What is Grahan and how it occurs?

A grahan or eclipse happens when Sun, Moon and Earth are collinear and either Earth or Moon falls in between the other two planets. These occurrences lead to two types of eclipses namely- Solar Eclipse (Surya Grahan) and Lunar Eclipse (Chandra Grahan).

Surya Grahan (Solar Eclipse): It happens when Moon comes between Sun and Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the sun, then it is considered to be Surya Grahan or Solar Eclipse.

Chandra Grahan (Lunar Eclipse) : It happens when Earth comes in between Moon and Sun. Lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon, Earth are absolutely aligned with each other. Then the Moon comes across through, some part of the Earth’s shadow and darkens the planet Moon. Usually, Lunar eclipse occurs on the Full Moon Day (Purnima).

Legend behind Surya and Chandra Grahan

As per the Holy Scriptures, when the gods and the demons churned the milky ocean in the days of yore, nectar came out of it. Lord Vishnu incarnated as Mohini, a charming lady, mesmerized the demons and distributed the nectar only among the gods. But Rahu perceived the deception and had disguised himself as a god. The Sun and the Moon pointed this out to Mohini (Lord Vishnu) who in aggravation immediately gashed off the demon’s (Rahu’s) head. But by then, the nectar had already reached up to his neck, and hence he did not die. This became the reason why the head came to be known as Rahu and the body as Ketu. So, to avenge this betrayal, Rahu and Ketu periodically eclipse the sun and the moon. Astronomically speaking, when the sun, the moon and the earth are all in line i.e. collinear, with the moon or the earth at the centre, a solar or lunar eclipse takes place respectively.

Solar and Lunar eclipse dates 2017

Do’s and Don’ts during the eclipse especially for pregnant women