śukra & śani

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namast�

Śukrācārya (venus) and śaniācārya ( saturn) are deemed good friends (parama-mitra) within jyotish...

If we think of this, śani is quite stern, disciplined, single-minded, reserved ; yet śukra is quite the lover of arts, of color of openness, ease, liberal thought. How do these two become best of friends ?

iti śivaṁ

[Viraja]

Maybe because they both love the downtrodden? (I am not really sure to classify the Asuras as 'downtrodden' but in Sukracharya's eyes they seem to be... for him to take pity on them). And Saturn really likes the downtrodden, the miserable, the slave-class, the servant-class, etc.

EDIT: And it is said even Saturn can be a great 'bhoga' or giver of luxuries in a chart. A Tamil saying says, "Saniyaippola kodukkiravanumille saniyaippola kedukkiravanumille" meaning "There is none who is a giver like Sani, there is NONE who is a taker-away like Sani". Tirupathi Balaji, who is emdodiment of Saturn dwells in his richest temple at Tirumala. So both Saturn and Venus are 'Bhogis' or 'givers of pleasures...'.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namast�


Let me offer a few hints to assist in one's thought process.
The 1st house brings one to ~ life~, then the 7th from it brings one to death. The natural 7th house is owned by venus (libra).
And what of śani ? He is considered the āyus kāraka ( the signifcator of the length of life i.e. death). And where is he exalted ? and where does he receive dig bala ( directional strength) ? In Libra. Does this assist in making the connection ?

iti śivaṁ

[Mana]

om gurave namaḥ


Namaste Yajvan Ji,

If I might be so bold as to offer a few thoughts on this matter ...

I wonder if we might consider śani, to be a required component of great art? As it is through suffering ourselves, that we can understand the suffering of others,
and thus communicate on a different level, that this level of emotion can be sent through the medium of art perhaps more easily than in other ways. The long
wavelengths of certain experiences, make them quite naturally adapted to art as their medium; as such this unlikely pair are joined in their communication and
expression, śani gives a long lasting penetrating appeal to sukra's creativity.

I might be mislead in my thought, however, I like to consider śani to be an elder of sukra. As you have wisely said the 7th is both owned by sukra and śani is
exalted here; like the older generation with the youth, when there is balance in our worldly affairs; there is harmony to be found here, between generations.
Might we consider the beauty of sukra to be ever entwined with the passing of time and thus of age? By this I do not mean that age replaces beauty, as this is
simply not the case, but only that they are entwined in a delicate balance.

We might also do well to consider that; much of our spiritual pain is born from desire ...

Thank you for this interesting thought. Please do correct my assumptions. As you well know; I am "tout juste", a student of this wonderful subject.

Kind regards.

[Viraja]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namast�


Let me offer a few hints to assist in one's thought process.
The 1st house brings one to ~ life~, then the 7th from it brings one to death. The natural 7th house is owned by venus (libra).
And what of śani ? He is considered the āyus kāraka ( the signifcator of the length of life i.e. death). And where is he exalted ? and where does he receive dig bala ( directional strength) ? In Libra. Does this assist in making the connection ?

iti śivaṁ

Namaste Yajvan ji

I'm getting quite creative here. To me, the life and death sounds like the aspirations of the individual soul. Life = pursuit of all things that the indivual soul has aspiration towards. Death = Control of things the soul naturally leans towards and practice of austerities, self-control for higher things such as god-realization.

Libra being the sign of balance, to me, thus signifies that this sign perhaps indicate a balance between pursuit of external things and pursuit of self-realization. Since Saturn vibes with such a balance between these 2 things, he is exalted there.

I am sorry if my answer is incorrect, it is just a humble attempt.

Thank you.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namast�



It is a very interesting thing this relationship of śukrācārya (venus) and śaniācārya ( saturn). It shows the brilliance and insight of the great seers (ṛṣi-s) who comprehrended this jyotiṣh knowledge.

There are 3 houses involved in the conversation. The 1st, 7th and 12th. Note in post 3 above we tie the 1st and 7th house together. The 1st house brings birth and the 7th death, but with death comes rebirth. The cause of death is birth - this we know. Śani brings this death yet from it comes rebirth and both interact in the natural 7th house or libra. As aforementioned śukra owns the natural 7th, and śani thrives there being exalted and gaining directional strength.

Note too that the 7th house (libra) is the mūla-trikoṇa location for venus. Think 'mūla-trikoṇa' as one's office - where a person performs one's professional duties. The 7th or libra is venus' office where the 'duty' of rebirth occurs. Yet at the same time it is the place where saturn is exalted so this common intersection occurs and a friendship arises . But there is more to the story.


We note that śukra is exalted in the 12th house or in the natural cakara ( zodiac) sign of pisces. It is where one finds mokṣa - this is one indication of the 12th house. This birth-after-birth finds its completion in the 12th house - this is the driving force ( from a spiritual point of view) of śukra. It is rebirth again and again till one finds its complete rest in the 12th house, that of mokṣa.

Also note that the 12th is owned by jupiter. Both jupiter and śukra are considered guru's. Both have a relationship with regard to the 12th house. Yet for the highly committed seeker it is not unusual for them to avoid the influences that śukra brings in life i.e. comforts, jewerly, romance and the like, but put their attention on what venus offers in the 12th house. We then can see this friendship connection of this rebirth and death Śukrācārya (venus) and śaniācārya ( saturn) .

Venus if you recall is responsible for the reproductive system and the vital fluids that bring conception, another life. Saturn is the driver of old age of dis-ease yet too is a driver of discipline , humility, non-attachment and withdrawal. The two work together to bring one to the 12th house . If not today, then in the future.

One last note - śukrācārya through his own tapas was able to secure the power to bring the dead back to life. This power was given to śukrācārya via śiva. Śiva gave him the mṛta saṃjīvanī mantra. This once gain connects śukra (venus) with life giving properties and rebirth.

iti śivaṁ

[Viraja]

Namaste Yajvan ji,

From your explanation, I understand that because functionally they seem connected, that Saturn brings about death and Venus brings about rebirth, they both act hand-in-hand or in other words, in great friendship. Interesting!