The Navagrahas
In almost every South Indian temple stands a small shrine of nine figures, each facing a different direction. Who are the Navagrahas — and why are Rahu and Ketu, which no telescope can see, counted among them?
The verse
Not "planets" but "seizers"
Graha does not mean planet. It comes from grah, "to seize, to grasp" — the grahas are those that seize or influence. The nine are Surya (Sun), Chandra (Moon), Mangala (Mars), Budha (Mercury), Brihaspati or Guru (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani (Saturn), and two shadow grahas, Rahu and Ketu. In Jyotisha, the traditional astronomy-astrology of India, their positions at birth are read as a map of a life's tendencies.
The demon who drank the nectar
When the ocean of milk was churned and amrita appeared, Vishnu took the form of the enchantress Mohini to share it among the gods. But one asura, Svarbhanu, disguised himself and sat between Surya and Chandra in the line of gods. He had just put the nectar to his lips when the sun and moon recognised him and cried out…
The journey continues for members
- Rahu and Ketu — the head and the body
- Astronomy and astrology — telling them apart
- The nine, one by one
- Navagraha temples
- What the Navagrahas teach
Sources
- Bhagavata Purana — Canto 8 (Svarbhanu)
- Aryabhatiya — Aryabhata
- Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra
- Surya Siddhanta