Concept of Gullika/Mandi

There was a request to write about the role and results of Gullika & Mandi. So, let’s begin –

 

Introduction – In predictive Astrology, Gullika and Mandi are known as Upagraha or Satellites of Saturn. We can say that just like we have Chiron, Lilith, Juno and Vesta as Asteroids in Western Astrology, we have Gullika and Mandi etc as Upagrahas in Vedic Astrology.

 

Mythology – Many people consider Gullika or Mandi as one only. There is a belief that Gullika is the name of Saturn’s Son and Mandi is another name of same Son. So, they say that Gullika or Mandi are one only and He is Son of Saturn.

 

But then if you see Gullika and Mandi’s position in charts through any software then you will find them at different places at different degrees. That may make you feel that they are two different entities. As we go through this article and especially the calculation portion then we will come to know the reason behind these different positions of Gullika and Mandi. Then we will also have clear idea if Gullika and Mandi are one or different.

 

There is another mythological story involved which refers to a story of the epic Ramayana. It is when Meghnath was about to take birth and Ravana wanted his son Meghnath to be an immortal. As Ravana was Maha-Pundit and great devotee of Lord Shiva, he was that good an Astrologer that he could make all these 9 planets to sit in positions where he wanted in order to create a perfect time for Meghnath to take birth so that Meghnath could be immortal. But just when Meghnath was about to come out of Womb, Saturn placed his one leg in the next zodiac sign which changed the whole complexion of chart of that time and possibility of Meghnath being an immortal was gone. When Ravana saw this mischief of Saturn, he threw his mace on Saturn’s leg and broke his leg. That broken leg is considered as Gullika.

 

Whatever may be the reason, one thing is sure that Gullika or Mandi are somewhere connected with Saturn.

 

Nature of Gullika or Mandi – As it is connected with Saturn, it takes all the traits and characteristics of Saturn; i.e. the delay, hard work, perseverance, repetitive efforts, frustration, limitations etc.

 

People normally have issues with me that why I always present Saturn in dark way? But please try to understand Saturn and then you will understand the reasons. If you look at Saturn’s life then here is a kid who was left by his Mother, his Step-mother never loved him, his Father discarded him and his siblings never respected him. It seems Saturn didn’t receive any love from anyone. It seems none gave even a hug to this kid.

 

Now, you can give to others what you have got. When you have got only misery then it is obvious that you can serve only misery to others. Hence, Saturn is giving troubles to others.

 

Now, if Gullika or Mandi is child of Saturn or even somehow connected with Saturn then obviously it will take-up all the traits and characteristics of Saturn.

 

We can also understand them simply through their names and try to understand this metaphor as to why they can be considered as children of Saturn.

 

a. Saturn – Another name of Saturn is Shani. Shani is root word of Sanskrit word Shanaih which means slow movement. As we all know that Saturn is slow moving.

 

b. Gullika – Gullika literally means something round or circular. What is round or circular which is connected with Saturn? It is Saturn’s Ring. No other planet is blessed with that sort of ring. Now, what this circle can represent? It represents circle of death and re-birth. Saturn represents Time or Life itself which we are living. Saturn is surrounded by the Ring = Life is surrounded by Death and Re-birth. Saturn is also Karma in our life. So, if we are not performing our Karma in this life then we are supposed to go through the circle (Gullika) of death and re-birth. Hence, Gullika is certainly the child of Saturn.

 

c. Mandi – Mandi literally means Slow. We use this word commonly in Hindi to refer to economic slowdown in market. As Mandi means slow movement/growth, it is again a child of Saturn which is all about Delays. So, Mandi also represents the same thing that if we are not performing our Karma in this life then we are supposed to delay our evolution and eventual liberation from Karma. As Mandi is also representing the same concept, we can say that Gulika and Mandi are one and the same.

 

If we understand these metaphors clearly then we can definitely say that Gullika or Mandi is child (Creation of Saturn).

 

Now, Calculation of Gulika or Mandi – Now again, time to sharpen our calculating skills –

 

Let’s take my chart again as an example - https://www.astrosaxena.com/Astrologer. I was born at 6th Feb, 1979. 1.30 am at Indore, MP, India.

