The glory of Lord Shani Deva

Shinganapur is a small village located on the Nagar-Aurangabad highway in Maharashtra. It is famous for a magnificent temple dedicated to Lord Shani. Devotees offer sesame oil to the deity. The town has a peculiarity. The houses here are without doors.

It is said that the houses are protected by Lord Shani himself. It is a model village in many ways.

Lord Shani visited this village more than three hundred and fifty years ago. There were only about twenty or thirty huts in the village then. It had no proper roads, no vehicles and none of the things associate with modern civilisation. It was a jungle ,with mud and grass and open to the elements.

An iron shrine of light black color measuring about five-and-a-half feet in height and one-and-a-half feet wide stood on the village quadrangle. In heavy rains, there was a flood like situation, damaging crops. The Panasnala river was flooded. At that time, the shrine came to the village. It was carried by flood waters and soon rested under a berry tree. Cattle grazers saw the shrine and poked it with a stick,  out of curiosity. 

To their shock, blood began to ooze out. News of the shrine spread far and wide. The villagers did not know what to do. That night Lord Shani appeared in a dream and when asked who he was, said, “I am Shanidev, pick me up from there and place me in the village.” They tried to lift the shrine but could not. It refused to budge.

After further instructions from the Lord that night they finally moved the shrine into the village. Most people fear Lord Shani. He is viewed as an angry deity. This is not true. He is a powerful emancipator. Lord Shani is the planet of wisdom and justice.

Wisdom admittedly comes from pain. Through devotion to him, Shani will ensure that pain (stemming from negative actions) is followed by wisdom. Blue sapphire is the stone associated with the Lord. His color is black. Iron and steel are his metals.

He is fond of sesame oil and black sesame seeds. His mounts are the vulture and the iron chariot.

The village has been witness to spectacular miracles associated with Lord Shani. Other peculiarities include the fact that repeated attempts to build a shelter over the idol always ended in failure.