Navagrahas
Graha (from Sanskrit ग्रह
gráha — seizing, laying hold
of, holding) is a 'cosmic
influencer' on the living beings
of mother Bhumadevi (earth).
In Hindu Astrology, the
Navagraha (Sanskrit: नवग्रह,
nine planets or nine realms)
are some of these major
influencers.
Overview
Ancient Indian seers had an
extensive knowledge of
Astronomy derived from
observation, analysis and
profound insight. They
observed also that planetary
movements and human affairs
presented remarkable
coincidences and concurrences
within repetitive cyclic
patterns that made them
predictable. Thus they codified
their composite knowledge of
Astronomy and Astrology into
a single science called Jyotisha.
And this work became
sufficiently significant to
human affairs that it was
invested with the status of a
Vedanga, a limb of the Vedas.
"The Sanskrit word captures
the idea that these nine grahas
are living energies which put
out waves of energy. These
waves of energy affect our
awareness. … this indicates …
the active power of these
celestial energies to seize our
consciousness when we come
under their influence or to
take hold of what we focus
on."
Accordingly to some, Grahas
are the "markers of
influence", that point out the
karmic influence on the
behavior of living beings. They
themselves are not causative
elements but can be compared
to traffic signs.
Fortunately, the term Graha
was linked to the term
"planet" of our solar system,
as five members of Navagraha
(the nine grahas) happen to be
planets; but the Surya (sun),
Chandra (moon), Rahu (north
or ascending lunar node) and
Ketu (south or descending
lunar node) are not "planets"
according to modern
astronomy. This misconception
is sometimes used as
arguments against the validity
of astrology. However, a fact
common to all the navagraha
is that they have relative
movement with respect to the
background of fixed stars in
the zodiac.
"Graha" is sometimes also
translated as "celestial body",
but Rahu and Ketu are not
celestial bodies either, but are
only positions in the lunar
path. A third translation is
celestial god or demi-god, but
again, Rahu and Ketu are
demonic Asuras , not benign
deities like Devas. Thus the
term 'graha' in this contexts
applies to the nine (9)
planetary or cosmic deities,
spirits, spiritual beings-entities,
etc. The term however mostly
refers to any spirit(ual) force
in general.
The Nine Planets
Surya
Surya (Devanagari: सूर्य,
sūrya) is the chief solar deity
SUN, one of the Adityas, son of
Kasyapa and one of his wife
Aditi, of Indra, or of Dyaus
Pitar (depending by the
versions). He has hair and
arms of gold. His chariot is
pulled by seven horses, which
represent the seven chakras.
He presides as "Ravi" over
"Ravi-war" or Sunday.
In Hindu religious literature,
Surya is notably mentioned as
the visible form of God that
one can see every day.
Furthermore, Shaivites and
Vaishnavas often regard Surya
as an aspect of Shiva and
Vishnu, respectively. For
example, the sun is called
Surya Narayana by
Vaishnavas. In Shaivite
theology, Surya is said to be
one of eight forms of Shiva,
named the Astamurti.
He is said to be of Sattva Guna
and represents the Soul,the
King, highly placed persons or
Father.
Chandra
Chandra (Devanagari: चंद्र ) is
a lunar deity. Chandra (moon)
is also known as Soma and
identified with the Vedic Lunar
deity Soma. He is described as
young, beautiful, fair; two-
armed and having in his hands
a club and a lotus. He rides his
chariot (the moon) across the
sky every night, pulled by ten
white horses or an antelope.
He is connected with dew, and
as such, is one of the gods of
fertility. He is also called
Nishadipati (Nisha=night;
Adipathi=Lord) and
Kshuparaka (one who
illuminates the night). He as
Soma, presides over Somvarm
or Monday. He is of Sattva
Guna and represents the Mind,
the Queen or Mother.
He is married to daughters of
Daksha Prajapathi. He has
therefore 27 wives,
representing twenty seven
Nakshatras (constellations).
Budha (the planet Mercury)
was born to Soma and Taraka.
Mangala
Mangala (Devanagari: मंगल) is
the god of Mars, the red
planet. Mars is also called
Angaraka ('one who is red in
colour') or Bhauma ('son of
Bhumi') in Sanskrit. He is the
god of war and is celibate. He
is considered the son of Prithvi
or Bhumi, the Earth Goddess.
