Shri Gurubhyo Namah

Om Mahaganapathaye Namah

NAVAGRAHAS
The origin of sanatana dharma, commonly known as Hinduism, is based on the sacred
vedas which is the form and substance of the Paramatma, the all-pervading SupremeConsciousness. Vedas are apourusheya - that which is not created by man and has existed for
eternity. The vedas are books of wisdom both spiritual and material and they address and
integrate every branch of knowledge known to humanity. The Vedas were revealed to the
sapta maharishis through their continued experience and contemplation of the cosmic
vibrations that sustain our universe. The cosmic vibration, or Omkaram (Aum), with its law
of duality and relativity emanates from the Paramatma and causes birth, sustenance, and
dissolution of all matter and beings through the law of karma. (Chapter VIII verse 3,
Bhagavad Gita)
This law of karma controls and binds all activities of man and Nature. In most simple
terms, the law of karma is the law of cause and effect. This is in accordance with the adage
as you sow so shall you reap or the well-known Newtons 3rd law of motion, for every
action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Karma is what we have already created by our
past actions, which will bear result in the future. The structure of the universe and mans
insignificant place in it are made possible by working together in precise harmony of an
awesome combination of intelligent cosmic forces guided by the Paramatma. This guidance
is basically through certain astral deities superior to man in order of evolution, and who
through the law of karma carry out the cosmic functions. The planets and stars (grahas and
nakshatras, respectively) are in the charge of these divine astral deities. The influence on
man from the celestial bodies is the result of a universal symbiosis, governed by laws upheld
by these higher divine beings. Planets and stars by themselves have no conscious power to
guide or determine the destiny of man. But as a whole, the universe consists of and is held in
existence by the comic vibratory power, with each individual unit radiating a characteristic
vibration that associates it with other units in the universe. Depending on the nature of the
interaction, these vibrations are productive of good or bad. Man is a miniature of the universe
in which he lives what is contained in the macrocosm is also contained in the microcosm.
Mans basic composition or nature (of which the physical body is merely a gross
manifestation) is his astral body formed with the consciousness of Paramatma and structured
with the vibrations and creative forces in the seven cerebrospinal centers - energy centers or
chakras. In fact, these chakras (with their polarity) correspond to the planets and their
influences and interactions with the twelve zodiacal signs of astrology.
The visible planets in our Solar system Mercury (Budha), Venus (Sukra), Mars
(Mangala/Angaraka/Kuja), Jupiter (Guru), and Saturn (Sani) along with the superior and
great luminaries, the Sun (Surya) and the Moon (Chandra) - form the basis of these
interactions. Additionally, the north and south nodes of the intersection of the orbits of the
Sun and Moon, Rahu and Ketu, respectively, are said to have power and influence equal to
that of a planet; however, these are chaya-grahas (shadow planets). These nine divine
beings or deities are collectively known as Navagrahas (nava nine). Of the nine deities, the
names of seven correspond to the names of the seven days of the Hindu calendar week:
Sunday Bhanuvasaram, Monday Induvasaram, Tuesday Bhoumavasaram, Wednesday

