Shani Jayanti 2027

About Shani Jayanti

Shani is known as the son of Surya, the Sun, and Chhaya, whose name means shade. The stories describe him as slow and steady, the one who sees that every effort is met with its fair result in its own time. In astrology Shani stands for patience, hard work, responsibility and the wisdom that comes with age and experience. Shani Jayanti is the day his birth is remembered, and many people keep it as a time to think about their own discipline, honesty and duty to others.

The day falls on Jyeshtha Amavasya in the purnimanta calendar of North India. In the amanta calendar used in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south, the same new moon is called Vaishakha Amavasya, so the day is shared even though the month name differs. In the North it often falls on the same day as Vat Savitri Vrat.

Devotees visit Shani temples, where the deity is often a dark stone that is bathed in mustard oil. Shani Shingnapur in Maharashtra, where the stone stands in the open without a roof over it, draws large crowds on this day. At home or at the temple, people light a lamp of mustard oil, offer black sesame, black urad and dark blue flowers, and recite the Shani chalisa or a simple mantra. Many also pray to Hanuman, and some keep a light fast until evening.

Giving is the heart of the day. Food, oil, blankets, footwear or clothes given to labourers, older people and anyone in need are seen as the truest offering to Shani, who is linked with those who work hard and are often overlooked. Since the Amavasya tithi can begin or end at any hour, the day is fixed by the tithi as it falls in your city, which is why the date shown above may differ from a printed calendar.