by Rāma Aprameya dāsa Adhikārī
The following work is a compilation from the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa outlining the directions for observing an eclipse. It is divided into four parts:
As noted in Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa itself, ekāntīs or pure devotees of the Lord, who constantly remember Him and sing His glories, are not bound by its external regulations. However, for those who have not yet attained this exclusive devotion, neglecting these observances leads to sinful reactions that hinder one’s progress from mixed devotion to pure devotion. Therefore, such pious practices including observances of grahaņa and similar occasions are recommended for Vaisnavas who are still cultivating regulated devotional service. They help accumulate spiritual merit that supports advancement in bhakti. Indeed, even the Yadavas, the Pandavas, and the brāhmanas at the time of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s appearance followed these procedures carefully, showing the standard for such sincere practitioners.
“But Vaisnava devotees, being engaged in bhagavat-sevā, should not depend on such material regulations. As far as possible, they should continue to perform the Lord’s service at the proper time, even during the eclipse.”
—Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Thakura, Patrāvalī
Dr. Patel: Are we not observing this eclipse rituals, that, during the eclipse we stop āratis and all of this…
Prabhupāda: Why?
Dr. Patel: And after the eclipse is over, take a bath and then do the arati?
Prabhupāda: Yes, they take baths.
Dr. Patel: Even the other Vaisnava mandirs don’t do ārati during that period if it comes within that…
Prabhupāda: Hare Krşņa.
—Morning Walk, November 17, 1975
“One thing is that the seva can never be stopped for any reason. This is also for cooking.”
—Letter to Amsu das, August 13, 1974, written from Vrindavana
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Śrīla Prabhupāda during the solar or lunar eclipse we observe fasting and then rituals. So what is the… Real significance, meaning?
Prabhupāda: We take all of these arrangements for remembering God. So, fasting means during the eclipse period maybe the food becomes polluted; so better not to be eaten. It is to be understood that it becomes polluted.
—Morning Walk, Berkeley, October 7th, 1972
“There is no occasion equal to the time of a solar eclipse. Whatever pious activity is performed during the eclipse yields unlimited results. During this solar festival, there is no need for consideration of month, lunar day, weekday, or other astrological corrections.”
—Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 2.30
“O King, even if Ekādaśī falls on a Saturday, on a Sunday, on a sańkrānti, or during an eclipse Ekādaśī must never be abandoned. It is to be observed at all times.”
—Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 12.63
“At the time of a solar or lunar eclipse, one should be pure, having observed a fast on the previous day.”
—Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 17.235
“Standing up to the navel in the water of a river flowing to the sea, one should chant mantras from the start of the eclipse until its completion.”
—Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 17.236
“A simpler alternative is to just take a bath at the [exact] time of the eclipse with a mind focused on the Lord.”
—Hari-bhakti-vilāsa’s Dig-darśinī-țīkā 17.239
“After the eclipse, one should perform a grand worship of the Lord and feed the brāhmaņas.”
—Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 17.237
According to the Jyotir-veda, a lunar eclipse takes place when the Rāhu planet comes in front of the full moon. It is customary in India that all the followers of the Vedic scriptures bathe in the Ganges or the sea as soon as there is a lunar or solar eclipse. All strict followers of the Vedic religion stand up in the water throughout the whole period of the eclipse and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. At the time of the birth of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, such a lunar eclipse took place, and naturally all the people standing in the water were chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Seeing the lunar eclipse and laughing, Advaita Ācārya and Haridāsa Ṭhākura immediately went to the bank of the Ganges and bathed in the river in great jubilation. Taking advantage of the occasion of the lunar eclipse, Advaita ācārya, by His mental strength, distributed various types of charity to the brāhmaṇas. It is the custom of Hindus to give in charity to the poor as much as possible during the time of a lunar or solar eclipse. Advaita Ācārya, therefore, taking advantage of this eclipse, distributed many varieties of charity to the brāhmaṇas. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.3.11) there is a statement that when Kṛṣṇa took His birth, Vasudeva immediately took advantage of this moment and distributed ten thousand cows to the brāhmaṇas. It is customary among Hindus that at the time a child is born, especially a male child, the parents distribute great charity in jubilation.
In this way all the devotees, wherever they were situated, in every city and every country, danced, performed saṅkīrtana and gave charity by mental strength on the plea of the lunar eclipse, their minds overwhelmed with joy.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu was born in Māyāpur, in the town of Nadia, just after sunset on the evening of the 23rd Phālguna, 1407 Śakābda, answering to the 18th of February, 1486, of the Christian Era. The moon was eclipsed at the time of His birth, and the people of Nadia were then engaged, as was usual on such occasions, in bathing in the Bhāgīrathī with loud cheers of “Haribol!”
So the Lord advented Himself on the Phālgunī Pūrṇimā evening of 1407 śakābda, and it was by the will of the Lord that there was a lunar eclipse on that evening. During the hours of eclipse it was the custom of the Hindu public to take bath in the Ganges or any other sacred river and chant the Vedic mantras for purification. When Lord Caitanya was born during the lunar eclipse, all India was roaring with the holy sound of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
After arriving in Kurukṣetra, the members of the Yadu dynasty took their baths ceremoniously, with self-control, as enjoined in the śāstras, and they observed fasting for the whole period of the eclipse in order to nullify the reactions of their sinful activities. Since it is a Vedic custom to give in charity as much as possible during the hours of the eclipse, the members of the Yadu dynasty distributed many hundreds of cows in charity to the brāhmaṇas. All those cows were fully decorated with nice dresses and ornaments. The special feature of these cows was that they had golden ankle bells and flower garlands on their necks. After the eclipse, all the members of the Yadu dynasty again took their baths in the lakes created by Lord Paraśurāma…. In going to take their baths in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukṣetra, in observing the regulative principles during the solar eclipse, or in feeding the brāhmaṇas in all their activities – they simply thought of devotion to Kṛṣṇa. Their ideal worshipable Lord was Kṛṣṇa, and no one else.
