Shanaishchara · The judge of karma
Shani Dev
Shani Dev, the son of the Sun, is the slow-moving planet Saturn and the judge of karma: stern, but fair to all who live honestly. Recite his Chalisa on Saturdays, light his lamp of sesame oil, and see when his new moons fall in your city.
- His day
- Saturday
- Next: Sat 7 Nov
- Next Shani Dev day
- Amavasya
- In 8 days · Mon 9 Nov
His days, in your city
Dates and puja times for the city you pick
For New Delhi
Every new moon is kept for him: above all Shanishchari Amavasya, a new moon on a Saturday.
- Every Saturday
- Sat 7 NovHis day of the week
- Makar Sankranti
- Fri 15 Jan7:15 am to 9:00 am
- Shani Jayanti
- Fri 4 June
Recite the Shani Chalisa
जयति जयति शनिदेव दयाला।
करत सदा भक्तन प्रतिपाला॥
Jayati jayati Shanidev dayala,
Karat sada bhaktan pratipala.
Glory, glory to Shani Dev the merciful, who always looks after and protects his devotees.
दयालु शनिदेव की जय हो, जय हो; वे सदा अपने भक्तों का पालन और रक्षा करते हैं।
Forty chaupais by the poet Ram Sundar between two opening dohas and a closing one: recited on Saturdays, and through any hard time.
Read the whole ChalisaHis prayers
- Shani ChalisaForty verses in Awadhi HindiRead
- Shani AartiJai jai Shri Shanidev, sung at the end of pujaRead
- Dasharatha’s Shani StotraThe prayer King Dasharatha is said to have offered himSoon
- 108 names of ShaniFor japa with a malaSoon
A simple Saturday puja
Shani Dev is worshipped on Saturdays, usually in the evening, and on the new moon. At home or under a peepal tree, a short and calm puja is enough. Follow your family’s way where it differs.
- Bathe, and wear dark blue or black if you can.
- Light a lamp of sesame or mustard oil before his image, or under a peepal tree.
- Offer black sesame seeds, urad dal and blue or dark flowers.
- Chant Om Sham Shanaishcharaya Namah 108 times, or recite the Shani Chalisa.
- Offer water to the peepal tree and walk round it.
- Give food, oil or a dark blanket to someone in need, and feed the crows.
What you need
- His image or picture
- Sesame or mustard oil and a lamp
- Black sesame seeds and urad dal
- Blue or dark flowers
- Water for the peepal tree
- Food or a gift for someone in need
Prayers for the puja
- Shani ChalisaRead
Who is Shani Dev
Shani Dev is the planet Saturn and one of the nine grahas. He is the son of Surya, the Sun, and of Chhaya, the shadow that Surya’s wife Sanjna left in her place, and the elder brother of Yama. He is dark, dressed in blue or black, and rides a crow; he holds a bow, a trident and a mace.
He moves the slowest of all the planets, and his name Shanaishchara means just that. In traditional astrology he is the judge of karma, who gives each person the fruit of their own deeds: hard lessons to some, steady reward to those who work honestly, keep their word and are kind to the poor.
Families keep Saturday for him with a lamp of sesame oil, his mantra and the Shani Chalisa, and many also worship Lord Hanuman that day. Shani Jayanti, his birthday, falls on the new moon of Jyeshtha, in May or June.
- Shanaishchara the one who moves slowly
- Suryaputra the son of the Sun, also Raviputra
- Chhayaputra the son of Chhaya, the shadow
- Yamagraja the elder brother of Yama
- Manda the slow one
- Sauri of Surya’s line
ॐ शं शनैश्चराय नमः
Om Sham Shanaishcharaya Namah
I bow to Shanaishchara, the one who moves slowly: “Sham” is his seed sound. Many chant it 108 times on Saturdays.
धीमी गति से चलने वाले शनैश्चर को मेरा नमन: “शं” उनका बीज मंत्र है। कई लोग शनिवार को इसे 108 बार जपते हैं।
नीलांजनसमाभासं रविपुत्रं यमाग्रजम्।
छायामार्तण्डसंभूतं तं नमामि शनैश्चरम्॥
Nilanjana samabhasam Raviputram Yamagrajam,
Chhaya Martanda sambhutam tam namami Shanaishcharam.
He shines dark like blue collyrium, the son of the Sun and the elder brother of Yama, born of Chhaya and Martanda, the Sun: to him, Shanaishchara, I bow.
जो नीले अंजन जैसे श्याम रंग में चमकते हैं, सूर्य के पुत्र और यम के बड़े भाई हैं, छाया और मार्तंड (सूर्य) से जन्मे हैं, उन शनैश्चर को मैं नमन करता हूँ।
Sade sati and dhaiya
What traditional astrology says
Lord Shani takes about two and a half years to pass through each of the twelve signs, and about thirty years to go round them all. Traditional astrology, jyotisha, counts two of his passes as times to take special care. They are beliefs of jyotisha, read from the sign the Moon was in at a person’s birth.
