SOLAR AND LUNAR ECLIPSES

SOLAR AND LUNAR ECLIPSES

Haribol prabhu,

PAMHO., AGTSP.,

Check these couple of sights out, I found them very useful.

http://www.earthview.com/timetable/1999aug11.htm

http://www.earthview.com/

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html

has a nice chart that goes into details on future eclipses too

SOLAR AND LUNAR ECLIPSES

When the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, it casts a huge shadow over the Earth as it blocks out the sunlight. For those at the edge of the shadow (the penumbra) the eclipse is partial; the Moon seems to take a bite out of the Sun as it passes. But observers standing in the centre of the shadow (the umbra) see a spectacular solar eclipse.Unfamiliar and beautiful features become visible around the edge of the Sun. The prominences - the reddish spikes that protrude from the Sun beyond the dark edge of the moon - are columns of incandescent hydrogen; they extend thousands of miles above the Sun's surface. The Sun's halo, the pearly white corona, also becomes visible. face;For less than eight minutes these wondrous aspect of the Sun are revealed in an eerie twighlight. Then the moon continues inexorably in its orbit around the Earth, and spectacle is over."

;

Full Moons that occur with Moon (or Sun) near Rahu or Ketu result in eclipses.; If a full Moon, then the

eclipse is lunar, if a new Moon, then the eclipse is solar.

Solar Eclipse in action 22nd August 1998.

"Now our Ph.D must collaborate and study the Fifth Canto to make a model for building the Vedic Planetarium. My final decision is that the universe is just like a tree, with root upwards. Just as a tree has branches and leaves, so the universe is also composed of planets which are fixed up in the tree like the leaves, flowers, fruits etc. So now all you Ph.D's must carefully study the details of the Fifth Canto and make a working model of the universe. If we can explain the passing seasons, eclipses, phases of the moon, passing of day and night, etc., then it will be very powerful propaganda."(Letter from Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to Swarupa Damodara dasa, April 27th 1976. Taken from "Vedic Cosmography amp; Astronomy". Richard L. Thomson - Sadaputa dasa - 1989. page 1.)

"If we go 80,000 miles above the region of the Siddhas, Charanas, and Vidyaadharas, we come to the level of the planet called Rahu. Some 80,000 miles above Rahu we reach the level of the Sun, which is said to lie between Bhurloka and Bhuvarloka in the middle of antariksha (S.B.5:20:43., S.B. 5:24:1.) We note that these measurements account for only part of the distance from Bhu-mandala to the Sun, since this is given as 100,000 yojanas (or 800,000 miles) in S.B. 5:23:9 purport.) face;In the Vedic literature it s often mentioned that Rahu causes solar and lunar eclipses by passing in front of the Sun or Moon. To many people, this seems to blatantly contradict the modern explanation of eclipses which holds that a solar eclipse is caused by the passage of the moon in front of the Sun and a lunar eclipse is caused by the Moon's passage through the Earth's shadow. However, the actual situation is somewhat more complicated than this simple analysis assumes.

;The reason for this is that the Surya-siddhanta presents an explanation of eclipses that agrees with the modern explanation but also brings Rahu into the picture. This work explicitly assumes that eclipses are caused by the passage of the Moon in front of the Sun or into the Earth's shadow. It describes calculations based on this model that make it possible to predict the occurrence of both lunar and solar eclipses and compute the degree to which the disc of the Sun or Moon will be obscured. At the same time, rules are also given for calculating the position of Rahu and another, similar planet named Ketu. It turns out that either Rahu or Ketu will always be lined up in the direction of any solar or lunar eclipse.

;In Chapter One (Richard L. Thomson - Sadaputa dasa - 1989.

"Vedic Cosmography amp; Astronomy".) we have already described how the astronomical siddhantas define the orbit of Rahu and Ketu, and a similar definition is given for Ketu. The positions assigned to Rahu and Ketu correspond to the ascending and descending nodes of the Moon - the points where the orbit of the Moon (projected onto the celestial sphere) intersects the ecliptic, or the orbit of the Sun. These nodal points rotate around the ecliptic from east to west, with a period of about 18.6 years. One of them must always point in the direction of an eclipse, since the Moon can pass in front of the Sun or in the Earth's shadow only if the Sun, Moon and the Earth lie in a straight line. Thus, by placing Rahu and Ketu at the nodal points of the Moon, the Surya-siddhanta conforms both; with the modern theory of eclipses and the Vedic explanation involving Rahu and Ketu.

