Can the Planets Change Your Destiny? Inside Tamil Nadu’s Navagraha Temples
- July 3, 2026
-: By Ayushi Kumari
Abstract
Navgraha temples are a cluster of temples dedicated to the nine Grahas of Hindu Mythology. Situated in different parts of India like Maharashtra, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh, Navgraha temples show the deep faith that human beings have in the existence of a dialectical relationship between the movement of planets and their daily lives. The naming of weekdays according to the name of Grahas is the best example of this firm human faith. This practice of worshipping celestial bodies is called Astrolatry and through this article, a special emphasis will be put on the Navgraha temples situated in the Cauvery delta of Tamil Nadu with a focus on various legendary stories associated with these Grahas. Also, a trial will be made to find out why the Cauvery area in particular emerged as the Navgraha sthala.
Keywords: Graha, Planets, Temples, Navgrahas
Astrolatry or Planetary worshipping has been a part and parcel of the socio-religious life of human beings for a very long period. The Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa or China’s Oracle bones shows the rich history of Astrolatry. Like everywhere else in the world, India is also not untouched by this deification of Planets and Grahas. Getting a natal chart (Kundali) made right after the birth of a child or the section reserved for weekly Horoscopes in Newspapers are all an attestation to the prevalence of Grahapuja in India. Navgraha temples of Tamil Nadu are the most apt manifestation of Graha worship in material form. Supposed to be built during different time frames, Navgraha Temples were not built with the specific aim of worshipping grahas. Other than the Sooriyan temple, all the other temples were built for some other deities, and with time, grahas emerged as presiding deities within these temple complexes. Today these navgraha temples are a part of the pilgrimage route and devotees make sure to visit these temples in the correct order or they might fall prey to the navgraha dosha!
Nine grahas are conventionally called Sooriyan, Chandran, Sevvai, Puthan, Guru, Sukkiran, Sani, Rahu, and Ketu. In English, these same grahas are named Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn, The Moon’s ascending node (Rahu), and the Dragon’s descending node (Ketu). All these Grahas or planets belong to the solar family and except the Sun, all other planets go around the Sun, while the Sun rotates on its axis. The Grahas or the planets are different from the Stars. But, as per the science of astrology, each Graha has been associated with a few stars. As many as 27 stars have been associated with the Navagrahas and based on this formula the “horoscope” of a person is calculated. The Navagraghas have been divided into two divisions in astrology – (i) Auspicious Grahas and (ii) Inauspicious Grahas. Moreover, they are further divided into three divisions (i) Male Grahas, (ii) Female Grahas, and (iii) Eunuch Grahas.
| Name of the Graha | Auspicious/ Inauspicious | Male/Female/Eunuch |
| Sooriyan | ½ Asubha Graha | Male |
| Chandran | Full Moon- Completely Auspicious, Waning period- ¼ subh graha, When Chandran is present with Puthan on new moon day, it is regarded as ¾ Subhgraha | Female |
| Sevvai | ¾ Asuba Graha | Male |
| Puthan | ½ subh graha, when Puthan present with Rahu, then considered as full subh graha
Puthan and Chandran present with serpents, they are regarded ¼ asuba grahas |
Eunuch |
| Guru | Full Auspicious Graha, If Guru is present along with Ragu, it is regarded as a full asuba gragha. | Male |
| Sukkiran | ¾ auspicious graha | Female |
| Sani | full asubh Graha | Eunuch |
| Rahu | When Puthan present with Rahu, then considered as full subh graha
If Guru is present along with Ragu, it is regarded as a full asuba graha. |
Female |
| Ketu | Full Asubh Graha | Eunuch |
Most of the Navgraha temples are situated in the area in and around Thanjavur and all these temples have a distinct history of their own. Some temples also have inscriptions inscribed on their side walls exposing the stories of royal donations.
Sooriyanar Temple, situated at Thirumangalakkudi, is the first Navgraha temple dedicated to the Sun who is considered to be the head of the Navgraha or Mandal Graha. The presiding deity of the temple is Sooriya Perunnian who is in the standing position towards the west along with his consorts namely Usha Devi and Saya Devi, both in the left and right sides. The deity is holding two lotus flowers in his hands. This temple is the only temple where all other Navagrahas have been installed.
