Ganam porutham places each birth star in one of three groups of nine: Deva, Manushya or Rakshasa. Kalaprakasika (1917, p. 72) counts the bride and groom in the same group as excellent, a Deva groom with a Manushya bride as middling, and Deva with Rakshasa or Manushya with Rakshasa as unfavourable. It eases the Rakshasa grade when the bride's star is beyond the 14th counted from the groom's.
☕ Three groups of nine stars
Ganam (gana) means a group or class. The book sorts the 27 birth stars into three groups of nine: Deva (divine), Manushya (human) and Rakshasa (demonic). The names are labels for groups of stars. In this chapter the book uses them only to pair two stars, and says nothing here about anyone's nature.
To check Ganam, find the group of the bride's birth star and the group of the groom's. Unlike Dinam, there is nothing to count at first: the check reads the two groups. When they are the same, the book calls it excellent. When they differ, it grades the pair as middling or unfavourable, as the list on this page shows.
There is one count, for the relief. When a Rakshasa star is involved, count from the groom's star to the bride's, both included. If the bride's star comes after the 14th, the book says the Rakshasa grade is eased. Note the direction: most checks count from the bride's star, but this one counts from the groom's.
Nava Panchangam now matches two charts by these ten poruthams: sign in and open Marriage matching at navapanchangam.com/matching for a Nava verdict. This page explains the rule as the book gives it.
The three groups, and how the book grades each pairing
- Deva: Ashwini, Mrigashira, Punarvasu, Pushya, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Shravana, Revati
- Manushya: Bharani, Rohini, Ardra, Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Purva Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada
- Rakshasa: Krittika, Ashlesha, Magha, Chitra, Vishakha, Jyeshta, Moola, Dhanishta, Shatabhisha
- Bride and groom in the same group: excellent
- Groom Deva, bride Manushya: middling
- Deva with Rakshasa: very unfavourable
- Manushya with Rakshasa: the most unfavourable pairing the book names
- Groom Manushya, bride Rakshasa: unfavourable, in a sentence of its own
- Relief: the Rakshasa grade is eased when the bride's star is beyond the 14th, counted from the groom's
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Ganam is my birth star?
Find your birth star in the three lists on this page. Each list has nine stars. In Kalaprakasika the Manushya list is completed by the book's own errata note, which adds Uttara Phalguni, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha and Purva Bhadrapada.
Is a Rakshasa star a bad birth star?
No. Rakshasa is the name of a group of nine stars. The book uses the three groups only to grade how two stars pair in marriage matching, and Rakshasa paired with Rakshasa is graded excellent, like any same pair.
Which way is the 14th star counted for the relief?
From the groom's star to the bride's, both included. This is the reverse of Dinam, Mahendram and Stree Deergham, which count from the bride's star. If the bride's star comes after the 14th, the book eases the Rakshasa grade.
Does the book grade a Manushya groom with a Deva bride?
Not in so many words. It names a Deva groom with a Manushya bride as middling, and grades the pairings that involve Rakshasa. It gives no separate grade for a Manushya groom with a Deva bride.
Is Ganam one of the most important poruthams?
Kalaprakasika lists Ganam among its five chief checks, with Dinam, Yoni, Rasi and Rajju. It puts Dinam and Rajju first. It also names an exception about the two Moon signs that sets Ganam aside.
From the source
The book's own correction to its list, a worked count for the relief, and what this page leaves out.
📝 Nine Manushya stars, by the book's own errata
On p. 72 the 1917 print lists only five Manushya stars, so its three lists cover 23 of the 27 stars. The book's own errata note, printed in its front matter, adds the missing four: Uttara Phalguni, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Purva Bhadrapada. The note names the page the list is printed on. With it, each group has nine stars and every star is in exactly one group. The full Manushya list this page uses is: Bharani, Rohini, Ardra, Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Purva Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada.
🔢 A worked count for the relief
Say the groom's star is Bharani (Manushya) and the bride's is Jyeshta (Rakshasa). Count from Bharani as 1: Jyeshta is the 17th star. That is beyond the 14th, so the book eases the Rakshasa grade. If the bride's star were Krittika (also Rakshasa), it would be the 2nd from Bharani, and the relief would not apply.
The book states only the count. It does not say whose star must be the Rakshasa one for the relief to apply; our reading is that it applies to any pairing graded down because of a Rakshasa star.
✂️ What this page leaves out
Kalaprakasika gives Ganam on p. 72 of chapter XIII. Next to its grades it attaches outcome words for the couple; this page keeps the grades and leaves those words out, as it does a one-word outcome the book gives for Ganam on p. 76. How the ten checks are weighed together is on the ten poruthams overview.