;One objection that may be raised to the explanation given in the Surya-siddhanta seems to be a cheap compromise between the Vedic account of eclipses (which many will regard as mythological) and the modern account (which many will regard as an import into India from the Greeks). It is true that Rahu and Ketu seem to play a rather superfluous role in the eclipse calculations given in the Surya-siddhanta. However, there are reasons for supposing that these planet do not appear in these calculations as a mere decoration. ;The principle reason for this is that the positions of Rahu and Ketu plays an important role in astrology. This means that astrologers need some system of calculation that will tell them where Rahu and Ketu are at any given time. We have argued in Chapter One (Richard L. Thomson - Sadaputa dasa - 1989. "Vedic Cosmography amp; Astronomy") that astrology has traditionally played an important role in Vedic culture. From this it follows that some methods for calculating the positions of Rahu and Ketu have traditionally been required in Vedic society. Since we have no evidence that any other method of calculating these positions has ever been used, this can be taken as an indirect indication that the method used in the Surya-siddhanta has coexisted with the Vedic shastras for a very long time. face;Of course, by this argument we cannot conclude definitely that this particular method of calculation has always been used. But we can at least be sure that the Vedic society, with its emphasis on astrology and the astronomical timings of religious ceremonies, has always needed more than a mere qualitative story to account for eclipses and other astronomical phenomena. face;In the West the is also a long tradition ascribing solar and lunar eclipses to the action of some celestial beings of a demonic nature. There these beings have also been associated with the nodes of the Moon, and they are known as the head and tail of the dragon. The story of this eclipse-dragon may help give us some indication of how little we really know about history. Figure 16 (Richard L. Thomson - Sadaputa dasa - 1989. "Vedic Cosmography amp; Astronomy" page 98.) is a medieval Islamic picture showing an angel severing the head of the eclipse-dragon. (This is reminiscent of the story of the decapitation of Rahu by Lord Vishnu) Figure 17 (Richard L. Thomson - Sadaputa dasa - 1989. "Vedic Cosmography amp; Astronomy" page 99.) is a strikingly similar picture showing St George, the patron saint of England, slaying a dragon. Unless this is a complete coincidence, it would seem that the story of the eclipse-dragon was somehow woven into the iconography of early Christianity without any indication of its significance being preserved. (St. George is said to have been born in Asia Minor in about A.D. 300. but there is apparently no information indicating how he came to be connected with a dragon (Chambers R. 1967. The Book of Days, page 539.) Unfortunately, our knowledge of the ancient history of this story is practically nonexistent.(Richard L. Thomson - Sadaputa dasa - 1989. "Vedic Cosmography ; Astronomy"

The Effects of Eclipses:

Eclipses are, from an astrological point of view, often described as inauspicious events, and we know of recent cases where educated people stayed in their homes and even kept their children from going to class because of a partial solar eclipse.; In our perusal of the literature, we found that eclipses that occur near Rahu tend to be favorable, while those that occur near Ketu tend to cause roughness.; The problem with using these rules is that there is not a lot of research to validate what works and what does not.; Furthermore, eclipses are somewhat unique in that they become a point in the chart, but not a permanent one.; That is, take the eclipse point and mark it on the chart.; Now look for conjunctions or oppositions with that point involving transiting grahas, and see if they act as trigger points.; This point is supposed to last for as many years as the solar eclipse lasted in hours, so after some time this point should be removed from consideration.; In this sense, the eclipse point acts as a point of time-varying influence, with the influence generally decreasing with time.; We know of no measure of this decrease, but perhaps it is possible to define an exponentially-decaying strength (bala) value to eclipse points.; It would be an interesting research project. In Regard To The Lunar Eclipse At The Time Of Lord Chaitanya's Birth."The pious Sri Jagannatha Misra, Chaitanya's father, lived in Navadvipa.; Like Vasudeva, he conscientiously performed his spiritual duties. His devout and faithful wife Srimati Sacidevi was a second Devaki - the beloved mother of everyone. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Narayana appeared in the womb of Srimati Sacidevi, and as Sri Krsna Chaitanya, He became the most precious possession of everyone's heart. face;The Adi Khanda of Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat begins by describing the appearance of Lord Chaitanya on an auspicious full moon evening in the month of Phalguna when the moon went into eclipse. The tumultuous chanting of Lord Hari's holy name filled all directions, inspiring everyone to sing together. The Supreme Lord Chaitanya was born amidst the chanting."(Sarvabhavana dasa. 1984. English trans. Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat.)"The Supreme Proprietor of the entire creation remained in the womb of Srimati Sacidevi, and on the full moon night in the month of Phalguna He appeared. That full moon night was the summum bonum of all the auspicious holy occasions of the cosmic manifestation combined. The Supreme Personality descended, accompanied by the process of congregational chanting of the holy name.; He propagated this process by practicing it Himself. Who is able to know the wonderful pastimes of the Supreme Lord?; He arranged a lunar eclipse at the time of His birth. Upon seeing the lunar eclipse the residents of Navadvipa began to loudly chant the Lord's holy name and make other auspicious sounds. Endless teeming millions convulsed on the Ganges for holy ablutions and filled the air with loud chanting of the Lord's name. The tumultuous sound of their chanting penetrated the coverings of this material universe and travelled beyond Brahmaloka. All the saintly persons marvelled at this wonderful chanting and prayed for a perennial eclipse. All the devotees experienced deep exhilaration and exclaimed, "Such great joy! Maybe the Supreme Lord Krsna is making His appearance. The devotees went to the Ganges for their ablutions followed by the roar of chanting from all directions.; Women, children, aged, pious, and impious - everyone loudly chanted Lord Hari's holy name during the lunar eclipse. The only sound within the universe was the all-prevailing chanting of "Hari! Hari!" The demigods showered flower confetti everywhere and proclaimed victory as they beat clamorously on their dundubhi drums. Amidst the resounding adulations, the Lord and the very soul of the universe appeared as the son of Srimati Sacidevi. The moon was eclipsed by Rahu; the ocean of the holy name inundated Navadvipa, drowning and subduing the darkness of Kali Yuga.; The Supreme Lord was manifest!; All the fourteen worlds resounded with the profound news. The moon-like Lord Chaitanya, Gauranga, had arisen; the residents of Nadia were freed from all sorrows just seeing the Lord.; Their happiness and prosperity increased day by day. The roll of the dundubhi drums, the trumpeting of thousand conch shells, the shrill of flutes and horns, accompanied Vrndavana dasa's songs of praise to their Lordship Sri Chaitanya and Sri Nityananda Prabhu. His beautifully brilliant lustre overshadowed the sun's shining rays and dazzled my eyes.; His drawn out, slightly drooping eyes defied description. The air was surcharged with joy; Lord Chaitanya had descended to the material world! One roaring sound of Lord Hari's name reverberated throughout the universe, beyond Brahmaloka carrying the tidings of Lord Chaitanya's birth. His exquisite complexion was the colour of sandalwood paste.His all expansive chest was decorated with a gently swaying wildflower garland and His iridescent, moon-like face is pleasing, cooling and comforting. His elongated arms reached down to His knees. Sounds of victory and praise permeated all directions and the earth felt especially blessed at the advent of Lord Chaitanya. Some sang in great joy while others danced in ecstasy.; But for Kali it was a calamity in the midst of spiritual revelry. The crown jewels of all Vedic conclusions are the Supreme Lords Chaitanya and Nityananda Prabhus. Their causeless mercy made no discrimination between the ignorant or the derelict. I, Vrndavana dasa, offer this song to them. The Golden moon, Lord Chaitanya, had arisen as sounds of great joy filled the air.; His beauty humbled a million cupids, and He smiled at His own dancing and singing. His lovely face and charming eyes added to the list of other marks of divinity on His transcendental person; His feet were marked with the signs of flag, lightning etc.; His entire exquisite form was decorated to enchant the minds of everyone. All fear and despondency was dissipated and the world was showered with immense fortunes. I, Vrndavana dasa, offer this song to my very life and soul, Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda.; The demigods became overjoyed and sang in praise of Lord Chaitanya's appearance.; A mere glance at the Lord's beatific, moon like face was enough to extirpate all miseries.; This was a glorious and happy occasion. Lord Ananta Shesha, Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva and other demigods all took up their new forms and, using the lunar eclipse as an excuse, continuously sang Lord Hari's name.; I cannot fully describe their exultation. Milling crowds poured in to Nadia with shouts of "Hari, Hari". Navadvipa was in the grips of unbounded bliss. The Supreme Lord, the demigods and the human beings had all come together to frolic with one another. faceThe demigods came to the Srimati Sacidevi's house in the darkness of the eclipse and, unseen by humans, fell to the ground and offered obeisances to Lord Chaitanya.; Who can describe these abstruse pastimes of the Lord.; Some broke out in types of glorification, some held the umbrella and some fanned the Lord with a chamara, while others showered flowers in ecstasy and still others sang and danced exuberantly. Lord Chaitanya appeared with all His pure devotees and the atheist will never understand it. I, Vrndavana dasa sing the nectarine glories of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda. The rumble of Dundubhi drums, hymns, prayers and sweet music mingled and resounded in the air. Today, without delay, we can meet that Supreme Personality who is a mystery even in the Vedas. The demigods in Indrapura were tumultuously happy; busily decorating themselves, they felt extremely fortunate that they could receive Lord Chaitanya's blessed association in Navadvipa.; They embraced and kissed each other without shame in exultation that the Lord of Navadvipa, Lord Chaitanya, had taken His birth.; There was no distinction of friend or foe.;; In great curiosity the demigods came to Navadvipa amidst loud chanting of God's name.; Infected by the transcendental mellow of Lord Chaitanya they became almost unconscious in ecstasy and joined in singing the glories of Lord Chaitanya. They saw the beautiful form of Lord Chaitanya.; He was more exquisite than a thousand rising full moons. He accepted the human form and made everyone loudly chant the Lord's holy name, using the eclipse as a good excuse. The Lord descended with all his energies and expansions; this is incomprehensible to the atheists.; Vrndavana dasa Thakura says, "Let me sing in adulation about my life and soul, Lord Sri Chaitanya and Sri Nityananda Prabhu."

