According to Hindu tradition, the appearance of a blood moon—or of any solar or lunar eclipse, for that matter—initiates a period of spiritual sensitivity. All types of worship, eating, cooking, and celebration are strictly forbidden nine hours before an eclipse and during the eclipse itself.
The significance of eclipses in Hinduism
Eclipses in Hinduism are often viewed as a clash between light and darkness. The belief traces back to the story of Rahu, a demigod, or asura, from ancient Hindu mythology.
During a ceremony described in the Puranic texts, Rahu disguised himself as a deva, or divine being, to drink amrita, the nectar of immortality. When he sat down to take part, the sun and moon deities next to him noticed that something was awry. Before they could alert Mohini, the goddess organizing the ceremony, Rahu had already consumed the elixir and become immortal. The goddess, in retaliation for Rahu’s deceitfulness, sliced off his head with a discus.
“In Hindu astrological texts, including the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, eclipses are framed as interruptions to natural order and patterns,” says Mangala Bühler Rose, a Hindu astrology expert who specializes in muhūrta, the study of auspicious timing. “They obscure our vision of the great luminaries, sun and moon, and are associated with confusion, deception, obsession, impulsivity, shock, and more.”
According to the legend, Rahu intermittently swallows the sun and the moon as a form of cosmic revenge for his ordeal, as they identified his scheme. However, he cannot fully digest either of the celestial bodies since he is just a decapitated head. The sun and moon slink through his throat, causing solar and lunar eclipses.
