Shani Jayanti, which is the birth anniversary of the Lord of Karma and Justice Shani, is being celebrated on May 19, 2023.
Lord Shani is believed to be the bestower of results according to the actions undertaken by a person.
If a person does good deeds, he / she is blessed with positive results by Lord Shani whereas those following the path of evil is punished accordingly.
According to the Drik Panchang, Shani Jayanti falls on the Amavasya Tithi during the month of Jyestha.
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Legends & Significance
There are interesting stories regarding the birth of Lord Shani who is the son of the Sun God Lord Surya and Chhaya.
According to Hindu mythology, Lord Surya married Sadnya who was a daughter of King Daksha.
After marriage, she found that she could not tolerate the radiance of her husband. She thought of undertaking penance so that she could bear with the brightness of Lord Surya.
By the strength of her penance, she created a ‘Chhaya’ (shadow) of herself and handed over her three children to her new incarnated form.
Although Sadnya was reprimanded by her parents for leaving her husband, she went away to a dense forest to live a simple life there and Chhaya brought up her three children and led a happy marital life with Lord Surya.
Chhaya even became mother to three children, one of whom was Lord Shani.
It is said that Chhaya was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and when Shani was in her womb, she was so engrossed in penance of God Shiva that she did not care for taking food and water.
She prayed so intensely during her penance that the prayers had a profound influence on the child in her womb and due to her great penance without food and shade in the blazing sun, the complexion of Lord Shani became black.
However, Lord Surya was surprised to see his complexion and insulted Chhaya of giving birth to such a dark-skinned son.
This angered Lord Shani and He fixed a cruel gaze on His father. Lord Surya’s body was charred black and His chariots stopped moving.
When Lord Surya prayed to Lord Shiva for help, the latter explained everything and asked the former to apologize to His wife. On realizing His mistake, Lord Surya asked forgiveness from His wife and was restored everything by Lord Shani.
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Temples of Lord Shani
On the occasion of Shani Jayanti 2023, many devotees have thronged Shani temples across the country to offer prayers the Lord of Karma and Justice.
There are many temples of Lord Shani across India but the most famous one is Shani Shingnapur located in Nevasa taluka in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra.
According to a legend, a black slab was found on the shores of Panasnala River which once flowed through the village.
Lord Shani appeared in the dreams of the village head and asked him to place the slab in his own village since it was His own idol.
The head was asked to never cover the rock as He won’t be able to see the village properly. The villagers then installed it on a platform in the center of the village and didn’t cover it with anything.
After the villagers had installed the slab, they decided to get rid of all doors and locks in the village with the belief that Lord Shani would watch over them and serve as their protector.
The belief still runs strong today as most houses in the village don’t have doors and windows.