It’s tiny patch of inky sky that cityscape allows me to have- precious and valuable, the only link I seem to have with the great cosmos that is spinning patterns of mysteries around me! As I look up to see stars in the night sky twinkling back at me, I wonder, do they see me? Do their distant energies touch my life? Let me explore this through story of an unusual astral pair – Rahu and Ketu.
The legend of Rahu and Ketu is as old as the churning of the ‘Ocean of Milk’, set in a universe where the Devas and Asuras were pitted in a bitter battle of supremacy over our solar system. Victory is not about who is right or who is stronger – It is about who presents the story. The Devas had been cursed by Rishi Durvasa and had been the losing side for a while. The Asuras with Shukracharya’s guidance (The story of the nine planets or the NavGrahas ) and his ability to bring the dead to life had had easy victories. Many battles had been won by the Asuras, but what about the war?
It was the war that mattered, and the Devas did what they always did – they marched off to Lord Vishnu to beg him to find a solution to the problem. The solution was simple, to blend magical herbs to the ancient ocean of milk and churn it to find the elixir ‘Amrit’ that lay in its depths. A single drop would make the drinker immortal and invincible! But it was impossible for the devas to do this alone and the Asuras had to be invited. An uneasy truce was established about the churning and it was agreed that the two sides would share whatever came out of the depths of the ocean.
As the events unfolded on the day, the Devas pulled Vasuki the divine serpent by the tail while the Asuras tugged at the head. Mount Mandara, the pivot groaned as it rotated and churned, while the eternal and calm Vishnu, as the turtle stood impassively watching as the froth of the churning ocean gave up a steady flow of fascinating treasures – the poisonous Halahala, the apsaras, magical animals and finally Dhanvantari with the jar of Amrit.
The Devas and Asuras lunged at the jar of Amrit and Vishnu stepped in as Mohini the captivating female dancer form of the god. Mesmerised the Asuras lost sight of their goal—the jar—and eyed the sensuous Mohini instead, who smiled seductively, while she poured out Amrit for the Devas. One of the Asuras noticed the devious play unfolding in front the attendant audience and disguised himself as Deva and wedged himself between the Sun and Moon. He got a drop too as the jar tipped into his bowl, but as he took a sip, the Sun and Moon realised he was an imposter and called him out. No sooner did the two
cry out, Vishnu as Mohini set out his Sudarshan chakra and beheaded the imposter in their midst.
It is at this crucial juncture that the myth of Rahu and Ketu and the reality of the universal star maps meet- Since the Amrit had been swallowed the Asura was now immortal, but because he was decapitated he existed as two separate entities- Rahu the bodiless head and Ketu the body. Separated and eternally seeking each other to make a complete whole.
Rahu is a head full of unfulfilled ideas, ambitions and desires and Ketu is a body without attachments. Rahu and Ketu orbit through space, as semi-formed shadowy characters, often hiding behind other planets and stars hoping to catch up and get even with the sun and the moon, who caused them such pain.
They sometimes catch up with the sun and the moon and swallow them up, causing eclipses. But it is just a temporary victory, because those celestial bodies soon escape being overshadowed by them
They are the yang and yin of Indian Astrology- distinct and opposite in nature, seeking each other, but never blending into one another. They exist as points of energy in the solar system –Rahu is the north lunar node while Ketu is the South lunar node. As the earth passes along its orbit, the shadows of these disembodied characters looms over the earth at these nodes.
(The earliest mention of Rahu-Ketu is in Vishnu Purana and the Rig Veda)
By Sheila Bhattacharya