Generally throughout India devotees

take pre-caution to not perform any kind of activity such as rituals; Deity puja; cooking; any samskaras etc, during a lunar or solar eclipse. Rather following in the footsteps of Lord Sri Krishna Who along with the cowherds visited Kurukshetra, and the above mentioned instant, and as Srila Prabhupad himself showed by example, devotees take full shelter of the Holy Names of the Lord and if in India submerge themselves in sacred rivers such as the Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Namadi, Sind, Kaveri, Tungabhadra, Godavari, etc., whilst jubilantly chanting the Holy Names of God - hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare / hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare.Furthermore it is mentioned as a pre-cautionary thing that women who are bearing children in their wombs should neither sew, make garlands, or look at the eclipsing sun or moon least it be detrimental to the health and well being of the unborn child. Ayurved mentions that a pregnant woman looking at the eclipsing sun or moon is often born with a child with a hair-lip (torn or scared upper lip), if she sews, piercing anything or cuts anything this too may cause impairment of internal organs of the child. Consequently pregnant women stay in doors and chant the Holy names of the Lord and or read shastra during these times, being careful not to also fall asleep. Falling asleep or taking rest during these times can leave one subjected to the attacks of ghosts (bhuta, preetas, etc.). Some people don't believe in ghosts, but that still doesn't make them go away.

The performance of Rituals at the time of Graha-Grastah - eclipse:

Generally it is to be understood that what you are propsing to do for rituals/pujas/ceremonies, etc are NEVER to be done during a lunar or solar eclipse - graha-grastah. Rather if you notice ALL TEMPLES CLOSE at the time of an eclipse, nothing is cooked, no offerings are made, etc. Instead as we recollect in the life oand birth of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu everyone goes to the Ganga and chants the Hare Krishna mahamantra. Devotees do not even study during an eclipse. As stated in Sanatan Goswami and Gopal Bhatta Goswami's Dik Darshini tika; in connection with Quotes from the Visnu Purana about how the Grhastha should work in this world "(text 44) At the time of thundering in the sky, or on the eighth day of the waxing or waning moon, in an unclean condition, and during an eclipse, a learned person does not study scriptures". ;Otherwise it is customary according to the shastra to go to a Holy place and take shelter there to be free from the contaminating effects of Rahu (Rahu is the cause of eclipses not Ketu). ;"In this connection, the darkness occurring before the full moon, the lunar eclipse, can be explained as being another planet, known as R a hu. According to Vedic astronomy, the R a hu planet, which is not visible, is accepted. Sometimes the R a hu planet is visible in the presence of full moonlight. It then appears that this R a hu planet exists somewhere near the orbit of the moon. The failure of modern moon excursionists may be due to the R a hu planet. In other words, those who are supposed to be going to the moon may actually be going to this invisible planet R a hu."

