Mangala

Mangala, also Angaraka and Lohita, the red one, is the Hindu deity of the planet Mars, one of the Navagraha, a fierce, celibate warrior with red skin and four arms who rides a ram. In Jyotisha he governs energy, courage, aggression, land and brothers, and he is the lord of the well-known astrological affliction called Mangal Dosha (a person is said to be manglik): when Mars occupies certain houses in a birth chart, difficulty in marriage is anticipated, and the belief has real social force, with charts still matched for compatibility on this point. His parentage varies by text: in some he is the son of Bhumi, the earth-goddess, and Vishnu, born when the god raised her from the cosmic waters in his Varaha (boar) avatar, which gives Mangala the name Bhauma, son of the earth; in others he springs from a drop of Shiva's sweat or blood. Tuesday (Mangalvar) is his day, and he is sometimes linked with the war-god Kartikeya.

Mangala is shown red skinned and four armed, carrying a mace, a trident and a spear, riding a ram, and his temples, though less numerous than those of the major gods, are found across India, with a number of dedicated Mangala or Angarakeshwara shrines built specifically to address the affliction that bears his name. Tuesday (Mangalvar) is his day, kept with red offerings, red cloth, red lentils and, in some regions, the sponsoring of shelters, since charitable giving connected to land and shelter is thought to appease a planet associated with property and conflict.

The belief in Mangal Dosha, whereby a poorly placed Mars in the birth chart is thought to threaten a marriage or endanger a spouse, remains a live consideration in horoscope matching for arranged marriages in many Hindu communities today, and specific remedial rites, from fasting on Tuesdays to particular temple pujas, are still sought out by families who wish to neutralize the affliction rather than cancel a match outright. Because the doctrine has real social consequences for individuals labelled manglik, it has also drawn sustained criticism from within the tradition itself, with some astrologers and reform minded commentators arguing that the rule is applied too rigidly against a deity whose older character is that of a protector of land and courage rather than a marriage-breaker.