8rahu8’s Weblog

In Hindu astrology, Rahu is one of the nine important planets (graha), but is an invisible or “astral” one, along with its counterpart, Ketu. Physically speaking, it is one of two points in the heavens where the moon crosses the ecliptic or path of the sun. The point where the moon crosses the ecliptic moving from south to north is Rahu, the north node. The south node is Ketu. Rahu and Ketu are depicted as a serpent demon who encircles the earth. Ketu is the dragon’s tail and Rahu is the head. Both are believed to cause general consternation among people.

Definition of RahuThe Sanskrit name for the Dragon’s Head – the Moon’s North node. In Hindu mythology Rahu is a Daitya (demon) who possessed an appendage like a dragon’s tail, and made himself immortal by stealing from the gods some Amrita – elixir of divine life – which they obtained by churning an ocean of milk. Unable to deprive him of his immortality, Vishnu exiled him from Earth and made of him the constellation Draco: his head called Rahu, and tail Ketu – astronomically speaking, the Moon’s ascending and descending nodes. Using his appendage as a weapon, he has ever since waged a destructive war on the denouncers of his robbery, the Sun and the Moon, which he swallows during the eclipse. The fable is presumed to have a mystic or occult meaning. (v. Nodes, Moon’s.)

RAHU  

Arddhakaayam mahaaviiryam candraadityavimardanam 
Simhikaagarbha sambhuutam tam Raahu pranamaamyaham 
Om Raahave namah 

Translation:
I bow down to Rahu, the great warrior who divides even the Sun and Moon in half, born from the womb of Simhikaa. 
Om, I bow down to Rahu.

Rahu (Sanskrit) The seizer; a daitya supposed to seize the sun and moon and thus cause eclipses. “A giant, a Demi-god, the lower part of whose body ended in a Dragon or Serpent’s tail. During the churning of the Ocean, when the gods produced amrita — the water of Immortality — he stole some of it, and drinking, became immortal.

The Sun and Moon, who had detected him in his theft, denounced him to Vishnu, who placed him in the stellar spheres, the upper portion of his body representing the Dragon’s head and the lower (Ketu) the Dragon’s tail; the two being the ascending and descending nodes.

Since then, Rahu wreaks his vengeance on the Sun and Moon by occasionally swallowing them. But this fable had another mystic meaning, since Rahu, the Dragon’s head, played a prominent part in the mysteries of the Sun’s (Vikarttana’s) initiation, when the candidate and the Dragon had a supreme fight” (SD 2:381).

THE GODS WERE DRINKING the elixir of immortality when the demon Rahu slipped into their midst and stole a sip. Surya (the sun) and Soma (the moon) reported the incident to the great deity Vishnu, who promptly sought out the impudent Rahu and lopped off his head. But having become deathless, Rahu survived and to this day seeks revenge on the tattletales by devouring them.

That at least is how Hindu myth explains the solar eclipse. In Thai legend, Rahu reappears as the younger brother of two men who are reincarnated as the sun and moon. Unhappy at being overshadowed, Rahu is constantly striving to dim their brilliance by swallowing them; and occasionally he is successful. In Chinese mythology, it is not a demon but a heavenly dog that bites into the sun.

Of course, provide a simpler, more boring explanation. The solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes before the sun, casting a huge shadow on Earth. This year, the phenomenon will take place on Oct. 24. While these events are not uncommon, they are often only visible from inaccessible or inconvenient places. This time, however, a total eclipse will be visible in a thin strip from Iran to the Pacific ocean, cutting through the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Those people not directly under the eclipse will be able to see the sun only partially obscured.

Special measures are being taken to minimize the effects of Rahu’s bite. The Sri Nathji temple in the northwestern state of Rajasthan is normally out of bounds to members of lower castes. But on the day of the eclipse the gates will be opened to the poor; the wealthy are to throw rice and wheat at them from the roof of the temple building. After the lower castes collect as much grain as they can carry away, the benefactors will “purify” the temple by washing it with milk.

In Thailand, devotees are burning black joss sticks and presenting eight black offerings, including black-feathered chickens and coffee, to appease the dark angel in the run-up to the eclipse. The price of black fowl has shot up from 100 baht ($4) to 500 baht ($20) in some markets. Even Prime Minister Banharn Silapa-archa, known to be very superstitious, is not above the fray. The country’s most prominent soothsayer, Pinyo Pongcharoen, recently urged the premier to carry out Buddhist rituals to ward off evil. “According to statistics and the country’s stars, bad luck always comes with an eclipse,” Pongcharoen says. “Major changes and big losses are inevitable.” When the eclipse hits, people will be clashing gongs and exploding firecrackers to frighten away the monster-god. In Cambodia, thousands are expected to fire at the moon with handguns and rifles to “help the sun escape,” as one man puts it.

All planets have got a mean (average) motion and true or actual daily motion. Below please find a table of the average (mean) daily motions of all the planets: