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The
Sun god has two arms, he is seated on the pedestal of lotus; both
of his hands are embellished with lotus flowers. There is a beautiful
golden crown, on his head and a garland of gems around his neck.
His radiance is just like the interior part of a lotus flower
and he is mounted on the chariot pulled by seven horses. The Sun god is also known as 'Savita', which means - one who creates, 'SAVITA SARVASYA PRASAVITA' (Nirukta -10/31). According to the Rigveda the Sun god situated at the centre of the solar system is an inspirer of all, pervader of the internal parts and an embodiment of almighty god. According to the 'Markandeya Puran' Sun is the embodiment of Brahma, the world originates from the Sun and is established in it. The Sun is the appearance of all the matters and elements and is the eternal almighty. This very God 'Bhaskar' creates nurtures and annihilates the world respectively in the form of lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu & Lord Shiva. Sun is the supreme deity amongst all the nine-planets. |
The mantra mentioned in the Purana is as follows: JAPAKUSUMA SANKASHAM
KASHYAPEYAM MAHADYUTIM || OM HRAM HRIM HRAUM SAH SURYAY NAMAH' || General mantra is as follows : OM GHRINI SURYAY NAMAH || Any of the above given mantras can be chanted repeatedly with devotion. The mantras should be chanted for 7000 times during the dawn period.  |
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The Moon god is of fair complexion.
He is attired in white apparels. The colour of his chariot is
white and so are the colours of horses pulling it. He is seated
on the pedestal of lotus placed in a beautiful chariot pulled
by seven horses. He possesses a golden crown on his head and a
garland of pearls on his neck. He has a mace in one hand and the
other one is raised in the posture of showering blessings. |
According
to the 'Srimad Bhagawat' Moon-god is the son of Maharishi Atri
and Anasuya. He is considered to be all pervading. He possesses
al the sixteen phases (Kala). Lord Krishna was the descendant
of moon god,combined with all the sixteen phases like him. He
is the one from whom all the deities' ancestors, yaksha, human
being, animals-birds and trees get life. According to the Vanparva of Mahabharata all
the wives of moon god are chaste and beautiful. While moving along
with the constellations in their respective orbits. The moon god
nurtures the living beings and classifies various festivals, combinations
and the months. Worship of Moon god can be done by the following mantra taken from the Puran. DADHI SHANKHA TUSHARABHAM KSHIRODARNAVA SAMBHAVAM || |
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The deity mars has four arms.
He has a hairy body. The small hairs of the body are red in colour.
In his hands are mace and Trident and rest of the two hands are
raised in the postures of bestowing fearlessness and blessings.
He has a golden crown on his head and his vehicle is a lamb. He
is attired in red coloured apparels and had red garlands in his
neck. In the 'Kalpa' of Varah' when Hiranyaksha, the elder brother of Hiranyakshipu had abducted the earth Lord Vishnu had taken incarnation as a boar and had rescued the earth by killing Hiranyaksha. Mother earth became very pleased after seeing lord Vishnu and had a desire to have him as her husband. |
In
his incarnation as a boar lord Vishnu's radiance was as dazzling
illuminating and unbearable as crores of Suns. Lord Vishnu transformed
his appearance into his enchanting form to fulfill the wish of
the presiding deity of the earth and lived with earth for one
year in aloofness. This way the birth of Mars took place (Brahmavaivarta
Puran 2/8/29 to 43).
There are different stories about the origin of Mars in different 'Kalps'. While doing worship the Mars is addressed as to be belonging from Bhardwaj's clan. This narration has come in the Ganeshpuran. The greatness of the worship of planet Mars has been described in the Purans'. Mars fulfills all the desires of a man after being pleased. The method of worship has been described in the Bhaumayantra on copper sheet and worshiping the golden idol of Mars. Chanting the name of 'Mars' gives liberation from the debts. Mars is considered as an inauspicious planet. Mars passes through all the twelve zodiacs in one and half year after crossing each zodiac in three 'pakshas' (45 days) provided its motion is not retrograded. Mars is pacified by the worship of Shiva. Wearing a coral also pacifies mars. Making donations of copper, gold, wheat, red clothes, jaggery (gur), red sandal, red flowers, saffron, musk, red-ox, lentil and land also, pacified the mars. Fast should be observed on Tuesday and the Hanuman Chalisa should be read. The great phase of mars lasts for seven years. Mars is the lord of two zodiacs, i.e., Aries and Scorpio. The Mantra given in the Purana is as follows: DHARANI GARBHA SAMBHOOTAM VIDDUTKANTI SAMAPRABHAM || KUMARAM SHAKTI HASTAM TAM MANGALAM PRANAMAMYAHAM || Cryptic Mantra: OM KRAM KRIM KRAUM SAH BHAUMAYA NAMAH || General Mantra : OM AM ANGARKAYA NAMAH || Any one of the above given mantras can be chanted for a fixed number with faith and devotion. Total number of chanting of this mantra = 10,000 times Times at 8 'o' clock in the morning. One can take help of a learned Brahmin in special circumstance. |
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Mercury is attired in yellow
apparels and wears a garland of yellow flowers. The radiance and
glow of his body is like that of an oleander flower. He has a
sword, a shield a mace in each of his three hands respectively
and his fourth hand is raised in the posture of giving blessings.
