Navagraha: Understanding the Nine Planets of Vedic Astrology

Western astronomy gives us nine planets (or eight, depending on Pluto's mood). Vedic astrology gives us nine grahas, but they are not the same nine. The Vedic system uses the Sun and the Moon as grahas - not technically planets in modern astronomy - and includes Rahu and Ketu, the lunar nodes that have no physical body but enormous astrological weight. It excludes Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto entirely. The result is a system of nine conscious forces, each ruling a particular domain of human experience.

Surya - the Sun. The soul, the father, the king, authority, the ego, the bones, the heart, and the right eye. The day is Sunday. The colour is red or copper. The metal is gold. The gemstone is Ruby. The deity is Surya Narayana. A strong Sun gives confidence, dignity, leadership, and good health. A weak Sun creates low self-esteem, weak father relationships, and chronic heart or bone weakness.

Chandra - the Moon. The mind, the mother, the emotions, water, breasts and stomach, the left eye, and the home. The day is Monday. The colour is white or silver. The metal is silver. The gemstone is Pearl. The deity is Shiva (the Moon sits in Shiva's matted hair). A strong Moon gives emotional stability, intuition, popularity, and a happy mother. A weak Moon creates mood swings, depression, and chronic anxiety.

Mangal - Mars. Energy, courage, brothers, soldiers, the blood, the muscles, surgery, accidents, and property disputes. The day is Tuesday. The colour is red. The metal is copper. The gemstone is Red Coral. The deity is Hanuman or Skanda. A strong Mars gives bravery, physical strength, drive, and clarity in conflict. A weak Mars creates timidity, frequent accidents, and blood-related disorders.

Budh - Mercury. The intellect, speech, commerce, communication, friendship, the nervous system, and the skin. The day is Wednesday. The colour is green. The metal is brass. The gemstone is Emerald. The deity is Vishnu. A strong Mercury gives a sharp intellect, eloquent speech, business sense, and a wide network. A weak Mercury creates speech defects, nervous disorders, and a tendency towards deception.

Guru - Jupiter. Wisdom, dharma, teachers, children, the husband (in a woman's chart), finance, liver and fat metabolism. The day is Thursday. The colour is yellow. The metal is gold. The gemstone is Yellow Sapphire. The deity is Brihaspati or Vishnu. A strong Jupiter gives wisdom, ethics, good children, stable marriage, and natural prosperity. A weak Jupiter creates indecision, delayed marriage, lack of children, and a wandering moral compass.

Shukra - Venus. Love, art, luxury, marriage, the wife (in a man's chart), the reproductive system, the kidneys, vehicles, and aesthetic taste. The day is Friday. The colour is white or pink. The metal is silver or platinum. The gemstone is Diamond. The deity is Lakshmi. A strong Venus gives charm, artistic talent, a happy marriage, and material comfort. A weak Venus creates difficulty in relationships, reproductive issues, and a tendency towards excess.

Shani - Saturn. Discipline, longevity, karma, suffering, service, old age, melancholy, the bones again, the teeth, and the skin. The day is Saturday. The colour is black or dark blue. The metal is iron. The gemstone is Blue Sapphire. The deity is Shani himself, son of Surya. A well-placed Saturn gives endurance, structure, lasting achievement, and the wisdom of old age. A weak or afflicted Saturn creates poverty, chronic illness, and a life that feels much harder than it should.

Rahu - the North Node of the Moon. Desire, illusion, foreign things, technology, sudden gains, addictions, and the shadow side. Rahu has no body and no day of his own, but he is often associated with Saturday and the colour smoke-grey. The metal is lead. The gemstone is Hessonite. The deity is Durga or sometimes Kali. Rahu amplifies whatever house he sits in - usually with chaos before clarity. He rules ambition, taboo, and the foreign.

Ketu - the South Node of the Moon. Detachment, moksha, ancestral karma, psychic ability, isolation, and the spiritual fire. Ketu also has no body, no day. The metal is iron or panchdhatu. The gemstone is Cat's Eye. The deity is Ganesha or sometimes a fierce form of Shiva. Ketu strips away whatever house he sits in - losses first, freedom afterwards. He rules renunciation, mysticism, and the things that the soul has already mastered in past lives and no longer needs.

Each Graha rules a Dasha period in the Vimshottari system. Sun rules 6 years, Moon 10, Mars 7, Rahu 18, Jupiter 16, Saturn 19, Mercury 17, Ketu 7, Venus 20 - totalling 120 years, the classical maximum lifespan. The planet whose Dasha is running has the loudest voice in your life at that moment.

Each Graha also rules a body system, a day of the week, a direction (Sun rules the east, Moon rules the north-west, Mars the south, and so on), a class of foods, a type of profession, and a category of relationships. Understanding which Graha is dominant in your chart is the first and most useful exercise in self-knowledge that Jyotish can offer.

The Navagraha puja, performed at our Gurukulam, harmonises all nine simultaneously through a single multi-hour ritual. It is particularly powerful before marriage, before a major business launch, before surgery, or as an annual practice on your Janma Nakshatra day. The ritual involves nine separate kalashas, nine specific mantras, and offerings to each planet in its own colour and material. The cumulative effect is a chart that is, for a while, in active conversation with all nine grahas at once.