Graha Maitri in Gun Milan

Graha Maitri is a koot or aspect which carries 5 points or gunas according to the system of gun Milan which is used by many astrologers practicing in Vedic Jyotish for the purpose of horoscope matching or match making between two individuals. The system of gun Milan is the most popular system in India when it comes to do a horoscope matching or match making for the purpose of marriage and compatibility. This system of gun Milan has been in use since the Vedic ages and even today it is considered as the best possible solution for horoscope matching or match making and many astrologers and most of people still think that gun Milan is a complete process of horoscope matching or match making in itself and nothing else needs to paid attention for the purpose of horoscope matching. For the new readers who are not familiar with this system of gun Milan, let me mention here that the system of gun Milan is based on matching 8 aspects or koots from both the horoscopes which are called Varna, Vashya, Tara, Yoni, Graha Maitri, Gan, Bhakoot and Nadi and all of these 8 koots are assigned 1 to 8 points or gunas respectively which make a total of 36 and a final score is calculated for a particular horoscope matching or match making based on how good or bad is the matching of each one of these 8 koots. Graha Maitri lies at 4th position from the top and accordingly it carries 5 gunas or points and different number of gunas or points are assigned in case of a horoscope matching or match making based on how the graha maitri of bride and groom matches with each other according to the rules of gun Milan. First of all, lets try and understand as to what is this graha maitri according to Vedic Jyotish and what is the role of graha maitri in the process of horoscope matching or match making according to the system of gun Milan. As we know that all nine planets called navagraha in Vedic Jyotish are always on their journey from one sign to the other and from one nakshatra to the other and accordingly the Moon also travels from Ashvini nakshatra to Revati nakshatra and from Aries to Pisces in a cyclic movement and at any given point of time and place, Moon is present in a particular nakshatra and in a particular sign. For example, lets assume that Moon is present in Pushya nakshatra and Cancer sign at this time and place and accordingly all the people born under this time and place will have the Moon placed in Pushya nakshatra and in Cancer sign in their birth horoscopes. Hence the birth nakshatra of these natives is Pushya and birth sign or Rashi as it is called in Vedic Jyotish, of these natives is Cancer. Moving ahead, there are 12 zodiac signs which are considered important according to Vedic Jyotish for making calculations from horoscopes and for making calculations like horoscope matching or match making and each one of these 12 signs is owned by a

planet among navagraha which is called the ruling planet of that sign or the lord of that sign. For the convenience of new readers, following is the planetary lordship of signs according to Vedic Jyotish : Aries is ruled by Mars according to Vedic Jyotish. Taurus is ruled by Venus according to Vedic Jyotish. Gemini is ruled by Mercury according to Vedic Jyotish. Cancer is ruled by Moon according to Vedic Jyotish. Leo is ruled by Sun according to Vedic Jyotish. Virgo is ruled by Mercury according to Vedic Jyotish. Libra is ruled by Venus according to Vedic Jyotish. Scorpio is ruled by Mars according to Vedic Jyotish. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter according to Vedic Jyotish. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn according to Vedic Jyotish. Aquarius is ruled by Saturn according to Vedic Jyotish. Pisces is ruled by Jupiter according to Vedic Jyotish. By now we know what are the planetary lords of the signs and which planets is planetary lord of which sign according to Vedic Jyotish. Moving on, Vedic Jyotish also assigns a relation between all the planets among navagraha which tells us which graha is friendly towards which graha, neutral towards which graha enemy towards which graha and the points or gunas for graha maitri are decided according to this relation between the lords of Rashis or Moon signs as seen from the horoscopes of bride and groom under consideration for horoscope matching or match making. Depending upon the relation between Rashi lords of boy and girl under consideration for horoscope matching or match making, the system of gun Milan assigns following points or gunas to the match :

