Shani (Shanaishchara) Ashtottara Shatanamavali — Benefits & How to Chant
शनैश्चर अष्टोत्तर शतनामावली
Complete guide to chanting correctly for maximum benefit
Benefits of Chanting Shani (Shanaishchara) Ashtottara Shatanamavali
Chanting the 108 names of Shani invokes his grace and softens the rigours of his karmic justice.
Traditionally recited to mitigate the difficulties of Sade-Sati, Dhaiyya and the Shani Mahadasha.
Each name is offered as an archana with sesame (til), blue/black flowers or a mustard-oil lamp.
Cultivates patience, discipline, humility and steadiness
the very virtues Shani teaches.
Most powerful on Saturdays and during Shani Jayanti and Shani transits; suitable for daily recitation.
Grants protection from accidents, chronic troubles, enmity and the fear born of adversity.
How to Chant Shani (Shanaishchara) Ashtottara Shatanamavali
Instructions
Bathe and sit facing west before an image of Shani Bhagavan, ideally after lighting a lamp of sesame or mustard oil. Recite each of the 108 names beginning with 'Om' (ॐ) and ending with 'namaha' (नमः), offering black sesame seeds, blue or black flowers, or a drop of oil for each name (archana). Saturdays are most auspicious. Many devotees also offer the litany at a Shani or Navagraha shrine and donate sesame, black cloth or iron to the needy afterwards.
Spiritual Significance
It is told that King Dasharatha once propitiated Shani with hymns of praise and so averted a famine threatening his kingdom, and that Shani, pleased, blessed all who would sincerely recite his names; thus devotees hold that the heartfelt chanting of his 108 names can lighten even the heaviest karmic burden of the Sade-Sati.
Origin & History
Source: Traditional (Navagraha / Puranic tradition)
Author: Traditional
Shani, the son of Surya (the Sun) and his shadow-consort Chhaya, is the slowest-moving of the grahas and the appointed judge of the fruits of human action. This garland of his 108 names is recited within the Navagraha worship to propitiate him. By naming him not only as the stern Shanaishchara but as Shanta, Saumya, Sharanya and the giver of all desires, the litany appeals to his hidden compassion, asking that the karma he metes out be tempered with grace.