ECLIPSE.
Blunkasif ; Blunkhasif, An. Ecclissi, Finsterniss,. . . GER. Graliana, . . SANSK. Girhan, . . . . HIND.
Of Sun—Nay-kyat-hgying ; of Moon—La-kyat bgying.
Celestial observations were made at Babylon B.C. 2234. The Chinese wroto of 36 eclipses, of which two are uncertain, but of the others there is no doubt, according to the iniasionary Gaubil, and the first mentioned by them was observed B.c. 2155. Vamlia-mihira, a Hindu astronomer of the 6th century A.D., correctly described eclipses of the moon and of the sun. Ile says, In an eclipse of the moon, she enters the shadow of tho earth ; in a solar eclipse she obscures the sun by her shadows. IIence the commencement of a lunar eclipse does not take place from the west side, nor that of a solar eclipse from the east.' But at tho present clay, amongst ordinary Hindus, an eclipse is still con sidered to be caused by a snake's endeavouring to eat up the luminary. The Hindu myths on this Foint vary ; but usually the Iraku or black, and eathu or red, snakes, two giauts with snake heads who seized tho ambrosia, are mentioned. Another myth relates that Ralm, once a chief of the Asuras, who, from having obtained some of the ambrosia, now dwells inimortal in the sky, but from time t,o time darts out on tho sun or moon and seizes them. These myths aro connected with the
myth of the vaislinava Hindus about the churning of the milk-sea ocean. When the Deva and the Asura, with !Mount %lidera as a churning rod propped on the god Vishnu as the tortoise Kurma, rind using the serpent Scalia as a twirling thong, produced the Chauda - ratua, fourteen precious products called gems. Of these fourteen products was one of which Rahn by stealth obtained a portion, and became immortal. Another product was the poison, or medicine, which the god Siva, to protect mankind, drank up. On the occurrence of an eclipse, modern Hindus, to escape from the poison, everywhere bathe themselves. On the morning of the eclipse of the sun in 1868, the Lucknow train conveyed into Cawnpur no leas than 27,000 passengers to bathe in the Ganges. The learned among,st the Hindus are perfectly acquainted with the causes of eclipses. See Ketu ; Rahn.