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Typed and proofread by Ravi Gollapalli, Hyderabad, India
Taboo for Marriages
EKARGALA IS ONE of the 21 great evils mentioned in texts of electional astrology. This great evil is disallowed for marriage Muhurthas, particularly in Kashmir (एकार्गलं तु काश्मीरे वेधं सर्वझ वर्जयेत्).
One of the limbs of Panchanga is Yoga which can score 32 points to any auspicious Muhurtha ( द्वात्रिशत् गुणितो योगः ).
Among the 27 Yogas, only 18 are Benefic.
The Evil Yogas are 9 in number and they are: 1. Vishkambha, 2. Atiganda, 3. Soola, 4. Ganda, 5. Vyaghata, 6. Vajra, 7. Vyatipata, 8. Parigha and 9. Vydhruti.
The Ekargala when connected with any one of the 9 evil Yogas is considered a great evil. Hence it would be safer to see that the Muhurtha for marriage in particular is free from such a great evil as Ekargala.
Judge whether the Ekargala is formed when any one of the 9 evil Yogas fall on the Muhurtha. If yes, discard the Muhurtha. If not, the Muhurtha may be acceptable despite the presence of the evil Yoga.
Determination of Ekargala
Method 1:
This is given in Muhurtha Chintamani for the Kharjura which is called the Ekargala in the second reading (पाठान्तर ) ( एकार्गलाख्यो अभिजित् समेठो दोषः राशी मेत् ??? ) .
Count from the star occupied by the Sun to the star occupied by the Moon. Include Abhijit in the count. If it is an odd number, Ekargala is said to be formed.
Example: Muhurtha on 12-10-1997 at 8-05 a.m.
The Lagna is Thula or Libra (for Rajahmundry latitude), the Yoga is Soola, the Sun is in Chitta 1 and the Moon in Dhanishta 1.
Counting from Chitta to Dhanishta, you get 11 (Including Abhijit) which is an odd number, Hence Ekargala is formed.
Method 2:
Each of the 9 evil Yogas is connected with a particular star as follows:
1.Vishkambha – Ashwini
2.Atiganda – Anuradha
3.Soola – Mrigasira
3.Ganda – Moola
4.Vyaghata – Punarvasu
5.Vajra – Pushyami
6.Vyatipata – Aslesha
7.Parigha – Makha
8.Vydhruti – Chitta
Draw a vertical line and on it draw 13 horizontal lines to get 27 in total. Write the connected star of the evil Yoga on the top and write the remaining 26 lines in the clock-wise or anti-clock wise direction. If the stars of the Sun and Moon are on the same line, Ekargala is forms (do not include Abhijit). In example 1, the evil Yoga is Soola. The star connected with it is Mrigasira. Now write Mrigasira on the top and remaining stars as shown below:
In example 1, the Sun is in Chitta, while the Moon is in Dhanishta. You find Chitta and Dhanishta are on the same line. Hence Ekargala is formed.
Sometimes, the two methods mentioned above may differ in the formation of Ekargala in which case (Method 2) may be taken as dependable since it has the Arsha Pramana of Vasishta and Narada and is dealt with in many texts like Poorvakalamitra etc. Kharjura and the Ekargala are not two different great evils as some may think, since Vasishta also calls Kharjura as Ekargala. According to these authors, though the stars of the Sun and the Moon lie on the same line in the Kharjura Chakra shown above, their mutual aspect is evil to Ekargala. Their mutual aspect would mean, according to Daivajna Vilasam, if the Padas of stars occupied by the Sun and the Moon are the same or 1 = 4 or 2 = 3. This condition is applicable to the Method (1) also, in Example 1, the Sun is in Chitta 1, while the Moon is in Dhanishta 2. So the Ekargala that is formed is not evil, because of the absence of the mutual aspect due to the 1st and 2nd Padas. Hence the Muhurtha is acceptable. Now let us take an example to show how the two methods differ in the formation of Ekargala.
Example 2: Muhurtha on 29-6-1997 at 7:20 a.m.
The Lagna is Karkataka (Cancer), the Yoga Atiganda, the Sun is in Aridra 3, and the Moon is in Aswini 2.
By Method(1), we get 24 which is an even number when counted from Aridra to Aswini including the Abhijit. So Ekargala does not form.
By Method (2), the star connected with Atiganda is Anuradha.
You will find above that Aridra and Aswini are on the same line. Since their Padas are the 2nd and 3rd, the Ekargala that forms is a great evil because of the mutual aspect. Hence the Muhurtha is not acceptable.
According to Muhurtha Chintamani, though the Ekargala is a great evil, the Muhurtha is acceptable if the Sun or the Moon is strongly placed. The Moon is deemed strong in the 2nd, 3rd, and 11th houses from Lagna. The Sun is deemed strong in the 3rd, the 6th, the 8th and the 11th houses.
Example 3: Muhurtha on 11-4-1998 at 9-05 p.m.
The Lagna is Vrischika (Scorpio), the Yoga is Vyaghata, the Sun is in Revati 4 and the Moon is in Chitta 1.
By the Methods (1) and (2) the Ekargala that forms is evil. But since the Moon is in the 11th from the Lagna, the Muhurtha is acceptable.
