Some of the important mantras that are chanted during the Surya Grahan include:
Gayatri Mantra
Ashtakshara Mantra dedicated to Shri Krishna. Ashtakshara mantra is ‘Shri Krishna ha sharnam mama.’ Astakshari Mantra is also taken as ‘Om Namoh Narayan Na Yah.’
Mahamrityunjay Mantra is also chanted during eclipse.
Other mantras chanted are Surya Kavach Strotra and Aditya Hridaya Strotram
It is important that one chants mantra or remember god in any form at this time to keep calm and the aura clean.
There are numerous recording of Surya Grahan, or Solar Eclipse, in Hindu scriptures. The most famous being the Suryagrahan during the famous Mahabharata war. Usually, Hindus do not perform any work during Surya Grahan and they purify themselves by taking a bath and chant mantras. A complete fast is undertaken by many Hindus during the period. In Hindu religion, taking a holy dip at sacred rivers and tirths on the Surya Grahan day is considered highly auspicious.
The next Surya Grahan is on January 26, 2009 from from 10:26 hrs to 16:30 hrs (Indian Standard Time).
Ancient sages and texts like Brahman Siddhanta restrict viewing the eclipse – one should look at an eclipse through a cloth or a reflection of it. A pregnant woman should never look directly at an eclipse.
If the Moon's inner or umbral shadow sweeps across Earth's surface, then a total eclipse of the Sun is seen. The track of the Moon's umbral shadow across Earth is called the Path of Totality. It is typically 10,000 miles long but only about 100 miles wide. It covers less than 1% of Earth's entire surface area. In order to see the Sun become completely eclipsed by the Moon, you must be somewhere inside the narrow path of totality.
The path of a total eclipse can cross any part of Earth. Even the North and South Poles get a total eclipse sooner or later. Just one total eclipse occurs each year or two. Since each total eclipse is only visible from a very narrow track, it is rare to see one from any single location. You'd have to wait an average of 375 years to see two total eclipses from one place. Of course, the interval between seeing two eclipses from one particular place can be shorter or longer. For instance, the last total eclipse visible from Princeton, NJ was in 1478 and the next is in 2079. That's an interval of 601 years. However, the following total eclipse from Princeton is in 2144, after a period of only 65 years.
Hindu religion is the only one of the world’s great faiths dedicated to the idea that the cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite number of deaths and rebirths.
It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond, no doubt, by accident, to those of modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of Brahma 8.64 billion years long. Longer than the age of the earth or the sun and about half of the time since the big bang. And there are much longer time scales still.
There is the deep and the appealing notion that the universe is but the dream of the god who after a 100 Brahma years… dissolves himself into a dreamless sleep… and the universe dissolves with him… until after another Brahma century… he starts… recomposes himself and begins again the dream… the great cosmic lotus dream.
Meanwhile… elsewhere… there are an infinite number of other universes… each with its own god… dreaming the cosmic dream.
These great ideas are tempered by another perhaps still greater it is said that men may not be the dreams of the gods but rather that the gods are the dreams of men.
In
The most elegant and sublime of these bronzes is a representation of the creation of the Universe at the beginning of each cosmic cycle – a motif known as the cosmic dance of Shiva. The god has four hands. In the upper right hand is the drum whose sound is the sound of creation. And in the upper left hand is a tongue of flame… a reminder that the universe now newly created… will billion of years from now will be utterly destroyed. Creation. Destruction.
These profound and lovely ideas are central to ancient Hindu beliefs as exemplified in this Chola temple at …. They are kind of reminiscent of modern astronomical ideas. Without doubt the universe has been expanding since the big bang but it is by no means clear that it will continue to expand for ever. If there is less than a certain amount of matter in the universe, then the mutual gravitation of the receiving galaxies will be insufficient to stop the expansion and the Universe will run away forever. But if there is more matter than we can see…hidden away in black holes… say or in hot but invisible gas between galaxies, then the universe holds together, and partakes in every Indian succession of cycles… expansion followed by contraction… cosmos upon cosmos…Universes without end. If we live in such an oscillating universe, then the Big Bang is not the creation of the cosmos but merely the end of the previous cycle the destruction of the last incarnation of the cosmos.
Neither of these modern cosmologies may be altogether to our liking. In one cosmology, the universe is created somehow from nothing 15 to 20 billion years ago and expands forever. The galaxy is mutually receding until the last one disappears over our cosmic horizon. Then the galactic astronomers are out of business… the stars cool and die…matter itself decays…and the Universe becomes a thin cold haze of elementary particles.
In the other, the oscillating universe, the cosmos has no beginning and no end… and we are in the midst of an infinite cycle of cosmic deaths and rebirths. With no information trickling through the cusps of the oscillation…nothing of the galaxies, stars, planets, life forms, civilizations evolved in the previous incarnation of the universe trickles through the cusp filters past the Big Bang to be known in our universe.
There is lot of fear among many Hindus regarding Surya Grahan (Solar Eclipse) and Pregnancy. Most people want to know about precautions to be taken during Surya Grahanam. The only precaution that you should take is that you should never look at the Sun directly during the Grahan. As a clear cut solution, ancient seers in Hinduism recommend pregnant women remain indoors during Grahan. The mantra chanted during the period is the Santana Gopala Mantra.
