Bhaga is the Vedic deity of luck. He smiles down on you, much like Lady Fortuna, but his smile is wide, open and far more pronounced. Lady Fortuna is known to be a fickle ally. She is here today and gone tomorrow. Bhaga, on the other hand, comes into your life to lock you in and seal the deal. Bhaga’s chief responsibility is to make sure that people receive a fair share of the fruits that ensue from being a spouse.

Bhaga, the Vedic God associated with luck, is the ruler of Purva Phalguni Nakshatra. While luck is rarely spoken about in most theological traditions, it goes without saying that luck is a necessary ingredient to a long lasting marriage. It seems almost counter-intuitive, especially when we’re told repeatedly that after the honeymoon phase, it’s not going to be all roses.

Weddings are meant to be beautiful. Through the wedding rite, we create the foundation of a civilised society.

The Fruits of a Happy Marriage

Purva Phalguni Nakshatra is a half of the Phalguni Nakshatra. Purva Phalguni comes first and Uttara Phalguni comes second. Purva represents the marriage rite: the actual ceremony of initiation. Uttara, the second of the pair, represents the marriage itself.

There are three symbols associated with the Purva Phalguni Nakshatra: a bed, a fireplace and a platform. These are places where the ancient ones stopped to enjoy life and all its pleasures. The Hindu ceremony still takes place with Agni fire as a witness. It is a ritual of initiation.

Purva Phalguni is a luck nakshatra. It tells us how ‘lucky’ we will be in the partner that we end up with. It is not, however, a significator of the marriage itself.

Purva Phalguni is in Leo, but it is ruled by Venus. Through the blessings of the Phalguni Nakshatra pair, the union will be fruitful; as opposed to fruitless. We need ‘the other’ to churn out the latent capabilities and capacities that exist within us. But to receive the fruits of this budding relationship requires a very important ingredient.

According to Vedic Wisdom, that secret ingredient is luck. But why luck?

The Wedding

A marriage rite is only the beginning of a long journey that two souls are destined to share together. Bhaga is sending a little luck your way to ensure that you don’t wind up with the wrong person to begin with. If you end up with the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time, it is game over even before it all begins.

Marriage shapes society. It is about the present as well as the future. Not just ‘the future’ as it pertains to our own lifetime, but the future that creates new and succeeding generations (See Magha Nakshatra). The siring of legitimate offspring begins with a marriage ceremony. Without a marriage contract, a child’s future remains uncertain in terms of material benefits.

When a couple commit to each other during the marriage rite, they are making a decision that will set a new course and a new trajectory for numerous other lives. The full impact of this commitment is not one that they will be able to see in their own lifetime. It will impact a future that they cannot see, but will inadvertedly and intentionally influence. Bhaga is the one that can foresee this future. It is a different path to that of Kama (Desire).

The marriage–and not the wedding–will be seen, felt and experienced by the couple’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It will profoundly impact the lives of their offspring and how they approach marriage.

In Vedic times, divorce was unheard of. Marriage was not about love or carnal pleasure, but about the soul contracts we entered into before we were born. These are contracts that we have to fulfil, whether we like it or not.

The Marriage Journey

There are numerous chance encounters that need to take place for a marriage between two people to occur. Luck is needed to meet the person whom you are going to marry and with whom you are destined to have a fruitful union. According to Vedic wisdom, marriage was about the fulfilment of a shared destiny that one could not achieve with their own merit alone. It was about the welfare of the community as a whole.

For the one who dreams of a marriage to a soul mate, luck is what locks us in–not just in this lifetime, but in every lifetime and for many lifetimes to come. It is said that before we are born, we meet and agree to marry the person with whom we are destined to reunite. It is not only a union, but a reunion.

You are coming together again with someone whom you have known before–in some capacity or another. Reincarnation is strongly linked with marriage and the propagation of offspring. The marriage ceremony itself also has strong links to past life karma that we have carried forward.

Through the marriage rite, we reunite with a person with whom we have significant karma with from previous lifetimes. This karma could be fruitful or fruitless. If luck is not shining down on us, we could end up with the wrong person and wreck our chances at happiness. Bhaga is also there to make sure that you don’t end up being ‘unlucky’ with your spouse.

If Bhaga is smiling at you, this nakshatra gives us the fruits of our karma from previous incarnations. It reminds us that life is not only about spiritual or material pursuits; but is in fact, a culmination of both. Having children was one of duties a householder. Bhaga represents a woman’s womb and a man’s ability to procreate. It is considered good luck for a couple to be able to sire wonderful children who go on to do great things.

Two people need each other to activate this latent and dormant energy that exists within themselves. Bhaga will guide the two souls to each other, but after the marriage rite, it is Aryaman–his brother–who takes over.

Bhaga is there to ensure that you will meet the person with whom you can go forth and achieve that which you could never achieve on your own volition.