The Hindu Navagraha (The Nine Planets) versus their Roman Counterparts

 For my first blog post not about Dungeons and Dragons, I've decided to stay in a realm of things I know about, namely mythologies. As you can see in the title, Hindu and Roman mythology. Despite their name, the Navagraha are not the deities of the nine (now eight, RIP Pluto) planets. They're actually the deities of nine heavenly bodies that Hindu astrology is based on: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and two comets. The Navagraha are said to have influence over life on Earth and are mainly used in telling specific and personalized horoscopes based on one's birthday. In this blog post, I'm essentially going to be comparing them to their Roman counterparts, leaving out the comets Rahu and Ketu because I don't know how to accurately find their English names. Since the Roman gods are probably going to be more well-known, I'll try and put in any myths or instances in texts that I can find about the Navagraha. 

Sol | Surya

Both Surya and Sol are seen with relation to royalty and power, a theme common among gods of the Sun. Sol was often depicted as a protector of emperors, while certain sects of Hinduism worship Surya as a supreme god, comparing him to Indra or Vishnu. Surya is also comparable to the Roman god Apollo, with abilities related to dispelling sickness. Sol seems to have a closer relation to Luna than Surya with Chandra, the two commonly having shrines together or being worshipped together. They are both commonly depicted riding chariots, which most likely symbolize the sun, though Surya usually has 7 white horses drawing his chariot while Sol has 4 pegasi drawing his.

 Luna | Chandra

Both Luna and Chandra are depicted having feminine energy, although Chandra themself are usually depicted as male. Chandra is not only the god of the moon, but also affection, fertility, and wisdom. Luna, however, doesn't seem to have dominion over many other aspects of life. However, Luna and Sol's relationship differs from Chandra and Surya's, with the former being siblings and the latter not really having any relationship. However, one thing they do have in common is interesting myths about how their children were born. In Luna's case, she fell in love with a mortal man named Endymion and had Jupiter put him into an eternal/really long sleep. From that, she had 50 kids with the dude. While he was asleep. Not cool Luna. Chandra, however, simply kidnapped the wife of Brihaspati (god of planet Jupiter) and had a single child with her, the god Budha (god of planet Mercury). Don't worry though, it was consensual, Brihaspati's wife liked him as well. However, Brihaspati eventually got his wife back, which sent Chandra into an emotional breakdown because he's a simp. 

Mercury | Budha

Mercury is a god of merchants, travelers, tricksters, and messengers. Budha is the god of Wednesdays, agile minds, and having a good memory. Budha is mostly known for being the son of Chandra and the father of a pious king by the name of Pururavas. Mercury, however, has a reputation for being a bit more chaotic, as he is the god of thieves and is known for being light-footed. Mercury is commonly depicted wearing winged sandals and associated with flight. Budha is commonly depicted riding an albino lion. 

Venus | Shukra

Shukra is most well known for when he appears in the Mahabharata, where he splits himself in half, one portion said to become the wisdom of the gods and one portion becoming the wisdom of the Asuras (demons). Venus on the other hand is most well known for being the Roman goddess of love. She's often depicted in images of her birth, coming out of the seafoam caused by the mixing of Uranos's ichor with the ocean. Shukra often is seen as a brightly adorned person on a bright blue flower or with a white horse. The white animal is common ground between the two deities, however, with one of Venus's sacred being a white dove.

Mars | Mangala

Mars and Mangala are maybe the most similar planetary deity counterparts. Both are gods of war, sons of deities sometimes considered "kings of gods", and both have herbivorous yet dangerous animals connected to them. Mars is usually said to be the son of Jupiter and Juno and represents the strategy and sacrifice of war. Mangala's birth is a bit more confusing than Mars's, however. In some myths, he is said to have risen from the sweat or blood of Shiva, the god of destruction. In others, he is said to be the child of Vishnu, the god of balance, and Bhumi, the goddess of the earth. Mars is closely linked with boars, sending one to kill a mortal with who his wife fell in love in a myth. Mangala is usually portrayed as having bright, blood-red skin and riding a dark ram. Another name for him is actually Lohitānga, which either means red-bodied or iron-bodied, it's a bit unclear.

Jupiter | Brihaspati

Brihaspati is a god with a lot of wisdom, commonly known as the teacher and advisor to the rest of the gods. Paralleling that, Jupiter is usually referred to as the king of the gods, having dominion over the skies and weather. You may remember our boy Brihaspati from the section about Chandra, where we talked about his wife getting stolen, and he's not that bad of a guy. According to most sources, he was a good adoptive father to his step-son, Budha, and generally forgave his wife for her cheating. Jupiter, however, cheated on his wife many times, fathering a good amount of demigods and deities. The two can bond on their shared hatred of demons, though, with some considering Brihaspati's archnemesis to be Shukra, due to the fact that one half of him advises the demons. Jupiter is kind of just a general protagonist in the fights between good and evil, not really having a definite arch-nemesis like Brihaspati. They're both depicted as bearded, older men, Jupiter is associated with eagles and Brihaspati with elephants.

Saturn | Shani

Saturn is usually known as a god of time and known as the father to the Roman gods, often compared to the Greek Cronus. Other times, he is recognized as a god of farming. Shani is a god of justice, penance, discipline, and hard work. They both have weapons as major symbols, Saturn often being recognized for his scythe and Shani due to his and scepter. Saturns scythe has two meanings depending on which version of him you believe to be the "correct" one. As the god of time, he used his scythe to decapitate and de-limb his father. As the god of farming, he uses it to cut down grains and sow seeds. More differences between the two were how their marriages went, like Jupiter and Brihaspati. Saturn had a single marriage to Lua, with varying quality depending on who you ask. Shani, on the other hand, had two marriages, first to Neela, goddess of sapphires, and then to Manda, a princess who later cursed him. Saturn is usually depicted as an older man, adorned with leaves and his scythe. Shani is often portrayed with pitch-black skin, seen riding a large cross between a vulture and a pigeon.

There you have it, the fruits of my sleep-deprived labor. Why do I do this to myself? Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, and please don't procrastinate your blog posts as much as I did.

- Shreeya

Comments

  1. I found it really interesting that there were certain themes that were visible throughout various myths. For example, the sun is frequently a symbol of royalty (an example being Akhenaten's deal), and Mars is almost always a symbol of war or misfortune. I think these themes tell a lot about how we think, just like how convergent evolution shows certain ideal traits for given ecosystems.

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  2. Wow that's really cool! I didn't really know anything about the Nevagraha. It is super interesting seeing how many similarities they have to each other, like Mars and Mangala having dangerous/herbivorous animals connected to them. I guess it just shows how the mythologies are more connected than we may think.

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