If the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the boy is same as the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the girl under consideration for horoscope matching or match making, the system of gun Milan assigns 5 out of 5 points for graha maitri for such case of horoscope matching or match making. For example, if the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of both boy and girl is Mars, graha maitri is given 5 out of 5 points or gunas. If the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the boy and the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the girl under consideration for horoscope matching or match making, are friendly with each other, the system of gun Milan assigns 5 out of 5 points for graha maitri for such case of horoscope matching or match making. If the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the boy and the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the girl under consideration for horoscope matching or match making, are friendly-neutral with each other, the system of gun Milan assigns 4 out of 5 points for graha maitri for such case of horoscope matching or match making. This classification of graha maitri means that one planetary lord is friendly with the second whereas the second planetary lord is neutral towards the first one. If the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the boy and the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the girl under consideration for horoscope matching or match making, are neutral-neutral with each other, the system of gun Milan assigns 3 out of 5 points for graha maitri for such case of horoscope matching or match making. This classification of graha maitri means that one planetary lord is neutral towards the second and the second planetary lord is neutral towards the first one. If the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the boy and the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the girl under consideration for horoscope matching or match making, are friend-enemy with each other, the system of gun Milan assigns 1 out of 5 points for graha maitri for such case of horoscope matching or match making. This classification of graha maitri means that one planetary lord is friend towards the second and the second planetary lord is enemy towards the first one. If the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the boy and the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the girl under consideration for horoscope matching or match making, are neutral-enemy with each other, the system of gun Milan assigns or 0.5 out of 5 points for graha maitri for such case of horoscope matching or match making. This classification of graha maitri means that one planetary lord is neutral towards the second and the second planetary lord is enemy towards the first one.

If the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the boy and the planetary lord of Moon sign or Rashi of the girl under consideration for horoscope matching or match making, are enemy towards each other, the system of gun Milan assigns 5 out of 5 points for graha maitri for such case of horoscope matching or match making. In the cases of horoscope matching or match making where graha maitri match gives a score of 0, 0.5 or 1 according to gun Milan, a graha maitri dosh is said to be formed in the horoscope which is associated with very bad results like mental incompatibility between husband and wife which can lead to serious arguments and divorces in some cases. It can be seen from the above mentioned data that there are only 7 combinations for graha maitri match based on the birth Rashi of boy and girl 3 out of these 7 combinations form graha maitri dosh in horoscope matching or match making according to gun Milan system. Hence it can be said that about 45% of the cases of horoscope matching or match making are having graha maitri dosh on average according to gun Milan and accordingly 45% of the marriages should be suffering from the problems associated with graha maitri dosh which means that every second or third girl on average is prohibited for a boy and every second or third boy is prohibited for a girl merely on the basis of graha maitri dosha. It should also be noted here that graha maitri dosh is only one of the defects formed during horoscope matching or match making and there are many other defects like Nadi Dosha, Bhakut Dosh, Gan Dosh, Manglik Dosh, Kaal Sarp Dosh, Pitra Dosh, Kemdrum Yog and other doshas of this kind, each of which is capable of causing even more serious problems in 40 to 50% of the marriages according to the prevalent definition of these doshas. Taking everything into consideration, it can be easily said that almost all the marriages in the world should end up in divorces or other serious problems which is not what we see in reality and hence the formation of graha maitri dosh in horoscope matching or match making alone cannot cause serious problems for the married life of the couple having this dosh. In my experience of horoscope matching which now goes over thousands of cases of horoscope matching or match making, I have seen hundreds of successful marriages in spite of the presence of a graha maitri dosh in horoscope matching or match making mainly due to fact that the overall horoscopes of such couples were giving very good indications about the marriage and married lives of these couples and the benefic and positive factors present in these horoscopes reduced the malefic effects of graha maitri dosha to great extent and hence graha maitri dosh could not cause any significant damage to these couples. Hence it should be kept in mind that the formation of a graha maitri dosh during horoscope matching can cause significant problems in the

marriage of the couple under consideration only if such a graha maitri dosha is supported by some other malefic doshas present in one or both the horoscopes and a gan dosh is not capable of doing serious damages on its own in most of the cases. It should also be noted that the presence of good yogas in one or both the horoscopes can reduce the bad effects of graha maitri dosh to great extents and accordingly this dosha cannot do any significant damage in such a marriage. Therefore the couples having a graha maitri dosha during horoscope matching or match making should not lose heart and they should get their horoscopes matched properly in order to know whether such a graha maitri dosh is capable of doing any damage or not. It should also be noted here that the malefic effects of graha maitri dosha present in horoscope matching can be rectified with astrological remedies like Yantras, Mantras and pujas in most of the cases which gives us another reason not to be afraid of graha maitri dosh.