Shani Puja

Shani Puja is done to appease the Shani Graha or the Saturn planet. Among all planets, Saturn is the most dreaded. This puja nullifies the malefic effects of Shani Graha as far as possible so that the person under its ill influence can pass off the phase with as little harm as possible.

Shani is said to be both a giver as well as a destroyer. Shani is usually depicted as dark in color, clothed in black, holding a sword, arrows and two daggers and is mounted on a crow, which is Shani’s vahana or carrier. Shani is also known as Shanicharya.

Shani is embodied in the planet Saturn and is the Lord of Saturday. He is the son of Surya (sun) and his wife Chhaya (shadow), hence also known as Chayyaputra. He is the elder brother of Yama, the Hindu God of death, who in some scriptures corresponds to the deliverance of justice.

Shani is also known as Saura (son of sun-god), Kruradris or Kruralochana (the cruel-eyed), Mandu (dull and slow), Pangu (disabled), Saptarchi (seven-eyed) and Asita (dark).

How to perform Shani Puja:

Shani Puja is usually done on a Saturday. On this day, the devotee also fasts from dawn to dusk. Wake up early in the morning and take an oil bath after applying sesame oil on your body. After a bath, wear black clothes for the day. On the whole, day, use Sesame oil for lighting lamp.

Images to worship:

Have an image of Lord Ganesh. Get an iron image of Lord Shani dev. If this is not possible, you can also do the puja to the picture of Shani Dev. Even if this is not available, do Puja mentally in sitting in front of the regular Puja altar. Worshipping Hanuman is believed to give some additional benefits to devotees of Shani Dev. So, have a picture of Hanuman also in the altar. Shani is a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Worshipping Shiva is a sure way to please Shani. So, combine Shani puja with Hanuman and Shiva puja.

Items needed for Shani Dev Pooja:

• God Shani’s photo
• Rice, Black til, Black string
• Flowers, especially black flower
• Incense Sticks, lamps
• Mustard oil
• Sweets, Fruits
• The leaves of ‘rui’ tree
• Camphor, Elaichi, Clove, Pan, and Supari
• Ganga water
• Coconut, horse-shoe of iron

Shani Puja Procedure:

• Start the puja by lighting the lamp and prayers to Ganesh. Offer black sesame seeds to Shani dev. Offer flowers and puja to Hanuman and Lord Shiva.
• Chant the Shani Gayatri Mantra twenty-one times at the end of Puja. Offer the food you prepared for the puja.
• Do camphor aarti at the end.
• Fast for the whole day and repeat the puja in the evening and conclude the day. For breaking the fast in the evening, it is advisable to take rice mixed with urad dal or sesame seeds. Strictly you must not take a non-vegetarian diet to conclude the fast.

Benefits of Shani Puja:

• It is very vital for those undergoing an unfavorable transit(SaniSaadeSaati).
• It is highly recommended for those with a malefic Saturn in their birth charts.
• Those who are facing misfortunes frequently should perform it.
• It is a powerful remedy for those suffering from evil eye or black magic.
• It is very effective in the case of any prolonged illness.
• It is an effective way to dilute the negative karmas.
• It is very helpful in case of depression, low confidence, etc.
• It is extremely beneficial for those in the service sector.