Original text
ॐ शनैश्चराय विद्महे सूर्यपुत्राय धीमहि। तन्नो मन्दः प्रचोदयात्॥
Transliteration
Om Shanaishcharaya Vidmahe Suryaputraya Dhimahi, Tanno Mandah Prachodayat.
The Gayatri pattern applied to Shani
Like the mantras for Hanuman and other deities, this follows the classical three-part Gayatri structure: an address to Shanaishchara ("the slow-moving one," Saturn's own name, referring to its slow orbit), a further description as Suryaputra (son of the sun), and a closing request for illumination and guidance, addressed to Manda — another traditional epithet for Shani sharing the same root meaning of "slow."
Why "slow" is the point, not an insult
Saturn's astronomical slowness became, in tradition, a metaphor for patience, discipline and the slow but certain working-out of karma — Shani doesn't act on impulse, and neither should his devotees expect instant results from chanting to him. This mantra is understood as a request for the steadiness to endure a difficult period, not a shortcut past it.
How it's chanted
It's typically chanted 108 times on a mala, on Saturdays or specifically during a known Sade Sati or Dhaiya period, alongside offerings of mustard oil, sesame and iron. As with other Gayatri-pattern mantras, slightly different wordings circulate across sources — this is normal and doesn't make one version more "correct" than another.