About Shukra
Zukra or Shukra as he is commonly referred in Hindu mythology is the son of Rishi Bhrigu and Kavyamata. One of the most renowned rishis, he is believed to be the only one considered worthy of being taught the Sanjivani Mantra by Lord Shiva himself.
The Zukra is represented by the planet Venus and denotes pleasure, beauty and material aspects of life.
The word Shukra literally means bright, white, pure, resplendent and spotless. These characteristics are referred in different Vedas to represent everything that is pure from the gentleness of the moon’s rays to the purity of fire and are a founding stone of the Vedic astrology.
The planet Venus, representing Zukra, is closer to Earth than to the Sun and has a diameter of nearly 12100 kilometres. It takes nearly 225 days of Earth to complete its revolution around the sun, and approximately 243 days of Earth to complete one rotation on its own axis. Due to this, periodically it comes in between the Sun and the Earth. It is also known as the brightest star in the sky as visible from Earth. It is generally the first star visible after the sunset towards the North East and can be seen till the sunrise. Hence, Zukra is believed to be ruling the East side.
Beej Mantra: Om Dram Dreem Draum Sah Shukray Namah
Mythology:
As with every aspect of Vedic Astrology, there are a lot of mythological stories associated with Zukra and how it came about being the Guru of the demons – Daityaguru Shukracharya. He is believed to wear white clothes and ride in a white chariot.
As per one of the mythological legends, Shukra hates Vishnu who he believes is responsible for the death of his mother. Vishnu was hunting down an Asura, who had been given refuge by Zukra’s mother. This led Zukra to help the demons with the Sanjivani Mantra by bringing back their dead to life while they were fighting the Devatas. Hence, he became their teacher and instructor. The Devatas wanted the mantra but could not get it out of Shukra. The Devatas then sent Kacha, the son of Zukra’s rival Brihaspati’s son to learn the Sanjivani Mantra. Kacha served his guru for thousand years, pleasing him and learning the mantra, thereby helping the Devatas in their fight against the Asuras.
Another legend associates Venus taking the guise of a man to arrange for the marriage of his daughter to a king as per her own wishes. She was in love with the king and wanted a happy married life with him. Zukra succeeded in materializing the marriage, however as the king loved someone else, the girl could never be happy with the marriage. This legend is often quoted to demonstrate that Zukra may get you the material comforts or your heart’s desire, but it cannot override Karma.
He is also believed to have taught political science to Bhishma himself during the Mahabharata era.
Characteristics:
Vedic astrology portrays Shukra to be having a feminine nature and representing beauty, passion, love, marriage, money, fame, material comforts, and arts. Following are the typical characteristics of Zukra
Gender: Female
Karak of: Desire, Fertility and Potency
Panchbhoot element: Water
Guna: Rajoguna / passionate
Zodiac signs ruled by Venus: Taurus and Libra
Zodiac Sign of Exaltation of Venus: Pisces
Friends: Mercury and Saturn
Enemies: Sun and Moon
Day of the week: Shukravaar (Friday)
Season: Vasant (Spring)
Physical Appearance: A native of Zukra will have average height, deep and beautiful eyes, plump body with a round face, curly hair and a soothing smile. These natives will have a joyful and amiable personality gaining them a lot of friends. The native may also have long hands, a broad chest and strong set shoulders.
Effects: In Vedic astrology, Zukra is considered to be one of the four benefic planets. The placement of Venus in the horoscope is used to study the pleasures of married life and the material world for a native. A strong and positive presence of Venus in the charts promotes happiness, good and healthy marriage, contentedness and an appreciation of beauty around. At the same time, a weak presence of Venus in the charts indicates confusion and disagreements in relationships and sadness. An inflicted Zukra may also represent weakness, illness or diseases.
Some of the most common aspects of life impacted by Venus / Zukra are
- Marriage
- Income
- Happiness
- Money
- Fame
- Fertility and Vitality
- Health
A strong Venus will bring positive result in one or more of the above aspects and a weak or inflicted Venus will lead to troubles in one or more of the above. The ill effects of Zukra last nearly 20 years, which is one of the longest in the astrological world.
