Hindus throng temples on Shani Jayanti

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) /Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), June 12 (ANI): A large number of devotees thronged temples here on Saturday to celebrate the birth anniversary of Shani Dev or, the Saturn God.

Devotees made beelines while carrying their offerings for the deity outside Shani Dev temples.

Hundreds of thousands of devotees converged to pay their respects to Shani Dev in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura city and Maharashtra's Ahmednagar.

The priests at the temples poured bottles of mustard oil on the deity as per the ritual. While the devotees offered black sesame, lentils and mustard oil to the deity as the Saturn God is always clothed in black attire.

"Due to birth of Shani Maharaj and Kaali Amavasya this day has unique importance. As per the rituals of lord Shani worship, black sesame, black lentils, mustard oil are the material used and if people will worship with these material they will get special blessings and results, in ordinary days you get ordinary results but during special days you get 100 times return of your worship, that is why people in large number come and worship lord Shani," Prem Das Maharaj, Priest of the temple.

Hide quoted text -Devotees sought the blessings of the Lord Shani.

"Every month we try to come here and visit lord Shani temple to get his blessings and today is an auspicious day. Today, on his birthday we worshipped Lord Shani and offered oil. We have been blessed by Him and I wish that other people also be blessed by his blessings," said Vipin Kaushik, a devotee.

In mythology, Shani Dev has been described as the son of Lord Sun (Surya ) and Chhaya (Shadow goddess), hence also known as 'Chayyaputra'.

Shani is the elder brother of Yama, the Hindu God of death, who in some scriptures corresponds to the deliverance of justice. He is said to be very harmful to those who follow the path of betrayal, backstabbing and unjust revenge.

It is said that when Shani opened his eyes for the first time at birth, the Sun went into an eclipse.

Lord Shani is depicted dark in colour as he is always clothed in

black, holding a sword, arrows and two daggers and mounted on a black vulture. (ANI)