Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 4.46
॥
Devanāgarī
इडायाः कुण्डलीस्थानं यदा प्राणः समागतः । सोमग्रहणमित्युक्तं तदा तत्त्वविदां वर
Transliteration (IAST)
iḍāyāḥ kuṇḍalīsthānaṃ yadā prāṇaḥ samāgataḥ | somagrahaṇamityuktaṃ tadā tattvavidāṃ vara
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
इडायाः कुण्डली-स्थानंiḍāyāḥ kuṇḍalī-sthānaṃby ida, to the place of kundalini
यदा प्राणः समागतःyadā prāṇaḥ samāgataḥwhen prana has come
सोम-ग्रहणम् इति उक्तंsoma-grahaṇam iti uktaṃlunar eclipse — thus it is called
तदा तत्त्व-विदां वरtadā tattva-vidāṃ varathen, O best of knowers of truth
Translation
"When prana has come by ida to the place of kundalini — that is then called a lunar eclipse, O best of knowers of truth."
Version
29c82b485478 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Eclipses too are transposed inward: breath's arrival at the base by the left passage is a lunar eclipse, by the right, a solar one. It is worth examining the very notion of an eclipse, for it occupies a special place in Indian usage. An eclipse is held to be an unclean time and, at the same time, a powerful one: one does not eat during it, does not perform ordinary tasks, but the repetition of mantras is held many times more effective then. We have already met this — in the Bhasma-jabala, the Rudraksha-jabala, and the Ganapati.
The union of uncleanness and power in one occasion is curious, and it is explained, apparently, by the same thing twilight is explained by: an eclipse is a break, and every break is held to be a time when the usual order is weakened. It is worth saying too what stands behind this in the ancient understanding of the sky. Eclipses were explained by the demon Rahu swallowing the luminary; and the Bhagavatam tells how Rahu, who tasted nectar by deceit, was beheaded, and his head has ever since pursued the sun and moon (8.9).
This story, it should be noted, did not prevent Indian astronomers from calculating eclipses with great precision centuries in advance; and the two coexisted within the same books. This neighboring deserves noting without mockery, for it is instructive. People were excellent at calculating the motion of the luminaries and at the same time told of Rahu; that is, calculation and narrative lived side by side for them, neither hindering the other nor laying claim to the other's place.