The navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

and

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...

. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( "nine") and ''graha'' ( "planet, seizing, laying hold of, holding"). The nine parts of the navagraha are the Sun, Moon, planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, and the two nodes of the Moon. Navagraham

The term ''planet'' was applied originally only to the five planets known (i.e., visible to the

naked eye Naked eye, also called bare eye or unaided eye, is the practice of engaging in visual perception unaided by a magnification, magnifying, Optical telescope#Light-gathering power, light-collecting optical instrument, such as a telescope or microsc ...

) and excluded the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. The term was later generalized, particularly during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, to include the sun and the moon (sometimes referred to as "lights"), making a total of seven planets. The seven days of the week of the

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, also called Panchangam, Panchanga (), is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes ...

also corresponds with the seven classical planets and European culture also following same patron and are named accordingly in most languages of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. Most

Hindu temples A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedica ...

around the world have a designated place dedicated to the worship of the navagraha.

List

Music

Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776–1835), a

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

composer from southern India, composed the Navagraha Kritis in praise of the nine ''grahas''. Each song is a prayer to one of the nine planets. The Sahitya (lyrics) of the songs reflect a profound knowledge of the

mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

and jyotisha sastras.

References

External links

* Hindu astronomy Technical factors of Hindu astrology Journey to the West characters Planetary gods {{Myth-stub

List

Music

See also

References

External links