As per the legends, there was once a saint named Kala Munivar who had the power to predict the future. All other saints used to consult him for various reasons. Once a young saint asked him to predict his future. When Kala Muni tried to do so, he failed at once. This young saint then asked the muni if he had ever predicted his (Kala muni’s own) future. The Saint was quite shocked to listen to this question and asked the young saint who he was. The young Saint calmly replied that he was none other than the God of Time or Kaladeva and disappeared. Immediately Saint Kala Muni began to ponder over his future. As a result of his former sins of having broken and eaten the legs of crabs, he found that he was going to be afflicted with leprosy. He became very upset about his future and looked very sad. When other saints got to know this, they advised Kala muni to do penance to impress Navagrahas who could redress any problem. Hence, Saint Kalamuni left the Himalayas, reached the Vindya Hills, and began to indulge in serious penance. Impressed by his efforts, the Navgrahas appeared and granted Kala Muni the boon of not getting afflicted by leprosy. When Lord Brahma got to know this, he got angry and cursed the Navgrahas with the same curse as that of Kalamuni. This was done to make them understand their boundaries and limitations. Hearing Lord Bramha’s verdict, Navgrahas started pleading for a solution. Taking pity on them, Lord Bramha suggested performing a severe seventy-eight-day penance at a place called Arrakkavanam near the northern banks of the river Cauvery. They were supposed to wake up before the dawn of the sun, take a holy bath, offer worship to Lord Pransvaratha and Goddess Mangalanlyaki, and offer a bunch of Arakka leaves and a handful of curd rice as Naivedyam. It was here that these Navgrahas later installed some statues that came to be worshipped as a part of the Sooriyan temple. There is also a water tank near the Sooriyan temple famously called Sooriyan Pushkarani.
In the Navagraha mandala, Chandra, or the Moon occupies the second position and is located southeast of the Sun. Chandran is a good fortune graha. As per the Puranic source, Chandra came into existence while the Devas churned the milky sea. Further legends state that the wife of Guru, Tara, fell for Chandra because of his charismatic personality and got pregnant. When Guru came to know about this, he got really angry and asked Tara who was the real father of the child, to which Tara replied that it was Chandra. This Child later became one of the other Navgrahas, Puthan. The Chandra Sthala is situated at Thingalur and like the tank at Sooriyan temple, there exists a Chandra Pushkarani tank.
Sri Swethanranyeswara Swamy temple at Thiruvengadu is the third Navgraha temple and is noted for the worship of Puthan. The story related to Puthan’s birth is already stated. To get relieved from the disgrace of his birth, Puthan reached a place called Saravanavanam in the hilly terrain of the Himalayas and indulged in penance. This acute penance of Puthan attracted the attention of Lord Vishnu, who was very pleased and appeared before Puthan. Through him, Puthan learned all sorts of arts, mantras, and Vedas. As a result of his thorough learning, he came to be known as “Vahi Jaya Nibunaya” which means the one who is well-versed in everything. Then as per the advice of Saint Vashistar, Puthan reached Thiruvengadu, took a holy bath in the holy tank of Chandra Pushkarani, and sat again in front of the holy shrines of Lord Swetharanyeswara and Goddess Periyanayahi. The Lord felt very happy about the penance of Puthan and offered his grace and blessings. As a result of this, the disgrace associated with Puthan’s birth disappeared. Puthan again commenced a penance directed towards Lord Siva and as a result of that, he became one among the Navagrahas. In the Thiyana Strotam, the following has been written about Puthan-
“Born as the son of Chandra, having shining black like the bud of thinai, having the figure of incomparable nature, having the good Characters knowledge and wisdom, and all other virtues, for which I pray you.”