He is the owner of the Ares
and Scorpio signs, and a
teacher of the occult sciences
(Ruchaka Mahapurusha Yoga).
He is of Tamas Guna in nature
and represents Energetic
action, confidence and ego.
He is painted red or flame
colour, four-armed, carrying a
trident, club, lotus and a spear.
His Vahana (mount) is a ram.
He presides over 'Mangal-war'
or Tuesday.
Budha
Budha (Devanagari: बुध ) is the
god of the planet Mercury and
the son of Chandra (the moon)
with Tara (Taraka). He is also
the god of merchandize and
protector of Merchants. He is
of Rajas Guna and represents
Communication.
He is represented as being
mild, eloquent and of greenish
colour. He is represented
holding a scimitar, a club and a
shield, riding a winged lion in
Ramghur temple. In other
illustrations , he holds a
sceptre and lotus and rides a
carpet or an eagle or a chariot
drawn by lions.
Budha presides over 'Budh-
war' or Wednesday. In modern
Hindi, Telugu, Bengali,
Marathi,Kannada and Gujarati,
Wednesday is called Budhvara;
in Tamil and Malayalam it is
Budhan.
Brihaspati
Brihaspati (Devanagari:
बृहस्पति ) is the name of a
Vedic deity, personification of
piety and religion, the chief
offerer of prayers and
sacrifices, represented as the
Purohita of the gods with
whom he intercedes for men.
He is the Lord of planet Jupiter.
He is of Sattva Guna and
represents knowledge and
teaching.
In later Hindu mythology, he is
the guru of the Devas and the
arch-nemesis of Shukracharya,
the guru of the Danavas. He is
also known Guru, the god of
wisdom and eloquence, to
whom various works are
ascribed, such as the
"atheistic" Barhaspatya sutras.
He is described of yellow or
golden colour and holding a
stick, a lotus and his beads. He
presides over 'Guru-war' or
Thursday.
Shukra
Shukra (Devanagari: शुक्र ),
the Sanskrit for "clear, pure"
or "brightness, clearness", is
the name the son of Bhrigu and
Ushana, and preceptor of the
Daityas, and the guru of the
Asuras, identified with the
planet Venus (with honorific,
शुक्राचार्य Shukracharya). He
presides over 'Shukra-war' or
Friday. He is Rajas in nature
and represents wealth,
pleasure and reproduction.
He is of white complexion,
middle-aged and of agreeable
countenance. He is described
variously mounted, on a camel
or a horse or a crocodile. He
holds a stick, beads and a lotus
and sometimes a bow and
arrow.
In Astrology, there is a dasha
or planetary period known as
Shukra Dasha which remains
active in a person's horoscope
for 20 years. This dasha is
believed to give more wealth,
fortune and luxury to one's
living if a person has Shukra
positioned well in his
horoscope as well as Shukra
being an important benefic
planet in his/her horoscope.
Shani
Shani (Devanagari: शनि, Śani)
is one of the nine primary
celestial beings in Hindu
astrology (that is, Vedic
astrology). Shani is embodied
in the planet Saturn. Shani is
the Lord of Saturday. He is
Tamas in nature and
represents learning the hard
way, Career and Longevity.
The origin of word Shani(शनि)
comes from the following:
Shanaye Kramati Sa: (शनये
क्रमति सः) i.e. the one who
moves slowly. Saturn takes
about 30 years to revolve
around the Sun, thus it moves
slowly compared to other
planets, thus the Sanskrit
name शनि. Shani is actually a
demi-god and is a son of Surya
(the Hindu Sun God) and his
wife Chhaya. It is said that
when he opened his eyes as a
baby for the very first time,
the sun went into an eclipse,
which clearly denotes the
impact of Shani on astrological
charts (horoscope).
He is depicted dark in colour,
clothed in black; holding a
sword, arrows and two daggers
and variously mounted on a
black crow or a raven. He is
depicted at other times as
ugly, old, lame and having long
hair, teeth and nails. He
presides over 'Shani-war' or
Saturday.
Rahu
Rahu (Devanagari: राहु ) is God
of the Ascending / North lunar
node. Rahu is the Head of
Demon Snake that swallows
the sun or the moon causing
eclipses according to Hindu
mythology. He is depicted in
art as a dragon with no body
riding a chariot drawn by eight
black horses. He is an Tamas
Asura who does his best to
plunge any area of one's life
he controls into chaos. The
rahu kala is considered
inauspicious.
