The Old Weblog

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On the occasion of the Cassini-Huygens mission coming to its brightest point yet, I decided to look up some information on Shani, the Sanskrit equivalent of the planet Saturn. What I found was quite intriguing.

Shani is known to be the most dreaded god after Yama, the god of death. Of all the names associated with Shani, the one that fascinated me most was, Krura Lochana or Evil Eyed. This name is associated with the ill-effects that can be brought about by Shani.

The story goes that the cruelty associated with Shani came about as a result of a curse laid on him by his wife.

Shani was an big devotee of Lord Krishna and was deep in meditation one night when he was approached by his wife. She wanted to give him her love and tried to entice him with her beauty. Shani however, being deep in meditation was oblivious of his surroundings. Eventually his wife lost her temper and laid a curse on him that whoever he laid eyes on would suffer immensely and would be destroyed. Thus was born Krura Lochana, the Evil Eyed.

Even to this day, the legend goes on in India. People are known to worship Lord Krishna on Shanivar, Saturdays just so Shani has mercy on them and does not cast his gaze on them.

Another story I learnt was about how Shani accepted defeat at the hands of Hanuman, the monkey god and follower of Lord Rama . After this defeat Shani decided to spare from his wrath all that those who worship Hanuman . Thus, you will find that people in India also worship Hanuman on Shanivar, Saturday.

As a footnote I’d like to add, the hindi word for Saturday, Shanivar is derived from the day of Shani; quite like Saturn’s day! You can read more about the origins of the Names of Weekdays over at theScian Wiki.