Shani Dev

The Puranas tell that Shani is the son of Surya, the Sun, and Chhaya, the 'shadow' wife who took the place of Sanjna. Yama, the lord of dharma, and the river Yamuna are his half-brother and half-sister. He is dark in colour, wears blue or black, and is shown riding a crow, sometimes a vulture. His name Shanaishchara means 'the one who moves slowly', because Saturn takes about two and a half years to cross each sign of the zodiac.

Tradition sees Shani as a teacher of patience and honesty. He does not give anything that a person has not earned; he simply returns the fruit of their own karma, good or hard. Many stories tell of kings who met hard times under his influence and came out wiser. In the Padma Purana, King Dasharatha, the father of Shri Ram, rode out to stop Shani from crossing the Rohini nakshatra, because astrologers had warned that this would bring a twelve-year famine. Shani was pleased with the king's courage and his hymn of praise, and promised not to trouble his people.

A well-loved story says that Hanuman freed Shani from Ravana's prison in Lanka, and Shani promised to be gentle with anyone who remembers Hanuman. That is why many people visit a Hanuman temple on Saturdays and recite the Hanuman Chalisa along with Shani's prayers.

On Saturdays devotees light a lamp of sesame oil, offer black sesame, urad dal and blue flowers, and often pour water at the root of a peepal tree. Shani Jayanti falls on the Amavasya of Jyeshtha in the North Indian calendar (Vaishakha Amavasya in the South). Well-known shrines include Shani Shingnapur in Maharashtra and Thirunallar near Karaikal, where Shani is worshipped as Shaneeswaran.