 

First thing to take note here is that 1 full day consists of 24 hours. A Vedic Day is from Sunrise to next day’s Sunrise. Now, divide it in two parts. First portion will be from Sunrise to Sunset and second portion will be from Sunset to next day’s Sunrise. If native takes birth between Sunrise to Sunset, it is called Day Time Birth. If native takes birth between Sunset to Sunrise of next day then it is called Night Time Birth. So, if we see my birth date from this vedic perspective then I was actually born on Monday (5th Feb) rather than on Tuesday (6th Feb) because Tuesday or 6th Feb would begin, as per vedic rules, after Sunrise and I was born after midnight but before Sunrise at 1.30 am. This fact will be useful in calculations going forward.

 

Now, check the time of Sunrise and Sunset on 5th Feb, 1979. Likewise, check the time of Sunset on 5th Feb, 1979 and Sunrise on 6th Feb, 1979. You can find this information online or through software like Jagannath Hora.

 

5th Feb, 1979 Sunrise was at 7.08 am. 5th Feb, 1979 Sunset was at 18.12 pm. It means daytime of 5th Feb, 1979 was 11 hours 5 minutes.

 

Then 5th Feb, 1979 Sunset was at 18.12 pm and 6th Feb, 1979 Sunrise was at 7.08 am. It means nighttime of 5th Feb, 1979 was 12 hours 55 minutes.

 

Now, divide daytime of 5th Feb, 1979 in 8 equal parts. It means –

11 hours 5 minutes = 11 x 60 + 5 = 665 / 8 = approximately 83 minutes = 1 hour 23 minutes.

 

Now, if a native is born in day time then counting of these 8 portions of daytime will start from the planet which rules that day. Like, I was born on Monday. Its lord is Moon.

 

So, 1st portion of 1 hour 23 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Moon. 2nd portion of 1 hour 23 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Mars. 3rd portion of 1 hour 23 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Mercury. 4th portion of 1 hour 23 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Jupiter. 5th portion of 1 hour 23 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Venus. 6th portion of 1 hour 23 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Saturn. 7th portion of 1 hour 23 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Sun. Somehow, number 8 is always connected with mystical things which we can’t understand; hence 8th portion will have no lord.

 

So, table of daytime on 5th Feb, 1979 will be like this –

Sunrise was at 7.08 am.

 

1st portion is 7.08 am + 1 hour 23 minute = 8.31 am = ruled by Moon.

 

2nd portion is 8.31 am + 1 hour 23 minute = 9.54 am = ruled by Mars.

 

3rd portion is 9.54 am + 1 hour 23 minute = 11.17 am = ruled by Mercury.

 

4th portion is 11.17 am + 1 hour 23 minute = 12.40 pm = ruled by Jupiter.

 

5th portion is 12.40 pm + 1 hour 23 minute = 14.03 pm = ruled by Venus.

 

6th portion is 14.03 pm + 1 hour 23 minute = 15.26 pm = ruled by Saturn.

 

7th portion is 15.26 pm + 1 hour 23 minute = 16.49 pm = ruled by Sun.

 

8th portion is 16.49 pm + 1 hour 23 minute = 18.12 am = No lord.

 

Now, if I happened to take birth during daytime or anyone takes birth at daytime then we need to stop at the moment Venus portion ended at 14.03 pm and Saturn portion started. Keep in mind that Gullika/Mandi is child of Saturn. So, make a chart of 5th Feb, 1979 at 14.03 pm at Indore, India and whichever is rising/ascendant sign at that time, my Gullika/Mandi will fall there only if I had taken birth in daytime.

 

Now, here comes the reason why Gullika and Mandi might have got developed as two separate concepts. A few people took the timing at the beginning of the Saturn’s portion, i.e. at 14.03 pm. Some other people decided to take it at the middle of Saturn’s portion; i.e. at 14.44 pm and some other people took the time at the end of Saturn’s portion; i.e. 15.26 pm. This is where we got separate positions of Gulika & Mandi in the chart and the confusion started. If we keep settings (in softwares like Jagannath Hora) at one point only, i.e. either at beginning or middle or end of Saturn’s portion then we will get identical degree for Gulika and Mandi both.