Placement of Zukra: It is believed in Vedic astrology that the most benefits of Venus are felt when it is placed in the 4th house of the astrological chart, since it gains its directional strength in the fourth house. Other good placements are having Shukra in the kendras, i.e. the 10th and the 7th house of the chart. The results are also very positive and auspicious if the planet Zukra is sitting in the Trikonas, i.e. the 5th or the 9th house.
However, the placement is not considered good or auspicious if the Zukra is placed in one of the following houses of a native’s astrological charts – 3rd, 6th or 8th. A unique scenario however occurs, if Zukra is placed in a native’s 12th house. Any of the other three benefic planets when placed in the 12th house are considered bad. However, when Zukra is placed in the 12th house, it is considered extremely auspicious and beneficial, in terms of the native gaining wealth and material possessions.
Zukra impact on Profession: As Zukra is a proponent of beauty, passion, arts and comforts, the career and professional choices of a native are also primarily guided by these. For somebody having a strong influence of Venus in their charts, they will enjoy a great career with a lot of contentment in their chosen field. This also can lead to having good luck in terms of monetary benefits out of their selected profession.
The typical careers governed by Venus are the ones dealing with beauty and arts like music, dance, acting, theatre, sculpture, pottery, cookery, photography, art direction, decoration, scents and perfumes, jewellery designing, hair styling, tailor, interior decorator, dress designer etc. Apart from beauty, Venus also rules material comforts and hence the other professional choices could be luxury good producers, gems and jewellery, yatch service, hotel management, banking, spas, gourmet chefs, bakery and confectioners and fashion designers.
A major connotation of Zukra is towards fertility, virility and creation hence, these natives may also do well as doctors and healers dealing with the reproductive system of the human body, gynaecologists, birth assistants, nurses etc.
Zukra impact on Health:
The primary organs in the human body directly under the control of Zukra are the thyroid gland, the throat, the kidneys and part of the circulatory system along with the reproductive system. Hence, a weak or inflicted Zukra can cause any of the following issues for the native – issues related to blood circulation, sugar, diabetes, urine related problems, some circulatory diseases like thrombosis, embolisms, skin diseases like eczema, leukoderma, tonsillitis, cysts, gonorrhoea and syphilis.
Also, the native may have a tendency of reaching out for rich food and may find it difficult to give up this habit. Hence, the native may suffer from weight related issues.
Remedies:
As we have seen, a weak Venus can have a huge impact on a lot of aspects of life, sometimes with major consequences. Hence, those having a weak Zukra or infliction in the charts, should go ahead and get one or more of the following remedies done.
- Worship the religious deity of Zukra – the powerful goddess Durga or Mahashakti
- Recite the Durga Chalisa as recommended by your spiritual guru
- Recite any of the Shukra mantras – the beej mantra, the Gayatri mantra or the Shukra Stotra. The beej mantra should be repeated 16000 times in 40 days.
- Observe a fast on Fridays (Shukravaar)
- Conduct the Friday Pooja of Santoshi Mata
- Donate items like ghee, camphor, perfumes or white sandalwood to married females on every Friday
Gayatri Mantra for Zukra: Om aswdhvajaaya vidamahe, dhanur hastaaya dheemahi, tanno shukra prachodayat
Relation with other planets: Zukra or Venus is very good friends with Shani. Hence, if Shani is strong, it will make Venus stronger in the native’s charts. This may also make the native interested in arts like films and literature.
One of the strongest effects on Venus is that of Rahu and it is generally a negative effect. Hence, if Zukra gives the native friends, Rahu will make it temporary and the native may not be able to settle down for a happy marital life.
Venus will bring love many times but Rahu dosh can negate the beneficial effects. However, Rahu and Venus combinations can be great for material prosperity, Public domains and movies.
