🕉 Shani (Saturn) Mantra

Shani (Saturn) is considered the significator of karma, justice, discipline, hard work, longevity, the working class and health of joints/bones. When Shani is weak or afflicted in the kundali, or its difficult dasha is running, tradition recommends its mantra japa, charity and the worship of its presiding deity. Below are all four kinds of Shani mantras with meaning, the japa method and remedies.

📖 Full text — with meaning

Tap «Roman (English) script» to see the original Devanagari text.

Beej and laghu mantras — the graha-shanti tradition; Vedic verse — as given in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra (ch. 84), text checked against Rigveda 10.9.4; Shukla Yajurveda 36.12; Pauranik — the Navagraha Stotra composed by Vyasa.

💡 Essence

The purpose of chanting Shani's mantra is not to «please» the planet, but to awaken its good qualities (karma) in your own life and to gain the strength to bear its difficult results.

📿 Japa counter (mala of 108)

📅 Next auspicious days (from our panchang)

• 24 Oct (Saturday)
• 31 Oct (Saturday)
• 7 Nov (Saturday)
• 14 Nov (Saturday)
• 21 Nov (Saturday)
• 28 Nov (Saturday)

Dates are for Delhi sunrise; see today's panchang for your city.

🪔 How to chant / recite

1. Start: Take a sankalpa and begin on the first Saturday of the bright fortnight (shukla paksha), or on any Saturday.
2. Time: Morning after bath; Saturday is special.
3. Seat & direction: On a woollen/kusha asana, facing west (or east/north).
4. Mala & count: One mala (108) of the beej or laghu mantra daily; by tradition the total count for the beej mantra is 23,000 — do such a big anushthan only after checking the kundali and under an acharya's guidance.
5. Conclusion: At the end of the anushthan, the tradition is a havan of one-tenth the japa count, charity (black sesame, mustard oil, urad) and feeding a brahmin/someone in need.

🛕 Puja vidhi (step by step)

🧺 Items needed

• Mustard oil (for lamp and offering)
• Black sesame, urad
• Blue/black flowers
• Black/blue cloth
• Iron vessel or nail (as per custom)
• A peepal tree (for the evening lamp)

🪷 Procedure

1. Bathe and wear clean clothes; clean the puja place and spread a fresh cloth on the altar (chowki).
2. Do achamana (sip water three times) and purify hands and mouth; sit on an asana and calm the mind.
3. Light a lamp of ghee or sesame oil — by tradition the lamp is kept to the deity's right.
4. Take water, akshata (unbroken rice) and a flower in the right hand and make the sankalpa — your name, gotra, place, date and the purpose of the puja, spoken or in the mind; then let the water fall to the ground.
5. First remember Shri Ganesha (Om Gam Ganapataye Namah).
6. On Saturday after sunset (or in the morning) face west and meditate on Shani Dev.
7. Offer mustard oil on the Shani idol/stone; offer black sesame, urad and blue flowers.
8. Light a mustard-oil lamp under a peepal tree; chant the Shani mantra and recite Shani Chalisa.
9. Donate: black sesame, mustard oil, urad, black cloth or food to the needy.
10. Finally perform aarti, offer pushpanjali (flowers) and do parikrama (or turn around in your place).
11. Ask forgiveness for any mistakes in the puja, distribute the prasad and take it yourself.

⚠️ Rules & precautions

• Do not look straight into the eyes of the Shani idol — by tradition one looks at the feet.
• On Saturday, buying iron/oil is avoided; donating them is considered auspicious.
• Hanuman worship is considered special in Shani's affliction.
• Respecting servants, labourers and the elderly is described as the simplest way to please Shani.

🎁 Items to donate (on Saturday)

• Black sesame
• Mustard oil
• Urad
• Iron
• Black blanket

🌿 Other remedies for Shani

• Light a mustard-oil lamp under a peepal tree on Saturdays.
• Recite Hanuman Chalisa — considered special in Saturn's affliction.
• Help servants, labourers, the elderly and the differently-abled.
• Check Sade Sati/Dhaiya from your own kundali.

🌟 Benefits (as per tradition)

• A prayer for favourable results in the areas Shani signifies — karma, justice, discipline, hard work, longevity, the working class and health of joints/bones.
• Strength of mind and patience during a difficult dasha/antardasha of the planet.

These are traditional beliefs described in scriptures; results are understood to depend on faith, discipline and one's own actions.

❓ Frequently asked questions