 Sowmyavasaram, Thursday Guruvasaram, Friday Bhriguvasaram, and Saturday

Sthiravasaram. Let us now see a basic description of the nature of the planets, what it
signifies and rules over, and the aspects of life it indicates or governs, as stated in various
classical astrological texts. Understanding the complete nature of each planet enables us to
more accurately understand and perhaps control and guide lifes various aspects and
developments.
Sun (Surya, Ravi): Represents the spirit, the Atma, or the soul of a person. It is the outer
light as well as the inner, and the cosmic intelligence that determines our higher purpose. The
Sun is also indicative of our physical vitality and health as well as our ego and represents our
endurance, confidence, independence and our capacity for leadership and visibility.
Moon (Chandra): Represents the mind (manas) and the inner emotions; represents our
connection to the world and our receptive feelings, our thoughts, and considerations in
relation to others. The Moon is indicative of the mother, maternal feelings, and family. It also
represents the home, comforts, property, education and learning. The Moon governs over all
bodily fluids (blood, water).
Mars (Mangala/Angaraka/Kuja): Represents energy, effort, dynamism, activity and
excitement. It also indicates the spirit of competition, ambition, enthusiasm and success as
well as competitiveness and conflict and the force through which we project our outward
emotions. Mars governs bone marrow, bile, and fiery diseases.
Mercury (Budha): Represents intellect, knowledge, education, writing, and research. It
indicates communication and therefore our interaction with society. Mercury also represents
commerce, the act of doing business and trade. Mercury governs over the nervous system,
and indicates worry, nervousness, restlessness and anxiety.
Jupiter (Guru): Represents spirituality, wisdom, devotion, righteousness, justice, good
judgment, and opulence. It also indicates magnetism, congeniality, sincerity and honesty and
practical observance of the rules of life. Jupiter rules over the stomach, especially the lower
intestines, as well as heart, liver and arteries.
Venus (Sukra): Represents sense of beauty, elegance, aesthetics, music, and all form of
arts. It indicates friendliness, warmth of heart and happiness and indicates both our
enjoyments in life and our comforts of living. It represents the refined sensitivity that
elevates the mind in a higher sense, while it represents the sensual, passions and desires in
the lower sense. It is also an indicator of wealth and material possession. Venus rules over
the abdomen and genitals in our body.
Saturn (Sani): Represents higher truth and detachment. Saturn indicates the
temperament of the ego, the scope of our character, and maturity. It governs the art of
sacrifice by which mankind is able to reach higher stages of evolution. It also indicates
pragmatism and practicality, hardworking and steadfastness with a strong sense of
righteousness and longevity of life. Saturn governs the joints, spleen, spinal column, bones,
teeth, knees and the lower portion of the body.
Nodes (Rahu, Ketu): Rahu and Ketu basically correspond to the nodes of intersection
(north and south, respectively) of the orbits of the Sun and Moon and are referred to as chaya
grahas. Rahu represents expansion, with new ideas, interests, and novelties which, when
unchecked can become fanatic in nature, obsession or excessive materialism. Though it may
indicate stability, it can bring unexpected changes both beneficial and malefic. Ketu
represents more disorganization and rejection of the material world. It indicates self-reliance
and spiritually more inclined with possible suffering. Either of the nodes are characteristic of

the mystical, unusual and unconventional interactions and events. The nodes rule over skin
and blood related diseases. A summary of the various aspects of the Navagrahas is given in
the following table.
Graha/
Deity
Surya
Chandra

Planet
Sun
Moon

Soul, ego, health (head, brain)

Mind, emotions, (face, body
fluids)

Mangala/
Angaraka
/Kuja

Mars

activity, courage, energy

(hands, shoulders, bone
marrow)

Budha

Mercury

Guru

Jupiter

wisdom, spirituality (heart, liver, Dakshinamurthy, Sagittarius (Dhanus),

stomach, arteries)
Brahma
Pisces (Meena)

Sukra

Venus

aesthetics, arts, happiness

(abdomen, genitals)

Sani

Saturn

truth, detachment, longevity

(joints, bones, thighs, legs, feet)

Rahu
Ketu

Indicates (controls)

intellect, communication,
knowledge, education, (neck,
nervous system)

North node expansion, instability (Thighs,

legs, feet)
South node disorganization, spirituality,
suffering (Thighs, legs, feet)

Controlling
deity
Shiva
Parvati

Ruling zodiac
(Rasi/Lagna)
Leo (Simha)
Cancer (Kataka)

Subrahmanya / Aries (Mesha),

Kumara
Scorpio (Vrischika)
Vishnu

Lakshmi
Yaman,
Saneeswara

Gemini (Mithuna),
Virgo (Kanya)

Vastra Color
Red (bright)
White
Red (dark)

Green

Gold

Taurus (Rishaba),
Libra (Tula)

White

Capricorn (Makara),
Aquarius (Kumbha)

