Every Saturday the Rupani-Birendra Bazar stretch of East-West Highway in Saptari District sees a horde of visitors and auto-rikshaws queued up to get to Shanidham. The shrine, around three kilometers north from the highway, is nestled in the Churiya hills.      

When Satya Narayan Shah of Saptari’s Terhauta Village dreamed of seeing Shani under a Shami tree, he had no idea the place would turn into a crowd-puller religious destination. It took him more than three months to locate the tree of his dream. The tree had six other trees, called bel, mirchaiya, gajahar, mehsan, fooldhap and koiraiya in local language, entwined at its root. Luckily, it was Saturday, considered auspicious day for worshipping Shani. He performed the first pooja of Shani at the site on 18 March 2000, remembers Shah who has been worshipping the shrine as the main priest since then.  

Shani, son of Surya (sun) and Chhaya (shadow), is considered a harbinger of bad luck and Hindus worship him to ward off the evil and obstacles in their lives. ‘Shanibar’ or Saturday in the Hindu calendar derives its name from Shani and Saturday is considered to be the best day to perform Shani pooja. “Worshipping Shani for seven consecutive Saturdays with seven sets of ingredients – seven areca nuts, seven betel leaves, seven laddoos (sweet balls), and seven sets of any other materials have fulfilled the wishes of many pilgrims,” said Satya Narayan Shah. “Even the children born being blessed by Shani have turned teenagers by now.”

Lately, many idols have been added to the site. In the east of the tree is an idol of Shani followed by an idol of Ganesha and an idol of Garuri Shankar in the west of the tree. To the west of the tree, 108 Shiva lingas have been added and idols of Radha Krishna, Vaishno Devi, and Hanuman have been added to the site. However, priest Shah considers the Shami tree to be the main adobe of Shani. 

“Pandavas hid their weapons in a Shami tree before going incognito and retrieved them on the day of Vijaya Dashami,” said Priest Shah recollecting the Pandava’s Agyaat Vaas (living incognito) in the epic Mahabharat. “That’s why it is auspicious to see and worship a shami tree on the day of Dashami. It brings good fortune to the worshipper.” Shah found peace and solace after finding the Shami tree and started studying religious texts. He is now a known astrologer and claims that Shami tree is a ficus tree and not the thorny tree claimed by many.  

Lately, the shrine has turned into one of the major religious sites of Madhesh Province. Devotees from as far as bordering Indian districts and neighboring districts of Nepal come here and worship Lord Shani for seven consecutive Saturdays to get their wishes fulfilled. 

The journey to the shrine is exciting. One has to cross a river several times and walk through the Churiya forests. Though there are no bridges on the river, motorbikes and auto-rikshaws can easily wade through the shallow waters. Since the road is not graveled it gets muddy during the rainy season. But it doesn’t dampen the pilgrims’ spirit. 

With the increasing flow of visitors, petty traders have been earning incomes selling worshipping materials, snacks, toys, and clothes every Saturday. However, this has also led to littering the area, particularly the stream with bottles, plastic plates, spoons, and forks. The Shani Community Forest Users’ Committee comprising the erstwhile first four wards of the Terhauta Village Development Committee, responsible for the caretaking of the site, needs to take this matter seriously.

“The Shami tree needs to be conserved and watered regularly so that it remains evergreen,” added Shah. “An all-weather accessible trail to the shrine is also necessary looking at the number of devotees visiting Shanidham. Above all, the conservation of the Churiya hills is a must to preserve this site.” 

Not only the religious importance but the natural beauty of the place also attracts the visitors. Despite the difficulties in reaching the site, devotees flock to the site not only on Saturdays but also on weekdays. And thanks to social media, the photos and videos shared by the visitors have been attracting more footfalls and making the site more popular. The shrine, if conserved and promoted well, will help grow the local economy as well.

This story was first published by the author in ECS Nepal and Yeta Utaa