According to legend, during the
Samudra manthan, the asura
Rahu drank some of the divine
nectar. But before the nectar
could pass his throat, Mohini
(the female avatar of Vishnu)
cut off his head. The head,
however, remained immortal
and is called Rahu , while the
rest of the body became Ketu.
It is believed that this immortal
head occasionally swallows the
sun or the moon, causing
eclipses. Then, the sun or moon
passes through the opening at
the neck, ending the eclipse.
Ketu
Ketu (Devanagari: केतु) is the
Lord of Descending/South
lunar node. Ketu is generally
referred to as a "shadow"
planet. He is considered as Tail
of the Demon Snake. It is
believed to have a tremendous
impact on human lives and also
the whole creation. In some
special circumstances it helps
someone achieve the zenith of
fame. He is Tamas in nature
and represents supernatural
influences.
Astronomically, Ketu and Rahu
denote the points of
intersection of the paths of the
Sun and the Moon as they
move on the celestial sphere.
Therefore, Rahu and Ketu are
respectively called the north
and the south lunar nodes. The
fact that eclipses occur when
Sun and Moon are at one of
these points gives rise to the
mythology of the swallowing
of the Sun by the Moon.
Nava Graha Murtis
Installed in Temples
It is common to see the Nava
Grahas installed as murtis in
Hindu temples and people will
perform pujas to these grahas
in order to propitiate these
influences. It is often the case
that a Hindu will consult an
astrologer and be told that one
of the grahas is exerting a
negative influence over his life
and that he should perform a
puja in order to diminish the
negative influence.
Occasionally, even the reverse
is true, someone may be told
that a particular graha is
exerting a positive influence
and so the person may
perform a puja to increase the
positive influence. There is a
popular puja called “Graha
Shanti” to make peace with the
grahas (shanti means peace)
that is often performed before
weddings and other important
times. You can think of a Nava
Graha puja as paying the
cosmic “utility bill.” Indeed, the
Nava Grahas still play an
important role in Hinduism.
Graha (from Sanskrit ग्रह
gráha — seizing, laying hold
of, holding) is a 'cosmic
influencer' on the living beings
of mother Bhumadevi (earth).
In Hindu Astrology, the
Navagraha (Sanskrit: नवग्रह,
nine planets or nine realms)
are some of these major
influencers.
Overview
Ancient Indian seers had an
extensive knowledge of
Astronomy derived from
observation, analysis and
profound insight. They
observed also that planetary
movements and human affairs
presented remarkable
coincidences and concurrences
within repetitive cyclic
patterns that made them
predictable. Thus they codified
their composite knowledge of
Astronomy and Astrology into
a single science called Jyotisha.
And this work became
sufficiently significant to
human affairs that it was
invested with the status of a
Vedanga, a limb of the Vedas.
"The Sanskrit word captures
the idea that these nine grahas
are living energies which put
out waves of energy. These
waves of energy affect our
awareness. … this indicates …
the active power of these
celestial energies to seize our
consciousness when we come
under their influence or to
take hold of what we focus
on."
Accordingly to some, Grahas
are the "markers of
influence", that point out the
karmic influence on the
behavior of living beings. They
themselves are not causative
elements but can be compared
to traffic signs.
Fortunately, the term Graha
was linked to the term
"planet" of our solar system,
as five members of Navagraha
(the nine grahas) happen to be
planets; but the Surya (sun),
Chandra (moon), Rahu (north
or ascending lunar node) and
Ketu (south or descending
lunar node) are not "planets"
according to modern
astronomy. This misconception
is sometimes used as
arguments against the validity
of astrology. However, a fact
common to all the navagraha
is that they have relative
movement with respect to the
background of fixed stars in
the zodiac.
"Graha" is sometimes also
translated as "celestial body",
but Rahu and Ketu are not
celestial bodies either, but are
only positions in the lunar
path. A third translation is
celestial god or demi-god, but
again, Rahu and Ketu are
demonic Asuras , not benign
deities like Devas. Thus the
term 'graha' in this contexts
applies to the nine (9)
planetary or cosmic deities,
spirits, spiritual beings-entities,
etc. The term however mostly
refers to any spirit(ual) force
in general.