Sade sati
Seven and a half: the seven and a half years while Lord Shani passes through the sign before a person’s Moon sign, the Moon sign itself and the sign after it. Most people meet it two or three times in a life. Astrologers read it as a time of tests, hard work and change, and many say it ends in maturity and lasting gains.
Dhaiya
Two and a half: the two and a half years while Lord Shani passes through the fourth or the eighth sign from the Moon sign, also called a small panoti. It is read as a shorter time of effort and patience.
No puja, stone or ritual can promise a result. Families who keep these times simply live with more care: they recite the Shani Chalisa, light a lamp of sesame oil on Saturdays, give to people in need and work honestly. If you want a reading of your own chart, ask a jyotishi you trust.
What his symbols mean
His dark colour
Dark blue or black, like the night sky or a rain cloud: the colour of depth, patience and endurance.
The crow
His mount. Feeding crows on Saturday is one of the simplest ways families honour him.
The slow walk
Shanaishchara, the one who moves slowly: what he gives comes in its own time, and lasts.
The sideways gaze
Stories say his glance is so strong that he keeps his eyes lowered, out of care for whoever he looks at.
The bow and trident
The weapons of the judge who protects the honest and checks the proud.
Sesame, iron and oil
His grain, his metal and his lamp: given on Saturdays as an offering, and to people in need.
His stories
Across India
Maharashtra
At Shani Shingnapur his black stone stands in the open on a platform, without a roof, and the village is famous for houses without doors, trusted to his care. Pilgrims pour oil over the stone on Saturdays and the new moon.
Puducherry and Tamil Nadu
At Thirunallar near Karaikal, pilgrims bathe in the Nala Theertham tank, where King Nala is said to have been freed from his hard time. Shiva temples across the south have a Navagraha shrine, and Thirunallar is Lord Shani’s among the nine temples round Kumbakonam.
Uttar Pradesh
In Braj, pilgrims walk the parikrama of Kokilavan near Kosi Kalan, where Lord Krishna is said to have given Shani Dev his darshan in the form of a cuckoo.
Madhya Pradesh
On a hill at Aiti near Morena stands an old Shanishchara temple, crowded on Shani Jayanti and on new moons that fall on a Saturday.
Across North India
On Saturday evenings lamps of mustard oil are lit under peepal trees, oil is given in a bowl that reflects the giver’s face, and Hanuman temples are full.
His temples
- Shani ShingnapurShingnapur, Maharashtra
- Thirunallar Saneeswaran TempleThirunallar, Karaikal, Puducherry
- Kokilavan Shani DhamKosi Kalan, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
- Kuchanur Saneeswara Bhagavan TempleKuchanur, Theni, Tamil Nadu
- Shanishchara TempleAiti, Morena, Madhya Pradesh
- Mandapalli Mandeswara Swamy TempleMandapalli, Konaseema, Andhra Pradesh
Questions
When is Shani Jayanti in 2027?
Shani Jayanti is on Friday 4 June 2027 in New Delhi. Pick your city at the top of this page for its own date and muhurat.
Which day is Shani Dev’s?
Saturday, Shanivar, which is named after him. Many light a lamp of sesame oil that evening, recite the Shani Chalisa and visit a Shani or Hanuman temple.
What is Shani Dev’s mantra?
Om Sham Shanaishcharaya Namah, with his seed sound “Sham”. Many chant it 108 times on Saturdays, with a mala.
When is Shani Jayanti?
On the new moon of the month of Jyeshtha, which falls in May or June. Where months end with the new moon, as in much of the south, the same day is the new moon of Vaishakha.
What are sade sati and dhaiya?
In traditional astrology, sade sati is the seven and a half years while Lord Shani passes the Moon sign and the signs on either side of it, and dhaiya the two and a half years while he passes the fourth or eighth sign from it. They are read as times of effort and testing, not of fear.
Why is Shani Dev feared, and is he cruel?
He is the judge of karma, not an enemy: he gives each the fruit of their own deeds, and is said to reward patience, honesty and kindness to the poor. His slow, steady way is the lesson.
Is Lord Shani one of the Navagraha?
Yes: he is the planet Saturn, one of the nine grahas, and Saturday is his day. The Navagraha hub has all nine, with their stotram, their days and their temples round Kumbakonam.
Why is Lord Hanuman worshipped on Saturday too?
A well-loved story says Lord Hanuman freed Lord Shani from Ravana’s prison, and Shani promised not to trouble Hanuman’s devotees. So many recite the Hanuman Chalisa on Saturdays as well.