He has a golden crown on his head and a beautiful garland in his
neck. His vehicle is a lion. According to the 'Atharavaveda' Mercury's father is the moon and his mother is Tara. He was given the name mercury by lord Brahma because of his intelligence. According to Shrimad bhagawat he is proficient in all the scriptures and is as radiant as the moon. |
According
to Matsyapuran (24/1-2) lord Brahma made him lord of earth and
a planet.
According to a mountain, which comes in the Mahabharata, Manu impressed by his learning's and intelligence married his daughter Ila with him. As a result of this marriage 'Pururva' was born and the descent of moon expanded. According to the Shrimadbhagawat (5/22-13) mercury is situated about 2,00,000 yojans (2400 000 km above venus). Mercury is considered to be an auspicious planet but if by chance it transgresses, chance of natural calamities like draught storm and floods occur. According to the Matsyapuran the complexion of mercury is yellow like an oleander flower. His chariot is of white colour and illuminated by light, Horses, which are as fast as the wind, pull the chariot. The names of the horses are Shweta, Pisanga, Saranga, Neel, Peeta, Vilohita, Krishna, Hairta, Prisha and Prishni. The governing deity of the planet mercury is Lord Vishnu. Mercury is the lord of the zodiac Gemini, and Virgo. The great phase of mercury lasts for 17 years. For the pacification of this planet fasts should be observed on every Amavasya (moonless night) and emerald should be won on the body. Donations of ivory, green-clothes, Coral emerald, gold camphor, weapon, fruit and ghee to the brahmins also satisfies the mercury. The worship of mercury is done when it is situated in the northeast direction. His symbol is an arrow and is of green complexion. The Mantra mentioned in the Purana is as follows: PRIYANGU KALIKA SHYAMAM RUPENA PRATIMAM BUDHAM || SAUMYAM SAUMYA GUNOPETAM TAM BUDHAM PRANAMAMYAHAM || Cryptic Mantra : OM BRAM BRIM BRAUM SAH BUDHAYA NAMAH || General Mantra : OM BOOM BUDHAYA NAMAH Any of the above given mantras can be chanted repeatedly for fixed numbers. Total numbers of chanting = 9000. Time for chanting is two hours after the sunrise. Help from a learned Brahmin can be taken in special circumstances. |
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The preceptor of the Deities
- Jupiter (Vrihaspati) has yellow complexion. He is adorned with
a golden crown on his head and a beautiful garland in his neck.
He is attired in yellow apparels and is seated on the pedestal
of lotus flower. He has four hands and holds a stick (dand), Rudraksha
garland, receptacle in each of his three hands and his fourth
hand is raised in the posture of giving boons and blessings. |
According to the Mahabharat (Adiparva), Jupiter is the son of great sage Angira and the priest of the deities. The demons wanted to starve the deities to death by obstructing the oblation (Yagya) performed by them. Jupiter by the help of his profound knowledge helped the deities to get their due shares of the oblation. Jupiter the preceptor of the deities protected them by using the Rakshoghna mantra and driving away the demons. In 'Skandapuran' there is a description how he
became the preceptor of the deities. Jupiter did a severe and
tremendous penance in 'Dwarka' (prabhas area) to please lord Shankar.