Astrological View Point
Now for those of you believe in astrology, there is a ‘punya kala’ when the Surya Grahan is visible. And people observe fasting during this period. If the Grahan is not visible in the particular region, there is no ‘punya kala’ and there are no restrictions.
There is no restriction in moving around if there is no Surya Grahan in your region.
Ayurvedic View Point
Some traditions in Hindu religion ask pregnant women to sit or lie down on a mat containing Darbha grass or Kusha Grass. It is also advised to keep some Kusha Grass with the pregnant woman.
Fasting during Grahan
Now there are several Hindu communities that fast (Upvaas) during Surya Grahan. A pregnant woman should take the advice of her doctor before fasting. If you are so particular about fasting, you can fast just during the Surya Grahan period and avoid a complete fast.
Mantra During Surya Grahan
The mantra that is chanted during Surya Grahan by pregnant women is the Santana Gopala Mantra.
There are numerous recording of Surya Grahan, or Solar Eclipse, in Hindu scriptures. The most famous being the Suryagrahan during the famous Mahabharata war. Usually, Hindus do not perform any work during Surya Grahan and they purify themselves by taking a bath and chant mantras. A complete fast is undertaken by many Hindus during the period. In Hindu religion, taking a holy dip at sacred rivers and tirths on the Surya Grahan day is considered highly auspicious.
The next Surya Grahan is on January 26, 2009 from from 10:26 hrs to 16:30 hrs (Indian Standard Time).
Ancient sages and texts like Brahman Siddhanta restrict viewing the eclipse – one should look at an eclipse through a cloth or a reflection of it. A pregnant woman should never look directly at an eclipse.
Mantras Chanted during Surya Grahan
Some of the important mantras that are chanted during the Surya Grahan include:
Gayatri Mantra
Ashtakshara Mantra dedicated to Shri Krishna. Ashtakshara mantra is ‘Shri Krishna ha sharnam mama.’ Astakshari Mantra is also taken as ‘Om Namoh Narayan Na Yah.’
Mahamrityunjay Mantra is also chanted during eclipse.
Other mantras chanted are Surya Kavach Strotra and Aditya Hridaya Strotram
It is important that one chants mantra or remember god in any form at this time to keep calm and the aura clean.
Hindu Temples Remain Closed
All Hindu Temples remain closed during Surya Grahan. Temples open only after proper rituals are performed to get rid of the ill effects of the Surya Grahan. However, some Lord Shiva temples remain open during Surya Grahan as Lord Shiva is considered as ‘Layakara,’ who Himself is an embodiment of darkness.
Fasting During Surya Grahan
Adult Hindus stop eating 12 hours before a solar eclipse. Children, old people and those who are ill stop eating 3 hours before the beginning of a solar eclipse. If the solar eclipse ends after sunset, then people fast during night and consume food only next day morning.
One should not take food at the time of Grahan because it is said that at this time the most harmful rays from the sun can be seen and absorbed.
Pregnant Woman and Surya Grahan
Normally at the time of Surya Grahan, pregnant women are supposed to not come out of the house, with no sunlight entering either by doors or windows. This is to avoid harmful rays. You can find more detail regarding Surya Grahan and Pregnancy in this article.Surya Grahan, solar eclipse, is widely mentioned in the Holy Scriptures of Hinduism. There is also an interesting myth regarding the occurrence of Surya Grahan. It happened during the Samdura Manthan (churning of ocean) episode in the Puranas. Rahu (Demon) and Mohini, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, are the main characters in the incident.
The Amrit (elixir) that was obtained from churning the ocean was cunningly stolen by Ausras (Demons). Lord Vishnu took the form of Mohini, a beautiful damsel, to win back the Amrit. She achieved her mission by enamoring the Asuras, they fell for her beauty and handed over the Amrit to her.
Mohini returned to the Devas and started distributing it. Devas sat in a line and mohini gave a portion to each one of them. Rahu, an Asura, who found out that they were tricked took the form a Deva and sat in the line between Chandra (Moon God) and Surya (Sun God).
When Mohini approached Rahu, Chandra and Surya realized that Rahu was not one among them and soon identified him as an Asura. Mohini soon severed the head of Rahu which flew into the sky. Rahu’s, depicted in the form of a Snake head occasionally, continued to live and decided to avenge Surya and Chandra.
Thus periodically Rahu engages in a war with Surya and Chandra. The Chandra Grahan (Lunar eclipse) and Surya Grahan (Solar eclipse) takes place when Rahu gobbles up Moon and Sun respectively. Surya and Chandra then fights to free themselves.
A partial solar eclipse, Surya Grahan, will be visible in southeast (image from NASA)
All Hindu temples remain closed during Surya Grahan and will reopen only after the Grahan after conducting special pujas and rituals. On the day, Hindus also take holy dip in River Ganga and Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra.
Usually, religious Hindus do not perform any work during Surya Grahan and they purify themselves by taking a bath and chants the Ashtakshara Mantra dedicated to Shri Krishna. Ashtakshara mantra is ‘Shri Krishna ha sharnam mama.’
Most astrologers are of the view that this Surya Grahan will only bring bad
There is also a Total Solar Eclipse on July 22, 2009.
