A word about Shani Graha

Shani graha or Saturn is probably one of the most infamous of planets within the astrological community. Known to bring suffering and darkness with his presence there are many stories associated with this wonderful planet which beautifully describes why Shani is the way it is. This story is also about Shadows and Death. Death which is not be feared but seen as an opportunity to kill the old and start fresh.

Shani rules Saturdays and also the tithi of purnima that today is and is said to love black color and he also governs foods and flavors of astrigent taste. A well placed and Happy and strong Shani represents Experience, Patience, Humility, Wisdom & Compassion in beings.

Strange that I should come across this beautiful story of his birth and early life on the Raksha Bandhan Tithi while I observe a Monday fast (Somvaar Vrat). The story of Raksha Bandhan is another interesting one but this post is about Shani first. The Shani who rules number (& all numbers adding up to) Eight. And also said to govern the skeletal system, teeth bones and certain skin disorders.

Shani is the Son of Surya (or the Sungod) and his mother was the clone of Sanjana. The word Sanjana is made of San+Jana which in Sanskrit translates to With+People.

He also is the brother of Yama, the god of death and Yamuna, the river of purification. Yam means moral discipline.

Sanjana was the daughter of Vishwakarma (the celestial engineer and architect). Note that Vishwa+karma means World+actions.

As Sanjana grew to a marriageable age, Vishwakarma sought out for a suitable groom, and approached Surya, the Sun God to accept his daughter’s hand in marriage. Surya accepts and the marriage is solemnized.

A little while into the marriage and Sanjana is troubled, she can take it no more, the glare and heat emitted from Surya’s golden aura have darkened her complexion and sapped her energy; she no longer feels any love for her husband. Her color now resembles the energies of evening/dusk and the Gods bestow her with a new name – Sandhya.

Sanjana plots a plan for her escape. She creates a clone and calls it “Chhaya” (shadow). She installs Chhaya in her place and instructs her not to leave Surya’s presence under any circumstances, and to dutifully remain there till her return. Sanjana then returns to her father’s house for some respite. Surya does not notice the difference. He takes Chhaya to be his wife; he initiates marital relations; Chhaya conceives and delivers a son – Shani (Saturn). Shani is born of dark complexion like his mother, and also inherits Chhaya’s serious and somber countenance.

Vishwakarma hears news of Shani’s birth and he is deeply troubled. He confronts Sanjana and ask for the truth. Sanjana confesses having left behind a clone. Vishwakarma immediately orders his daughter to return to her rightful position in Surya’s house. Sanjana returns to Surya’s house but is angry and in her anger destroys Chhaya’s tangible body and reduces her to a mere illusion in Surya’s light and glare.

Surya once again does not notice the exchange of wives. Sanjana gives birth to 2 children from Surya – son Yama and daughter Yamuna. As the children grow older, Sanjana’s animosity towards Shani grows stronger and she does everything in her power to distance him from Surya. Devoid of motherly love and fatherly attention, Shani is distraught, depressed, lazy and utterly directionless.

The 3 children come of age, and time comes to bestow them with responsibilities. Surya announces the same to his children; hearing this, Sanjana quickly poisons Surya’s mind against the capabilities of Shani and requests him to divide his responsibilities between Yama and Yamuna. Surya gives in.

So on the appointed day, Shani (the elder son) is ignored and Yama (the younger son) is given the title of “Dharmaraj” or “king of dharma” and is given the responsibility of upholding truth in humanity. Yamuna is given the status of a holy river, and is given the responsibility of washing away the sins of those who bathe in her or partake of her waters. She is also given the responsibility of generating a spark of good thought in all those who touch her waters.

Yama and Yamuna accept their responsibilities and leave. Shani is left standing all alone. As a son and older brother, he feels humiliated and insulted. Unable to break the barriers of communication with his father; unable to invoke love from his mother; unable to express authority over his younger brother and sister, and unable to prove the capability that he believes he has – a rage builds up in Shani.

To vent his anger, he seeks out mother Sanjana and delivers a well aimed kick in her womb believing that she is an insult to the womb that she birthed him from. Shocked at this act, Sanjana retaliates by cursing Shani to lose the leg that he kicked her with. Maimed and helpless, Shani lies on the ground. The scene is witnessed by Surya. Though he can forgive Shani’s behavior as the act of an unruly son, he is unable to understand the curse of mother Sanjana. Surya then confronts Sanjana for the truth.

Sanjana confesses to her folly, apologises, and narrates about her clone Chhaya and the birth of Shani before her return to Surya’s home. Surya is livid with rage and glows brighter and hotter than before. He accepts Shani as his legitimate older son, restores his lost leg though a limp still remains to honor the word of his mother’s curse, and then makes amends by bestowing upon him the honor of a place in the solar system.

This is the blog from where I found this story. I can relate to this story a lot because My Shani sits along with Rahu in my third house so it makes perfect sense why my life turned out the way it did. I grew up in a multicultural foreign land, considering astrology gibberish and though I had a large family with varied traditional beliefs, I considered myself a loner who was pretty confused about God and Religion. But then I was also raised an aethist yet I have no regrets and I do believe I had the best life I could have had. My mother would always say one thing, 'Knowledge never goes to waste'. 

So every experience of life happens to teach you something and with every thing you learn, you make your future brighter. I believed her and I now know everything she did was leading from the teachings of the Geeta which many read and translate yet everyone derives their own meaning from it. So even when I don't agree with her, I still understand her.

Going back to Shani, he is thus installed as the planet that will govern “karma” and “dharma” in a horoscope. He will enter your horoscope as your karmic guru, your harshest teacher, and will ensure that you learn your lessons and pass your tests, so that you can rise higher up the karmic ladder.  Like his brother Yama, Shani will brook no concessions in the house that he will appear in, and will force you like a hard taskmaster to confront and deal with your toughest karmic issues – and bestow you with his own traits of patience, seriousness and diligence to help you learn your lessons in the appointed house.

Now it is believed per his own life experiences, the house that Shani appears in, will first experience – insults, depression, prejudice, laziness and a sense of being directionless before you can invoke his powers of patience, perseverance and hard-work to deal with your tests.

In your horoscope Avantika, Shani sits in the first house along with Chandra or Moon. The moon is said to be the nurturer or mother and represents our mind. So astrologers believe that a Saturn-Moon relationship will alter the inner core of a person and such individuals gain perseverance, maturity early in life and worldly attachments are reduced to a great extent. And life is what happens while this materializes. You can't predict exact events of your life, that branch of astrology is gibberish indeed, so long as you look at the big picture of life and stay connected to your soul, every planetary combination in life is beautiful in its own way. So stay away from the people who try  to tell you that Shani is malefic (but don't distance your self from the Science that Shani represents).