Being pleased by his penance lord Shiva gave him a boon to become
the preceptor of the deities. |
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Venus the preceptor of the
demons is of white and fair complexion. He possesses a beautiful
crown on his head and wears a garland in his neck. He is seated
on the pedestal of white lotus. He has four hands. In each of
his three hands. He holds a 'dand' (stick), a rudraksha garland
& a receptacle. His fourth hand is raised in the posture of
giving boons and blessings. |
Venus or 'Shukracharya' is the priest of the demons. He continuously showers his blessing on his disciples (demons). He is the supreme teacher of the 'yoga' After doing a tremendous penance he had pleased lord Shiva and received the 'learning' of 'Mritasanjivani' (bringing alive a dead person). By the help of this learning he used to bring back to life the demons that got killed in the battles with the deities. (Mahabharat, Adiparva 76/8) According to the Matsyapuran, Shukracharya performed
such a severe austerity and penance for the benediction of the
demons which was incomparable and which has not been performed
by anybody till date. Lord Shiva became pleased and blessed him
with a boon that he would defeat the deities in the battle and
also that nobody would be able to kill him. Lord Shiva also made
him the secretary of all the wealth as a result he became the
lord of all the wealth of all the worlds. |
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The complexion and radiance of Saturn is as brilliant as a blue diamond. He has a golden crown on his head and wears a garland and blue coloured apparels. He is seated on the back of the vulture. He possesses a bow, an arrow and a trident in each of his three hands respectively and his fourth hand is raised in the posture of giving boons and blessings. Saturn is the son of Sun god and Chaya (Sanvarna).
He is considered as a cruel planet. The cruelty, which he possesses
in his sight, is due to the curse he received from his wife. The
narration which has been mentioned in the Brahma Puran goes as
follows: |
The
deity Shani (Saturn) was a great devotee of lord Krishna right
from his childhood. He used to be immersed in the love for lord
Krishna. After he grew up, his father married him with the daughter
of 'Chitraratha'. His wife was a chaste woman full of radiance.
One night she went to him after having a bath when her menstruation periods were over, with a desire of having a son, but her husband Shani (Saturn) was immersed in the meditation of lord Krishna,he was unconscious of his surroundings. She became tired of waiting and she became angry . She cursed him that from today onwards whoever gets seen by him would be destroyed. After he came out of his meditative trance 'Shani' (Saturn) tried to make up with her by cajoling her. His wife too felt sorry for her mistake but she was powerless in neutralizing the ill effects of her curse. From then onwards Shani has been keeping his gaze downwards because he did not want to cause harm to anybody. According to the astrology if the Saturn pierces and passes through the constellation of Rohini then it is considered to be very inauspicious and causes draughts for twelve years making even the survival of the living beings impossible. This combination was about to come during the time of Dasharatha. He was cautioned by his astrologers against its consequences. To protect his subject from 'Shanis' wrath Dasharatha went up in the constellation-zone. First of all he made salutations to the deity 'Shani' but when he refused he fought with him, using his most destructive weapon. 'Shani' became pleased by his sense of duty and asked him to demand any boon. Dasharatha requested him not to cross the Rohini-constellation' till the sun and constellation exists. Shani agreed to his request. Lord Brahma is the presiding deity of the Saturn. His complexion is dark, his vehicle is a vulture and his chariot is made up of iron. Saturn remains in each of the twelve zodiacs for thirty months. Chanting of the following mantra which has been taken from the 'Purana' pacifies the Saturn. NILANJANA SAMA BHASAM RAVIPUTRAM YAMA GRAJAM || CHHAAYA MARTANDA SAMBHOOTAM TAM NAMAMI SHANAISHCHARAM || Cryptic Mantra: OM PRAM PRIM PRAUM SAH SHANAISHCHARAYA NAMAH || General mantra: OM SHAM SHANAISHCHARAYA NAMAH || Any of the above given three mantras can be chanted for the pacification of Saturn. Total numbers of chantings = 23,000 times Time for chanting the mantra = Evening. |
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The face of Dragon's head
is very ferocious and terrifying. He has a crown on his head,
a garland in his neck and wears apparels of black colour. He holds
a sword, a shield, a trident in each of his three hands respectively
and his fourth hand is raised in the posture of giving boons and
blessings. He is seated on a lion, which is his vehicle. 'Rahu's' mother is 'Sinhika' who was the wife of 'Viprachitti' and was the daughter of Hiranyakashipu. Rahu is also known as 'Sainhikeya', which is based on his mother's name. Rahu had one hundred brothers, but he was the most capable and powerful among all of them. (Shrimadbhagawat 6/6/36). |
During
the time of churning of the sea, when lord Vishnu in his appearance
of an enchanting woman (Mohini) was giving ambrosia to the deities
for drinking, Rahu sat among the deities in disguise. Rahu also
was able to drink the ambrosia but the moon and the sun made the
secret open about with real identity. Lord Vishnu killed him with
his Sudarshan Chakra' by severing his head. The drinking of ambrosia
had made him immortal and lord Brahma transformed him into a planet.
