Jai Shani Dev

Shani is one of the Navagrahas (Nine Planets) which are the nine primary celestial beings in Hindu astrology. Shaneeshvara is the Lord of Saturday; the word “Shani” also denotes the seventh day, or Saturday in most Indian languages.

 The origin of the name Shani comes from the phrase “Shanaye Krama”, the one who moves slowly, as Saturn takes about 30 years to orbit around the Sun.

Shani is also known as Shanaischarya, Shani Bhagavan, Shaneesvara, and Shani Dev. Astrologically Saturn is considered “lame” because he is the slowest moving of the Nine Planets (an afflicted Saturn in a horoscope may literally indicate lameness).

Saturn is said to be lame because one of the Sun’s first wife Sangya’s children became angered with him and struck him in the foot. Thus, Saturn walks with a limp, which accounts for why he is the slowest of the Grahas.

Lord of the sinews and nerves, of the west, of Saturday and exalted in Libra, and ruling the constellations Capricorn and Aquarius, he is also known as the Slow, Son of shadow, the Angular, the Black, the Endless, the End-Causer, the All-Devouring, the Steady, the Controller, the Famished and the Emaciated.

Shani is a Deva and the son of Surya Dev (the Hindu Sun God) and his wife Chhaya (“Shadow”) and hence also known as Chayyaputra (Son of the Shadow).

 He is the half-brother of Yama, the Hindu God of death. It is said that when he opened his eyes as a baby for the very first time, the sun went into an eclipse, which clearly denotes the impact of Shani on astrological charts.

OM SHAM SHANICHARAYA NAMAHA 

To be continued…