosh in his horoscope; as he may receive no support from his horoscope. Hence the negative energy generated by Gandmool Dosh may trouble him a lot.
The field of impact of Gandmool Dosh should also be checked as this factor also carries importance. Though the general significances of Moon remain the same in every horoscope, the specific significances may change and this factor may change the results of Gandmool Dosh. For example, if Moon represents the seventh house in a horoscope, formation of Gandmool Dosh may affect the marriage of the native. If Moon represents the fifth house in a horoscope, formation of Gandmool Dosh may trouble the native with problems related to children. Similarly, formation of Gandmool Dosh may trouble the native on account of professional problems, if Moon represents the tenth house in his horoscope. The house of placement of Moon is also important to assess field of impact of Gandmool Dosh and this factor becomes even more important if Moon is malefic.
After this, the impact of running times (Mahadashas or planetary periods) should also be studied as this factor may have significant effect on Gandmool Dosh. If benefic, strong and well placed Moon forms Gandmool Dosh in a horoscope; the problems may reduce during Moon Mahadasha. On the other hand, if malefic and/or poorly placed Moon forms Gandmool Dosh in a horoscope, the problems may intensify during Moon period. Apart from that; the problems posed by Gandmool Dosh may reduce during Mahadashas of benefic planets whereas they may intensify during Mahadashas of malefic planets.
Looking at remedies, the best remedy for this defect may be Gandmool Dosh Nivaran Pooja. This is the process through which the negative influence of Gandmool Dosh on Moon is reduced with the help of certain specific Mantras and procedures.
Himanshu Shangari