(A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. SB 4:29:69. purport.)

"The controlling demigods are most obedient to Lord Vi ntilde; e u, although they also want material sense enjoyment, and that is why they are called demigods, or almost godly. Although R a hu attempts to attack both the sun and the moon, they are protected by Lord Vi ntilde; e u. Being very afraid of Lord Vi ntilde; e u's cakra, R a hu cannot stay in front of the sun or moon for more than a muh u rta (forty-eight minutes). The phenomenon that occurs when R a hu blocks the light of the sun or moon is called an eclipse."

(A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. SB 5:24:3. purport.)

"During the hours of eclipse it was the custom of the Hindu public to take bath in the Ganges or any other sacred river and chant the Vedic mantras for purification. When Lord Caitanya was born during the lunar eclipse, all India was roaring with the holy sound of Hare K aring; ntilde; e a, Hare K aring; ntilde; e a, K aring; ntilde; e a K aring; ntilde; e a, Hare Hare/ Hare R a ma, Hare R a ma, R a ma R a ma, Hare Hare."

(A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Introduction.) Certainly there are some places in the Bhagavatam and other shastras that prescribe certain activites as being auspicious. However, we need to also understand the difference in something being auspicious as in the Janma-asthami of Lord Krishna's "birth", Radha-asthami of Srimati Radhika's appearance, the Nrisimha-Chaturdasi and why they are auspicious. The function that rules their auspiciousness is not their qualitative potency, but their being blessed by the appearance of the Lord on those tithis. the tithis themselves are not used for creating good in this world otherwise. Rather some Vama-tantriks and other karmakhandis utilise their potency for other things, closer to the nature of the tithi. In a similar manner we would like to suggest to you that these days such as Fullmoons/Purnimas, and Amavasyas/Newmoons are not to be utilised to celebrate functionary activities of a samskarik nature as their auspiciousness is based upon the appearance of the Lord UNDER CERTAIN full or new moons and NOT ALL.(SB 1:10:9-10 purport.) ...you may even notice that where it

is said in the Srimad bhagavatam that one should perform the Shraddha

ceremony on the ekadasi tithi in the text, Prabhupad cites Srila Jiva

Goswami as saying that: " Ccedil;r eacute;la J eacute;va Gosv a m eacute;

has given quotations from many ccedil; a stras stating that the

ccedil;r a ddha

ceremony of oblations to the forefathers should not be performed on

Ek a da ccedil; eacute;

tithi. When the tithi of the death anniversary falls on the

Ek a da ccedil; eacute;

day, the ccedil;r a ddha ceremony should be held not on

Ek a da ccedil; eacute;

but on the next day, or dv a da ccedil; eacute;. In the Brahma-vaivarta

pur a e a it is said:

face;If one performs the ccedil;r a ddha

ceremony of oblations to the forefathers on the Ek a da ccedil; eacute;

tithi, then the performer, the forefathers for whom the ccedil;r a ddha

is observed, and the purohita, or the family priest who encourages the

ceremony, all go to hell."(A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. SB

7:14:20-23.

Similarly Kalaprakashika and the Grhya Sutras advise that one should NOT perform yajnas, pujas, iniations, installations, conceive children, get married, or even cook - any activity that is considered Sat Kriya karmani during either a solar sankranti or solar or lunar eclipse. "Hearing that a total eclipse of the sun was soon to occur, people from all over Bh a rata-var ntilde;a, including the Y a davas, converged at Kuruk ntilde;etra to earn special pious credit. After the Yadus had bathed and performed other obligatory rituals, they noticed that kings of Matsya, U ccedil; eacute;nara and other places had also come, as well as Nanda Mah a r a ja and the cowherd community of Vraja, who were always feeling the intense anxiety of separation from K aring; ntilde; e a. The Y a davas, overjoyed to see all these old friends, embraced them one by one as they shed tears of happiness. Their wives also embraced one another with great pleasure."

(A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. SB 10:82nd chapter summary.)

What I suggest to you here is that the devotee gathered at the Holy place of pilgrimage bathed in the Holy Tirthas there, and then after the eclipse had passed then purified performed their sacrifices and pujas. My reason for saying this is also that one MUST NEVER bathe directly after a yajna or sacrifice or experiencing some auspicious event, rather even religious avavrtya baths are taken some time after a sacrificial event.And supporting that theory " At the R a jas u ya-yaj i a, on the other hand, Duryodhana's jealousy against the P a e ograve;avas became irrevocably inflamed. Soon after this, Duryodhana challenged Yudhi ntilde; o hira and his brothers to the gambling match, in which he cheated them of their kingdom and exiled them to the forest. Right after the P a e ograve;avas' return from exile, the great Battle of Kuruk ntilde;etra took place, during which Bh eacute; ntilde;ma and Dro e a were killed. So it is not logically possible for the solar eclipse at Kuruk ntilde;etra to have happened after the R a jas u ya sacrifice."(A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. SB 10:82:1. purport.) Although it is mentioned by Srila Prabhupad that it is auspicious to fast and perform worship during ekadasi and an eclipse (SB 10:82:2. purport), the kind of worship prescribed is Harinam and not ritual as paraphernalia/dravya is subjected to dravya suddhi and would become impure in itself and unofferable. There is reference made to this on a Morning Walk with Srila Prabhupada (Dr. Patel. 17th November 1975, Bombay)."The Lord has described the purity and impurity of different places, times and material objects. According to the laws of nature, that which is impure contaminates a particular person in accordance with that person's situation, as described here. For example, on certain occasions, such as a solar eclipse or just after childbirth, one must restrict the intake of food according to ritualistic injunctions."

