Mangal moorti Maaruti nandan,Sakal amangal mool nikandan
After a long time there is more than one blog post in a year - thanks to Shiksha's speech!
Hanumanji has always held a special place in my heart. Whenever I found myself in a crisis situation where I could turn to no one else for support, it was easy to turn to Him. And He never failed to deliver. Why else would He be called Sankat Mochan?!
Today, for some reason or other, seems to be an extra special Hanuman Jayanti day. Maybe because it falls on a Tuesday? I can only imagine what the crowds at the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi will be like, indeed at all temples dedicated to Hanumanji! As it is every Tuesday and Saturday the temple is packed!
I remember someone once asked my father at a Ramayan satsangh why Tuesday and Saturday are dedicated to Hanumanji. His answer, as always, was very fascinating as I had never considered the question before - if I am not mistaken neither had he! He said that Mangalvaar (Tuesday) is an auspicious day - from the word mangal which means ausipicious - whereas Shanivaar (Saturday) is usually considered an inauspicious day - hence many people worship Shani Dev on this day which is named after him. Shani Dev is very powerful and the Shani Graha when it affects someone has very dire consequences. One of the stories concerning the elephant head of Ganeshji attributes the destruction of the original head by the gaze of Shani Bhagvan. But as powerful as Shani Bhagvan is, his influence cannot affect Hanumanji. I got the following incidents from Wikipedia:
Hence Hanumanji is worshipped on the most auspicious and inauspicious day of the week. On this most auspicious day of Hanuman Jayanti, may Hanumanji grant strength, knowledge and devotion to all!"The worship of Lord Hanuman is a panacea for the harsh effects of the 'unfavourable' presence of Lord Shani. In the Ramayana, Lord Hanuman is said to have rescued Shani from the clutches of Ravana and in gratitude, Shani promised Hanuman that anyone who prayed to Him (Hanuman), especially on Saturdays, would be rescued from the "malefic" effects of Saturn, or at the very least, the effects would be softened.
Another version of the encounter between Lord Hanuman and Shani Bhagavan is that once Shani climbed on to Hanuman's shoulder, implying that Shani's influence was beginning on Lord Hanuman. At this, Hanuman assumed a large size, and Shani was caught painfully between Hanuman's shoulders and the ceiling of the room they were in. As the pain was unbearable, Lord Shani requested Lord Hanuman to release him, promising in return, that if a person prayed to Lord Hanuman, he (Shani) would moderate or eliminate the malefic effects of his influence on that person; following this, Lord Hanuman released Shani." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shani)
Jai Bajrangbali!
