This book is a unique astrology study of Single Women of India which would be most useful in the fast changing society of India of twenty first century.

We are using the word “single” for unmarried women and drawing a distinction between unmarried women who are mothers and single woman who are not mothers.

The same four woman astrologers, Dr. (Mrs.)Shrirama Mishra. Dr. (Mrs.) Sarla Prasad, Mrs. Shalini Dhasmana and Mrs. Draupadi Rai who earlier produced the onograph on “Delayed Marriege of Girls” have now produced this book “Single Women and Astrology”.

Some generations ago it was unusual to come across cases of single women India. Particularly in the Hindu society thought it is well recognised that in ancient India women could remain single and serve the society in various capacities. Prof Altekar refers to two types of women, the Brahmavadinis and Sadyovahas.

Brahmavadinis did not marry and were lifelong students of theology and philosophy. Sadyovahas pursud studies upto the age of 15 or 16 when they got married.

Brahmavadinis used to aim an excellence and did Vedic studies which in later puritanical times was denied to them by orthodox Hindus. We have famous instances of Maitreyi, the wife of Yagyavalka and of Gargi who engaged the famous Yagyavalka in the court of Raja Janaka in a debate.

It is better to see the horoscope of a girl. A marriageable woman from an astrological point of view early enough to advise her parents who want to plan the future of their daughters.

It is a unique astrological study which works repeatedly if the astrological parameters given here are applied with intelligence.

Some generations ago it was unusual to come across cases of single women in India, particularly in the Hindu society, though it is well recognised that in ancient India women could remain single and serve the society in various capacities. Prof Altekar refers to two types of women, the Brahmavadinis and Sadyovahas. Brahmavadinis did not marry and were lifelong students of theology and philosophy. Sadyovahas pursued studies upto the age of 15 or 16 when they got married. Brahmavadinis used to aim an excellence and did Vedic studies which in later puritanical times was denied to them by orthodox Hindus. We have famous instances of Maitreyi, the wife of Yagyavalka and of Gargi who engaged the famous Yagyavalka in the court of Raja Janaka in a debate.

In Jain and even Buddhist societies, women remaining single and becoming sadhavis or what Christians call nuns was also well known historically. Sanghamitra, is referred to as the most famous Buddhist scholar who went even to foreign countries to teach scriptures. In Jain literature there is reference to Jayanti, a princess, a scholar devotee.

It is not known however, if in those times the problem of single women was only one of choice and not helplessness as these days when woman remain unmarried for various reasons, like inability to pay dowry, not being able to find suitable husband well educated enough and also belonging to the same caste and class.

We are using the word "single" for unmarried women and drawing a distinction between unmarried women who are mothers and single woman who are not mothers. We are confining ourselves to two essential factors: she should not have married sacramentally or legally and must not have become a mother. In Hindu tradition we may call such women mangala-sutraless women as in Christian societies she would be called a ringless woman. But some of them in India have started believing in live-in-relationshlps.

But we must remember that in Hindu societies, the terrible problem of dowry can be one factor for some women remaining single. We do hear of clandestine sexual relations between single women and married men most of whom are their occupational superiors. And there are many single women who regard their men in such relationships as special. But it may be to relieve her tension or for professional advantage that single women continues such relationship. Without realising it, these single women seem to be becoming the substitutes for the mistresses of earlier era.

The subject of our research in this book, after the great success of our earlier book Delayed Marriage of Girls. we decided to produce a book on single women.

Definition

We must define what we mean by single women. A woman who has remained single till the age of forty five after which her life as a housewife or even as mother, even if she does get married and becomes a mother through modern costly medical interventions or through adoption, is not the normal life of a woman as we have known traditionally all through the ages.

A girl getting married very early and becoming a mother after her puberty was a known fact seven or eight decades ago almost all over India. Gradually, as the literacy levels of women in India increased, the age of marriage also increased from say fifteen to eighteen and now to twenty eight or upwards.

We do come across instances of single women these days more than some generations ago. When if a woman born in the forties of the last century remained single in India, it was for some special family reasons and could not be attributed to any social change.

Therefore we must clearly see that the case of single women in earlier decades was due to some family reasons or even personal reasons, which could be physical handicap even. But due to sharp social changes, we come across cases of women who are healthy, who could be married and might have become mothers but they remained single.

For us astrologers, the case of single women is both a challenge and a very original research.

The Data

The data we are using in this research is from our own personal records and we know the women whose horoscopes are used here, very intimately.

The astrological methodology

Three horoscopes are being used for our analysis, the birth horoscope, the navamsha and the thrimsamsa. This will be combined with some Jaimini factors also to double check our researches.

To formulate our paramaters we will first look at the cases of some women who are now more than fifty years of age and are single. A look at their horoscopes, gives us some common astrological factors which explain the reason for their remaining single.

1. First examine a horoscope from the lagna, Moon and Venus and the condition of the seventh house and seventh lords and the eighth house and the eighth lords from there.

2. Repeat this in the examination of the Navamsha.

3. Repeat this exercise again in the examination of the Thrimsamsha.

4. See affliction to Venus and the seventh lord.

5. See if the seventh lord or Venus are caught between malefics, meaning, a malefic behind and one ahead.

6. Special study should be made of the the seventh lords from the lagna, Venus and Moon and if one, two or three of them are retrograde and ill aspected etc. it can reveal rich information.

7. Similarly, examine the upapada, the dara pada and the darakaraka and the darakaraka navamsha in the navamsha horoscope also from Jaimini angle. If the darakaraka is retrograde or aspected by a retrograde planet it will also have to be considered.

8. As in the book Delayed Marriage of Girls, so too the fifth house and fifth lord can be and is a valuable point to be considered.

9. The dasha sequence both Vimshottari and Chara dasha will be used wherever necessary.

Note

Please read the book Delayed Marriage of Girls and do not forget to apply all the parameters given there initially before proceeding to see the horoscopes discussed here.

Prejudices against them

We are not discussing the prevailing prejudices against single women though in western societies they are not looked down upon as abnormal as, let us say, we in India would still regard them. As in the west, we have in India women with fine careers, total economic independence and big careers which have been taking priority over what some women regard as the humdrum lives of housewives. This factor too will have to be kept in the mind. It will then mean that most of the single women seem to belong to elitistist and rich classes. How they deal with sex. childlessness and loneliness are the problems for psychologists. I personally know of women who have remained unmarried though in good careers and have been good sadhikas having been initiated by some gurus.

In this book, we have made a small study of single women and the authors are the same team of Dr. Mrs. Shrirama Mishra, Dr. Mrs. Sarla Prasad, Mrs. Shalini Dhasmana and Mrs. Draupadi Rai who earlier produced the book on Delayed Marriages of Girls.