(Hridayananda das Goswami. SB 11:21:11. purport.)

"According to the Jyotir-veda, the R a hu planet comes in front of the full moon, and thus a lunar eclipse takes place. It is customary in India that all the followers of the Vedic scriptures bathe in the Ganges or the sea as soon as there is a lunar or solar eclipse. All strict followers of Vedic religion stand up in the water throughout the whole period of the eclipse and chant the Hare K aring; ntilde; e a mah a -mantra. At the time of the birth of Lord Caitanya Mah a prabhu such a lunar eclipse took place, and naturally all the people standing in the water were chanting Hare K aring; ntilde; e a, Hare K aring; ntilde; e a, K aring; ntilde; e a K aring; ntilde; e a, Hare Hare/ Hare R a ma, Hare R a ma, R a ma R a ma, Hare Hare."(A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Chaitanya charitamrta Adi-lila 13:92. purport.) " iSeeing the lunar eclipse and laughing, both Advaita A c a rya and Harid a sa O h a kura immediately went to the bank of the Ganges and bathed in the Ganges in great jubilation. Taking advantage of the occasion of the lunar eclipse, Advaita A c a rya, by His own mental strength, distributed various types of charity to the br a hma e as. /i"

(CC Adi-lila 13:100 txt.)

PURPORT "It is the custom of Hindus to give in charity to the poor as much as possible during the time of a lunar or solar eclipse. Advaita A c a rya, therefore, taking advantage of this eclipse, distributed many varieties of charity to the br a hma e as. In the Ccedil;r eacute;mad-Bh a gavatam there is a statement in the Tenth Canto, Third Chapter, verse 11, that when K aring; ntilde; e a took His birth, immediately Vasudeva, taking advantage of this moment, distributed ten thousand cows to the br a hma e as. It is customary among Hindus that at the time a child is born, especially a male child, the parents distribute great charity in jubilation. Advaita A c a rya was actually interested in distributing charity because of Lord Caitanya's birth at the time of the lunar eclipse. People could not understand, however, why Advaita A c a rya was giving such a great variety of things in charity. He did so not because of the lunar eclipse but because of the Lord's taking birth at that moment. He distributed charity exactly as Vasudeva did at the time of Lord K aring; ntilde; e a's appearance."(A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Chaitanya Charitamrta Adi-lila 13:100. purport.) Then just as my conclusion (because i've run out of time alotted for this) Prabhupad outlines the sequence of events so that the pilgrimage involved in visiting a Holy Tirtha at the time of an eclipse is NOT for ACTUAL RITUALS but for cleansing and remebering the Lord, THEN when the eclipse has passed again one takes bath and begins to cook etc., for the actual service of the Lord. ;"After arriving in Kuruk ntilde;etra, the members of the Yadu dynasty took their baths ceremoniously, with self-control, as enjoined in the ccedil; a stras, and they observed fasting for the whole period of the eclipse in order to nullify the reactions of their sinful activities. Since it is a Vedic custom to give in charity as much as possible during the hours of the eclipse, the members of the Yadu dynasty distributed many hundreds of cows in charity to the br a hma e as. All those cows were fully decorated with nice dress and ornaments. The special feature of these cows was that they had golden ankle bells and flower garlands on their necks. ;After the eclipse, all the members of the Yadu dynasty again took their baths in the lakes created by Lord Para ccedil;ur a ma. Then they sumptuously fed the br a hma e as with first-class cooked food, all prepared in butter. According to the Vedic system, there are two classes of food. One is called raw food, and the other is called cooked food. Raw food does not include raw vegetables and raw grains but food boiled in water, whereas cooked food is made in ghee. Cap a t eacute;s, dhal, rice and ordinary vegetables are called raw foods, as are fruits and salads. But pur eacute;s, kachaur eacute;s, samos a s, sweet balls and so on are called cooked foods. All the br a hma e as invited on that occasion by the members of the Yadu dynasty were fed sumptuously with cooked food. ;The ceremonial functions performed by the members of the Yadu dynasty externally resembled the ritualistic ceremonies performed by the karm eacute;s. When a karm eacute; performs some ritualistic ceremony, his ambition is sense gratification-good position, good wife, good house, good children or good wealth-but the ambition of the members of the Yadu dynasty was different. Their ambition was to offer perpetual faith and devotion to K aring; ntilde; e a. All the members of the Yadu dynasty were great devotees. As such, after many births of accumulated pious activities, they were given the chance to associate with Lord K aring; ntilde; e a. In going to take their baths in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruk ntilde;etra, in observing the regulative principles during the solar eclipse, or in feeding the br a hma e as-in all their activities-they simply thought of devotion to K aring; ntilde; e a. Their ideal worshipable Lord was K aring; ntilde; e a, and no one else."(A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Krsna Book chapter 82. Krishna and Balaram meet the inhabitants of Vrindavan.)B. V. Raman's book on Muhurtha Astrology (1986.) says that one should not perform auspicious ceremonies upon such days least one creates a Grahanothpatha Dosha, and especially if the day was chosen for a wedding/marriage such a constellation must be avoided by six months.There are certainly rites that can be performed during an eclipse, and even in the cemetary at mid-night, or seated upon the body of a corpse, or standing naked to invoke Vashi Karan upon someone, but generally we don't get involved in these too much. faceGenarally in the Vaishnava sampradayas Mantra Diksha is done under the following co-ordinates, the idea being to get as many of them as possible right. I know that in Iskcon these things haven't been so much emphasised, and from the understanding of what Srila Prabhupad was doing, and the man-power that he had to work with he didn't overburden the devotees with so many rules and injunctions, just to get on with it. This doen't mean that the times mentioned in shastra, and even in Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada's Navadwip Panjika are not applicable or dare someone say wrong. I think not. Traditionally a guru would find an astrologically auspicious day for his disciples to take diksha, or to take sannyas