The Nine Planets
Surya
Surya (Devanagari: सूर्य,
sūrya) is the chief solar deity
SUN, one of the Adityas, son of
Kasyapa and one of his wife
Aditi, of Indra, or of Dyaus
Pitar (depending by the
versions). He has hair and
arms of gold. His chariot is
pulled by seven horses, which
represent the seven chakras.
He presides as "Ravi" over
"Ravi-war" or Sunday.
In Hindu religious literature,
Surya is notably mentioned as
the visible form of God that
one can see every day.
Furthermore, Shaivites and
Vaishnavas often regard Surya
as an aspect of Shiva and
Vishnu, respectively. For
example, the sun is called
Surya Narayana by
Vaishnavas. In Shaivite
theology, Surya is said to be
one of eight forms of Shiva,
named the Astamurti.
He is said to be of Sattva Guna
and represents the Soul,the
King, highly placed persons or
Father.
Chandra
Chandra (Devanagari: चंद्र ) is
a lunar deity. Chandra (moon)
is also known as Soma and
identified with the Vedic Lunar
deity Soma. He is described as
young, beautiful, fair; two-
armed and having in his hands
a club and a lotus. He rides his
chariot (the moon) across the
sky every night, pulled by ten
white horses or an antelope.
He is connected with dew, and
as such, is one of the gods of
fertility. He is also called
Nishadipati (Nisha=night;
Adipathi=Lord) and
Kshuparaka (one who
illuminates the night). He as
Soma, presides over Somvarm
or Monday. He is of Sattva
Guna and represents the Mind,
the Queen or Mother.
He is married to daughters of
Daksha Prajapathi. He has
therefore 27 wives,
representing twenty seven
Nakshatras (constellations).
Budha (the planet Mercury)
was born to Soma and Taraka.
Mangala
Mangala (Devanagari: मंगल) is
the god of Mars, the red
planet. Mars is also called
Angaraka ('one who is red in
colour') or Bhauma ('son of
Bhumi') in Sanskrit. He is the
god of war and is celibate. He
is considered the son of Prithvi
or Bhumi, the Earth Goddess.
He is the owner of the Ares
and Scorpio signs, and a
teacher of the occult sciences
(Ruchaka Mahapurusha Yoga).
He is of Tamas Guna in nature
and represents Energetic
action, confidence and ego.
He is painted red or flame
colour, four-armed, carrying a
trident, club, lotus and a spear.
His Vahana (mount) is a ram.
He presides over 'Mangal-war'
or Tuesday.
Budha
Budha (Devanagari: बुध ) is the
god of the planet Mercury and
the son of Chandra (the moon)
with Tara (Taraka). He is also
the god of merchandize and
protector of Merchants. He is
of Rajas Guna and represents
Communication.
He is represented as being
mild, eloquent and of greenish
colour. He is represented
holding a scimitar, a club and a
shield, riding a winged lion in
Ramghur temple. In other
illustrations , he holds a
sceptre and lotus and rides a
carpet or an eagle or a chariot
drawn by lions.
Budha presides over 'Budh-
war' or Wednesday. In modern
Hindi, Telugu, Bengali,
Marathi,Kannada and Gujarati,
Wednesday is called Budhvara;
in Tamil and Malayalam it is
Budhan.
Brihaspati
Brihaspati (Devanagari:
बृहस्पति ) is the name of a
Vedic deity, personification of
piety and religion, the chief
offerer of prayers and
sacrifices, represented as the
Purohita of the gods with
whom he intercedes for men.
He is the Lord of planet Jupiter.
He is of Sattva Guna and
represents knowledge and
teaching.
In later Hindu mythology, he is
the guru of the Devas and the
arch-nemesis of Shukracharya,
the guru of the Danavas. He is
also known Guru, the god of
wisdom and eloquence, to
whom various works are
ascribed, such as the
"atheistic" Barhaspatya sutras.
He is described of yellow or
golden colour and holding a
stick, a lotus and his beads. He
presides over 'Guru-war' or
Thursday.
Shukra
Shukra (Devanagari: शुक्र ),
the Sanskrit for "clear, pure"
or "brightness, clearness", is
the name the son of Bhrigu and
Ushana, and preceptor of the
Daityas, and the guru of the
Asuras, identified with the
planet Venus (with honorific,
शुक्राचार्य Shukracharya). He
presides over 'Shukra-war' or
Friday. He is Rajas in nature
and represents wealth,
pleasure and reproduction.
