Symbolism
of the Navagraha system
Dr. Ram
Kosuru
सदाशिव समारम्भम् शन्कराचार्य मध्यमम्
अस्मद् आचार्य पर्यन्तम् वन्दे गुरु परम्परम्
Almost any temple we
visit, whether in Texas or elsewhere in the world, we see a site assigned for
Navagrahas where the nine planets are placed in a particular
arrangement. The symbolism of the nine planets and their association with
the Body, Mind and Intellect (BMI), as Lord Krishna talks in the Bhagavad-Geeta,
is very direct.
इन्द्रियाणि पराण्याहुः इन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः
मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिः यः बुद्धेः परतः तु सः
According to Lord
Krishna, the hierarchy is: first the senses of the body, then the mind, the intellect
( बुद्धि) and the universal consciousness.
We will examine this linkage between the above saying and the Navagraha
symbolism we find in our temples. In the Hindu calendar most of the
planets (sanskrit ग्रह) have corresponding eponymous days (वार) of the week. A secondary meaning of the word वार is "restraining or opposing" that comes from the
root वृ that means to cover or to capture. The
word ग्रहण् (eclipse) also comes from the root word गृह् that means to hold or to
restrain. The symbolism of the Navagraha system is that through passion and
anger one’s true nature is hidden or held back. In the Geeta this is compared
to a mirror that is covered with dust; another comparison is that of fire that
is covered by smoke.
The Sankhya philosophy
as taught by sage Kapila recognizes the universal human condition through the
play of gunas (गुण) on the BMI. There are various forces within
each individual that try to pull down one’s evolution through inertia, passion
and attachment-ridden activity (तमस् and रजस् gunas). There is Sattva guna that helps (सत्व). Let us now look at symbolism behind each planet:
- Sun सूर्य: the symbol of Universal consciousness and knowing
- Moon सोम that is the symbol for mind
- Kuja or Mangal or Angaraka (मंगल) the
symbol of propensities (English for वासन) and war
- Budha: बुध symbol for combination of intellect and mind
- Guru बृहस्पति symbol for higher intellect
- Sukra: शुक्र symbol for Lower Intellect
- Saturn: शनि symbol for negation of Sama (शम)
The intellect: The
planets corresponding to बृहस्पति and शुक्र are associated with the
intellect. The lower self is guided by शुक्र: Thus शुक्र is perceptor for daityas (descendants of Diti) in our scriptures.
Descendants of Diti are known for rajasic nature in us. In other words, this
planet guides our rajasic impulses and lower nature since the rajasic nature is
often misused. The Santi Parva of Mahabharatha says that Sukra or Usana is sage
Bhrigu' son, but has committed a sin by stealing from Yaksha Kubera. Because of
this he is cursed by Mahadeva to be a
perceptor to daityas.
On the other hand, बृहस्पति is a perceptor of Devas or is an intellectual guide to the higher
nature in us. The higher nature strives to control the rajasic nature in us and
guides us to more sattvic (सत्व) pursuits. बृहस्पति is born in the family
of Angirasa. He is further tasked with guiding all according to guidelines of
Vedas and Upanishads by the direction of the seven rishis (सप्त ऋषयः).
Mind: The creation hymn Purusha Suktam has this quote
चन्द्रमा मनसो जातः | चक्षोः सूर्यो अजायत |
Translation: From His mind came Moon and from His eyes the Sun came.
बुध: This planet is a combination of Intellect and Mind. Tara-
who is Brihaspati’s daughter- gets abducted by the moon and scripture says बुध is the son of the moon and Tara. That is to say, this planet (बुध) is a combination of the intellect and the mind. Moon
and बुध control emotions.
The planet Saturn (शनि) is born out of the union between the Sun and Chhaya (छाय sanskrit for shadow). By nature शनि provides tests for spiritual upliftment by throwing obstacles in
one's path. Because he has also Sun's propensities, he could be beneficial if
tendencies could be controlled that cater to छाय. The word शम indicates peace, bliss or tranquility. Lord
Siva as provider of शमं is called शंगाय in Sri Rudram and is
also known as as Sankara (शंकर). Worship of Siva is recommended so as to
control effects of शनि. Thus शम is needed to control
effects of शनि. This is not easy as one can see from stories
such as that of Harischandra. The
word शान्त is a participle of verb शम्and is related to शान्ति. Hence where there is
preponderance of negative effects of शनि, there is no शान्ति. Our scriptures say Sani is brother of Dharma
that sustains the world. Implication being when one is on path of Dharma, Lord Sani is right there with the one testing.
The planet Kuja (मंगल) is said to be the son of earth. Earth is seen as proxy for
propensities or Vasanas. The planet Kuja also symbolizes war (Skanda as chief
of the armed forces is related to this planet symbolizing struggle). Vasanas
need to be lessened for spiritual progress and this is a big struggle and hence
this red planet fits this symbolism well. The
red color indicates the rajasic nature in us that seeks to aggrandize, accumulate
and to control. This tendency needs to be fought against.
Adi Parva of Mahabharata talks about the birth of Rahu, born out of the union
between Simhika and Viprachitti. The rajasic nature as indicated by the word
Simhika is aided by Viprachitti. The word चित्त is a seat of thought
patterns (वृत्ति). Ketaka (केतकः) also means desire or
intention. Thus Rahu (and Ketu) try to steer one away from spiritual upliftment
by employing passion, anger the twin marks of the rajasic nature. They appear to cover the Sun
and the Mind. In this war Shukra helps them. Sani (शनि) tries to take away the tranquility that is needed to achieve the
spiritual upliftment.
There are a few friendly forces that help by promoting sattvic qualities for
example the planet Brihaspati that guides towards the higher goals. Our
scriptures portray him as an adviser to Indra who is lord of indriyas or
senses. In the Ramayana, we see Vibhishina who helps Lord Ram. Here Vibhishana
symbolizes सत्व guna compared to तमस् and रजस् qualities of his brothers Kumbhakarna and Ravana,
respectively.
Bhagavad-Geeta and our scriptures show the way how to overcome the struggle to
regain the universal consciousness (शिवं). The Geeta shows how
to regain supremacy of the intellect so as to overcome innate tendencies and to
increase Sattva qualities and peace (शान्ति). शम helps us to deal with adversities that are
bound to arise.
ॐ नमः शिवाय
