শ্ৰী শনৈশ্চৰাষ্টকম্ (দশৰথ কৃতম্)

Daśaratha's eight verses to Saturn, the best known of the Śani hymns, each closing on the same line — to him, to the son of the Sun, salutation. The first gives the names by which he is called and the reason for saying them: Koṇa, Antaka, Raudra, Yama, Babhru, Kṛṣṇa, Śani, Piṅgala, Manda, Sauri — remembered constantly, he takes away the affliction. The three verses that follow are a single sustained catalogue of who suffers when he stands badly placed, and its reach is the point. Gods and demons, kimpuruṣas and the lords of the gaṇas, gandharvas, vidyādharas and serpents; then men and kings, beasts and lions, the creatures of the forest, insects, moths and bees; then countries, hill-forts, woods, army encampments, cities and towns. Nothing is exempt, which is why the hymn exists.