The Sri Vaisnava diksa is generally done on the trayodasi

As we all know solar and lunar eclipse occurs because of Rahu and Ketu. 11.08.99 it will be one. Who know what sort of eclipse will be that time and how it will occur (I mean movements of the planets)? Also hwo can calculate and tell what time and how long it will be in Perm. Sri Rohinisuta Prabhu is going to initiate us on this days. We would like to figure out exact time for yajna. Well, I know a part of answer on this question. The stripe of eclipse will be 112 km wide and it will come across India, Pakistan, Iran, Afganistan, Iraq, Turkey, south-western part of Black Sea, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Hungary, Germany, France (right across Paris), south- western part of England (Stonehenge?) but first it will be seen in Atlantic Ocean, beginning from the coast of USA. The time of full eclipse will last 2.5 minutes and in Paris and England it will be seen around 11:00

Text COM:2534824 (22 lines) [W1]

From: Mithila (das) PVS (London - GB)

Date: 06-Aug-99 05:47

To: (Arcana) Deity Worship [3538]

Reference: Text COM:2534125 by Vipramukhya Swami

Subject: Re: Eclipse and our temple

------------------------------------------------------------

> I am considering having the put to rest at 10 AM until the afternoon

> arati. Is that correct?

Dr. Patel: Are we not observing this eclipse rituals, that, during the

eclipse we stop aratis and all of this...

Prabhup€da: Why?

Dr. Patel: And after the eclipse is over, take bath and then do the arati?

Prabhup€da: Yes, they take bath.

Dr. Patel: Even the other VaiŠava mandirs don’t do arati during that period

if it comes within that...

Prabhup€da: Hare KŠa.

Morning Walk -- November 17, 1975, Bombay

And you say that several hundred people joined in chanting and dancing

during the eclipse. All these things are very much encouraging to me.

Letter to: Damodara das - Los Angeles 24 March, 1970

It is customary in India that all the followers of the Vedic scriptures

bathe in the Ganges or the sea as soon as there is a lunar or solar eclipse.

All strict followers of the Vedic religion stand up in the water throughout

the whole period of the eclipse and chant the Hare KŠa mah€-mantra.

®r… Caitanya-carit€mta, šdi-l…l€ 13.92

(Text COM:2534824) -----------------------------------------

Text COM:2530719 (199 lines) [W1]

From: Jaya Tirtha Charan (das) JPS

Date: 04-Aug-99 14:11

To: (Arcana) Deity Worship [3520]

Reference: Text COM:2530048 by Vipramukhya Swami

Comment: Text COM:2530962 by Nayana-ranjana (das) (BBT Bombay - IN)

Comment: Text COM:2534125 by Vipramukhya Swami

Subject: Re: Eclipse and our temple

------------------------------------------------------------

Hare Krishna Maharaj,

PAMHO., AGTSP.,

I have as you would know by now sent you some shastric information

privately that covers this phenomenon from the Vaishnava perspective.

Recently I sent it out on other conferences Astrology around the time of

the Partial Lunar eclipse.

At 09:57 AM 8/4/99 +0100, you wrote:

>[Text 2530048 from COM]

>Dear deity experts,

>Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

>In a few days (August 11, 1999) there will be a complete and total solar

>eclipse in South-West England. Here at Bhaktivedanta Manor the eclipse will

>not be total, but around 90%. It takes place around 10AM and lasts for a few

>hours.

>In India I know temples often close during times of the eclipse.

This is correct.

There is no cooking done, no eating done.

Also no-one should try to bring a child into the world at this time.

Sleeping is to be avoided.

Even study of shastra is not recommended according to the shastra HBV cited

by Gopal Bhatta and Sanantan Gos in their Dik Darshani Tika.

Pregnant women should not look at an eclipse, nor should they sew or thread

garlands during this time or according to Ayurved the child can be

physically and mentally impared with hair-lip and internal problems.

One should not associate with non-believers, atheists, agnostics, etc.

Rather one should as much as possible follow the example of the devotees

prior to the appearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, by taking shelter of

the Holy name of the Lord.

Sometimes confusion is there about doing yajnas etc., at the time of an

eclipse, but it is recommeded such things are done afterwards - as in the

case of those in days of yore who would assemble at Kurukshetra for a Lunar

or Solar eclipse and then perform an Ashwameda yajna etc., and feed

thousands of people - it was done after the eclipse.

The time of perumbra on either side of coming and going is about four hours

in total, although the actual eclipse (full umbra) will only be for two or

so minutes in each place it passes through. So for your area you will need

to find the time when the perumbra begins, and when it finishes.

HERE IS A COPY OF WHAT i SENT OUT ON THE ASTROLOGY CONFERENCE TO GIVE SOME

IDEA OF TIME CHANGES THAT THE ECLIPSE GOES THROUGH ON ITS PATH: (UT means

GMT)(this came from a non-devotee source so excuse the reference to shadows

instead of Rahu)

>The Total Solar Eclipse of the 11th August 1999.

>Excitement has been building for several years in anticipation of the last

>total solar eclipse of both the 20th century and of the Second Millennium.

