No muhurat for weddings this Valentine’s Day

February 14 – the sought-after date for weddings – is being considered an inaupicious day to tie the knot this year
What could be more romantic than getting married on Valentine’s Day? Unfortunately, that idea’s got a beating this year, thanks to the placement of the planets that make the day inauspicious for a Hindu shaadi. So, the sought-after date on the wedding calendar will go without much action this year.According to Acharya Manish Saxena, there is no shubh mahurat for couples wanting to get married on February 14. “Shaadi ka maahurat depends on the position of two stars – Venus and Jupiter. This year, the placement of Venus is unfavourable for marriages,” he says, adding, “Over 500 families have come to me in the last year or so, asking specifically for a suitable muhurat on February 14 to tie the knot; I had to say no to all of them.” Jai Pal Yadav, an astrologer in the city, says he performed five weddings on Valentine’s Day last year. “But this year, I am performing none. In fact, between February 5 and February 15 there are no auspicious dates for weddings,” he adds. Dr Bipin Pandey, assistant professor of astrology at the Department of Jyotirvigyaan, Lucknow University, explains that the muhurat for weddings on Valentine’s Day this year is not auspicious. “There are a few pre-requisites in astrology for a good wedding muhurat – the month, day, nakshatra and the rashi should all match. This year the month of Maagh is good for marriage on February 14, even the day is auspicious, but the nakshatra and rashi do not match. Yadi iss din koi vivaah kar bhi leta hai toh unka vivaah successful nahi hoga. There will be discord and they may not have any children.” Prachi Narula, a graduate from IT College, Lucknow, and an artiste, is one of those who had to put off the idea of getting married on Valentine’s Day because the pandit said it was an inauspicious date. “My fiance’s family approached another astrologer as well, in the hope that he would be able to find a suitable muhurat on Feb 14 to perform the wedding rituals, but no luck. We also thought of performing an anushthan, in order to avoid the effects of ill-placed planets. But finally, we chose to postpone the wedding to a more auspicious time,” she shares. Ananyaa Singh, a photographer, who lives in Lucknow, had also planned a V-Day marriage for herself. “Valentine’s Day also happens to be the day when my boyfriend proposed to me two years back. So I wanted to get married on February 14,” she shares, “But since we believe in astrology, we decided to postpone the wedding to a more auspicious time.” Suraj Yadav, an entrepreneur, too had to cancel plans of a Valentine Day wedding for the same reason.
“Our family astrologer said that Brahaspati will be entering Singh rashi for a week which will not be a good time to get married as it might affect our marital life,” says Suraj, who is now getting married on February 26. However, some couples really keen on celebrating Valentine’s Day have scheduled a pre or post-wedding function on February 14. As Shitanshu Tiwari, the Food and Beverage manager at Hotel Clarks Awadh, shares, “We were surprised that there were such few inquiries for February 14 this year. Later we found out that it was because of the muhurat. The booking that we have for Sunday is for a wedding reception.” While at Balrampur Garden, a Muslim wedding is scheduled for Valentine’s Day at hotel Dayal Paradise, there are no reservations for shaadis on February 14. “The enquiries we had this year for February 14 for engagement and reception ceremonies,” says Shalini Singh, the manager at the hotel.
(With input from Itishree Misra)