Shani Shingnapur
or Shani Shinganapur or Shingnapur is a village in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n state of
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
. Situated in
Nevasa
Nevasa is a city in Nevasa tehsil of Ahmednagar district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Old name of this place are Nidhinivas, Nivas and Mahalaya Also town of lord Kuber.
Sant Dnyaneshwar Temple is main temple.
This place is near of P ...
taluka
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
in
Ahmednagar district
Ahmednagar district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ɦ(ə)məd̪nəɡəɾ is the largest districts of Maharashtra, district of Maharashtra state in western India. The historical Ahmednagar city is the headquarters of the district. ...
, the village is known for its popular temple of
Shani
Shani ( sa, शनि, ), or Shanaishchara ( sa, शनैश्चर, ), refers to the divine personification of the planet Saturn in Hinduism, and is one of the nine heavenly objects (Navagraha) in Hindu astrology. Shani is also a male Hindu ...
, the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
god associated with the planet (
graha
Navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu astrology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( sa, नव "nine") and ''graha'' ( sa, ग्रह "planet, seizing, laying hold of, ...
) Saturn. Shingnapur is 35km from
Ahmednagar
Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1494 ...
city. Shani Shingnapur Devsthan Trust ,Shani Shingnapur is registered under
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
Public Trust act.
Details
Shingnapur is also famous for the fact that no house in the village has doors, only door frames. Despite this, officially no theft was reported in the village
although there were reports of theft in 2010 and 2011.
The temple is believed to be a "jagrut devasthan" (lit. "alive temple"), meaning that a deity still resides in the temple icon. Villagers believe that god Shani punishes anyone attempting theft.
The deity here is "Swayambhu" (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: self-evolved deity) that is self emerged from earth in form of black, imposing stone. Though no one knows the exact period, it is believed that the
Swayambhu Shanaishwara statue was found by shepherds of the then local hamlet. It is believed to be in existence at least since the start of ''
Kali Yuga
''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which is ...
''.
The village has a post office and a high school known as ''Shri Shanishwar Vidya Mandir'' besides the primary schools run by the
Zilla Parishad. The chief source of water supply in the village is wells.
Historical importance
The story of the
swayambhu statue handed down from generations through word of mouth, goes something like this: When the Shepherd touched the stone with a pointed rod, the stone started bleeding. The shepherds were astounded. Soon the whole village gathered around to watch the miracle. On that night Lord Shaneeshwara appeared in the dream of the most devoted and pious of the
He told the shepherd that he is "Shaneeshwara". He also told that the unique looking black stone is his swayambhu form. The shepherd prayed and asked the lord whether he should construct a temple for him. To this, Lord Shani Mahatma said there is no need for a roof as the whole sky is his roof and he preferred to be under open sky. He asked the
shepherd
A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...
to do daily pooja and 'Tailabhisheka' every Saturday without fail. He also promised the whole hamlet will have no fear of dacoits or burglars or thieves.
So, Lord Shanaishwara can be seen even today, in the open yard without any roof above. To this day, there are no doors for any houses, shops, temples. It is to be seen to believe that even post office has no door, not to speak of locks. Due to the fear of Lord Shani, none of the structures, be it dwelling houses, huts, shops, etc. situated within one kilometer radius of this Lord Shani temple have neither doors nor locks. No thievery or burglary was reported until 2010 when first theft was reported and again another one was reported in 2011. This Shani Shingnapur is visited daily by thousands of devotees praying for Lord Shaneswara's favour. The place is busiest on Saturdays. Shani
Thrayodashi
Trayodashi is the Sanskrit word for "thirteen", and is the thirteenth day in the lunar fortnight (''Paksha'') of the Hindu calendar. Each month has two Thrayodashi days, being the thirteenth day of the "bright" (''Shukla'') and of the "dark" (''Kri ...
is considered to be a favorite day for the lord. Similarly Saturday falling on '
Amavasya'(new moon day in Sanskrit and many other Indian languages) is considered to be a favourite day for the Lord Shanaishwara and on that days devotees seeking his blessings throng this temple in thousands. In the many years history of the village, there has not been a single incident of theft, riots, murder or rape. It is believed that nobody from the village has ever gone to a home of the aged, nor has there been a single complaint lodged in a police station.
Shrine of Shani
The shrine for Shani consists of a five and a half feet high black rock installed on an open-air platform, which symbolizes the god Shani. A
Trishula
The ''trishula'' () is a trident, a divine symbol, commonly used as one of the principal symbols in Hinduism.
In Nepal and Thailand, the term also often refers to a short-handled weapon which may be mounted on a ''daṇḍa'' " staff". Unlik ...
(trident) is placed along the side of the image and a
Nandi (bull) image is on the south side. In front are the small images of
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
and
Hanuman
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...
.
Generally, the temple has 30–45,000 visitors a day, which swells to around three lakh (i.e. three hundred thousand) on ''
amavasya'' (the no moon day), believed to be the most auspicious day to appease Shani.
The village holds a fair in honour of the deity on this day. A bigger festival is held on new moon days that fall on Saturdays. Devotees bathe Lord Shani's image with water and oil and offer flowers, and ''udid'' to him. A palanquin procession of Shani is held on the day of the fair.
Other festivals include the birthday of Shani, ''Shani Jayanti''.
The shrine gained popularity with the decade-old film ''Surya Putra Shanidev'' made by the film producer
Gulshan Kumar
Gulshan Kumar Dua (5 May 1951 12 August 1997), was an Indian businessman, film and music producer who was the founder of the Super Cassettes Industries Limited (T-Series) music label in the Bollywood industry. He founded T-Series in the 1980s ...
.
Entry to women
![ShaniShingnapurEntranceGate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/ShaniShingnapurEntranceGate.jpg)
According to a 400-year tradition, women are restricted from entering the inner sanctum. On 26 January 2016, a group of over 500 women, led by activist
Trupti Desai
Trupti Desai (born 1985) is an Indian social activist and the founder of the Bhumata Brigade & Bhumata Foundation, a Pune-based organization. Desai has campaigned for allowing women to religious places like the Shani Shingnapur Temple, the Haj ...
, marched to the temple under the group "
Bhumata Ranragani Brigade", demanding entry into the Inner sanctum. They were stopped by the police.
In a landmark judgement on 30 March 2016, the
Bombay High Court asked Maharashtra government to ensure that women are not denied entry to any temple. On 8 April 2016, the Shani Shingnapur trust finally allowed the women devotees to enter the sanctum.
UCO Bank
In January 2011, the United Commercial (UCO) Bank opened a 'lockless' branch in the village, the first of its kind in the country, taking note of the near-zero crime rate in the region. The local police were reported to be unhappy over this development and that it amounted to a breach of conditions, because the Central government of India has made it mandatory for all banks to have high security. The bank has doors, but they will always remain open. However, it was reported by the local legislator and the bank officials that adequate precautions were being taken for the safety of lockers and important documents.
Bull carting
The way to
Singnapur, Shingnapur village is covered with sugarcane fields and local people use bull to extract juice from the sugarcane, instead of machines and this type of juice extraction centres are known as ''Rasavanti''.
References
External links
Official site of the templeInteresting facts About Shani Shingnapur TempleShani Shingnapur Information facts About Shani Shingnapur Temple
{{Navagraha
Hindu temples in Maharashtra
Navagraha
Villages in Ahmednagar district
Shani temples