Margazhi Musings - Mystical and Magical!

There is something serene about 'Margazhi' which makes it both mystical and magical. It almost feels like everything comes to life during this window of approximately about 30 days.

Lord Krishna mentions in the Bhagawad Gita "māsānāṁ mārga-śhīrṣhoham" - translating as "Of all the months I'm Margazhi". This Dhanur month is venerated towards Lord Vishnu and believed to be of steadfast spiritual significance. It is a time in which devotion reigns foremost with traditions in full force uniting and representing culture in an embellished elan. This is especially true if you're from the South of India and more so from Tamil Nadu belonging to the city of Chennai and for more pin pointed precision live in the by lanes or in and around the neck of the woods of the evergreen area of 'Mylapore'.

Margazhi month ignites with the ingress of the Sun into the sign of Sagittarius or more specifically Moola Nakshatra thus ushering the awakening of Dhanur Masa or the month of the morning dawn. Incidentally this month is not known for auspicious events such as purchasing of material acquisitions, starting new ventures, conducting marriage / engagement functions etc. This is because this month is dedicated exclusively for worship towards the divine with the focus solely being on religious activities. It makes great sense from an astrological perspective also as Sagittarius or Dhanur is the 9th sign of the Kalapurusha and denotes significations such as Religion, Faith, Blessings, Dharma, Temples, Gurus etc. It also indicates 'Father' and interestingly the other month where ceremonies like marriage are avoided happens to be Aadi Maasam equating to Sun's entry into Cancer zodiac which is the 4th sign of the Kalapurusha portraying 'Mother'. Thus both in the sign of Mother (Cancer/Aadi) and Father (Sagittarius/Dhanur), events like marriage are not considered auspicious perhaps indirectly hinting that these months are for respecting the elders and getting more closer to the divine perfectly symbolising with the statement of "Mata Pita Guru Deivam". Also another pointer one could think of is that the beginning Nakshatra of Dhanur that Sun enters into viz Moola is anything but materialistic. It is ruled by "Nirriti", the goddess of destruction embodying dissolution needed for renewal and is associated with a deep spiritual impulse. Shri Anjaneya is believed to be born in the constellation of Moola Nakshatra and everyone is aware of the Bhakti and deep devotion that he had towards Lord Rama. Also Moola aligns with the Galactic Milky way center and is said to be linked with a super massive black hole in line with its symbol of roots, creation and transformation. All these factors can perhaps be interpreted to give a solid reasoning as to why this month is anything but connected to material pursuits.

Many associate the 'Margashira' month as directly akin to 'Margazhi' which is not always correct. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala especially, the solar months are considered prominent based on the Sun's entry in to a zodiac sign whereas in other parts of India, its the Lunar calendar based on the Tithi which holds sacrosanct. In Tamil Nadu, the solar month of Sagittarius is termed as 'Margazhi' and in Kerala it is referred as 'Dhanu'. For those following the Lunar calendar, there are two traditions viz Amanta and Pournimanta with the former indicating the start of a new month at the end of Ammavasya Tithi and the latter calls the start of a new month at the end of Poornima Tithi. Thus it can be inferred that a portion of the lunar month of Margashira may be intermingled as part of Margazhi but not exclusively. 

The period which roughly runs from mid December till mid January is a phase in which the divine reigns supreme, music & dance takes centerstage, delectable delicacies get devoured, symmetrical eye gazing art in the form of Kolams get depicted invoking and inviting God. There is a a chillness in the air that is felt from underneath. Even offices provide a leeway to their employees by making this their festive time with holidays granted in the form of Xmas & New Year and additionally many companies even have the policy of Golden Week allowing their work force to enjoy that one week time of December last week all for themselves. Some events taking place may just be a minor coincidence but that festival atmosphere buzzing during the Margazhi interval is simply unmatchable. Incidentally even the NRI folks largely uses this zone of time to book their holidays to head over to Bharat Mata to soak in the brilliance that's Margazhi. It almost appears like everything congregates and comes together to make this spell of time truly special.