(Srimadbhagawat 8/9/26)
According to the Mahabharat (Bheeshma Parva 12/40) the shape of the dragon's head is circular. He too sits in the assembly of lord Brahma along with the rest of the planets. According to the Matsyapuran (28/61) the shadow of the earth is circular and Rahu rotates around this very shadow. He is the presiding deity of this shadow (Chhaya). According to the rigveda (5/40/5) when Rahu - the son of Asuya or Sinhika covers the sun and the moon with his darkness, then it becomes so dark that the people became unable even to identify their places. Even after being transformed into a planet Rahu attacks the moon on full moon day and the sun on dark moon day out of his enemity towards them. This event is called an eclipse or Rahu Parag. According to the Matsyapuran the chariot of Rahu appears in the form of darkness. His chariot is pulled by eight horses, which are black in color. The presiding deity of Rahu is 'Kaal'. It is symbolised by a black flag in north west direction among all the nine planets. The great phase of Dragon's head lasts for 18 years. Barring few situations it is generally considered to be an inauspicious planet. According to the astrology if 'Rahu' is situated unfavorably in the horoscope then it causes many types of physical illness. It also causes obstacles in accomplishment of works and accidents. Chanting of the Mrityunjay mantra and wearing a turquoise pacifies the dragon's head. Making donations of mica, iron, sesame, blue clothes, receptacles made of copper, horse-beans, oil onyx, blanket, horse and a sword, to the brahmins too pacifies the dragon's head. The following mantra taken from the purana pacifies the dragon's head. ARDHAKAYAM MAHAVIRYAM CHANDRADITYA VIMARDANAM || SINGHIKA GARBHA SAMBHOOTAM TAM RAHUM PRANAMAMYAHAM || Cryptic Mantra : OM BHRAM BHRIM BHRAUM SAH RAHAVE NAMAH || General Mantra : OM RAM RAHAVE NAMAH || Any of the above given mantra when chanted by a person having inauspicious influences of Rahu gets benefitted. Total number of chanting = 18000 times. The time for chanting = During night. |
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The Dragon's tail or Ketu has two arms. He possesses
a crown on his head and is attired in black-clothes. The complexion
of his body is smoke-like and he has a deformed face. In each
of his two hands he holds a mace and the other hand is raised
in the posture of giving boons and blessings. He is seated on
a vulture which is also his vehicle. |
According to the Indian astrology dragon's tail is a shadow planet. It has a tremendous impact on human lives and also the whole creation. It's area of influence is considered to be in the north-west direction. According to some scholars Ketu is Sombre and mild as compared to Rahu and is beneficial for a man. In some special circumstances it helps a man to achieve the zenith of fame. The shape of Ketu is considered to be of the shape of a fluttering flag. Its length is only six angul (six inches). Although both Rahu and Ketu originated from the same body but after being transformed into the planets and considering it as their rebirth, new names of lineages were given to them. Rahu was considered to be of 'Paithinas' clan or lineage and Ketu was considered to be of 'Jainini' lineage. The complexion of Ketu is like a colour of the smoke. In some places there are mentions of pigeon as his vehicle. The great phase of Dragon's tail lasts for seven years. Rahu's presiding dety is chitraketu. If there is a Ketu situated in an inauspicious house of a man's horoscope then it causes inauspicious and misfortunes. The man gets inflicted with disease like leprosy itches and ringworm. Making donations of the following things pacifies the Ketu Lapis- Lazule (gem), oil, black sesame, blanket, weapon, musk and flower of blue colour. Wearing of a cat's eye and chanting of 'Mrityunjaya Japa also pacifies the Ketu. The following mantra taken from the purana pacifies the Ketu PALASHA PUSHPA SANKASHAM TARAKA GRAHAMASTAKAM || RAUDRAM RAUDRAT MAKAM GHORAM TAM KETUM PRANAMAMYAHAM || Cryptic Mantra : OM SRAM SRIM SRAUM SAH KETAVE NAMAH || General Mantra : OM KEM KETAVE NAMAH || Total number of chantings = 17000 times Time for chanting = Night Kusha grass should be used for Havan and a brahmin help should be sought in special circumstances. |
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