initiated by bhukku on June 18, 2007
The two most popular deities for our workaday world today going by the major queues at their shrines, are Ganesha and Shani Maharaj: Ganesha, to remove obstacles from our life path and Shani, to be appeased from inflicting them on us in the first place.
But this is grossly unfair to Shani. He’s not a bad guy. He’s our best friend if we understand him and do it ‘his’ way.
So, who’s Shani?
Shanaischara literally means ‘the slow-moving one’. If you’ve read your Amar Chitra Kathas you don’t need telling that he is the son of Surya, the sun. The way our mythmakers paint him, Shani knows like almost no one else, the dungeons of the human heart and the terrors that lurk there. He is deeply attached to Lord Shiva and many Hindus prefer to address him through that unconditional, emotionally generous Being.
Why do we fear him?
Hindu astrology says there are nine grahas or ‘planets’ (Surya, Chandra, Angaraka, Buddha, Brihaspati, Shukra, Shani, Rahu and Ketu). Plus there are 12 rashis or moon signs, corresponding to the 12 sun signs of the zodiac.
Shani or Saturn revolves around the Sun in about 30 years. Thus it passes through all the 12 rashis in 30 years, spending an average of 2.5 years years in each rashi. Hindu astrology assigns a specific moon sign to each one of us, calculated from our date, time and place of birth. Shani’s effect starts when he enters the rashi just before our particular rashi and ends when he leaves the rashi that’s after ours. This works out to 2.5 x 3, a total of seven-and-a-half years! This is called ‘Seven-and-a-half Shani’ across the mother tongues.
Everyone has it and astrology has traced the curious pattern that people usually go through a difficult phase just then. Do we believe this or not? It depends on our attitude. Almost nobody has a completely smooth sail through the Bhavsagar or Ocean of Existence and it is tempting to dump our ‘bad luck’ on a malefic planet. But look again. Whatever happened to Karma theory? There’s bad stuff to be worked through anyway, right?
So instead of blaming Shani, it makes better sense to think of him as a friend and teacher who helps us learn important life lessons from whatever befalls us, lessons that he teaches best because there is no humbug about Shani. He gives it to you straight and says, “Come on now, deal with it.” No pokings, pattings and pleadings really work with him because the only way to win in these life lessons is through them.
Say hardcore Hindus, reading the Shani Mahatmyaham (surely written by a certified scaremonger) is like saying ‘Omygodomygodomygod’ whereas what Shani prefers are courage and patience, besides his inordinate fondness for sesame.
Shani shrines
Every Hindu temple has a little shrine set apart for the Navagraha where Shani is often found wearing a rakish ‘bib’ in his favourite colour, dark blue. Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu has the oldest Navagraha temples, a beautiful set of nine, one for each graha. Shani’s is in Tirunallar, dedicated to Shiva as Sri Darbaranyesvara, with a most benign Shani located in a niche in a wall.
Another important Shani temple is at Shingnapur in Maharashtra. The deity here is swayambhu, or self-manifested, in this case as a block of stone. To this day, due to fear of Shani, houses within a 1 km radius of the Shani temple have no locks. Thieves have always had terrible things happen to them, so the belief is very strong.
Navi Mumbai has a Sri Shanishwar temple, too, at Nerul while Delhi has a busy Shanidham at Fatehpur Beri in the historic area of Mehrauli.
Shani’s best song
Muthuswami Dikshitar wrote a highly graphic and musical set of Navagraha kritis (compositions) in Sanskrit. He visited many places in North India and during his stay in Kashi, was gifted a fabulous veena by his guru, Chidambaranatha Yogi. This veena is now part of Dikshitar’s iconic image. His signature is ‘Guruguha’, since his first compositions were inspired by Guha or Kartikeya at Tiruttani. His kriti to Shani is in the ancient Raga Yadukula Kambhoji in Chatushra Eka Tala, that begins Divakara tanujam:
‘O son of the Sun, brave, slow-moving one, I always meditate on you;
You cause fear as the herald of calamity in those plunged in the ocean of worldly existence, are for those devoted to Shiva;
Brother of Yama, riding your crow, your body gleams dark as kohl, you wear blue clothes, blue flowers and splendid sapphires;
Worshipped by Malini (Draupadi), you delight Guruguha, Lord of the two houses of Makara (Capricorn) and Kumbha (Aquarius), who is pleased to accept lamps lit with sesame oil and sesame rice, You limp because as a child with your brother Yama, Lord of Death.
Yet, O son of Chhaya (Shadow), you are the fire who can destroy Time itself and like Kamadhenu, the wish-giving cow, you grant us all good things with kindness and compassion.’
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