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The Navagrahas are 9 important deities of the Hindu
religious tradition. They are Surya, Chandra, Angaraka,
Budha, Guru, Sukra, Sani, Rahu and Ketu. The last two,
Rahu and Ketu are planet-like entities, unique to the
Hindu tradition. Devotees worship the Navagrahas to
minimize the malefic effects of the planetary positions
as applicable to their birth charts.
Hindu astronomy is based upon the configuration of the
nine planets and their collective influence on the world
in general and each individual in particular. Depending
upon where these planets are located at the time of a
person’s birth, Hindus believe that the possibilities
and potentialities of his life and energies are
determined well in advance. The nine planets are
collectively known as Navagrahas. They are found in most
Hindu temples either grouped together on a panel or in a
separate pavilion. The devotees usually offer their
respects to the nine planetary gods before offering
prayers to the main deity of the temple. Out of the nine
gods the names of seven are actually drawn from names of
the planets of the solar system and also correspond to
the names of the seven days of the Hindu calendar week.
The remaining two gods are actually demons who managed
to gain a place in the pantheon through an act of
trickery. By the worship of Navagrahas, the planets
which are in auspicious situations offer increased
fruits of benefits for one’s actions while the planets
which occupy less desirous situations tend to remove the
evil effects of a person’s karma. The nine planets are:
1. Surya (Sun): He is the Sun God, also called Ravi. In
the company of the other planets, he generally stands in
the center facing east, while the other planets stand
around him in eight different directions, but none
facing each other. He rides a chariot that has one wheel
and pulled by seven white horses. The seven horses
symbolically represent the seven colors of the white
light and the seven days of the week.
2. Chandra (Moon): Also knows as Soma, and probably
because of his waxing and waning qualities, in the
images he is never depicted in full.
3. Mangala (Mars): Also called Angarka, Mangala is a
ferocious god with four hands.
4. Budha (Mercury): We generally see him depicted with
four hands, riding upon a chariot or a lion.
5. Brihaspathi (Jupiter): Brihaspathi also known as Guru
is the teacher of gods and is praised in many hymns of
the Rigveda. He is generally shown with two hands,
seated in a chariot driven by eight horses.
6. Sukra (Venus): Sukra is the teacher of the demons and
the author of Sukraniti. He is generally shown with four
hands, riding upon a golden or a silver chariot drawn by
eight horses.
7. Sani (Saturn): Sani is a turbulent and troublesome
god who makes and breaks fortunes by his influence and
position in the planetary system for which he is
invariably feared and especially worshipped by those who
believe in Hindu astrology.
8. Rahu: His image resembles that of Budha (Mercury) in
some respects but both gods differ fundamentallyin their
nature and temperament.
9. Ketu: In Sanskrit Ketu (Dhuma ketu) means comet. The
scriptures describe him as having the tail of a serpent
as his body, a description which very much matches with
his connection to the image of a comet.
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