According to Vedic astrology, planet Saturn or Shani is referred to as one of the dreadful planets. This is due to the fact that anyone who is under the malefic influence of Shani will face a lot of difficulties in his/her life. In Hindu Scriptures, Lord Shani is revered as the “god of righteousness” as this deity bestows blessings and punishments based on a person’s deeds.

Here we are going to learn more about Lord Shani’s birth

As per the legends, Surya Dev is worshipped as the eternal God of light and heat got married to Sandhya Devi and also had kids namely Yama, Yami, and Vaivasvata Manu. Sandhya was a loyal and committed wife but she could not bear the heat of her husband Surya Dev so she created a shadow of hers who was exact replica and named her Chaya.

Sandhya Devi asked Chaya Devi to take care of Surya Dev and her three children and she left to her father’s place. Daksha who was the father of Sandhya Devi asked her to go back to her husband Surya Dev but she didn’t listen and took the form of a horse. She went to a dense forest and started doing penance over there.

Chaya Devi who was in the place of Sandhya Devi never let Surya Dev know about the fact that she was not Sandhya. She gave birth to three children who are Manu, Tapti, and Shani. However, when Chaya Devi was expecting Shani Dev, she was engrossed in serving her husband and due to the heat of Sun God, Shani turned dark in his mother’s womb. This is the reason why we see the idols of Shani in black color.

When Lord Shani was born, Surya Dev looked at him and was disappointed with his complexion. It is also mentioned in the religious scriptures that when Shani looked at his father for the first time, Sun god had an eclipse. There were severe misunderstandings between Surya Dev and Shani right from childhood and Shani Dev even cursed his father because of the differentiation he made.

Why Shani is Lame

Chaya Devi was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and one day she was preparing food to offer to Shivji but since Lord Shani was very hungry he could not wait till the offerings were made and in anger, Shani kicked his mother with his leg and this heinous sin made Shani’s leg lame.