>The trajectory of the Moon's shadow (the northern node that we call Rahu)

>carries it across central Europe, Turkey, the Middle East, Pakistan and

>India. The path of totality begins in the North Atlantic about 300

>kilometres south of Nova Scotia where the Moon's umbral shadow first touches

>down on Earth at 09:31 UT. Along the sunrise terminator, the maximum

>duration is a mere 47 seconds from the centre of the 49 kilometre wide path.

>Sweeping across the North Atlantic, the umbra reaches first landfall at the

>Isles of Scilly off the southwestern coast of England at 10:10 UT. At this

>locale, the mid-morning Sun stands 45° above the eastern horizon.

>One minute later, the umbra arrives along the shores of the Cornwall

>Peninsula. In the following four minutes, the shadow skirts the southern

>coast giving eager observers a brief taste of totality. Plymouth, the

>largest English city in the path, is north of centre line and witnesses a

>total phase lasting 1 minute 39 seconds. London misses the total phase but

>experiences partiality with a maximum magnitude of 0.968. By 10:16 UT, the

>umbra leaves England as it quickly traverses the English Channel. The

>Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey lie just south of the path and

>witness a partial eclipse of magnitude >0.995. To the north, Alderney is

>deep in the path and enjoys over one and a half minutes of totality.

>Not since 1961 has the Moon cast its dark shadow upon central Europe. The

>southern edge of the umbra first reaches the Normandy coast just as the

>northern edge leaves England (10:16 UT). But another four minutes elapse

>before the centre line makes landfall in northern France. As the shadow

>sweeps through the French countryside, its southern edge passes 30

>kilometres north of Paris. The City of Lights will bear witness to a partial

>event of magnitude 0.992 at 10:23 UT. Continuing on its eastward track, the

>path's northern limit crosses into southern Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

>Meanwhile, the centre line cuts through Champagne where the citizens of Metz

>witness a total eclipse lasting 2 minutes 13 seconds (10:29 UT). Four

>minutes later, the entire umbra crosses into southern Germany and the

>picturesque Rhine Valley. Stuttgart lies near path centre for 2 minutes 17

>seconds of totality. At 10:35 UT, the Sun's altitude stands at 55° from the

>centre of the 109 kilometre wide path. Although MInchen (Munich) lies 20

>kilometres south of the centre line, the city's two million citizens will

>still witness more than two minutes of totality, provided the winds of good

>fortune bring clear skies on eclipse day.

>At 10:41 UT, the umbra leaves Germany and crosses into Austria where it

>encounters the Eastern Alps. Wien (Vienna) is almost 40 kilometres north of

>the path and experiences a 0.990 magnitude partial eclipse. The southern

>edge of the path grazes northeastern Slovenia as the shadow enters Hungary

>at 10:47 UT. Lake Balaton lies wholly within the path where the central

>duration lasts 2 minutes 22 seconds (10:50 UT). Like Wein, Budapest is also

>located about 40 kilometres north of the path where a 0.991 magnitude

>partial eclipse will occur. As the shadow leaves Hungary, the southern third

>briefly sweeps through northern Yugoslavia before continuing on into

>Romania.

>According to the karmis, "The instant of greatest eclipse 1 occurs at

>11:03:04 UT when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to the centre

>of Earth (gamma2 =0.506). At that moment, the shadow's epicentre is located

>among the rolling hills of south-central Romania very near Rîmnicu-Vîlcea.

>The length of totality reaches its maximum duration of 2 minutes 23 seconds,

>the Sun's altitude is 59°, and the path width is 112 kilometres. Four

>minutes later (11:07 UT), Romania's capital city Bucuresti (Bucharest) is

>engulfed by the shadow". Since Bucharest lies on the centre line near the

>instant of greatest eclipse, it enjoys a duration nearly as long at 2

>minutes 22 seconds. Traveling east-southeast, the path encompasses the

>Romania-Bulgaria border before leaving land and heading out across the Black

>Sea.

>The next landfall occurs along the Black Sea coast of northern Turkey at

>11:21 UT. Ankara lies 150 kilometres south of the path and witnesses a 0.969

>magnitude partial eclipse. The track diagonally bisects Turkey as it moves

>inland while the centre line duration begins a gradual but steady decrease.

>At 11:29 UT, Turhal falls deep within the shadow for 2 minutes 15 seconds.

>The umbra reaches Turkey's southeastern border at 11:45 UT and briefly

>enters northwestern Syria as it crosses into Iraq. The centre line duration

>is now 2 minutes 5 seconds with the Sun's altitude at 50°. Baghdad lies 220

>kilometres south of the path and experiences a 0.940 magnitude partial

>eclipse. Arriving at Iran's western boundary at 11:52 UT, the shadow spends

>the next half hour crossing sparsely populated mountain ranges and deserts.

>Tehran lies north of the path where its eight million inhabitants witness a

>0.943 magnitude partial eclipse. At 12:22 UT, the shadow enters Pakistan and

>skirts the shores of the Arabian Sea. Karachi is near the centre line and

>experiences 1 minute 13 seconds of total eclipse with the Sun 22° above the

>western horizon.

>The umbra arrives in India, the last nation in its path, at 12:28 UT. As the

>shadow (Rahu) sweeps across the sub-continent, its velocity rapidly

>increases while the centre line duration drops below one minute and the

>Sun's altitude decreases to 7°. The eleven million inhabitants of Calcutta

>will witness a 0.879 magnitude partial eclipse with the Sun a scant 2° above

>the western horizon. Leaving India just north of Vishakhapatnam at 12:36 UT,

>the shadow sweeps into the Bay of Bengal where it departs Earth and races

>back into space (12:36 UT), not to return until the next millennium. The

>length of the entire path of totality is approximately 13,700 kilometres

>which encompasses about 0.21% of Earth's total surface area.

