Mangalaमंगल

Mangala (मंगल) is the planet Mars deified, one of the Navagraha whose configurations govern the Hindu horoscope. His name, ironically, means auspicious; his older epithets are blunter, Aṅgāraka, the ember-like, for his burning red colour, and Kuja or Bhauma, son of the Earth. He presides over energy, courage, aggression and land, the soldier among the planets.

Son of the Earth

The Puranas explain the epithet Bhauma with stories that vary in detail but agree in substance: Mars was born of the Earth, in most tellings when drops of Shiva's sweat or blood, shed during austerity or battle, fell upon her and she received them. The fiery, martial temperament of the resulting child made him a warrior god, and some strands of tradition associate him with Karttikeya, the commander of the divine armies, whose red banner he shares.

In astrology

In the horoscope Mangala is a natural malefic, strong in courage and disastrous in temper. His day is Tuesday, his colour red, his gem the coral, his mount commonly the ram, his direction the south. He signifies brothers, land and property, surgery and soldiering. Most consequential in social practice is the mangal or kuja dosha, an affliction arising from his placement in certain houses of a birth chart, which traditional matchmaking treats as a serious obstacle to marriage unless matched or remedied. Tuesday fasts and the worship of Hanuman are the common recourse of those who feel his heat.