Mythological Stories: When Shanidev became proud of his power, Hanumanji taught such a lesson that he had to apologize.

News India Live, Digital Desk: We all have heard many stories of Hanuman ji’s bravery and his unwavering devotion towards Shri Ram. But do you know that once he also faced Shanidev, the god of justice? This was no ordinary meeting, but an incident which forced Shani Dev to reconsider his powers. Today we are going to tell you the same mythological story, which is a great example of the victory of devotion over ego. It is about the time when Shani Dev had become very proud of his powers. He was convinced that there was no one in the universe who could escape his crooked vision. Shanidev, intoxicated with his pride, was wandering on the earth, when his eyes fell on a monkey who was sitting alone and meditating on his deity. That monkey was none other than Hanuman ji himself, who was completely immersed in the devotion of Lord Shri Ram. Shani Dev thought that this was a good opportunity to demonstrate his power on this monkey. He cast his evil glance at Hanuman ji, but he was very surprised to see that it had no effect on Hanuman ji. He remained engrossed in meditation in the same calm manner. Shanidev’s ego increased further. He challenged Hanuman ji and said, “O monkey! Open your eyes, I am Shani, whose mere glance can destroy great empires.” Hanuman ji opened his eyes very politely and asked, “O God, who are you and what are you doing here? Please let me meditate on my Lord.” This calm and simple answer of Hanuman ji pierced Shani Dev. In anger he caught hold of Hanuman ji’s arm. Hanuman ji freed his arm in one stroke. Shanidev again tried to catch Hanuman ji, but this time Hanuman ji got a little angry. He wrapped Shanidev in his tail and again got absorbed in the devotion of Shri Ram. He did not even notice that Shanidev, the God of Justice, was trapped in his tail. Hanuman ji was so engrossed in devotion that sometimes he would jump on the mountains and sometimes on the trees. During this, Shanidev also kept hitting him here and there with his tail, due to which he got badly injured and started having severe pain in his body. When the pain became unbearable, Shanidev accepted defeat and apologized to Hanuman ji. He apologized for his arrogance and promised that he would never trouble Hanuman ji or his devotees in future. Then Hanuman ji freed him from his tail. It is said that at that time Hanuman ji had given him mustard oil to apply on Shanidev’s wounds, which soothed his pain. This is the reason that even today there is a tradition of offering mustard oil to Shani Dev on Saturday, because it is believed that this pleases Shani Dev and removes the sufferings of the devotees.