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“Devaanaam cha Hrisheenaam cha gurum kanchana Sannibham
Budhibhootham trilokesham tham namaami Brihaspatheem !! “
 In the solar system, Guru, Brihaspathi or Jupiter as he his popularly known, occupies the second largest position after the Sun. Jupiter is revered as the celestial preceptor of the Gods. The biggest of all the planets in the solar system, the gravitational pull of Jupiter is two and half times greater than that of the earth. Guru befriends Surya (Ravi) and Angaaraka (Kuja), neutral to Shani and is hostile to Budha and Shukra. In Vedic astrology Guru or Brihaspathi mean, "teacher, lord of light, and teacher to the gods" and holds a significant position amongst the
Navgrahas.
Mythology
According to Shivapurana he was born to Angirasa and Suroopa. His brothers are Utathya and Samvartana. Once Indra and Brihaspathi were believed to have gone to Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. Shiva intends to put them to test and obstructs their path at the entry in the guise of a furious Digambara. Failing to recognise the Lord, Indra unleashes his most powerful weapon Vajraayudha on Shiva and falls prey to his anger. He is reduced to a heap of ashes. Then Brihaspathi is quick to realise god’s entity, appeases his anger and appeals to the lord to restore Indra to life. Thus Indra is saved by Brihaspathi and with this he earns the title of ‘Jeeva’ - the life giver.
Matsya purana gives a different picture about Brihaspathi. Shukraacharya is enamoured by a celestial damsel called Jayanthi and Brihaspathi works it out to his advantage. As Shukraacharya remains under the magic spell of the beautiful damsel, Brihaspathi goes to the demons in the guise of their guru, Shukraacharya. The demons taking Brihaspathi to be their guru, confide in him all the secrets. The demons are shocked to see their real guru arrive at a later point of time and were perplexed to see him in two forms. A fight starts between the two gurus and finally Brihaspathi vanishes.
While Shukra the Ashuraguru is a Brahmin following the Brigu lineage of Brahmin sages, Brihaspathi also a Brahmin follows the Angiras lineage of Brahmin sages. Brihaspathi's epithets are sacred and many: "Lord of sacred speech", "Lord of power", "Guru of the Gods", "Reader of minds" and "Beloved by the Gods".
The yellow lined Brihaspathi is always clad in yellow-coloured robes and sits on a lotus. He adornes a golden crown, with a garland round his neck and possesses a wand, rosary, an urn and a “varamudra” (gesture of benevolence) in all his four hands. Besides being a teacher to the gods he is also entitled to receive the share offered in theYagnas. He uses his mantric power to subvert the propitiation of the asuras to the advantage of the gods.
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