It's also the month uniting Vaishnavite & Shaivite traditions with Arudra Darshan following closely on the heels of Vaikunta Ekadashi. In fact it also blends with the Western World of Spirituality as Christmas - the day commemorating with the birth of Jesus Christ also occurring only during Margazhi. Also in present day time, January 1st is universally acknowledged to be the start of the calendar year in almost every part of the world which also inevitable falls always during Margazhi.  

Known as the Dawn of the Devas, this month is specially revered for Goddess Andal. Sri Andal - the only female saint among the 12 Alwars whose selfless devotion and love is eulogised to be unparalleled composed the 'Thiruppavai' - a set of 30 verses which are recited as hymns by devotees on each day of the month. The 18 day Kurukshetra War in Mahabharata supposedly also took place in Margazhi. Temples are said to open an hour in advance ensuring to bring the spiritual fervour vibrating all through the month.

Music Kutcheris predominantly in the form of Carnatic Music will be in full swing all through the first half of Margazhi leading upto December 31st. From January onwards its the dance season primarily in the mode of Bharatanatyam carrying the baton for the rest part. Margazhi is a month where the confluence of Music and Dance blends together in its most splendid aura. And to give it company are the canteens doling out all kinds of lip smacking foodie delicacies full of vibrancy and variety with the aroma smearing across from all directions. Speaking about Music, the grand Thyagaraja Aradhanai in honour of one of the greatest classical composers Saint Thyagaraja also at times tends to get scheduled during the Margazhi Month.

Music, Dance, Art, Food, Temples, Religion, Festivals all unite and merge together to make this month of Margazhi as truly one of a kind. When the reverberating sounds of music converges with the tingling of dance steps and geometry of morning rangolis amidst the whiff of divine air circulating and aroma of freshly cooked food, spirituality awakens and Margazhi truly comes to life. Margazhi also acts as the bridge between the end of the calendar year and beginning of the next one. Wishing everyone a blessed Margazhi month. May the divine forces help in being deeply connected and tiding us through in all our endeavours. Sharing some important dates & events to keep note for the benefit of everyone during this holy spiritual time span known as 'Margazhi'

- *Margazhi Masa Aarambam - Dec 16th 2025*
Ingress of the Sun into the sign of Dhanur and Moola Nakshatra signalling the ushering of Margazhi Month 

- *Kanchi Sri Mahaperiyava Aaradhanai - Dec 16th 2025*
In commemoration of attaining samadhi of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham - Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal that took place on the day after Ekadashi Tithi in Krishna Dwadashi Tithi when Anusham (Anuradha) Nakshatra was in operation.

- *Kuchela Dinam - Dec 17th 2025*
Celebrated on the first Wednesday of Dhanur month as per Malayalam calendar. It is as an annual festival celebrated by Hindus in Kerala mainly in honour of Lord Guruvayurappan.

- *Hanuman Jayanthi - Dec 19th 2025*
This is recognised differently based on state culture. However for Tamil Nadu & Kerala, Hanuman Jayanthi occurs on Amma Vasya Tithi during Margazhi month. It also closely aligns with Anjaneyar's birth Nakshatra of Moola which is in operation from late night of 19th Dec and will be present when Amma Vasya Tithi finishes on the 20th morning

- *Shortest Day of the Year - Dec 21st 2025*
For those places belonging to the Northern Hemisphere which includes India, Dec 21st will mark as being the shortest day of the year. It also links well with the Margazhi tradition of day light occurring earlier and days being shorter in magnitude compared to nights.

- *Christmas - Dec 25th 2025*
Christian festival celebrated worldwide commemorating the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ. Coincidence or otherwise, Christmas always gets bracketed in the Margazhi month

- *Vaikunta Ekadashi - Dec 30th 2025*
Ekadashi's occur two times in every solar month but the Shukla Paksha Ekadashi occurring in Margazhi month happens to be the most auspicious Vaikunta Ekadashi opening the gates to Lord Maha Vishnu's celestial abode.

