Vedic astrology has many Yogas, while some are auspicious and others are inauspicious. Presence of auspicious Yogas will increase happiness in life and inauspicious Yogas can create obstacles in the life of a person. Kaal Sarp Dosh is one such inauspicious Yoga. Let us understand the impact of this Dosh.

When we hear that we have Kaal Sarp Dosh in our birth-chart then primarily it tweaks our curiosity and we get curious to know about Kaal Sarpa Dosha. Kaal Sarpa Dosha is an astrological Yoga which forms through the placement of two malefic planets, Rahu and Ketu.

As Kaal Sarp Dosh gives inauspicious results people call it a Dosha instead of Yoga. It is believed that those who have hurt or killed snakes in their last birth will get Kalasarpa Dosha in their present birth.

Some astrologers call it Pitra Dosha because they believe this Dosha affects a person if he does not perform tasks related to Manas (Pitra) with full faith and trust in their last birth.

Vedic Jyotish speaks of a mythological tale related to Kaal Sarp Dosh. It is believed that when Gods and demons were fighting with each other for the nectar pot, whilst churning the ocean, Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Mohini.

He tried to give the nectar away to the Gods by confusing the demons. Swarbhanu, one of the demons was seated with the Gods. When Lord Vishnu gave nectar to Swarbhanu the Moon identified him as a demon and informed Lord Vishnu.

When Vishnu got to know he cut his head through his Chakra. Following that Swarbhanu’s head was called Rahu and body was called Ketu. They got placed in the constellation.

All planets move in the forward as well as retrograde, but Rahu and Ketu always move retrograde. Both of these planets are situated in the seventh house from each other. When other seven planets are placed between these two planets then Kalasarpa Dosha forms in the horoscope.

Placement between Rahu-Ketu reduces the positivity and strength of the planets. A person who has Kaal sarpa dosha all through his life feels entangled in such situations that in spite of best efforts he is unable to move out from this.Just like the planets hemmed between Rahu and Ketu, a person with dosha will also finds himself hemmed between such unwanted situations and unable to move out.This dosha is a dreaded and creates miserable situations for the native. It has the capacity to cancel all good yogas present in the horoscope. It is similar to the Paap-kartari yoga where a house or a benefic planet is surrounded by malefics.

How Kalasarpa Dosha Forms?

Rahu-Ketu are known as painful planets. According to Vedic scriptures, these two planets are two parts of a body. This body resembles a snake. Rahu is the head and Ketu is the tail. Rahu is known as the dragon’s head and Ketu is known as the dragon’s tail in English.

When Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn are placed between Rahu and Ketu during their transit at the time of birth then Kalsarpa Yoga is formed in the horoscope of a person. This Dosha is well-discussed by Jaimini, Parashari, Varahmihir, Badrayana, and Garg in their respective scriptures. They all are the famous saints of Vedic astrology.

If any planet moves out from the middle of Rahu and Ketu then Kalsarpa Yoga does not form in the horoscope. In this case, one thing is important to consider i.e. planet which moves out from Rahu-Ketu should have high degrees than Rahu-Ketu otherwise the person would be influenced by Kalasarpa Dosha. Kalasarpa Dosha forms when Rahu-Ketu are placed in the second, sixth, eighth or eleventh house and all the planets are placed on the one side of the hemisphere. Although, if all seven planets are placed in the opposite direction then Ardhachandra Yoga forms instead of Kalasarpa Dosha in the horoscope.

Modern Views among Formation of Kalasarpa Dosha

Some modern astrologers said if auspicious planets are placed on the lower degrees, debilitated, aspected by malefic planets then their results would be same as Kalasarpa Dosha.

Effects of Kaal Sarp Dosh:

1. Not getting deserving results in spite of hard work.


2. Deception by close friends and family.


3. Repeatedly incurring losses in business


4. Problems in marriage or disturbed married life.


5. Problems in conceiving a child or children not doing well in any field.


6. Constant issues related to health.


7. Repeatedly getting injured.


8. Somebody else getting honored for the work done.


9. Getting scary dreams or seeing snakes in dreams.


10. Miscarriage or birth of a dead child.

The above are some of the difficulties one faces in life when you have Kaal Sarp Dosh. It is important to note that those who have Kaal Sarp Dosh and face a lot of obstacles in life but at the same time they become much more mature and are in a position to face any challenge life throws on them.

Life as such is a struggle and one has to do a lot of struggle to survive in this world. Some of the most famous personalities who have this Dosha and have risen in their life after a lot of struggle are Abraham Lincoln, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Sachin Tendulkar, Dhiru Bhai Ambani, etc.

Kaal Sarp Dosh Puja is done at the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain and at the Trimbakeshwar Mandir near Nasik in Maharashtra.