The Fourth Navgraha temple belongs to Guru or Brihaspathy and is situated at Alangudi. Guru was born to Saint Angiras and Surupa, as their seventh son. His wife was called Tara, and his son was known as Kacha. Since he was a man of knowledge and wisdom, he acted as the Deva Guru. He also worked as the minister of Lord Indra. He was noted for his passive character. The Sthala of Alangudi became famous as a Navgraha Sthal when devotees started coming to the temple on Thursdays offering oblations to Guru. According to legends, Once Guru sent his son Kacha to Sukkiran, the master of the Asuras, to learn the mantra of Sanjivini which could make a dead person alive. Kacha went to Sukkiran and learned the mantra. At the same time, he fell in love with Devayani, the daughter of Sukkiran. This enraged Sukkiran who cursed Kacha. To save his son, Guru went to Kasi and sat on penance for sixteen thousand years. In appreciation of his penance, Lord Siva blessed him and granted the gifts of being good to all at all times and also to be the Guru or Master of Lord Indra.
Fifth Navgraha Shrine belongs to Sukkiran and is situated at Kanjanur. This temple does not have any statue specifically belonging to Sukkiran. Instead, Lord Agneeswara, the presiding deity of the temple, is worshipped as Sukkiran for years. Sukkiran was the master of Asuras. He was born to Saint Bhrigu and Kavyamata. On the request of Asuras, Sukkiran accepted to be their teacher and with his power of Mrityu Sanjeevni, he used to bring back to life all the dead Asuras in case of any fight. To counter this, Kacha was sent to learn the secrets of Mrityu Sanjeevni, as shared above, and ultimately succeeded in doing so.
Vaithyanathaswamy Temple is the Sixth Navgraha temple This temple is dedicated to Sevvai (Mars) and is located in the Mayiladuthurai district. Lord Shiva (Vaithyanathaswamy) with his consort Thaiyalnayagi as the main deity is installed here while Sevvai is the attendant deity.
The Seventh Navgraha temple Sri Dharbaranyeshwarar Temple, Thirunallar is dedicated to Sani (Saturn). It is located in Karaikal of Pondicherry. It was built during the 9th century A.D. by Cholas and later expanded during Vijayanagara rule. Just like the temple of Sevvai, Lord Shiva (Dharabaranyeshwar) with his consort Parameshwari is the main deity here and Sani (Saturn) is the attendant deity.
Eight and Ninth Navgraha temples belong to Rahu and Ketu respectively. The temple for Rahu is situated at Thirunageswaram while that of Ketu is at Kilaperumpallam. Kethu was an Asura by birth and was known as Swarbanu in his early years. During Samudra Manthan, the Dcvas and Asuras churned the Milky Sea and extracted the nectar called Amrit. Lord Thirumal who was in the guise of Mohini distributed it to the Devas. Swarbanu also wanted to eat the Amrit. Hence, in the disguise of a Dcva, he sat between the Sun and the Moon and ate it. Sun and Moon both realized Swarbanu’s fraud and informed lord Thirumal. Annoyed by all this, Thirumal or Mohini smote heavily upon the head of Swarbanu with the heavy spoon that was used to distribute the Amrit. As a result of this heavy below, Swarbanu’s body split in two as body and head. The head became a black-coloured snake and came to be known as Rahu and the body became a red-coloured Kethu with five hoods of a snake.
With the background of all the Navgraha temples made clear, it is important to understand how these temples contribute a lot to the sustenance of the local economies and lots of tourists come to visit these places every year. According to some scholars, the emergence of the Cauvery Delta or Thanjavur in particular as the hotspot of Navgraha worship can be attributed to the factor of rice cultivation in this region. Farmers are said to be the first astrologers and with clear skies and good crops; they had enough time and creativity to give life to the magic of Grahas. With a little more care from the side of the Government, Navgraha temples can emerge as global spots for research and tourism. Astrolatry as a subject in itself is quite interesting and has lots of scope, especially in the field of historical research!
References-
1.https://www.jstor.org/stable/25193882
2. Navagraha temples in and around Thanjavur District – a study
3.https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/117543
4.https://www.ijsdr.org/papers/IJSDR2308144.pdf