- *New Year - Jan 1st 2026*
Ushering of New Year signalling the start of new calendar year 2026 worldwide

- *Arudra Darisanam - Jan 3rd 2026*
This occurs on the day Tiruvadirai (Arudra) Nakshatra transits in Margazhi month. Arudra Darisanam is celebrated in veneration of Lord Shiva's cosmic dance as Nataraja.

- *Ramana Maharishi Jayanthi - Jan 4th 2026*
This takes place when Punarpoosam (Punarvasu) Nakshatra is in operation during Margazhi month in reverence to the birth anniversary of Ramana Maharishi

- *Pushpa Abhishek - Jan 5th 2026*
Flower Bathing ceremony of Lord Krishna especially followed in traditions like Iskcon which takes place on Poosam (Pushya) Nakshatra that symbolises 'flower' when Pushya Lunar month is in operation which coincides with Margazhi month in this year

- *Agastya Jayanthi (aka) Siddha Day - Jan 6th 2026*
Agastya Jayanthi also reckoned as 'Siddha Day' is in honour of the great Sage Agasthya Maharishi who is said to be born in the month of Margazhi when Ayilyam (Ashlesha) Nakshatra was visible in the skies. Agasthya is known to have drunk the entire ocean in order to help the Devas and he is also credited with being the father of Siddha Medicine.

- *Sri Thyagara Aaradhanai - Jan 7th 2026*
5 day Annual Carnatic music festival in respect of Saint Thyagaraja, one of the Trinities of Carnatic music along with Muthuswamy Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri. It is held on Krishna Paksha Panchami Tithi in Pushya Lunar month during which the musical Saint attained Samadhi. This time it coincides as part of the Margazhi month

- *Koodaravalli - Jan 11th 2026*
This takes place on the 27th day of the month of Margazhi in rejoice of Andal's devotion as that was the day when Lord Vishnu granted her the boon of marriage. Devotees offer a special sweet called 'Akkara Vadisal' - a form of ghee rice pudding in celebration of Kodhai. 

- *Vivekananda Jayanthi aka India's National Youth Day - Jan 12th 2026*
This is calendar date specific and takes place every year on the 12th of January which is the birth anniversary of spiritual leader Sri Vivekanand.

Note: Some of the dates may fall across 2 days but importance is given based on whether sunrise was prevalent during the event occurrence. For instance, Agastya Jayanti which is based on Nakshatra Ayilyam or Ashlesha starts around noon on 5th Jan and ends after noon on 6th Jan. Since only on 6th Jan, sunrise was prevalent, thus the latter date is given higher priority. Additionally not date specific, this holy month of 'Margazhi' is also known for 'Pavai Nonbu' and 'Thiruvempavai'. The former is a religious observation primarily undertaken by unmarried girls involving waking up early, performing rituals and singing hymns in praise to the Lord. The latter dedicated to Lord Shiva is a set of 20 hymns written by Manikavasagar and is sung daily with fast undertaken for 9 days and culminating on the 10th day of Thiruvadhirai during Arudra Darisanam.

Cougar Relationship and the link with Priyanka Chopra!

Cougar relationships have always been viewed with closed lens and more so when an Indian is involved, it always tends to attract the paparazzi. The recent involvement of Bollywood heartthrob Priyanka Chopra with a person more than 10 years her junior was certainly the cynosure of all eyes and got the media into a frenzied overdrive trying to analyse the reasons for her relationship with the happening Nick Jonas, a person of another origin/country and who happens to be a whole decade younger in age.

