Festival · Shani Dev

Shani Jayanti

The birthday of Shani Dev, son of Surya and Chhaya, kept on the new moon of Jyeshtha in the North. Devotees pray to the just graha who gives each the fruit of their deeds.

Shani Jayanti 2027
Friday 4 June 2027
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Friday 4 June 2027

Amavasya tithi

Begins
4:06 am
Ends
1:10 am, 5 June
Sunrise
5:23 am
Sunset
7:16 pm
Moonrise
Not this day
Moonset
6:59 pm

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

  • Light a lamp of sesame or mustard oil before Shani Dev
  • Offer black sesame, black cloth or iron, and give to those in need
  • Recite the Shani Chalisa or his mantra
Read the Shani Chalisa →

What it remembers

Shani Jayanti marks the birth of Shani Dev, the son of Surya, the Sun, and the slow-moving planet Saturn. It falls on the new moon of Jyeshtha by the northern calendar, the new moon the southern calendar counts as the end of Vaishakha: the same day, in May or June. Devotees light his lamp of oil, give in charity, and pray to the just one who gives each the fruit of their deeds.

The son of the shadow

Sanjna, the wife of Surya, could not bear his heat, so she left her shadow, Chhaya, in her place. Chhaya bore Surya a son, dark of skin, who was Lord Shani. As a child in Chhaya’s womb he is said to have shared his mother’s long penance to Lord Shiva, and so was born with great strength of mind.

Father and son

When Surya doubted the dark child, the story says, Lord Shani’s first glance fell on his father and dimmed his light. Their quarrel was healed in time; Makar Sankranti, when the Sun enters Makara, the sign Shani rules, is told as the day Surya visits his son.

The judge among the planets

Lord Shani worshipped Lord Shiva with deep devotion, and Shiva made him the judge among the nine grahas, who gives each being the fruit of its own deeds, good and bad, without favour. That is why he is feared by the dishonest and loved by the patient.

Hanuman and Shani

One telling says Lord Hanuman freed Lord Shani from Ravana’s prison in Lanka, and Shani promised never to trouble those who pray to Hanuman. So many worship Hanuman on Saturdays and on Shani Jayanti too.

Keeping the day

Shani Dev is worshipped simply, with oil, sesame and service to others. Families keep the day in many ways; follow your own tradition where it differs.

  1. Bathe early and, if you can, visit a Shani temple, or a Navagraha shrine in a Shiva temple.
  2. Many fast through the day, or eat once, without salt, after the evening prayer.
  3. Offer sesame oil over his image, as is the custom at many Shani shrines, or light a lamp of sesame or mustard oil before it.
  4. Offer black sesame, black urad, blue or dark flowers, and a black or dark blue cloth.
  5. Recite the Shani Chalisa or his mantra, Om Sham Shanaishcharaya Namah, and the Hanuman Chalisa.
  6. Give to those who work hard and have little: food, oil, footwear, blankets or iron vessels.
  7. Light a lamp of oil under a peepal tree in the evening, an old custom of his day.

What you need

  • Sesame or mustard oil and a lamp
  • Black sesame and black urad
  • Blue or dark flowers
  • A black or dark blue cloth
  • Food or other things to give
  • The Shani Chalisa to read from

Across India

Maharashtra

Shani Shingnapur, where his image is a stone slab under the open sky and the village’s houses famously stand without doors, draws great crowds to pour oil over it.

Uttar Pradesh

Kokilavan Shani Dham near Mathura is circled on foot by devotees, and Shani temples across the state hold havans and feed the poor.

Puducherry and Tamil Nadu

At Thirunallar, near Karaikal, the great shrine of Lord Shani among the Navagraha temples, pilgrims bathe in the Nala Theertham tank before worship.

North India

Vat Savitri Vrat falls on the same new moon, so many married women keep it in the morning, worshipping the banyan tree, and Shani Dev in the evening.

When it falls

Amavasya of Vaishakha (Jyeshtha in North India). Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.

Shani Jayanti in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2027Friday 4 June 2027
  2. 2028Wednesday 24 May 2028

Questions

When is Shani Jayanti in 2027?

Friday 4 June 2027, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.

When does Shani Jayanti fall?

Amavasya of Vaishakha (Jyeshtha in North India). Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

How is Shani Jayanti kept?

Families light a lamp of sesame or mustard oil before Shani Dev, offer black sesame, black cloth or iron, and give to those in need and recite the Shani Chalisa or his mantra. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Shani Jayanti?

Shani Dev. The birthday of Shani Dev, son of Surya and Chhaya, kept on the new moon of Jyeshtha in the North. Devotees pray to the just graha who gives each the fruit of their deeds.

Why do some calendars say Jyeshtha and others Vaishakha?

They name the same day. The northern calendar ends each month at the full moon, so this new moon falls in Jyeshtha; the southern calendar ends each month at the new moon, so for it this new moon closes Vaishakha. Shani Jayanti is kept on this one new moon everywhere.

Should Shani Dev be feared?

He is the judge who gives each the fruit of their own deeds, and traditional astrology sees his times as hard but teaching. Devotees pray to him with respect rather than fear, and hold that honest work, patience and kindness to others please him most.

What is offered to Shani Dev?

Sesame or mustard oil, black sesame, black urad, dark flowers and a black or blue cloth, with a lamp of oil. Giving to the poor and to those who labour is held to please him as much as any offering.