Today, we received an invitation to a ‘grand opening’ (their words, not mine) of a ‘śanēśvara’ temple somewhere in Karṇāṭa dēśa where the chief deity is śanigraha (Saturn).
That reminded me of an incident narrated by our Gurunātha who had, in turn, heard this from his Guru Sri Vidyābhinava Vālukēśvara Bhāratī Mahāsvāmin (Mahāmahōpādhyāya Hānagal Virūpākṣa Shāstrī). Our Paramaguru had studied with the great ācārya Sri Saccidānanda Shivābhinava Nr̥simha Bhāratī of Sr̥ṅgērī, not only Vedānta but also received dīkṣā of Mahāṣōḍaśī, Prāsāda, Nr̥simha and Mahāpādukā mantras. One day, while he was seated in the vicinity of the Great Guru, a long-time disciple of the ācārya approached him and narrated his various woes. The Great Guru listened with his ever-smiling countenance, when the disciple said, “I have consulted the best astrologer in Kōnasīmā and he has suggested that I undertake Shanidēvōpāsanā”!
Acārya smiled and asked, “Aren’t you a śrīvidyōpāsaka?”
Disciple: “Yes sir, I come from the direct lineage of Bhāskararāya Makhīndra”
Achārya: “So you tell me! But then have you read his wonderful commentary Setubandha?”
Disciple: “No sir”
Acārya: “Upāsanā does not mean simply chanting a mantra. You need to study its importance, tattva, and what it indicates and contemplate. Anyway, you should read his commentary on the specific verse:
gaṇēśagrahanakṣatrayōginīrāśirūpiṇīm |
dēvīṁ mantramayīṁ naumi mātr̥kāṁ pīṭharūpiṇīm ||
The Divine Mother is an embodiment of Gaṇas and their Gaṇēśa, the nine planets, the stars, the constellations, the yōginīs that rule over the dhātus of the body and the tattvas of the cosmos, the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet which are the source of every known and unknown mantra, as well as the sacred pīṭhas within and outside the body.
Even Bhagavatpāda chose Her among the sixty-four Tantras related to various deities and forms as the Supreme! So, why then would you give up upāsanā of this Supreme Power and switch to worshipping a planet?”
Our Guru reiterated this story several times and drilled this crucial fact deep into our hearts and minds.
That said, this does not mean one needs to disrespect Shanigraha or stop vidhis related to Navagrahas performed as part of various śrauta smārta rituals. But to start building temples and begin upāsanā of Shanigraha does seem to be a stretch!
One can indeed see Brahmabhāva in all deities and claim to worship the same Parāmbā in Shani as well! Sure, but that is rarely the case. It is the same Parāśakti that appears as various deities to perform different functions. The same electricity is used as a fan to get air, as a bulb to get light, in a TV to see the picture, and so on; thus, though it is the same Parābhaṭṭārikā appearing in various forms, each form has its own significance. Similarly, upāsakas of Mahādēva, Viṣṇu, Gaṇanātha etc. see their beloved deity as the origin of other forms.
However, saguṇōpāsanā as taught by the sages and knowers of Tantra Shāstra, prescribes the propitiation of specific forms of the Supreme such as Shiva, Nārāyaṇa, Kumāra, Sūrya, Lalitā, Durgā, Gaṇēśa etc. Further utilizing this concept from the śruti and āgama, even the Smārta procedures teach the worship of Pañcāyatana. No matter how hard one looks, there is no scripture that teaches upāsanā of Shani, or procedures for his pratiṣṭhā as the main deity (interestingly, Gaṇapati and Subrahmaṇya are his retinues in this new temple!) or details of worship within a dēvālaya.
Kane shows with proof the supposed Shanimāhātmya that narrates the story of King Vikramaditya, is not a part of Bhaviśyōttara Purāṇa as per the popular but erroneous claim. Similarly, various stories about Shani, including the lengthy Shanimāhātmya, seem to originate from Mahārāṣṭra. Most people seem to venerate this deity more out of fear than anything else, and the surrounding stories of punishment at the hands of Shani seem to enhance the dread.
Even the name of this deity is pronounced incorrectly. Most people seem to refer to Shani as śanīśvara or śanēśvara. The correct usage is ‘śanaiścara’ (śanaiḥ carati iti) – the one that moves slowly! There are various stories that describe why Shani moves slowly, due to a limp. One such story from a medieval work on āgamas is of Sage Pippalāda. It is said that Shani tortured the sage’s parents horrifically and to avenge their suffering, Pippalāda, who is the mantravēttā of the Mahāvidyā of Dhūmāvatī, attacked Shani with Dhūmāstra prayoga which permanently injured his leg. This story is narrated in Dhūmākalpa to highlight the invincibility of this severe Mahāvidyā. Of course, the Sages of yore clearly knew that the orbit of Saturn around the sun is slow compared to other planets (29.4 years). At least five planets and their details were clearly known to the sages of Rgvēda. The facts were later expressed as stories by the Purāṇas. The colloquial distortion of the word śanaiścara led to the popular usage of – śanēśvara and śanīśvara. Some enthusiastic devotees of Shani even created a folktale of Mahādēva granting the title of ‘īśvara’ to Shani, to justify this distortion.
Everyone should be allowed to worship whatever they want; all I am saying is this – Shrīvidyōpāsakas performing various elaborate rituals and homas to appease Shani seems completely ridiculous. Needless to say, this is better than running to Sai Baba, Kasai Baba, or other babas – if that’s the highest possible standard for Sanatana Dharmikas today.