Pillar article
Sarpa Dosha on Only One Side
Sarpa dosha in one chart and its absence in the other is not a classical bar to marriage, and the seventh house is marriage for both people. A matching sarpa is not required the way some families demand matching Mangal dosha.
One axis, not a couple's uniform
Sarpa dosha in popular use means Kala Sarpa: the seven grahas hemmed on one side of the Rahu-Ketu axis. It is a shape in one chart. It does not ask the partner's chart to repeat the shape. Mangal dosha is sometimes eased when both have it. That social rule is about Mars houses, not about the nodes. Importing it so that a woman with the nodal pattern must find a man with the same pattern invents a law. The seventh house of marriage, its lord, and Navamsa are the law this method actually has.
What the axis can mean
The house of Rahu and the house of Ketu still have portfolios. Rahu in the tenth is a career story. Ketu in the fourth is a home story. The first house is the self if a node touches the lagna. None of these is a reason the other person must carry a node too. His chart without the pattern is not a cure and not a danger. The Moon shows fear in the family more often than the nodes show a forbidden match. Ashtakoota does not score sarpa at all. It scores nakshatras out of 36.
Read and then decide
Cast both charts under Lahiri. Confirm the axis with a real time, because a wrong lagna moves every house relative to the nodes. If the sevenths agree, the missing sarpa on his side is not an obstacle this method recognizes. If the sevenths fail, say that, and do not blame the prettier name. No rite here is aimed at his chart or at hers. Rahu mahadasha lasts 18 years for the person who is in it. It is not contagious.
Frequently asked questions
Must both partners have sarpa dosha?
No. The pattern is one chart's nodal axis. Marriage is the seventh house in each chart, plus Navamsa. Matching nodes are not required.
Is this the same as matching Mangal dosha?
No. The both-have-it idea is a Mars-house convention. It does not transfer to Rahu and Ketu.
Does Ashtakoota include sarpa?
No. It totals 36 points from Moon nakshatras. The nodal axis is a separate look at the birth chart.
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D1, D9, D10, dashas, yogas, and transits, the same calculations referenced in this article.