Twinn Swan

In Jyotisha Vedic astrology, a Dosha refers to a cosmic alignment–which can, during some periods manifest as an affliction–in a person’s birth chart. It indicates the presence of a form of karmic debt to be settled in the current lifetime.

Two of the most widely discussed and significant doshas are Naga Dosham (also interchangeably known as Sarpa Dosham) and Pitru Dosham. These are not ‘curses’ in the conventional sense. Rather, they are indicators of of past-life actions and unfulfilled debts that manifest as persistent obstacles, setbacks and struggles in the present life.

Naga Dosham

Naga Dosham (Naga meaning “serpent deities” and Sarpa also meaning “snake”) is a cosmic alignment related to the serpentine force. Astrologically, Rahu and Ketu are not physical planets, but powerful points of intersection known as the lunar nodes. They signify the axis of karmic destiny, where Rahu represents the insatiable desires and unfinished business brought into the current life, and Ketu represents past-life expertise and spiritual liberation.

The Dosha becomes particularly prominent when these nodes are positioned in the trine (1st, 5th, 9th houses) or quadrature (1st, 4th, 7th, 10th houses), indicating a strong karmic focus from the serpent energy that requires specific spiritual clearing.

The Naga Dosham signifies a debt to this serpent energy. This debt is incurred when an individual has interfered with the natural course of life. The Dosha manifests as blockages—in marriage (co-creation), progeny (new life), or health (life force)—forcing the native to confront and clear that original debt by acknowledging the existence of the serpent principle of life.

This confrontation often takes the form of repeated frustration in the house(s) afflicted by the nodes. For instance, if the Dosha is strongly associated with the 5th house (progeny), the karmic purification demands that the individual go beyond simple material desire for children and instead seek a spiritual understanding of creation and responsibility toward the next generation.

The ‘serpent principle’ itself represents the cosmic spiral of time and the hidden power within, specifically the Kundalini energy at the base of the spine. When the serpent energy is wounded (karmic debt), the flow of this vital life force is blocked, causing stagnation in key areas like marriage, which symbolises co-creation and balance, or health, which signifies physical vitality.

Therefore, the key here to restore balance, recognise and acknowledge the prior violations of the life force energy and reactivate the balance of regenerative and transformative energy. Restoring the integrity of the serpent’s flow means the individual becomes a clear, unbroken channel for the universal creative energy. This allows the Kundalini to rise not merely for personal gain, but to align the individual’s will (microcosm) with the Divine Will (macrocosm).