Shani Maharaj : The Lord of Justice

Shani has been derived from the word Shanaischara, which means slow mover. The planet takes almost two and a half years settled in a particular zodiac, and hence the Shani Sade Sati persists almost for a span of seven and a half years, including the other two zodiacs, the one that comes after and before the one we consider. Shani, the deity has been mentioned in the Hindu Puranas and has been crowned the Supreme God of Justice. He is the God that controls the Karma if people. Therefore Sade Satis is time, it is considered when the karma of the people reflects. 

Saturn as always considered is a strict teacher. It is a checker of the karma of the people. It begets good to the good and evil to the evil. The planet is the push for the people to take the path of righteousness and wisdom. Saturn is called the Shanaischara or the slow mover and the tenure of the Shani Mahadasha is calculated at seven and a half years as already mentioned. Hence the endurance of the planet for the two and a half years and the rest five years before and after it is a tough one. 

According to Hindu mythology, he is the son of Chhaya(shadow) and Sun. The peepal tree is considered to be the abode of Shani. The crow is considered the deity's transport. Chhaya observed tough penance during her pregnancy under the Sun. This caused Shani to become black.

Shani always had a misunderstanding with his father the Sun. Sun doubted whether a baby as black as Shani could belong to him, and so rejected him. Shani cast an evil eye on him and hence they were always fallen out.

Hindu mythology says that Shani was an incarnation of Vishnu. He is considered to be the brother of Dharma (Yama). He's the brother-in-lawof Shiva as he's married to Kali.

Shani is the one that never overlaps the dungeons that lay in the human heart and also brings out the danger that lurks inside there. He is one of the most powerful deities that the Hindu religion worships to destroy evil and any such obstacles.

Shani is the guardian of the human soul, that keeps in check whether it is in the right paths and also keeps an eye on all the evil that the soul may have overdone. In the eyes of Shani, no one is safe as there's always an eye cast on us. Shani makes it a point that the pursuit of pleasures and materialism does not overlap with the purity in our souls, so he makes an effort to clean our souls of negative doings. 

 Shani is an all-mighty God and it is very important to propitiate the deity. Shani is said to make people from "राजा" to "रंक" and vice versa. There comes the need of the Shani Chalisa. Each of the 40 lines of the Chalisa is a praise in the name of the deity and begets one form of blessing from the deity. As a planet, Shani is the only one to be given the status of a God, for the immense power it reflects in the form of the wellness it brings and the adversity it may strike. Therefore the planet needs to be brought into our devotion and prayers to propitiate it. 

Shani is like that one parent to us, who we may mistake as the strong and strict influence. But the truth beheld, he is actually the one who's the best influence on us. He is more of a friend than a foe. He helps us live our lives in accordance with the code of conduct. Shani favors the hardworking the most. He is the supreme judge and hence we should gravitate towards the good influence of the planet rather than his evil influence.