>For other detailed information view:

>http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/TSE1999/TSE1999.html

>I am being asked by our pujari department for advice. Should we put the

>deities to rest during the entire eclipse period?

Yes.

>Yours in Srila Prabhupada's service,

>Vipramukhya Swami

Trusting that this is of use to you and to other devotees in that situation.

We in New Zealand will not be experiencing the Total eclipse because when

the sun is attacked by Rahu on mid-day-ish on the 11th it is mid-night of

the 11th here, going into the 12th, as we are 12 hours ahead.

Text COM:2545447 (28 lines)

From: (Bhakta) Miodrag Milosavljevic (Belgrade - YU)

Date: 10-Aug-99 22:45

To: Yadu-srestha (das) PVS (Melbourne - AU) [1646] (received: 10-Aug-99

22:49)

To: Astrology [836]

To: Holistic Health (and related topics) [2073]

Reference: Text COM:2541298 by Ugresa (das) (Cintamani Intl, Graz - A)

Subject: !! WARNING RE: eclipses

------------------------------------------------------------

PAMHO. AGTSP.

> > Please do NOT look at the eclipse with any kind of "glasses" made or

> > not made for the purpose. Contrary to common beliefe, they are not

> > safe, according to the experience of health authorities.

> When we where kids we used to look at the sun even trough telescopes

> for hours trough soot covered glasses. There may be some dangerous

> methods around but I have a hard time believing that ANY kind of

> glasses is dangerous.

Here ophthalmologist say : do not use any home-made filters, including

candle-sooted glass. Only special glass with some... cobalt stuff ? ...

This is very important. Because it is not the problem to look to a common

Sun disk. You can look only for a short time. But, with eclipse,when the

main light effulgence is covered, we can watch directly to the Sun, but

our iris is wide open ! It tells us that there is no harming light, but

the point is that it does not recognize the IR and other radiation, which

we normally never will be tempted to look at. And these radiations are

not much reduced by the eclipse. Any watching to the eclipse longer than

3 sec would cause the burns on the area close to the yellow spot. This is

public info. It is recommended that children are kept inside, animals

also, because they might went blind. They even joke that this year will

be easy for hunters, since most of the rabbits will be blind.

So, even for filters, you can reduce the light radiation, but they still

do not make your iris safely closed.

ys Miodrag

(Text COM:2545447) -----------------------------------------

Text COM:2531747 (66 lines) [W1]

From: Jaya Tirtha Charan (das) JPS

Date: 04-Aug-99 22:20

To: Yadu-srestha (das) PVS (Melbourne - AU) [1612] (received: 04-Aug-99

22:25)

To: Astrology [817]

Reference: Text COM:2531723 by Yadu-srestha (das) PVS (Melbourne - AU)

Subject: Re: Ecllipse

------------------------------------------------------------

At 05:55 PM 8/4/99 -0400, you wrote:

>[Text 2531723 from COM]

>Have these calculations of time taken into consideration that Europe is in

>summer time ? I guess that Universal time does not go on summer time but

>that would make it an hour different to England when England is on summer

>time.I am asuming that universal time is the same as ephemeris time which

>differs from GMT by less than a minute. I also assume that GMT does not go

>on summer time .Does anyone know all this for sure ?

>Summer time is certainly a bane of astrologers.

>Your uncertain servant

>Yadu Srestha

Yes!!!

The in formation that I sent on this conference some time ago came from NASA.

I also gave the overview - tour of the eclipse in another message, as did

another devotee.

Just answered this in the Deity worship conference.

HH Vipramukhya Swami gave the local times in the UK at this present moment

for DLS as being as follows:

>In a few days (August 11, 1999) there will be a complete and total solar

>eclipse in South-West England. Here at Bhaktivedanta Manor the eclipse will

>not be total, but around 90%. It takes place around 10AM and lasts for a few

>hours.

10am is when it comes to perumbra not umbra. But this is significant for

devotees as this is when Rahu and his effects come into the picture.

..always best to check locally - I have built a nice friendly relationship

with one of the wallas at the Auckland Observatory, and also with someone

at the Carter Observatory in Wellington.

ys, JTCd

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(Text COM:2531747) -----------------------------------------

Text COM:2531739 (62 lines)

From: Yadu-srestha (das) PVS (Melbourne - AU)

Date: 04-Aug-99 22:14

To: Astrology [816]

Subject: Re: Eclipse and our temple

------------------------------------------------------------

---- Forwarded Message ----------

Text COM:2530719 (199 lines) [W1]

From: Jaya Tirtha Charan (das) JPS

Date: 04-Aug-99 14:11

To: (Arcana) Deity Worship [3520]

Reference: Text COM:2530048 by Vipramukhya Swami

Comment: Text COM:2530962 by Nayana-ranjana (das) (BBT Bombay - IN)

Subject: Re: Eclipse and our temple

------------------------------------------------------------

Hare Krishna Maharaj,

PAMHO., AGTSP.,

I have as you would know by now sent you some shastric information privately

that covers this phenomenon from the Vaishnava perspective. Recently I sent

it out on other conferences Astrology around the time of the Partial Lunar

eclipse.

At 09:57 AM 8/4/99 +0100, you wrote:

>[Text 2530048 from COM]

>Dear deity experts,

>Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

>In a few days (August 11, 1999) there will be a complete and total solar

>eclipse in South-West England. Here at Bhaktivedanta Manor the eclipse will

>not be total, but around 90%. It takes place around 10AM and lasts for a

few