How Shani Devta became the God of metropolitan cities?

Shani Dev picture

Today I ask you a question. How often do you see mandirs of Shani Dev while walking through a street in the small cities of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar? Not more than one or two and sometimes even zero. You would merely find one or two mandirs in a certain area of the particular city.

Now, consider the same scenario for metropolitan cities like Delhi, NCR, Kolkata, Mumbai and few more. You can just step outside your house and every 300-400 meters of the street, you’ll find a mandir of Shani Devta.

Have you ever thought, why? Well, no worries. We have the right answer for you.

Shani Dev – The god of Justice

Shani Dev is known as the God of justice. Son of Surya, the Sun God, Shani Dev, according to Hindu beliefs, is one of the gods who is feared by people as he rewards or punishes people for their deeds. Shani Dev is the God who provides fruit for labour. If Shani Dev is happy, he would neither do any good to you nor punish you. But dare one performs evil deeds, he’ll surely be punished by Shani Dev. This is the reason why he is worshipped by people, especially Hindus, to ward off evil and obstacles from life.

Also Read: Parashuram Jayanti, Akshay Tritiya and some more festivals that Hindus need to know about

It is believed that people, who do not upset Shani Dev and refrain from committing sins, remain in the good books of Shani Dev, leading them to be not punished by the God of Justice.

Hindus believe that one has to perform good deeds throughout his/her life to keep Shani Dev happy.

It is pertinent to note that the planet Saturn represents ShaniDev. This is exactly why Saturn is considered an important planet in the Hindu religion. Moreover, it is also the most impactful among the nine planets. Now, you must have understood why people pray to this planet. But they do not pray due to devotion, but rather out of fear.

It is true that people have misconceptions about Saturn or Shani Dev, but is can be a source of pain only for those who have done something wrong.

Shani ka Prabhav and Sadhesati

Shani ka prabhav, or the force of Saturn, has three subdivisions, shanigochar, shani ki mahadsha and sadhesati.  The impact of these forces can transform any individual’s life. It is believed that Ravan had forced all planetary bodies into his submission. Even Shani Dev had been held captive by him, and hung upside down. Afterwards, Hanuman came to Lanka to save Sita. What transpired later is public knowledge.

In order to pray to this dev or God, people often offer oil, or use sesame seed oil to burn diyas. The reason for this can be traced back to an old tale.

When Ravan ordered to light Hanuman’s tail on fire and in retaliation, he burnt Lanka, all the planets including Saturn were freed. Since he had experienced a lot of pain and suffering, Hanuman massaged him with oil. Henceforth, anyone who wants to pray to Shani Dev is asked to offer him oil.

‘Shani ka prabhav’ is determined by the planetary motion. When Saturn, or Shani, enters into a particular sun sign, the individual with the sun sign begins experiencing Shani ki sadhe sati.

 Also Read: “Adi Shankaracharya – Hinduism’s Greatest Thinker”: An insight into Sanatana Dharma

Illicit and evil activities in metropolitan cities

Since you’ve now understood about Shani Dev, we need to find out why residents of metropolitan cities often pray to Shani Dev. Be it any aspect of life whether career or relationship, every individual keeps performing evil deeds in the cities. While you’ll rarely find a couple having extramarital affair in a village or small cities, it has become a ‘trend’ in the bigger cities of the country.

The kids insulting their parents, lying to them and hating them to an extent where they sometimes, end up killing them don’t come as a shock anymore. It was only a few days back when a kid killed his mother as she didn’t want him to play PUB-G. The relationships are convenient where misusing each other for self-requirements and cheating is considered as ‘cool’ in the metropolitan cities.

Coming to jobs and professional aspect, one has no option but to kill many aspirations in order to succeed in their professional life. You cannot expect a higher package without outshining multiple candidates giving interviews for the same position as yours.

Interestingly, people are aware of their sins that how they are leaving others disappointed for their own self. They are aware that they are committing sins by doing so. This is exactly the reason they regularly pray to Shani Dev not out of devotion but fear only to ask the god of Justice to stay away from them. They offer oil to ask for forgiveness and certificate by Shani Dev to ensure that they have been declared innocent by Shani Dev.

This is how Shani Devta became the god of metropolitan cities.

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