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Ratna

Also written: रत्नratna

A gemstone assigned to a graha — ruby for the Sun, pearl for the Moon, red coral for Mars, and so on through the nine. This is the most commercial part of Indian astrological practice and the part most exposed to the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954, which names talismans claimed to act on disease. A stone is jewellery, and this site describes the tradition without making claims for it.

Gemstones are assigned to the nine grahas, one each, and prescribed as a remedial measure when a graha is judged weak or afflicted:

GrahaStoneGrahaStone
SunRubyVenusDiamond
MoonPearlSaturnBlue sapphire
MarsRed coralRahuHessonite
MercuryEmeraldKetuCat's eye
JupiterYellow sapphire

Together these are the navaratna, the nine gems, and they appear as a set in Indian jewellery independently of any astrological advice.

This is the most commercial part of Indian astrological practice, and the part where the conflict of interest is most direct: the same person who identifies the affliction very often sells the stone, at prices that scale with carat weight and claimed quality. A yellow sapphire recommendation is a purchase recommendation.

It is also the part most exposed to the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. That statute defines a "magic remedy" to include a talisman, mantra or kavacha claimed to have effect on a disease or condition, and it prohibits advertising such claims. A gemstone advertised as acting on illness falls squarely inside it.

This site's position is stated once and applied everywhere: a gemstone is jewellery. We describe the tradition — which stone goes with which graha, and why the correspondences were drawn — and we make no claim that wearing one produces any physical, medical or financial effect. Nothing here is a substitute for professional advice. Before buying a stone on astrological grounds, apply the one test that always applies: does the person recommending it profit from supplying it?

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