As has been said earlier, a boy ties the knot with a girl with a firm traditional belief that she will prove to be an ideal wife and willing partner making his married life full of bliss and happiness. In the same way, a girl holds the masculine hand in wedlock hoping that he will be an ideal life partner, a shoulder to rely upon who will be supporting her with love and devotion throughout his life. With such great expectations, both of them step forward to tie the knots. Now, if the hope and expectation of either of them is shattered, life for both of them will become miserable. So great care needs to be taken in uniting the boy and the girl in wedlock. Moreover in India, marriages are viewed as sacred union of two souls and not just a civil contract which can be terminated according to their own sweet will.

So while considering the question of marriage, we must ensure that the married life will be happy and a harmonious one without any discord, or unpleasant development. To ensure a happy married life and to avoid any sort of discord many factors need to be considered. Good longevity for husband and wife, physical fitness, mutual attraction, sexual compatibility, heredity, social and economic status needs to be examined and assessed.
1.Puthra Bagyam i.e. indications for off-springs must be strong.
2.The girl must be a Graha Lakshmi bringing prosperity to her husband and in-laws. The boy should also prove himself to be a lucky son-in-law to the girls' parents.
3.The couple should live for a long period with prosperity and happiness.
4.The wife should be a willing partner to enable her husband to up-hold the Sanadhana Dharma as Grahastha (married man).

To solve these problems, our elders have devised Astrological guidelines and rules to test marriage adaptability and compatibility between the boy and the girl. The parents seek the advice of an Astrologer in selecting a suitable partner for their off-springs and his advice is accepted without any reservation. So the responsibilities of the astrologers become great. He must be well versed with the rules of matching.

The institution of marriages takes us back to the Vedic age, when it was considered as a religious sacrament. During those days, eight types of marriages were in vogue. They are:
a.Brahman.
b.Deiveekam.
c.Aarsham.
d.Prajapathyam.
e.Asauram.
f.Gandhavam.
g.Raakshasam.
h.Paisacham.

In those days marriages were performed purely on merit and good conduct. As such there seemed to be no need for comparison of horoscopes. As time passed by, good conduct and merit became rare commodity and henceforth the need for comparison and judging of horoscopes gained momentum.

Though it is said that marriages are made in Heaven it is the astrologer who decides the adaptability and gives the green signal. So he must bear in mind that his advice to the parents can make or mar the married life and should apply his mind and judge carefully by applying the rules and calculations involved in doing so.