Rahu
Rahu ( Sanskrit : राहु Rāhu m. ) Is in Hinduism and Vedic astrology ( Jyotisha ) one of the Navagrahas , the nine personified planets. As the ascending lunar node , Rahu embodies the eighth planet. In Indian mythology , he belongs to the demonic Daityas . His heavenly chariot ( ratha ) is drawn by eight cents according to the Vishnu Purana .
Myth of Amrita
Rahu is the son of the demonic Viprachitta and grandson of the great sage Kashyapa . His mother is Sinhika. In the cosmogonic story of the whirling of the ocean of milk in the battle between the gods (Suras) and the demons ( Asuras ), Rahu mingled with the gods without being recognized and so he managed to drink a drop of the immortality potion Amrita . The sun god Surya and the moon god Chandra recognized him and betrayed him to Vishnu , who then cut off Rahu's head with his discus. But since he had already become immortal, the lower half of his body gave rise to Ketu , the planet of the descending lunar node. Rahu and Ketu were given a place in heaven as immortal beings. Since then, Rahu has tried to take revenge on the sun and moon by pursuing them and threatening to devour them. If you manage to devour them, a solar or lunar eclipse occurs .
In a version similar to that told by the Mongols , the sun and moon first appeared from the milk ocean and positioned themselves in the sky. In addition, the life potion that the Asuras stole came out. The supreme god of the sky, Khurmusta, gathered the gods around him and declared that the Amrita had to be brought back from the Asuras, otherwise they would become more and more powerful. Thereupon the sun took the form of a beautiful virgin and went to the Asuras who were gathered to drink Amrita. The virgin asked the Asuras to take a bath first and took the bowl of Amrita when they were gone. The tricked Asuras appointed one of them, whose name was Rahu, to creep in disguised as a moon to the gods in order to steal back the shell. The actual moon noticed this, notified the bodhisattva Vajrapani , who struck Rahu in two with the sword. The half of Rahu's head remained alive and has been tracking the sun and moon ever since.
With myths derived from this, other Central Asian peoples also explained the solar and lunar eclipses. Among the Buryats , an evil monster named Alkha pursued the two heavenly bodies and occasionally devoured them. In such a case the moon called for help and the people were asked to scream loudly and throw stones upwards to drive the beast away. Another name for the animal was arakho; it could be imagined in the dark planes of the moon.
literature
- Rahu . In: John Dowson : A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology and religion, geography, history, and literature. Trübner & co., London 1879, pp. 252-253 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
- Anneliese and Peter Keilhauer: The Imagery of Hinduism. The Indian world of gods and their symbolism . Dumont, Cologne 1983, ISBN 3-7701-1347-0 , p. 232 f.
