Dark at Dawn....The longest Solar Eclipse..

Hi ! The long awaited Solar Eclipse is over now. Hope some of you had the chance to view it very clearly. Unfortunately I could not see and just watched on television. But the enthusiasm and excitement is still all around about this great celestial phenomenon. Here is a very beautiful Miniature sheet issued to feature Solar Eclipse so I want to show it here for today's Post here. I have just received a mail from our very distinguished reader of Israel, Dr Eli Moallem who has keen interest in Indian Mythology and he has also prepared a very nice collection on it. He writes the mythological story behind the Solar Eclipse which I am giving here with the nice stamp issued by Laos, to share with all of you! This is all for Today.....Till Next Post.......Have a Great Time !...

Mythology behind the Solar Eclipse....

A nice Laotian Buddhist legend tells that during the churning of the milk ocean, the gods received the immortalization nectar from Monini. Svarbhânu the demon sneaked between Sûrya the sun and Chandra the moon, and received nectar. Both, when realized this fraud, convinced Vishnu to cut Svarbhânu into two pieces. The upper part of Svarbhânu became Rahu, an immortal dragon head that swallows occasionally the sun or the moon as revenge causing eclipse. Laos issued several nice stamps of Rahu swallows the sun. Here is one of them.

- Dr Eli Moallem, Jerusalem - Israel


Indian Myth

The earliest Indian myth on solar eclipse is found in the "Rig Veda". (The religious book composed between 1500-1200 BC).Rahu, one of the most notorious demons of the Hindu myth, was rubbed the wrong way by the sun. Myth has it that Vishnu, God of all Gods churned the oceans to usher in peace. This was at the end of a bitter war between the Gods and demons. At this time, Dhanvantri, the fountain head of medicine,emererged with necter. This was too good for the demons to let go.Vishnu manage to get it across the Gods, but Rahu, disguised as a God tried to get some nectar for himself.The sun and the moon saw this happenning and informed Vishnu, who immediately chopped off Rahus head. Rahu lived on though bodyless, because he had managed a sip of the nectar. But he never forgave the sun or the moon and periodically eats either one up.

Chinese Myth
A dragon swallows the sun. It needs to be frightened away by beating of drums.

African Myth
A snake emerged from the ocean and grew so large that it moved to the sky and swallowed the sun. The snake can be scared by beating of drums.