Nine Planet Pooja
About Nine Planet Pooja
There are nine planets in space, which are believed to exercise a strong influence on the lives of the people. These are together known as the Navagrahas. They are the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn; and also Rahu and Ketu, which do not have physical existence, as they are only the northern and southern nodal points of the Moon, respectively.
The Sun or Surya can be considered as the visible God. He is the head of the Navagrahas and the most powerful among them, and it is around the Sun that all other planets are enshrined in temples. He can bestow good health and prosperity on people. Shiva is his overlord.
The Moon or Chandra is the closest to our earth in space. Moon’s importance can be seen by the fact that the star and the zodiac sign in which he remains at the time of birth, becomes the person’s birth star and birth sign respectively. He rules the mind and can give one success. His overlord is Parvati.
Mars or Mangal is an aggressive planet, who can provide people with courage, power and landed properties. Muruga is his ruling Lord.
Mercury or Budha is the planet of buddhi or intellect, and he can bestow people with wisdom and communication skills. He is ruled over by Maha Vishnu.
Guru or Jupiter is the universal teacher, who can bless people with education and knowledge. He can also clear negativities and cure ailments. Dakshinamurthy is his overlord.
Venus or Shukra can enrich people with an artistic temperament, marital bliss and a life of comfort. Lakshmi is the Goddess who rules over him.
Saturn or Shani is perhaps the most feared of planets, as he can cause great adversity in life. Though a tough task-master, he is fair and when pleased, can minimize hardships and give happiness. Yama, the lord of death, is said to be his ruler.
Rahu, though considered malefic, can make a person stronger and provide material benefits. It is Durga Mata who rules him.
Ketu can grant philosophical wisdom and lead one towards spirituality. When favorably placed, he can also remove adversity and bestow prosperity.
These planetary lords are the principal deities of this 9 Planet or Navagraha Pooja. It is believed that this worship can please these powerful divinities and that can manifest as many benefits in the lives of the devotees.
Why Perform Nine-Planet Pooja
Devotees perform this planetary pooja as a form of reverence to the planets and seek their blessings so that their difficulties may come down and wishes may get fulfilled. This is also a means of communicating with the planetary lords and even with the deities that remain as their overlords. This can principally help to reduce the adverse effects of the unfavorably placed planets and enhance the blessings of the beneficial ones.
When to Perform Nine-Planet Pooja
Every one of the Navagrahas, excepting the shadow planets Rahu and Ketu has a weekday under his influence. However, as the present one is a pooja done commonly for all the planets, it can be done on any day. However, it is recommended to choose an auspicious Hora, a period of about 1 hour and perform this worship.