Shani Mantra

The 5 Shani Mantras

"Shani Mantra" is not a single verse. These are the forms in traditional use, each with its own purpose and count.

Shani Beej Mantra

The seed (beej) form. The syllables prām, prīm and prauṁ carry no dictionary sense of their own — in the tantric scheme they are sound-seeds tuned to the graha, and the closing phrase is a salutation to Shanaishchara, "the slow-moving one".

Count: 23,000 over the course of the practice, or 108 daily

Shani Moola Mantra

The root (moola) form, and the shortest. "Śaṁ" is Shani's own seed syllable; the rest is simply a salutation to him by name. This is the one usually given to beginners, and the one most often counted on a mala of 108.

Count: 108 daily

Shani Maha Mantra

The best known of the set. It describes him before addressing him: dark as collyrium, son of the Sun, elder brother of Yama, born of Chhaya and Martanda — and closes by bowing to Shanaishchara. The naming of his parentage is the point; it places him within the solar family rather than outside it.

Count: 108, or 11 times on a Saturday

Shani Gayatri Mantra

Built on the Gayatri metre, as each graha has a Gayatri of its own. It names him by his banner of the crow and the sword in his hand, then asks that Manda — another of his names, again meaning the slow one — direct the intellect.

Count: 108

Dashratha Shani Stotra (opening)

The opening of the stotra attributed to King Dasharatha, who is said to have addressed Shani on behalf of his kingdom. It is a chain of salutations — to the dark one, the blue one, the one resembling the blue-throated Shiva, to the form of time's fire, and to the one who brings things to their end.

When and how to chant

Day: Saturday

• Saturday is the day associated with Shani; the evening, after sunset, is the period usually chosen.
• Face west while chanting. A lamp of sesame (til) oil rather than ghee is customary for him.
• An iron or black-thread mala is traditional, though a rudraksha mala is used as well. Count in rounds of 108.
• Black sesame, urad dal, mustard oil and blue or black flowers are the usual offerings.
• Begin the count on a Saturday and keep it unbroken; tradition treats consistency as worth more than volume.

What tradition holds

These mantras are traditionally taken up during Sade Sati — the roughly seven-and-a-half-year stretch when Saturn transits the signs around the natal Moon — and during the shorter dhaiya. They are also associated with work that demands endurance, with matters of justice and delay, and with obligations to those who serve. The tradition frames Shani as exacting rather than hostile: what he is said to withhold from impatience he is said to return to persistence. These are the reasons the practice gives; they are not claims about outcomes.

Is Shani (Saturn) actually placed against you?

A mantra is chosen for a placement, not for a planet in the abstract. Whether Shani is running a Sade Sati over your Moon, a dhaiya, or nothing at all depends on your birth date, time and place — which is a calculation, not a guess.

Related mantras

Frequently asked questions