He is of white complexion,
middle-aged and of agreeable
countenance. He is described
variously mounted, on a camel
or a horse or a crocodile. He
holds a stick, beads and a lotus
and sometimes a bow and
arrow.
In Astrology, there is a dasha
or planetary period known as
Shukra Dasha which remains
active in a person's horoscope
for 20 years. This dasha is
believed to give more wealth,
fortune and luxury to one's
living if a person has Shukra
positioned well in his
horoscope as well as Shukra
being an important benefic
planet in his/her horoscope.
Shani
Shani (Devanagari: शनि, Śani)
is one of the nine primary
celestial beings in Hindu
astrology (that is, Vedic
astrology). Shani is embodied
in the planet Saturn. Shani is
the Lord of Saturday. He is
Tamas in nature and
represents learning the hard
way, Career and Longevity.
The origin of word Shani(शनि)
comes from the following:
Shanaye Kramati Sa: (शनये
क्रमति सः) i.e. the one who
moves slowly. Saturn takes
about 30 years to revolve
around the Sun, thus it moves
slowly compared to other
planets, thus the Sanskrit
name शनि. Shani is actually a
demi-god and is a son of Surya
(the Hindu Sun God) and his
wife Chhaya. It is said that
when he opened his eyes as a
baby for the very first time,
the sun went into an eclipse,
which clearly denotes the
impact of Shani on astrological
charts (horoscope).
He is depicted dark in colour,
clothed in black; holding a
sword, arrows and two daggers
and variously mounted on a
black crow or a raven. He is
depicted at other times as
ugly, old, lame and having long
hair, teeth and nails. He
presides over 'Shani-war' or
Saturday.
Rahu
Rahu (Devanagari: राहु ) is God
of the Ascending / North lunar
node. Rahu is the Head of
Demon Snake that swallows
the sun or the moon causing
eclipses according to Hindu
mythology. He is depicted in
art as a dragon with no body
riding a chariot drawn by eight
black horses. He is an Tamas
Asura who does his best to
plunge any area of one's life
he controls into chaos. The
rahu kala is considered
inauspicious.
According to legend, during the
Samudra manthan, the asura
Rahu drank some of the divine
nectar. But before the nectar
could pass his throat, Mohini
(the female avatar of Vishnu)
cut off his head. The head,
however, remained immortal
and is called Rahu , while the
rest of the body became Ketu.
It is believed that this immortal
head occasionally swallows the
sun or the moon, causing
eclipses. Then, the sun or moon
passes through the opening at
the neck, ending the eclipse.
Ketu
Ketu (Devanagari: केतु) is the
Lord of Descending/South
lunar node. Ketu is generally
referred to as a "shadow"
planet. He is considered as Tail
of the Demon Snake. It is
believed to have a tremendous
impact on human lives and also
the whole creation. In some
special circumstances it helps
someone achieve the zenith of
fame. He is Tamas in nature
and represents supernatural
influences.
Astronomically, Ketu and Rahu
denote the points of
intersection of the paths of the
Sun and the Moon as they
move on the celestial sphere.
Therefore, Rahu and Ketu are
respectively called the north
and the south lunar nodes. The
fact that eclipses occur when
Sun and Moon are at one of
these points gives rise to the
mythology of the swallowing
of the Sun by the Moon.
Nava Graha Murtis
Installed in Temples
It is common to see the Nava
Grahas installed as murtis in
Hindu temples and people will
perform pujas to these grahas
in order to propitiate these
influences. It is often the case
that a Hindu will consult an
astrologer and be told that one
of the grahas is exerting a
negative influence over his life
and that he should perform a
puja in order to diminish the
negative influence.
Occasionally, even the reverse
is true, someone may be told
that a particular graha is
exerting a positive influence
and so the person may
perform a puja to increase the
positive influence. There is a
popular puja called “Graha
Shanti” to make peace with the
grahas (shanti means peace)
that is often performed before
weddings and other important
times. You can think of a Nava
Graha puja as paying the
cosmic “utility bill.” Indeed, the
Nava Grahas still play an
important role in Hinduism.
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