I was quite curious to rack up her horoscope to see what prompted such a relationship. Thankfully her birth details seem to be quite authentic and seems to tally with some of her traits. Sharing her birth details as per below;
DOB : 18th July 1982
POB : Jamshedpur, India
TOB : 1:30 AM
Ayanamsa : Raman 22-10-01.76

Now let's take a brief peekaboo into Priyanka Chopra's horoscope. First up, her 7th lord is sitting in 5th which clearly indicates a high probability of love marriage. Not only that, you see Venus and Rahu sitting together which accentuates it further and even more so because Venus is in dual sign of Gemini. The trigger of Rahu always tends to create something mysterious and when conjoined with Venus in a dual placement, it's almost as if its been given the freedom to play around. Also if you'd observe Jupiter in the natal chart aspects both Venus & Rahu and incidentally the period from Dec'17 to May'18, Jupiter Maha Dasa/Venus Antar Dasa/Rahu Pratyantar Dasa was only running. It looks very clear that around this period only her love would have blossomed and really come to light. It's quite funny how Vedic astrology seems to show it quite visibly in her horo chart as well :D.

Next up, looking at the dignity of her 7th (spouse). Her 7th lord is conjoined with Saturn. They are also pretty close to each other - Mars and Saturn. So Saturn has the power of giving marriage and not only that he is Yogakarak for both Taurus Lagna and Moon. Now the telling point is check Saturn's 10th aspect on Mercury. It falls exactly where Mercury is located. Both of them are exactly to the dot 24 degrees in their respective signs of Gemini and Virgo. Mercury as a planet has the significance of being a friend and can indicate a younger partner and it emphasizes the fact resolutely in her case. Saturn does also aspect Venus and Rahu but the one on Mercury is the talking point here. Saturn is also 8th from it's Mool Trikona sign giving sudden rise in the form of a strange love (younger partner and also of foreign origin)

Coming to her characteristics in general, Ascendant and Moon together in Taurus gives her a very good personality. Her 3rd lord Moon is placed in the 1st giving her excellent communication skills and making her a very confident person. 2nd is about wealth and you see not only natural 2nd house owner Venus sitting there but also Lord of 2nd and 5th Mercury sitting in it's own sign of Gemini. The house of motherland viz 4th house Sun is afflicted sitting 12 places from itself indicating that she regularly travels and frequently leaves her hometown to foreign destinations. Rahu/Ketu in 2/8 axis isn't great but here also Rahu and Ketu both sit in their respective mool trikona sign of Gemini and Sagittarius respectively. The top rated malefic for Taurus Lagna viz Jupiter is actually weak sitting in 6th place and hence will not be very harmful. Lot of planets attain power in her horoscope and it isn't a phenomenon to see her extremely successful and being the most followed Indian on Instagram.

One more thing to note is about her work and career. You find her 10th lord sitting in the 5th indicating indirectly that work will be somewhat related with creativity and intelligence. You also see Saturn sitting in the 9th Dasamsa (24 to 27 degrees) of even sign Virgo in the South East direction represented by Agni and ruled by Venus. This direction is controlled by Agni Deva and ruled by Venus who is the head of all creative works such as acting, singing, dancing etc. And another wonderful coincidence is that the planet Venus is himself sitting in the odd sign of Gemini in 2nd Dasamsa (3 to 6 degrees) which is also in the South East direction and ruled again by Venus himself. Hence Shukra Guru is playing a yeomen role in elevating her pedestal and indicating that she is in the right kind of profession. Saturn also happens to be the 10th lord in the Dasamsa D10 chart sitting in its own movable sign of Capricorn with Rahu showing a job involved with plenty of travelling.

Focusing the energy on the main topic which is of her relationship and marriage, she is likely to get married in Dec'18. It's magical to see how all the planets are harnessing the spherical energies to show this event in her chart.
Dasa check - current one running is Jupiter MD - Venus AD - Saturn PD from Sep'18 to Feb'19. Jupiter is the most natural benefic and Venus the signifier of an event like marriage and Venus happens to be in trikona to Jupiter. Also Saturn the yogakarak is closely conjunct with her actual 7th lord Mars.
Transit check - Jupiter is now exactly 7th to both her natal Lagna as well as Natal Moon again pointing out imminently that an event of a magnitude such as marriage may take place.

Wishing PC all the very best. She has well and truly been a role model and a great ambassador representing India with a lot of dignity and grace in foreign shores.