Black

Durga

Indigo

Vinayaka

Multicolored

In most Hindu temples, there is a specific location in the temple for the Navagrahas
they are either grouped together on a panel or in a separate pavilion. The Navagrahas are
depicted with their respective vahanas (from Navagraha Gayatri Mantras): Sun white
horse; Moon white lotus; Mars ram; Mercury - elephant; Guru bull; Sukra white
horse; Sani - crow; Rahu - lion; Ketu - horse. Devotees should offer their respects to the nine
planetary deities only after offering prayers to the main deity/deities of the temple. It is
considered to be beneficial to circumambulate (pradakshinam) the Navagrahas nine times.
While Navagrahas are usually found in many temples as subordinate deities, there are some
temples where they are exclusively worshipped as the main deities. One that comes to our
minds immediately is the Navagraha temple on the banks of the river Kshipra in the outskirts
of Ujjain, a famous pilgrim center of Shaivism in central India. Temples have also been built
exclusively for only one of the Navagrahas, for instance, for Surya and Sani in South India.
Muttuswamy Dikshitar, one of the trinity of great composers of Carnatic music, is well
known for his specialized compositions on various deities. One such group of compositions
is on the nine planets (Navagraha kritis) in chaste and beautiful sanskrit. Since Dikshitar
originally composed on the seven grahas, which preside over each day of the week, the kritis
are more commonly known as Vara Kritis. These kritis depict the nature and power of each
graha and are set in sapta (seven) suladi talas to address each one of the seven primary
planets. These kritis possess tremendous vibratory power in accordance with mantra shastra
and it is believed that singing these kritis with complete devotion yields the same beneficial
effects and blessings of the deities that rule over the planets as performing a Navagraha
homa or pooja. For those of us who are not blessed with learning these lofty compositions, a

simple shlokam that invokes the blessings of the Navagrahas is readily available: Om
Adityaya Somaya Mangalaya Budhaya cha Guru Sukra-scha Sani Rahu Ketave Namaha
Now that we have seen the various aspects of the planets and what they signify in our
lives, it is still important to realize that the astrological stars of man are nothing other than an
environment that he has chosen by the karmic pattern determined by his past-life actions. It is
very important to note that it is not the stars or planets themselves that control the happenings
in mans life, but rather his individual karma that, at the right moment, is affected
beneficially or adversely by the sum total of vibrations of the heavenly bodies. The relation
of the planets and stars to the human body and mind is very subtle and is not immediately
apparent. The astral vibrations from the cosmos interact with those in the cerebrospinal
centers that sustain mans body. Essentially, mans body and mind are changed through his
good or bad actions, and how his actions affect, positively or negatively, the chakras in his
body. By performing certain spiritual ceremonies and religious observances specified in the
Vedas, man can place ones self in harmony with the higher astral deities and the unseen laws
they govern through the vibrations in the chakras of his body, thereby bringing about a
conscious control of lifes various aspects and developments. The Navagrahas basically help
us to only determine the effects of our past karma and the influence it has (will have) on our
present (and future) life and help us to reduce their malefic outcomes through consultation of
astrological charts (horoscopes).
The true science of astrology, which is at best an unsure art when practiced by those who
lack divine intuitive perception, is only the mathematics indicative of ones own actions
bound by the law of karma. While karma governs ones destiny, karma can also be governed
by ones free will power, and Divine determination or intervention. There is nothing better
and far appealing than turning to God for all guidance and support. That being said, we are
all born in this world with certain samskaras or pre-determined primitive impressions,
emotions, and tendencies that motivate us. They are impressions carried over from our past
lives in the sub-conscious minds motivating desires that produce thoughts and actions good
or bad. In essence, our actions follow the paths of our own past karma in re-tracing us, but
our will at each moment is free to fashion our future karma. It is determinism only to the
extent that it is obscured by the unchangeable law of karma, but life guided by free will
enables us to choose over good or bad which in turn influences our karma.
Unlike animals, that is the uniqueness and greatness of being born as a human being the
ability we possess to discriminate and choose between right and wrong, good and bad. By
doing so, man can create good karma that will diminish the hazards of sudden fulfillments of
effects from unseen causes set in motion by him in the past. Therefore, let us all vow to
always be-, do-, think-, hear-, and talk- good. May all the Gods and the Navagrahas bestow
upon us happiness and success in our spiritual and all other endeavors!
[Sources]
(1) Astrology Series by B. V. Raman (2) Commentary on Bhagavad Gita, Paramahamsa Yogananda (3) WWW
About the author: S. Saravanapriyan, Ph.D., is very active in learning and understanding about Hindu culture
and traditions and propagating them. He is also an accomplished Carnatic music violinist and aims to learn the
Navagraha Kritis of Muttuswamy Dikshitar. He currently resides in Fremont and is a Process Engineer at Lam
Research Corporation. He may be reached at s.saravanapriyan@gmail.com