Sanaischarashtakam
(The octet on the slow moving planet)
By
King Dasaratha
Translated by
P.R.Ramachander
( Sani(slow
one) aka Sanaischara(one who moves slowly) aka Saneeswara (The god who is slow) is the planet Saturn among
the nine planets of the Vedic astronomy. He is the son of Surya and Chaya and
is the only planet with the epithet Iswara(god). He takes 30 years to make a
full round of the Sun and so he becomes the slowest among the planets. This is
ascribed to the fact that he was made lame by his half brother Yama(God of
death). He is the indicator of
longevity, diseases, death, base actions, reason for death, danger,
slave hood and cattle wealth in the horoscope. He is described as one with very
hard hair, of black colour, phlegmatic, one with thick teeth, one having red
eyes, one with base character, slow witted, lazy and well proportioned. He is
the owner of Makara and Kumbha rasi of the horoscope, powerless in mesha rasi
and extremely powerful in Thula rasi. Shukra(Venus) and Budha(mercury) are his
friends, Jupiter equal , sun , moon, and Kuja(Mars) are his enemies .He is also
referred as Manda, Kona, Bhaskari, Arki and Suryputhra in astrological
literature. He takes 30 months for moving from one rasi to another. He gives
rise to bad effects when he is standing in the Chandra rasi, rasi before it and
rasi after it. This period is called Sade Sathi in Hindi and Ezharai nattu sani
in Tamil. Even in this seven and half year period, the period when it is with
Chandra is the worst one. In a person's life, there is a possibility of this
seven and half period coming thrice, the
first called mangu sani, the second called pongu sani and the third called
marano (pokku) sani. Another very bad period is when Sani lives in the 8th
house from moon. The mental confusion it causes may even make one mad. Other
Rasis where is bad are 4th , 5th, 7th, 9th
and 10th rasi from the moon. This would mean that he does good only
for 5 years during his one full round of 30 years. To please sani it is
necessary either to pray him, or his friend Hanuman or Lord Iyappa of Sabari
malai or to light gingelly lamps in front of him on Saturdays or to give a
copper pot full of gingelly oil as dhana to a Brahmin after seeing once own
image in that oil. Here is a great prayer addressed to him written by King
Dasaratha, the father of Lord Rama. All
people suffering in any trouble caused by Sani are requested to recite this
prayer , regularly on Saturdays. )
Kono anthako roudhra yamo adha babru,
Krishna sani pingala manda souri,
Nithyam smrutho yo harathe cha peedaam,
Thasmai nama Ravinandanaya.
1
Salutations to the
son of Sun god,
Who if remembered
daily,
As the lame one, the one
who decides the end,
The one who is very
angry, the one keeps himself under control,
The one who has hair
like lion, the one who is black,
The one who is Sani, the
one who is of copper colour, the one who is slow
And as the son of Sun
God , destroys all our problems.
Surasura kimpurushoragendra,
Gandahrawa vidhyadhara pannagascha,
Peedyanthi sarve vishamasthithena,
Thasmai nama Ravinandanaya.
2
Salutations to the
son of Sun god,
Who creates problems,
if in bad position,
Even to devas, asuras,
very great men, nagas,
Even to Gandharwas,
vidhyadharas and snakes
Nara narendra pasavo mrugendra,
Vanyascha ye keeta pathanga brunga,
Peedynthi sarve vishama sthithena,
Thasmai nama Ravinandanaya. 3
Salutations to the
son of Sun god,
Who creates problems,
if in bad position
Even to men, kings,
cows , lions,
Even to all animals
in forest, insects, butterflies and bees.
Desascha durgani vanani yathra,
Senanivesaa pura pattanani,
Peedynthi sarve vishama sthithena,
Thasmai nama Ravinandanaya. 4
Salutations to the
son of Sun god,
Who creates problems,
if in bad position,
Even to country,
to deep forests, to forts,
Even to tents of army
and to the cities.
Thilair yavair masha gudanna dhanai,
Lohena neelambara dhanatho va,
Preenathi manthrair nija vasare cha,
Thasmai nama Ravinandanaya.
5
Salutations to the
son of Sun god,
Who gets pleased
if gingelly,
Barley, jaggery rice,
iron and,
Blue cloths are given
in charity on Saturdays,
Or if he is
worshipped on Saturdays.
Prayagakoole Yamunathate cha,
Saraswathi punya jale guhayam,
Yo yoginaam dhyana gathopi sookshma,
Thasmai nama Ravinandanaya. 6
Salutations to the
son of Sun god,
Who lives in prayaga
and at the shores,
Of rivers Yamuna and
Saraswathy,
Who lives in caves
and in a micro form,
In the meditation of
great sages.
Anyapradhesath swagruham pravishta,
Thadeeyavare sa nara sukhee syath,
Gruhath gatho yo na puna prayathi,
Thasmai nama Ravinandanaya.
7
Salutations to the
son of Sun god,
On whose day, if one reaches his home,
From some outside
place, he becomes happy,
And if one leaves his
home on that day,
He would become
victorious and would not,
Find it necessary to
travel again and again.
Srushta swayam bhoor bhuvana thrayasya,
Thratha Hareeso harathe pinaki,
Ekasthridha rug yaju sama moorthi,
Thasmai nama Ravinandanaya.
8
Salutations to the
son of Sun god,
Who as Brahma is the creator of three worlds,
Who as Vishnu, takes
care of them,
Who as Shiva destroys
them,
And who is spread as
Rig, Yajur and Sama Veda.
Sanyashtakam ya prayatha prabhathe,
Nithyam suputhrai pasu bandhavaischa,
Padeth thu soukhyam bhuvi bhoga yuktha,
Prapnothi nirvana padam thadanthe. 9
He who reads this
octet on Sani ,
With devotion ,
everyday morning,
Would get good
children , cows, good relatives,
Enjoy all pleasures
and attain salvation at the end.
Konastha pingalo
bhabru, krishno roudhro anthako yama,
Souri sanaischaro , manda , pippaladhena samsthutha, 10
He who lives in a
triangle, who is of copper colour,
Who has mane like
lion, who is of black colour,
Who is very angry,
who destroys,
Who controls his
senses, who is the son of Sun God,
Who moves slowly and
in jerks, who has been sung by Pippalada
Ethani dasa naamani prathar uthaa ya padeth,
Sanaischara krutha peeda na kadachit bhavishyathi. 11
As soon as you get up
in the morning.
If these ten names
are chanted,
The problems created
by Sanaischara,
Would be a thing of
past.