 

It seems some other people chose to take that lord-less 8th portion as the base of finding Gullika or Mandi and if we follow that then again we would have different positions of Gullika and Mandi. As always, different people can have different approaches. We can’t do anything about it. We can only try to find the common grounds.

 

Then, there is another thing that I was not born in daytime. I was born at night time after Sunset of 5th Feb 1979. So, we need to do all this effort again for natives born in night time and it is important too as rules change for them.

 

As discussed before, Sunset on 5th Feb 1979 took place at 18.12 pm and Sunrise of 6th Feb 1979 was at 7.08 am. So, night time was 12 hours 55 minutes.

 

Again, divide night time of 5th Feb, 1979 in 8 equal parts. It means –

12 hours 55 minutes = 12 x 60 + 55 = 775 / 8 = approximately 97 minutes = 1 hour 37 minutes.

 

Now, here is a major change. If a native is born in night time then counting of these 8 portions of night time will start from the planet which rules 5th day from the day when native took birth. Like, I was born on Monday. Count 5 days from Monday; i.e. Friday. So, counting of these 8 portions of night time will start from Venus as Venus rules Friday.

 

So, 1st portion of 1 hour 37 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Venus. 2nd portion of 1 hour 37 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Saturn. 3rd portion of 1 hour 37 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Sun. 4th portion of 1 hour 37 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Moon. 5th portion of 1 hour 37 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Mars. 6th portion of 1 hour 37 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Mercury. 7th portion of 1 hour 37 minutes of daytime will be ruled by Jupiter and again, the 8th portion will have no lord.

 

So, table of night time on 5th Feb, 1979 will be like this –

 

Sunset was at 18.12 pm.

 

1st portion is 18.12 pm + 1 hour 37 minute = 19.49 pm = ruled by Venus.

 

2nd portion is 19.49 pm + 1 hour 37 minute = 21.26 pm = ruled by Saturn.

 

3rd portion is 21.26 pm + 1 hour 37 minute = 23.02 pm = ruled by Sun.

 

4th portion is 23.02 pm + 1 hour 37 minute = 00.39 am = ruled by Moon.

 

5th portion is 00.39 am + 1 hour 37 minute = 2.16 am = ruled by Mars.

 

6th portion is 2.16 am + 1 hour 37 minute = 3.53 am = ruled by Mercury.

 

7th portion is 3.53 am + 1 hour 37 minute = 5.30 am = ruled by Jupiter.

 

8th portion is 5.30 am + 1 hour 37 minute = 7.07 am = No lord.

 

So here again, we need to make chart of the time when Venus portion ended and Saturn portion started; i.e. 19.49 pm. So, make a chart of 5th Feb, 1979 at 19.49 pm at Indore, India and whichever is rising/ascendant sign at that time, my Gullika/Mandi will fall there only. For me, it is 10th house/Leo sign.

 

Finally, the impact of Gullika/Mandi – As we know that it is child of Saturn. So obviously, it will have all the traits and characteristics of Saturn. Whichever house or sign Gullika is falling in your chart, it can delay the proceedings of that house to a great extent. It shows some real difficulties in dealing with the house/sign where Gullika or Mandi is falling. It can be more troublesome if it is further conjunct with malefic planets. Like, I have Gullika/Mandi with Rahu-Saturn in 10th house/Leo and I never had any great connection with any authority figure in life. If at all Gullika/Mandi are giving any good result then it will be as per their nature only; i.e. after immense hard work, delay and perseverance. It is obviously not good for relationship matters. In a nutshell, we can say that Gullika/Mandi is another Saturn you have in chart. Its results will be seen mostly in dasha of its lord or dasha of planets it is conjunct with. It can also give result when a major transit of Jupiter/Rahu/Ketu/Saturn or of retrograde planets are happening over birth chart Gullika/Mandi position.

 

Hope this helps. Thanks,

 

Swami Premanand Bharti