Dr. Patel: Are we not observing this eclipse rituals, that, during the eclipse we stop āratis and all of this…
Prabhupāda: Why?
Dr. Patel: And after the eclipse is over, take a bath and then do the arati?
Prabhupāda: Yes, they take baths.
Dr. Patel: Even the other Vaisnava mandirs don’t do arati during that period if it comes within that…
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.
NOTE: The following day was a total lunar eclipse when Śrīla Prabhupāda gave sannyāsa initiation to one of his disciples, now His Holiness Navayogendra Swami. This took place right in front of the Deities, in the temple room, while the regular worship of the Deities was going on. The penumbral eclipse ended at 7:05 am on November 19, 1975.
Prabhupāda: Acchā. Then the fourth scene is the lunar eclipse. You’ll have to arrange a scene that just in the evening there is appearance of the full moon on the side of the Ganges, and people are taking bath half in the water and half above the water, and they’re all chanting, this same scene, “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa,” with mṛdanga and… Yes.
So according to Vedic culture, when there is eclipse, lunar eclipse, people take bath in sacred rivers.
The Kurukṣetra is still there, and it is dharma-kṣetra. Still people go there to take bath in the Brahma-kunda during lunar and solar eclipse.
sūryya-grahaņa-kālena samāno nāsti kaścana
yatra yad yat kṛtaṁ sarvam ananta-phaladam bhavet
na māsa-tithi-vārādi-śodhanam sūryya-parvvaņiThere is no occasion equal to the time of a solar eclipse. Whatever pious activity is performed during the eclipse yields unlimited results. During this solar festival, there is no need for consideration of month, lunar day, weekday, or other astrological corrections.
sat-tīrthādiṣv api madhye sūryya-parvvaṇaḥ prāśastyam darśayati sūryyeti sārddhena.
Even among all holy places (sacred rivers, tīrthas, etc.), the superiority of the occasion of the solar eclipse is indicated – this is suggested by the word ‘sūrya’ (in the verse).
ata eva devalah-
śanair vāre raver väre sańkrāntyām grahane ‘pi ca
tyājyā naikādaśī rājan sarvva-daiveti niścayahTherefore, Devala says: “O King, even if the Ekādaśī falls on a Saturday, on a Sunday, on a sankrānti, or during an eclipse – Ekādaśī must never be abandoned. Indeed, it is to be observed at all times.”
athavānya-prakāreņa puraścaraņam işyate
grahane ‘rkasya cendor vā śucih pūrvvam upoșitahAlternatively, another method of puraścaraņa (special observance) is prescribed: At the time of a solar or lunar eclipse, one should be pure, having observed a fast on the previous day.
pūrvvam upositah. grahaņa-pūrvva-dine kṛtopavāsaḥ san.
‘Having observed a fast beforehand’ means having undertaken fasting on the day prior to the eclipse.
nadyām samudra-gāminyām nābhi-mātrodake sthitah
grahaņādi-vimukty-antam japen mantram samāhitahStanding in a river that flows to the ocean, in water up to the navel, one should recite the mantra with concentration from the beginning of the eclipse until its end.
anantaram daśāṁśena kramād-dhomādikam caret
tad-ante mahatīm pūjām kuryyād brāhmaṇa-bhojanamAfterwards, one should perform a homa [fire sacrifice] and related rites using one-tenth [of the number of recitations done]. Then, at the end, one should perform a grand worship and feed the brāhmanas.
athavānya-prakāro ‘yam pauraścaraņike vidhau
candra-sūryyoparāge tu snātvā prayata-mānasahOr else, another method of puraścaraņa is prescribed: At the time of a lunar or solar eclipse, one should bathe with one’s mind focused on the Lord.
athavānya-prakāro ‘yam ity atra samudra-gāmi-nadi-jalāntah-sthiti-vyatirekeņa. sańkşepe pūrvvato viśeṣaḥ.
Another method here means: apart from standing in the waters of a river flowing to the ocean, there is a simpler way. This is a shorter form, described after the more elaborate one.
grahanera samaya smarttera mate aśuddha kāla. aśuci avasthāya ye-sakala kāryya tāhādera karite nãi, tāhā tāhārā karena nā. kintu sevāpara vaişņava-bhakta-ganera ei sakala prākṛta vidhira apeksā nā kariyā sambhāva-para haile yathā-kāle (bhagavat-)sevā karāi karttavya.
According to the smarta view, the time of an eclipse is an impure period. Whatever activities they consider forbidden during impurity, they avoid at that time. But Vaişņava devotees, being engaged in bhagavat-sevā, should not depend on such material regulations. As far as possible, they should perform the Lord’s service at the proper times.2
“Dhananjaya Prabhu in Vrindavan said he asked Śrīla Prabhupāda what to do for the eclipse. Śrīla Prabhupāda replied, ‘Do as the other temples are doing in Vrndāvana.'”
—Letter by Bhima Dasa (ACBSP) to Shyamasundara Dasa (ACBSP) (16 March 2007)
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