Surya Grahan or Solar Eclipse

Solar Eclipse or Surya Grahan

Eclipse means total or partial obstruction of one celestial body by another or a loss of power, success, or popularity. Solar eclipse occurs when moon partially or fully blocks the sun while passing between Sun and Earth. The moon is approximately 400 times smaller than the Sun but it still covers the Sun as it is closer to the Earth. It happened on Aug. 21, 2017 in North America. There was so much excitement for this phenomenon. I heard that to see the eclipse, people booked hotel rooms a year in advance. On the day of the eclipse, many people travelled. At some places, it took people four hours to drive two miles and some people charged travelers’ up to $120 for a few minutes parking in their personal parking lots. In Chicago, there were four mile long lines to collect free special eclipse glasses from Adler Planetarium and Daley Plaza. As it was Monday, many people took off from work and children skipped school to enjoy this event. The whole country seemed so involved in the event. It was a cloudy day but still people were happy with whatever they saw. There were speculations that the stars will be visible during daytime, however this did not happen.

NASA had various activity suggestions, resources, events, and educational programs on its website. There was an eclipse art project, citizen explorers, eclipse viewing, science challenges, etc. There were many science experiments done by different people/organizations. In one of these projects, two planes were flown at a predetermined speed and distance to capture the solar eclipse for almost double the time (6 minutes). Many traveled distances to set up telescopes before the eclipse. Some studied the plasma behaviors in the Sun's corona, its electromagnetic fields, how plasma is ejected, how to predict the speed of plasma ejection, nano flares etc. Studies were conducted to try to figure out why the corona is hotter than Sun’s surface, how the eclipse changes atmospheric conditions, how dark the sky gets during the solar eclipse etc.

It is recommended by the IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health) not to look at the Sun with regular sunglasses or other colored films that do not block all ultraviolet light.

Ways to see the eclipse

  1. Special eclipse glasses-ISO-12312-2 compliant pair of special shades

  2. No. 14 Welder’s glasses

  3. Sun Funnel is a device which projects the light from Telescope and gives Sun’s magnified image on a screen

  4. Pinhole box

  5. Telescope with special filters

Eye Damage

  1. Solar Retinopathy, which affects central vision, is caused by looking at sun directly. Usually it does not happen because of protective reflexes consisting of blinking and pupillary constriction and usually people do not look at sun continuously for a long period. During Eclipse people stare at sun for longer periods and natural reflexes may not work as well as it is not that bright light. There is no acute treatment. Vision usually slowly improves over days or months. Sometimes permanent damage to eye and blindness can result.

  2. UV keratitis is inflammation of cornea. Symptoms are pain, blurred vision, light sensitivity etc. It usually occurs 6-12 hrs. after the exposure and usually improves on its own over a few days.

How Solar Eclipse affects Birds and Animals

Scientists have reported in past that birds and animals start their evening routing when darkness happens during daytime. If this darkness occurs only for a couple of minutes, they get confused. Some animals’ daily routine gets disturbed and some others are not affected by this change.

Some scientists were observing animal behavior during this eclipse.

Surya Grahan (Solar Eclipse)

While in United States of America, everyone was excited to see the solar eclipse, in some cultures it is considered inauspicious. Babylonians believed that the eclipse could tell the fate of the king. They started a ritual of selecting a substitute king. If there was no occurrence of bad omen during the eclipse then the substitute king was killed. If a bad omen happened, then the substitute king was made the real king and therefore a change of dynasties happened. Babylonians developed a method to predict eclipses.

Greeks, Chinese, and many tribes of Native Americans believed that a solar eclipse was a bad omen, or that the Sun God was not happy.

Many people in India believe that everything on Earth is contaminated during Eclipse. This period of inauspiciousness is also called sutak. Sutak is usually for four prahars or twelve hours before the Grahan. During sutak period, even the temple gates are closed. Surya Grahan occurs on Amavasya day. People do not eat any food during sutak period. Already prepared food is saved by putting Tulsi leaves in it as Tulsi is considered pious/sacred. Tulsi leaves are placed in remaining milk, ghee, salt, etc. Pregnant women are advised not to do certain things like cutting and stitching. It is believed that if she does not follow certain guidelines then the baby can be born with birth defects or can have a birthmark. Birth mark on unexposed body parts is considered good, however birthmark on exposed body parts, e.g. face, hands, etc. is considered bad.

In the morning of the Surya Grahan day people offer water, in brass container, to Surya Bhagwan, chant Om Suryay Namah, and do three parikramas. They see sunrays in water and this act is considered good for the eyes. People do not look at the Sun directly. Some people take water in a big container and look at the image of the Sun in it.

After the Grahan is over people take bath, cook fresh food, donate food and other items to others, and feed birds and animals.

Bharti Raizada Sep 4, 2017

न डरें - न डराएं
Oct 25, 2022 . ग्रहण प्रारंभ = 04:28 प्रातः
ग्रहण समाप्त = 06:09 सायं . सूर्यग्रहण मतलब जब सूर्य और भूमि के मध्य चन्द्रमा आता है तब सूर्यग्रहण होता है । सूर्यग्रहण से कोई व्यक्ति धनिक, दरिद्र, राजा, रंक नहीं बनता परन्तु अपने कर्मों से बनता है । कर्मों की गति सच्ची होती है, ग्रहों की गति सुख दुःख भोग का कारण नहीं होता क्योंकि ग्रहों की स्थिति कर्त्ता व कर्मों से दूर है अतः इनका सीधा सम्बन्ध नहीं है । परमात्मा ही कर्मों के फल को देने वाला है क्योंकि उसी ने जड़ जगत्, जीव का ग्रहण करके रखा है । . ग्रहण के समय सत्य का ग्रहण करें और असत्य का त्याग करें । यजुर्वेद 1/5
ग्रहण के समय गुणों का ग्रहण करें , अवगुणों का त्याग करें । यजुर्वेद 30/3 . धर्म का ग्रहण, वेदमत का ग्रहण, विद्या का ग्रहण अवश्य करें । . 25 सबेरे से प्रारम्भ होने वाले सूतक आदि का भय रखने की आवश्यकता बिल्कुल नहीं, पातक से भय नहीं, ....बस जीवन सरल रखें वही पर्याप्त है । . यह सूर्यग्रहण पूरे भारत में आंशिक तौर पर दिखाई देगा,
अमावस्या वाले दिन लगने वाला खंडग्रास सूर्यग्रहण का कुल समय: 01 घंटा, 13 मिनट तक रहेगा । . ओ३म् जप नित्य की भाँति करते रहें, विद्वानों को दान सदा सर्वदा दें, मूर्खों-ठलुओं-दुष्टों को दान कभी न दें । . देवस्थान के कपाट कभी बन्द न करें, प्रातः-सायं यम नियम से अभय होकर वैदिक सन्ध्या, यज्ञ करें ।
.विधा का ग्रहण और अविधाका नाश करना ही आर्योका मुख्य धर्म है।
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