SARPADOSHA - EXPLOITATIVE REMEDIES OF RAHU & KETHU

Sarpa Dosha
Exploitative remedies of Rahu & Ketu Puja
- T.V. Narayana*

People who are inflicted with sarpadosha often desperately search for astrological and sashtric remedies and such people become easy prey for exploitative magic remedies offered by commercial pundits. One wonders whether recent spurt in Rahu-Ketu Poojas organized commercially in various shiva temples smacks such character. Sri kalahastheeswara Temple(Chittoor Dist of A.P.) witnesses performance of Rahu-ketu Pujas at an exorbitant cost (!) as people flock in good faith the propaganda carried that it is Rahu-Ketu Kshetra and showing sky as the limit to their propaganda they even go to the extent of equating Lord Shiva as Rahu and Godess Gnanapraunamba as Ketu. Nothing can be more deceitful than this if one scans through relevant puranas and authoritative kavyas in this regard. Some of the traditional priests in fact lament at this false spread of opinions demeaning the Kshertra itself. Of course, faddist faith never stands for reason.
It is necessary for the stakeholders in true astrology and pundits who invoke appropriate scriptural remedies to dispel the doubts and lift the veil of misrepresentations.
The celebrated authority on astronomy Varaha Mihira discarded Rah and Ketu as shadow planets and relegated them without any House. One can find that Kalidasa in his Uttara Kalamrutam has assigned them exalted places. Parasara gave them dasa ruling. Nonetheless it should be noted that these planets give the results of the houses they occupy during their respective dasa periods.
Sarpa Dosha occurs where all the planets are posited between Rahu and Ketu in anti clockwise direction. This dosha is considered one of the avayogas. But the rigor of the bad results is mollified if their position is in the benefic houses according to the ascendant chart of the birth. Kuja is outright Yoga karaka for kataka and Simha Lagnas. In such a case if Rahu is posited in benefic houses of 3,6,11, he is supposed to give good results. Simply because of sarpa dosha the native’s life will not be gloomy. Sarpa dosha can be counted when it is in the rasi of the the Birth Chart. It is in the Bhava Chart that one has to predict the results. The position of the nodes, if changed in Bhava Chart the results will be otherwise as the prediction should be made as per Bhva Chart. But Sarpa dosha should not be linked to Rahu and Ketu though such dosha occurs when all the other planets are posited in between Rahu and Ketu in anti clock wise direction.

However, this is not to undermine performing poojas and reciting mantras in order to invoke cosmic energy to mollify rigor of evil effects. But one should also be aware that transmitting cosmic energy by commercialized methods of performing poojas is a myth. Best way would be doing it for oneself. Abhishekam with milk on nagapadiga for 40 days is advocated. Invoking directly Rahu and ketu by reciting their respective slokas in prescribed numbers is generally done.

Rahu: Ardhakayam, mahaveeram
Chandraditya vimardhanam
Simhikagarbha Sambhootam
Tham rahum prnamamyaham
(18000 times)

Ketu: Phalasa Pushpa Sankasam
Tarakagraha masthakam
Rowdram Rowdrakaram ghoram
Tham ketum prnamamyaham
(7000 times)
The above presentation is made in order to further attract due deliberation, discussion and a critique from the learned scholars in the field of astrology.