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How Long a Marriage Lasts: the 2nd From the 7th
Count eight houses from the 7th and you are in the 2nd. That 2nd house is where Jyotish looks for the length and the stored resource of a marriage. A long bond is a supported 2nd lord beside a sound 7th lord, lived in their dashas.
Length is a house, not a promise of ease
The 7th is the marriage. The 8th from the 7th is the 2nd, so the 2nd lord shows what sustains the union: family fund, speech in the house, the capacity to continue. A 2nd lord in a kendra with the 7th lord is the classical picture of a bond that has resources. A 2nd lord in the 12th spends the fund and can shorten the felt stability even when the 7th looks fine. Lasting does not mean untroubled. Saturn in the 7th can last and still be heavy. Mars in the 7th can last and still be hot. The Navamsa has to show the same endurance or the birth chart is only the opening chapter.
Venus has to survive its own condition
Venus is the kalatra karaka. Venus in the 2nd ties the karaka to the sustaining house, which is a strong longevity signature for the bond. Venus debilitated in Virgo, or combust, weakens the karaka even if the 2nd lord is fine. Venus mahadasha lasts 20 years. If those years fall across the marriage, the karaka's condition is the lived texture of a long stretch. A single antardasha of the 6th lord inside them is a fight inside a bond that can still continue.
Both clocks
One spouse's 2nd lord can be strong while the other's 7th lord is in the 12th. The bond then feels lasting to one person and provisional to the other. Read both charts when both birth times exist. A guna score does not measure length. It measured two Moons. Longevity of the marriage is this 2nd-from-7th count, D9, and whether a separating bhukti is temporary. The 12th lord's period is the one that tests the length. If D9 holds, the test can pass.
Frequently asked questions
Which house shows whether a marriage can last?
The 2nd, because it is the 8th from the 7th. Its lord should support the 7th lord. The Navamsa has to agree.
Does Saturn in the 7th end the marriage?
It makes the 7th heavy and often late. Length is the 2nd lord and D9. Saturn can be part of a long, difficult bond.
Which period tests the bond most?
A 12th-lord or 8th-lord antardasha. Venus's 20-year mahadasha shows the karaka's real condition if it falls during the marriage.
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D1, D9, D10, dashas, yogas, and transits, the same calculations referenced in this article.