Indian Culture was not only spiritually, but also scientifically very advanced, is what I discover each and every time I pick up an ancient anecdote and devour it.
One such tale that has especially caught my fancy is the story of the birth of Shani Dev, the God much feared by the populace.
Shani, or Saturn, is one of the Navgrahas or the nine planets associated with Hindu Religion and astrology. Lord Vishvakarma, celestial engineer and the architect of the universe, had a daughter daughter named Sangya/Sanjana. When she came of age, he got worried about her marriage and sought out for a suitable groom. Finding Sun to be a suitable and glorious match, he sent to the god a marriage proposal which was gladly accepted and the marriage gets solemnized.. Hence started the nuptial journey of the couple.
Only some time passes and Sanjana gets traumatised because the glare and heat emitted from Surya’s golden aura darken her complexion and drain her energy. She can not even feel any love for her husband. Her complexion starts resembling the energies of evening/dusk and the Gods bestow her with a new name – Sandhya.
When she is able to take it no more, Sanjana plots a plan for her escape. She creates a duplicate of herself, a clone (one of the first documented evidences of cloning). She names her clone “Chhaya” (shadow). She deputes Chhaya in her place and instructs her not to leave Surya in any situation and to dutifully remain there till her return. Sanjana then returns to her father’s house for some relief. The unsuspecting Surya does not notice the difference. Considering Chhaya to be his wife; he initiates marital relations as a result of which Chhaya conceives and delivers a son – Shani (Saturn). Shani is born of dark complexion like his mother, and also inherits Chhaya’s serious and somber countenance.
As soon as Vishwakarma hears about thenews of Shani’s birth, he is taken aback and is deeply troubled. He confronts Sanjana and demands to know the truth. Finding no escape, Sanjana confesses to having left behind a clone. Vishwakarma immediately orders his daughter to return to her rightful position in Surya’s house. Sanjana returns to Surya’s house reluctantly but is deeply annoyed with Chhaya for having violated the scope of her orders. She destroys Chhaya’s physical, tangible body and reduces her to a mere illusion.
I mainly wanted to point out the description of a clone in an ancient Hindu text the Bhavishya Purana... But the rest of the story is very interesting too, so I can't resist retelling it .
The unsuspecting Suryadev does not notice any change at all. Their marital life progresses as if uninterrupted. In the meantime, Sanjana gives birth to two children – son Yama and daughter Yamuna. As she is never able to forgive Chhaya, nor is she able to accept and love Shani as her own son. As the children grow older, Sanjana’s animosity towards Shani grows stronger and she does everything in her power to alienate him from Surya. Devoid of motherly love and fatherly attention, Shani is distraught, depressed, lazy and utterly directionless.
When his children come of age, and time comes to bestow them with responsibilities. Surya announces the same to his children. As soon as Sanjana comes to know about it, she quickly poisons Surya’s mind against the capabilities of Shani and requests him to divide his responsibilities between Yama and Yamuna. Suryadev trusts the discretion of his wife and relents.
On the appointed day, Shani (the elder son) is ignored and Yama (the younger son) is given the title of “Dharmaraj” or “king of dharma” and is given the responsibility of upholding truth in humanity. Yama is popularly known as “God of death” is not literally so; he appears at the appointed time of death so that he can take the soul away and present the updated karmic balance sheet of the life to the soul; and explain – the good and bad deeds of the soul and the likely implications of same in this after-life.
Yamuna is given the status of a holy river, and is given the responsibility of washing away the sins of those who bathe in her holy waters. She is also given the responsibility of generating good and sublime thoughts in all those who touch her waters.
Yama and Yamuna accept their responsibilities and leave. Shani is left standing all alone. As a son and older brother, he feels humiliated and insulted. Unable to break the barriers of communication with his father; unable to invoke love from his mother; unable to express authority over his younger brother and sister, and unable to prove the capability that he believes he has – a rage builds up in him.
To vent his anger, he seeks out mother Sanjana and delivers a well aimed kick in her womb believing that she is an insult to the womb that she birthed him from. Shocked at this act, Sanjana retaliates by cursing the lesser loved son to lose the leg that he kicked her with. Maimed and helpless, Shani lies on the ground. The scene is witnessed by Surya. Though he can forgive this behavior as the act of an unruly son, he is unable to understand the curse of mother Sanjana. Surya then confronts his wife for the truth.
Sanjana confesses to her folly, apologises, and narrates about her clone Chhaya and the birth of Shani before her return to Surya’s home. Surya is furious with rage and glows brighter and hotter than before. He accepts Shani as his legitimate older son, restores his lost leg though leaving him with a slight limp to honor the word of his mother’s curse, and making amends by bestowing upon him the honor of a place in the solar system. Shani is installed as the planet of governing “karma” and “dharma” in a horoscope.
Shani dev is said to be very harmful to
those who follow the path of betrayal, backstabbing and unjust revenge. It
is said that when he opened his eyes as a baby for the very first time, the sun
went into an eclipse. He is known as the greatest teacher. He is
considered to be very harmful to those who follow the path of betrayal,
backstabbing and unjust revenge. He is known in Hindu scriptures as the
greatest trouble giver as well as the greatest well wisher. He is depicted dark
in colour, clothed in black; holding a sword, arrows and two daggers and
variously mounted on a black vulture or a raven. He is a karmic guru, the harshest teacher,
and ensures that we can rise higher up the karmic ladder.
After Shani’s installation into the solar system as a planet, the
Gods gathered around him and chanted an invocation to restore his lost honor.
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